It started off light and ended up with a lot of drama towards the end. I did find the drama unwanted as it seemed unfair to some of the characters somehow.

I preferred the first half because of the banter and chemistry, and I felt those scenes really would shine even without the plot lines about the boyfriend and infertility. 

About the boyfriend plot. For me, they did cheat. They may not have acted on it physically (though that was also a grey line) but they cheated on an emotional level.

Title: The Friend Zone
Author: Abby Jimenez
Series: The Friend Zone #1
Genre: Romance
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date: June 11, 2019

T H R E E • W O R D S

Sassy • Wholesome • Emotional

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Kristen Petersen doesn't do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don't get her. She's also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children.

Planning her best friend's wedding is bittersweet for Kristen—especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He's funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he'd be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it's harder and harder to keep him at arm's length.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Abby Jimenez has quickly climbed the list of my favourite romance authors after reading Part of Your World and Yours Truly (her two most recent releases). With that being said, I was incredibly excited to unwrap a copy of The Friend Zone, Abby's debut, as one of my blind date with a book in my most recent order from Em's Reading Boutique. I think this may just be my favourite so far.

The characters, the romance and the depth were all what made this novel standout for me. Told in alternating POVs between the male and female leads, the chemistry felt so real. Abby does the male POV really well. I've loved each of her male leads, for different reasons, so far. Their banter was fantastic and really eluded to just how comfortable they were with one another, despite Kristen's huge secret. I really connected with Kristen's inability to talk about her uterine fibroids, painful periods, and impending hysterectomy. It's hard to talk about things, especially when you don't know how the other person will react, even when there's a level of trust. In my opinion, that's part of being human. I know many readers have had issues with that part of the storyline, but I got it.

I also appreciate Abby detailing in her author's note how she based much of the story on her own best friend's infertility journey. There's also a lot of contention surrounding the ending, and it's quite possible a different ending would have been more impactful, yet I respect Abby for telling the story how she saw fit. For me, it was more about Kristen accepting the love she deserves than the 'miracle'. It's important to remember that everyone's journey is different. This is one story, and there are millions of other stories out there.

This book holds a lot of pain, which felt very realistic. I like my romances with the rawness of real life struggles and this one certainly fit that bill. I'd definitely recommend caution and doing some research before picking this one up. If you're looking for something light, this likely isn't it. But I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down! I'm looking forward to more of Sloan's in book two.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Abby Jimenez devotees
• fans of dual perspective romcoms
• readers looking for a romance with depth

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"'Before I broke inside. Before my body made me wrong for you. Sometimes soul mates don't end up together, Josh. They marry other people. They never meet. Or on of them dies.'" 

I really liked this book but the 3rd act conflict felt very selfish on Kristen's part to me. Josh is the sweetest golden retriever. I also loved the banter. 

PLEASE CHECK OUT TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING THIS BOOK!!!

I genuinely am SHOCKED by how much I HATED this book. Especially after LOVING the author’s latest books. But THIS book?!? It REEKED of misogyny — both from the heroine and love interest. The heroine was “not like the other girls” and it was brought up all the freaking time. Honestly they were both kind of assholes. I’m all for women being overly honest and blunt and to not care what other people think of them, but she showed no compassion (other than to Sloane — their loyal friendship was probably the best part of the book), had an emotional affair despite claiming to be someone with values and caring and loyal, refused to take care of herself (shown be her getting hangry every 5 minutes), and was such a pick-me. I was excited to read a book about a woman struggling with infertility and a life without children — I think that would be a great addition to the romance genre — but instead it was filled with comments about how she wasn’t a real woman and didn’t deserve love because of her condition.

And then for her to end up miraculously pregnant?!? I saw it coming and was so annoyed and then was disgusted when my predication proved true. Even more disgusting though was when the love interest said his sisters would be happy to be the surrogate … I know that’s not how it happens but that struck me as SO GROSS. Plus it seemed to add to the fact that Josh only saw women as vessels for carrying children.

Speaking of Josh: I also was excited to see that the love interest was a firefighter — I was like ok hot — but he was constantly complaining about his job and saying that people didn’t actually need their services (I can understand this happening once but again and again??). And then the ending?!?

Killing off his best friend … for what?! I literally do not understand the point of that. Like yes it was used as a plot device to bring the love interests closer, but beyond that?? I have no clue. Sloane and Brandon were better characters and they deserved better.

There were also so many other scenes where I was just confused as to why the happened: her “ice queen” mother showing up out of nowhere, despite never being mentioned before; all of their comments about homeless people being “dangerous” and something that Josh needed to “protect her” from .. I was horrified to read it; the book started with Josh being stressed about money and then never mentioned it again; Kristen being insecure about her uterus being bloated … and then comparing her body to her “beautiful, hourglass” best friend whose “worst nightmare” would be being bloated … I can’t. 

Overall, I was BEYOND disappointed with this book. Maybe the author went through some serious life changes because her latest books are seriously amazing and showcase independent women who embrace and celebrate their friends … but this I cannot rate it lower and I am an overly generous rater usually. 

An average romance with cute, funny and sad moments... and lots of cheese. 

Unwillingness to communicate always bugs me in novels but it's particularly frustrating when it involves self-proclaimed "blunt" and "honest" characters.