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sarah_lamendola's review
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Infertility, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Alcohol, Miscarriage, Grief, Death, and Mental illness
kelly_e's review against another edition
emotional
funny
relaxing
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
5.0
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.'"
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.'"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Car accident, Medical trauma, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Moderate: Mental illness, Grief, Blood, Cursing, Death, and Sexual content
Minor: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Murder, and Pregnancy
death of partnercady_sass's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
4.75
Tears. Pain. My heart is exploding. I love everything about this except for the title - calling this “the friend zone” is SUCH a disservice! This is so much more than that. A rom com at the core, but, just like every other novel I’ve read by this author, there is so much nuance and depth in the character work and the representation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Infertility, Miscarriage, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Sexual harassment, Blood, Car accident, and Chronic illness
nicolewithbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Chronic illness, Cursing, and Death
Minor: Miscarriage, Violence, Gun violence, War, and Death of parent
Ocd, breakupzalouis's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Medical content, Infertility, Chronic illness, Pregnancy, Car accident, and Medical trauma
Minor: Blood, Bullying, Miscarriage, Violence, and Classism
fxygchn's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Car accident, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Body horror, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail
annahamburger's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book deals with heavy topics and I highly recommend checking the content warnings.
That being said I do feel the topics of infertility, mental illness, toxic parent child relationships, death, and grief were dealt with and presented gracefully, yet raw.
Infertility is discussed frequently and in detail with a variety of emotions and projected outcomes in this story.
I really enjoyed this book, and the writing was visceral and raw. Kristen was layered and real.
I wish Josh had had more layers to him, as his POV helped flesh out Kristen more than himself.
A thing I could have gone without was Josh's inner thoughts regarding Kristen as "not like other girls" and "cool and probably dated a college guy in high school".
I wish we could have spent more time in the "after" portion of the couples lives. I am hopeful to get glimpses of it in the sequels.
That being said I do feel the topics of infertility, mental illness, toxic parent child relationships, death, and grief were dealt with and presented gracefully, yet raw.
Infertility is discussed frequently and in detail with a variety of emotions and projected outcomes in this story.
I really enjoyed this book, and the writing was visceral and raw. Kristen was layered and real.
I wish Josh had had more layers to him, as his POV helped flesh out Kristen more than himself.
A thing I could have gone without was Josh's inner thoughts regarding Kristen as "not like other girls" and "cool and probably dated a college guy in high school".
I wish we could have spent more time in the "after" portion of the couples lives. I am hopeful to get glimpses of it in the sequels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Infertility, Grief, Mental illness, Medical content, and Death
Moderate: Cursing, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Blood, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Medical content
erinkt1023's review
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Kristen was too much. That’s all. Also hated the ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Body shaming, Car accident, Miscarriage, and Death
rickireadss's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
⛔️WARNING: this is a VERY negative review, so if you are not into those, you haven’t read this book, or this is your favorite book, stop reading now. there are also MAJOR SPOILERS below. you have been warned.
let me start by saying i was very excited for this book and series after reading “part of your world” by jimenez which i absolutely LOVED. with that being said, i absolutely LOATHE this book and am very glad i never purchased a copy but instead borrowed from libby.
i’m just going to list each point that i hated and go into detail of why.
⚠️tw/cw: infertility, car accident, death of side character, chronic illness, medical trauma, injury/injury detail, grief, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, infidelity (not mcs), gaslighting, miscarriage, pregnancy, body shaming, sexism, stalking/breaking in, war
⛔️SPOILERS BELOW⛔️
⛔️SPOILERS BELOW⛔️
⛔️SPOILERS BELOW⛔️
both mcs: i honestly found them both to be insufferable at times - mostly kristen but josh also pissed me off at times. i am also not a fan of the miscommunication trope - especially in contemporary romances WITH ADULT MAIN CHARACTERS.
infertility/fertility issues: this was the MAIN (and really only) conflict between kristen and josh. he wanted kids, made it abundantly clear in multiple conversations (by saying he wanted them the “natural way” and didn’t want to adopt… RED FLAG, BRO, RED FLAG), and it was why he left his ex girlfriend because she didn’t want them. BECAUSE OF THIS, kristen decided to keep her fertility issues from josh - which is in her right - and made it clear to josh that if they were to have any type of relationship, it would only be a friends-with-benefits deal, no romantic feelings. they both enter that and then of course both catch really feelings for each other. my issue is that she doesn’t disclose WHY she can’t be with josh until like the 80-85% mark. he repeatedly confronted her to see why she felt like they couldn’t be together and she just kept not telling him. MISCOMMUNICATION AT ITS FINEST. i was getting so upset at her for not just saying it because she felt like it would break his heart and he wouldn’t want to be with her, but she kept pushing him away???? like girl, you’re are confusing yourself and everybody around you.
ALSO- with that being a main conflict between them but then they finally decided to get together and that it was okay, they have a miracle baby…. are. you. fvcking . kidding. me. i understand that this is fiction. i understand miracle babies happen. but i wanted a more realistic outcome and ending. it felt like the fertility issues at that point were just thrown into the plot to create conflict and used as a ploy. why did they have to miraculously have a baby??? why couldn’t they just be happy with the two of them?? why couldn’t they have adopted children?? why couldn’t they have used one of the sisters (like they talked about) as a surrogate??? just that entire thing made me angry.
OCD representation: it wasn’t revealed until the like 85/90% mark that kristen had OCD and i felt like it was a vvvvvvery poor and stereotypical portrayal of someone with OCD. when she first said something about her “manic-bess” and “OCD self”, i thought it was one of those times where people just use ACTUAL MENTAL ILLNESSES/DISORDERS in everyday convo and i was about to get really angry. come to find out, she has OCD??? where? how? why is this JUST now being brought up?
brandon’s death: i felt like this came out of left field to create chaos. it also felt like a ploy to shove the two mcs together like “this made us realize how short life is” and josh even mentions how he doesn’t want her to end up like sloane and having no say over him if he were to just die AND THEN PROPOSES??? fvçk no.
impromptu proposal: literally wtf. this was unnecessary, way too fast, and made the ending that much worse.
family trauma / lack of therapy: kristen’s mom was a grade-A b!tch and a horrible mother. we were introduced to the sh!tshow that was her, but then it was never addressed again until sloane told kristen to grow tf up and go after josh. um excuse me??? why was that not unpacked at all… like her mother clearly fvcked her up with her comments and how she treated kristen but also kristen mentioned that she didn’t go to therapy (or did a long time ago but doesn’t anymore, i honestly don’t remember) but also if she has OCD, i would think going to therapy on a regular basis would be normal for her because she has the means to go to therapy - she makes good money this is referenced several times throughout the book, and the fact that she doesn’t go to therapy regularly makes the whole OCD diagnosis feel like it was also just thrown in there for sh!ts and giggles.
okay, i’m done. i honestly don’t want to expend anymore brain power on this. i did not like this book. i would not recommend if any of the cw listed below trigger you. the 2 stars are for the mere fact that i did not DNF this, and the fact that this could have been a good book if the author had taken a few different approaches and had some good sensitivity readers (idk if she had some or not, but if she did, i do not feel like she had the right ones.)
let me start by saying i was very excited for this book and series after reading “part of your world” by jimenez which i absolutely LOVED. with that being said, i absolutely LOATHE this book and am very glad i never purchased a copy but instead borrowed from libby.
i’m just going to list each point that i hated and go into detail of why.
⚠️tw/cw: infertility, car accident, death of side character, chronic illness, medical trauma, injury/injury detail, grief, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, infidelity (not mcs), gaslighting, miscarriage, pregnancy, body shaming, sexism, stalking/breaking in, war
⛔️SPOILERS BELOW⛔️
⛔️SPOILERS BELOW⛔️
⛔️SPOILERS BELOW⛔️
infertility/fertility issues: this was the MAIN (and really only) conflict between kristen and josh. he wanted kids, made it abundantly clear in multiple conversations (by saying he wanted them the “natural way” and didn’t want to adopt… RED FLAG, BRO, RED FLAG), and it was why he left his ex girlfriend because she didn’t want them. BECAUSE OF THIS, kristen decided to keep her fertility issues from josh - which is in her right - and made it clear to josh that if they were to have any type of relationship, it would only be a friends-with-benefits deal, no romantic feelings. they both enter that and then of course both catch really feelings for each other. my issue is that she doesn’t disclose WHY she can’t be with josh until like the 80-85% mark. he repeatedly confronted her to see why she felt like they couldn’t be together and she just kept not telling him. MISCOMMUNICATION AT ITS FINEST. i was getting so upset at her for not just saying it because she felt like it would break his heart and he wouldn’t want to be with her, but she kept pushing him away???? like girl, you’re are confusing yourself and everybody around you.
ALSO- with that being a main conflict between them but then they finally decided to get together and that it was okay, they have a miracle baby…. are. you. fvcking . kidding. me. i understand that this is fiction. i understand miracle babies happen. but i wanted a more realistic outcome and ending. it felt like the fertility issues at that point were just thrown into the plot to create conflict and used as a ploy. why did they have to miraculously have a baby??? why couldn’t they just be happy with the two of them?? why couldn’t they have adopted children?? why couldn’t they have used one of the sisters (like they talked about) as a surrogate??? just that entire thing made me angry.
OCD representation: it wasn’t revealed until the like 85/90% mark that kristen had OCD and i felt like it was a vvvvvvery poor and stereotypical portrayal of someone with OCD. when she first said something about her “manic-bess” and “OCD self”, i thought it was one of those times where people just use ACTUAL MENTAL ILLNESSES/DISORDERS in everyday convo and i was about to get really angry. come to find out, she has OCD??? where? how? why is this JUST now being brought up?
brandon’s death: i felt like this came out of left field to create chaos. it also felt like a ploy to shove the two mcs together like “this made us realize how short life is” and josh even mentions how he doesn’t want her to end up like sloane and having no say over him if he were to just die AND THEN PROPOSES??? fvçk no.
impromptu proposal: literally wtf. this was unnecessary, way too fast, and made the ending that much worse.
family trauma / lack of therapy: kristen’s mom was a grade-A b!tch and a horrible mother. we were introduced to the sh!tshow that was her, but then it was never addressed again until sloane told kristen to grow tf up and go after josh. um excuse me??? why was that not unpacked at all… like her mother clearly fvcked her up with her comments and how she treated kristen but also kristen mentioned that she didn’t go to therapy (or did a long time ago but doesn’t anymore, i honestly don’t remember) but also if she has OCD, i would think going to therapy on a regular basis would be normal for her because she has the means to go to therapy - she makes good money this is referenced several times throughout the book, and the fact that she doesn’t go to therapy regularly makes the whole OCD diagnosis feel like it was also just thrown in there for sh!ts and giggles.
okay, i’m done. i honestly don’t want to expend anymore brain power on this. i did not like this book. i would not recommend if any of the cw listed below trigger you. the 2 stars are for the mere fact that i did not DNF this, and the fact that this could have been a good book if the author had taken a few different approaches and had some good sensitivity readers (idk if she had some or not, but if she did, i do not feel like she had the right ones.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Car accident, Death, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Sexism, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Body shaming
Minor: War
meredithsaffairs's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Infertility, and Car accident
Moderate: Miscarriage and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse and Child death