sarahflanders's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Grief, Medical content, Car accident, Gore, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual content, Death, and Infertility
thatmamareads's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Gore, Grief, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Infertility
xomandymoo's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, Blood, Death, Car accident, and Infertility
stephabee_reads's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Pregnancy, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Infertility
Moderate: Blood and Death
kelly_e's review against another edition
- 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
Author: Abby Jimenez
Series: The Friend Zone #1
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.50
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.'"
Graphic: Chronic illness, Car accident, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Grief, Sexual content, Blood, Cursing, Mental illness, and Death
Minor: Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Murder, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Pregnancy
death of partnerkdailyreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
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
- 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
Graphic: Car accident, Grief, Infertility, Cursing, Death, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit
kates_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Spoiler
And then for her to end up miraculously pregnant?!? I saw it coming and was so annoyed and then was disgusted when my predication proved true. Even more disgusting though was when the love interest said his sisters would be happy to be the surrogate … I know that’s not how it happens but that struck me as SO GROSS. Plus it seemed to add to the fact that Josh only saw women as vessels for carrying children.Speaking of Josh: I also was excited to see that the love interest was a firefighter — I was like ok hot — but he was constantly complaining about his job and saying that people didn’t actually need their services (I can understand this happening once but again and again??). And then the ending?!?
Spoiler
Killing off his best friend … for what?! I literally do not understand the point of that. Like yes it was used as a plot device to bring the love interests closer, but beyond that?? I have no clue. Sloane and Brandon were better characters and they deserved better.There were also so many other scenes where I was just confused as to why the happened: her “ice queen” mother showing up out of nowhere, despite never being mentioned before; all of their comments about homeless people being “dangerous” and something that Josh needed to “protect her” from .. I was horrified to read it; the book started with Josh being stressed about money and then never mentioned it again; Kristen being insecure about her uterus being bloated … and then comparing her body to her “beautiful, hourglass” best friend whose “worst nightmare” would be being bloated … I can’t.
Overall, I was BEYOND disappointed with this book. Maybe the author went through some serious life changes because her latest books are seriously amazing and showcase independent women who embrace and celebrate their friends … but this I cannot rate it lower and I am an overly generous rater usually.
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Blood, Chronic illness, Grief, Car accident, Infertility, and Medical content
cady_sass's review against another edition
- 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
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
bookbuyingwithkatie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Car accident, and Medical content