Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez

31 reviews

kelly_e's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

Title: The Happy Ever After Playlist
Author: Abby Jimenez
Series: The Friend Zone #2
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: April 14, 2020

T H R E E • W O R D S

Entertaining • Enchanting • Heartwearming

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Artist Sloan Monroe just can't seem to get her life on track. But one trouble-making pup who randomly jumps into her car with a "take me home" look in his eyes is about to change everything. With Tucker by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker's owner reaches out. He's a musician on tour in Australia. And bottom line: He wants Tucker back.

Well, Sloan's not about to give up her dog without a fight. But what if this Jason guy really loves Tucker? As their flirty texts turn into long calls, Sloan can't deny a connection. Jason is hot and nice and funny. There's no telling what could happen when they meet in person. The question is: With his music career on the rise, how long will Jason really stick around? And is it possible for Sloan to survive another heartbreak?

💭 T H O U G H T S

My heart ached for Sloan in The Friend Zone, so I was excited to learn I'd be getting to read her story in The Happy Ever After Playlist. With such a personal connection to this book, I was anticipating another deeply emotional reading experience. Unfortunately, this one didn't have the same emotional punch, which left me slightly disappointed.

The beginning was so good! I absolutely adored the meet-cute (despite being on the dramatic side); the banter between Sloan and Jason was top notch; and getting to know Jason was delightful. And of course, there is Tucker (and I'm not even a dog person)! Yet everything I loved so much through the first third, slowly faded. For instance, Tucker played such a big part role, yet he kind of got left by the wayside as it went on. Their story somehow got bogged down through the middle, making in longer than necessary. Additionally, the fun, light hearted banter, which made their connection so believable, slowly dissipated.

A few other positives. I couldn't help me be entertained by Kristen's entertaining cameos. She was hilarious and I am so glad Sloan had her in her court. Everyone needs a Kristen in their lives. I also adored Sloan's relationship with her MIL. It was all heart-warming.

One last thing, while I typically like when author's include notes on their inspiration, in this case, I have issues with the concept of 'making people better' or 'fixing people' in the face of life-alternating death. It's a reminder of western society's inability to sit with grief and uncomfortableness, even though I know the importance of continuing to live. Grief is a lifelong journey and there is no getting over it, rather moving forward with it.

For me, 2023 has certainly been the year of Abby Jimenez (this was my fourth), and while The Happy Ever After Playlist is my least favourite, I still love how she writes banters and creates realistic romance with depth. I will continue to read everything she writes, and I'm looking forward to continuing with Life's Too Short, while I await her upcoming 2024 release.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Abby Jimenez devotees
• readers who like dogs
• fans of the second chance romance trope

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Sometimes the hardest place to live is the one in-between. And sometimes in-between is all you'll ever get."

"This was just a season, and there's beauty in all seasons." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Stalking

Minor: Cursing, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Vomit, Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, and Mental illness

death of partner

ang3lina_'s review against another edition

emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Drug abuse, Infidelity, Alcoholism, and Self harm

Minor: Sexual harassment and Pregnancy

atamano's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Alcoholism, and Sexual content

Minor: Infertility, Pregnancy, Blood, Car accident, and Death

notsobinaryart's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Sexual content

Moderate: Gaslighting, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infidelity

The first half of this book made my heart so full and happy. The love present, the hope, how they met and fell in love, was all so special. What deducted most of the points for me began in the second half to last third of the book after a time jump. It got depressing, and after speed reading through the first half, it took a lot of work to finish this book. Spoilers ahead for what went wrong.

As many people can agree, I hate most third act breakups, especially if they’re solely added to creat conflict. In this case, the third act breakup was the result of the love interest, Jason/Jackson, doing what he thought was the best for the main character female character, Sloane. I cannot stand when someone makes a major decision like that for someone else, and ESPECIALLY how he majorly broke her heart right after she was learning to trust and love again. The hurt he caused was completely unacceptable for no good reason.

Jason also seemed all too perfect until this point. We don’t see any major character flaws in him, which made him seem a bit too unbelievable. Overall, the first half was a very fun read, but brace yourself for a rough second half. If you are not prepared for a book that is heavily surrounded by grief, now would not be a good time to pick up this book.

macykey's review

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.75

This book was hella cute and I definitely was getting emotional at the end. But some of the stuff in the middle was TOO dramatic for me. I don’t know if that was on purpose because of the ‘world’ that it inhabits, you know, Hollywood and such. But it just felt a little too dramatic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Self harm

meganrae047's review

emotional funny lighthearted 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief and Car accident

Minor: Drug abuse and Pregnancy

thaliareads's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful sad tense 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

I really appreciated that this book didn't make Sloan and Jason's budding relationship easy. They were coming from very different situations, points in life, and circumstances. It was nice to see their bond grow and develop as they faced different milestones in their relationship - and I think it was appropriate to see that it wasn't always easy and required a lot of compromise on both sides. Overall this book was full of lots of entertaining twists and turns. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Abandonment, Drug use, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Death, Car accident, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Infidelity

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Stalking, Violence, and Animal cruelty

Sloan's fiancé had died prior to the book in a motorcycle accident. Drug and alcohol use and abuse related to a side character that fell victim to the entertainment industry. Some minor animal neglect leading to Sloan finding Tucker at the start of the novel.

bedtimesandbooks's review

emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Grief, and Car accident

Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Stalking

Minor: Injury/Injury detail

danielletepool's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death

Minor: Pregnancy

baileyjanetee's review

emotional hopeful slow-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Car accident, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, and Grief