Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - The Happy Ever After Playlist

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Happy Ever After Playlist features a young woman (also a character in The Friend Zone—redacting her name here so as not to spoil that one!) learning to move on from a traumatic life event and falling in love with a famous musician (and his adorable dog).

I had mixed feelings about The Friend Zone, but everyone told me the sequels were better and BOY were they right! I devoured the first half of this book, which was adorable perfection—Jason instantly became one of my top leading men ever, and the FMC’s journey was so raw and real but also touching and inspiring.

If the book had ended around the mid-way point it would probably have been a five star read for me. As it was, I thought the back half felt a bit contrived and repetitive, and really doubled down on the miscommunication trope (which I rarely enjoy). It also really emphasized the insta-love aspect of the plot, which made it all feel a bit too cheesy and unrealistic.

That said, the ending, while over-the-top, was ADORABLE, and my feelings about this book lean WAY more to positive than negative! So many reviews I’ve read and people I’ve spoken to say Abby Jimenez is a writer where each book is a little bit better than the one before, and if that’s the case, I cannot WAIT to read the third book in this trilogy.

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: music/playlists in books; cute dog characters; cheesy cinematic endings

CW: Grief; stalking/threats; drug abuse/use; self-harm

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riella_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

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

5.0

This was cute! I think I need to read more romances based around music artists because the last few I've read I've really enjoyed.

This was reading like a 5 star from the beginning, there was a small part in the middle that went differently than I expected but it all turned out the way it needed to. The ending was super cute and cheesy which might bother some but I loved it. This was so much better than the first book The Friend Zone, but I did enjoy Josh and Kiersten in this as well.

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courtneyfalling's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

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

3.5

Well... it was definitely better than The Friend Zone (https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/90f78ed5-d681-4e16-be7f-d4b650bff02d). I liked Sloane a lot as a strong-willed, creative, determined-against-all-odds MC. This book also explores grief and unexpected young widowhood pretty well, all things considered. I had mixed feelings a lot of the way through about Lola's presentation and stereotype (misogyny!), but I think this ultimately ends in a good place without simplifying how either Lola or Jason experienced it. There's one random crappy homophobic conversation for like, no reason? Which I think stuck with me because it highlights a lot of my vague issues with sexuality, sex, and gender in these books. To a lesser extent than The Friend Zone but still to a noticeable extent, Jimenez simply cannot figure out how to really write fairly balanced, feminist cishet relationships in the way I think she thinks she is.

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midnightbelles's review against another edition

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emotional funny fast-paced

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

4.0

I started this book with pretty low expectations but I was hooked from the first chapter. The story revolves around Sloan who’s fiancé died two years ago and Jason who is a famous musician. Jason’s lost dog jumps into the roof of her car and she spends two weeks trying to contact Jason to pick him up with no luck. Once she and Jason do get in contact they quickly begin to fall for each other.

I do agree that this is a fairytale romance (as in, this would never happen in real life), but I enjoyed it despite that. I liked seeing the growth Sloan had, their cheesy moments together, and I also really loved Kristen and Josh’s relationship with Sloan. The book is really fast paced in my opinion He bought an engagement ring after only knowing her for a month
and I felt like some of their relationship issues we’re stupid if I’m being honest (They definitely could’ve been solved quicker if they just stopped and thought things through). But overall this was a really cute and quick read and I would definitely read it again.

P.s. LISTEN TO THE SONGS WHILE YOU READ!!! It literally adds so much to the story and some of the songs fit so well. It makes the reading experience so much better :)

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kb33's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

For what I thought would be a lighthearted (though emotional) book, I thought the description of the relationship between the two main characters was more conflict than love. It was a good read, but not very light.
Update: I just found myself rereading it, and had to bump it up a star. The dialogue/falling in like then love for the first half of the book is addictive.

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angelareads's review

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emotional medium-paced

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

3.25

The first half was a 4.5, then the second half became a little too cliche for me. Add in some unexplored emotional resolutions and this ends up around a 3-3.5. Not bad, but not as good as this author's potential. I'll read her next book.

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reading_between_the_trees's review

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing sad fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I loved the format of this book. It made me want listen to music more often while I read, and in my opinion the playlist associated with the book was awesome. I discovered some new artists and enjoyed listening to some favorite artists. It was also a cute love story with good pacing and fresh plot points. My main issue was the heteronormativity and the toxic gender roles that were perpetually present throughout reading. It was a big distraction for my while reading and took away from my enjoyment of the story. It was woven into the dialogue, the relationship tensions, and pretty much every aspect of the plot.

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saadiasreads's review

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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