Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Samo prijatelji

I was definitely expecting a cute cheesy romcom but this book was a lot more than that. It had me sobbing over so many different things, it was a really beautiful story. I loved all of the characters, this story made ma laugh, and cry and feel all the feels.

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hannahbrixton's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book was intense in a way I didn't see coming. I won't spoiler it but if you have medical trauma, consider that there's quite a lot of detail given in this book about a serious medical event and it was unfortunately quite close to something I experienced... so while I'm not triggered, it was pretty difficult to listen to and emotionally intense.

I loved the connection between Josh and Kristen but I felt like her steadfast refusal to be with him went on a little longer than necessary... even after they endured a traumatic event that should have been eye-opening, she stuck to her guns and it got a little frustrating.

The HEA ending was lovely for them and yet I would have liked to see it handled differently because it felt like the rug was pulled out from under the entire premise... I'm being vague on purpose so as to avoid spoilers here :)

The characters felt real, natural, and genuine and I loved the banter between the MCs. The writing was good, sometimes intense or suspenseful and emotionally evocative, which kept me listening and made it overall an enjoyable listen.

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fxygchn's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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mbattiest's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Kristen meets the perfect man, but there’s one problem—he wants a huge family, and she cannot have children.

This book had SO much potential—I thought the premise and the chronic illness/infertility representation was excellent and so important. But unfortunately, the book itself didn’t fully land for me—I was really frustrated with a number of plot points (which I can’t really name because of spoilers). I also really hate the “she’s not like other girls, she’s a cool girl” trope (which is super sexist) and didn’t love that this was a big part of the MMC’s inner monologue in the first half of the book.

I do think that part of my issue with The Friend Zone may have also been that I’m not a big fan of either love triangle or miscommunication/lack of communication tropes, and this novel had both in spades. If you enjoy either, you might have a better time with this one!

All of the above said, I liked the characters Jimenez created, there was a lot of great emotion (and some truly heartbreaking moments) and I really am looking forward to continuing the series (I’ve heard great things about the second and third books!)

Recommended if you like: rom-coms with a lot of emotional weight; he-falls-first + pining; love triangle vibes

CW: Infertility/chronic illness; grief/death; injury/medical emergency

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cherrygray's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

ORIGINAL RATE: 3.5

NEW RATE: 4 ~~(im giving this 4 stars bc kf how much i loved reading it and how much it resonated witb me. NOT because its a 5-star-worthy plot or writing.)~~

This whole review is going to be one big fat spoiler so, word to the wise, i guess.

[irritated groaning] ok. This book started off cheesy and cliche (it ended that way too but also very upsetting), Josh was fun, Kris was elusive, the dual POVs gave so much whiplash tbh. They were hot and cold. Time was not a factor in this book--quite the opposite.
And because i can't express what I want to say into sentences, I'm making a pro/con list.

PROS:

~~Sloan<333~~ RR: she was a meh character, same with brandon. didnt really feel as much impact from them
josh ~~in the beginning and the end~~ period. Josh.
free of a lot of the typical stigma around infertility/menstruation
WHEN JOSH WAS LISTING WAYS OF HOW HE KNEW HER OH MY GOD
~~sloan again<3 bc i love sloan<33~~
whenever there was a sliver of healthy romance those scenes were so cute
stuntman mike
JOSH MAKING THE BINDER FOR KRIS AND LIKE THAT SCENE
~~kristen's vows~~
it was an exciting read, very fun--albeit frustrating--but after the initial giddiness of it all wore off and I finished the book it was really... just... not, good. It kinda left you with a bittersweet feeling (more bitter than sweet on my part tbh)

CONS:

MISCOMMUNICATION AT EVERY TURN
~~Josh in the middle of the book~~ RR: i actyally thought josh was an amazing character throughout EXCEPT the moment right after vegas where he was a douche and jumped to conclusions
kristen. ~~the. entire, fucking time.~~ Especially after the karaoke night, the phone call from vegas night, and every other night after that RR: i do think kristen wasnt the best character, but i did understand where she was coming from and her logic. it was just an awful execution/portrayal
BRANDONS FUCKING DEATH. WHY THE FUCK. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCKITY FUCK FUCK FUKC WHAT THE FUCK
they were so obviously in love with each other the entire time it was painful literally why
tyler and seafood
LITERALLY THE MISSCOMUNICATION
kristen's vows
kris not coming clean to josh after she said she loved him. what the fuck. like i get it's a personal thing but admitting you love him TO HIM and then constantly pushing him away and ignoring him and ghosting him (only to show up at his work, or his house a week later) is selfish. especially if it makes him think he's the problem when you knew damn well he wasn't
KRIS WAS SO HYPOCRITICAL THE ENTIRE TIME LIKE "i'm not settling for tyler. i love tyler" (which we all knew wasn't entirely true) and then telling josh to "move on, screw other women, date other women. don't settle for me" bullcrap. AND THEN SLOAN FINALLY WHACKED SOME FREAKING SENSE INTO HER WHILE SHE WAS FRICKN MOURNING
EVELYN. she didn't deserve the epilogue scene. RR: THIS THIS THIS. THIS. THIS. THIS. SHE DOES NOT DESERVE ANY TYPE OF REDEMPTION.
why the fuck did
Brandon
die??? what was the point of that? I was genuinely so upset they died.
all the poc were written off???? or given very gross/womanizer and minimal lines???? there was no diversity for them or at all in this book??
~~why am i giving this book 4 stars??~~
it was a lot of rinse/reuse/recycle throughout the entire book. The characters only had one thought, one argument point, one problem. Every argument circled back to the "I love you, I wanna be with you" and the entire time Kristen was just really immature and inconsiderate and rude.
- the same things were happening the entire time and provided no sense of change or dynamic.

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valeriabee's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

I am being purposefully mean about rating this book because it was honestly painful to read through it. I finished it because I have issues about not finishing books.
There is just so much wrong with this book that I cannot even really process it or articulate it. I want this book to be rid from my memory. I want to forget I read it.
I'll tell you a little bit about why:
1) The "cool girl" trope in which the MC is literally described as a "unicorn" amongst women because she's "not crazy" like other girls and can eat cheeseburgers and drink beer. All of that pained me so much.
2) The hyper-macho love interest that is ridiculously possessive and does all the stereotypical manly man stuff -- with the exception of not being afraid of periods.
3) The lack of showing us how and why they fall in love. It's just declarations of love (and a lot of lust) that dont really have any support in the book.
4) I dont even want to talk about the way they fucked up the supporting characters.
5) The mess that is the surprise pregnancy because WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?

That's a long ass list of things I didnt like with little detail about it because I just cannot bring myself to talk about it any more.
It was painful to read and not because I cared about the characters. It was so hard to care about them.

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elisabethmnc's review against another edition

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emotional sad

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I haaaaaaaaaate stories where all the drama comes from bad communication. Also, I don’t know why this read like it was aimed at Republicans but there were a lot of cringey gender stereotypes and guns?

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