Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

28 reviews

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Infertility, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Alcohol, Miscarriage, Grief, Death, and Mental illness

protestmyboredom's review

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I liked this a lot! Kristen and Josh were very well written- their interactions and thoughts seemed realistic and relatable. I enjoyed their camaraderie. The subject was serious but relatable. I enjoyed this! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Infertility, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Car accident

Minor: Alcohol

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.'" 

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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 partner

kdailyreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, Blood, Chronic illness, Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Sexism

atamano's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Grief, Infertility, Cursing, Death, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit

cady_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. 

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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

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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, breakup

btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective 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? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Grief, Sexism, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Death, and Infertility

Moderate: Alcohol and Infidelity

readingwithmeredith's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Infertility, and Car accident

Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Grief

Minor: Pregnancy and Alcohol

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. 

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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