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mirandaburel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Speaking of the romance…again I have mixed feelings. I think they had great chemistry, but they also fell for each other ridiculously quickly. I feel like the central conflict being her fertility would have been better than if it was just that. But instead she had this not-exactly-cheating plot line with Tyler and Josh (that led to her eventual pregnancy iirc), and Tyler’s proposal, her “thinking about it” only to immediately refuse. It’s just felt unnecessary when the central conflict could have just been her working through her health issues while grappling with her growing feelings for Josh. (To be clear, a lot of time is still spent in that conflict, but it felt like stonewalling and not actual progress).
Them the thing with alone and Brandon….felt gratuitous. Now that I know it’s a setup for book 2 it makes sense, but it was A Choice for the third act conflict and i just didn’t really like it!
TLDR this book tried to do too much, instead of digging deep with the most interesting bits.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Blood, Pregnancy, and Dysphoria
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Vomit, Alcohol, and Classism
ms_read's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol
antidietleah'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
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
bookishspy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'm going to have a hard time rating this one, but I'll try.
The first 80% of The Friend Zone was very much like your standard romance book. A stubborn FMC, a persistent alpha male MMC, and some issues and misunderstandings preventing them from being together.
This part was pretty frustrating at times. If these two could've just sat down and had a frank conversation like adults, they could've been together so much sooner. I understand not wanting to share this kind of thing firsthand, but personally, I felt this book went a bit too far with it.
I did love Josh, though. He was sweet and thoughtful. A bit overly alpha male bordering on stalkerish at times, but that's pretty standard for a book boyfriend
Then, the last 20% of this book happened, and honestly, it hit too close to home for me personally. My own fault, I should've looked closer at the trigger warnings than I did.
Objectively, it was well written, pretty close to accurate, and it definitely gave me feels.
Overall, I did enjoy The Friend Zone. I may not read the rest, but if this was before my sister had her stroke, I probably would've really enjoyed it and continued
➛ 𝟒 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬
Graphic: Chronic illness, Infertility, Medical content, Stalking, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
sammymilfort's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Vomit, Pregnancy, and War
hannahbrixton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I loved the connection between Josh and Kristen but I felt like her steadfast refusal to be with him went on a little longer than necessary... even after they endured a traumatic event that should have been eye-opening, she stuck to her guns and it got a little frustrating.
The HEA ending was lovely for them and yet I would have liked to see it handled differently because it felt like the rug was pulled out from under the entire premise... I'm being vague on purpose so as to avoid spoilers here :)
The characters felt real, natural, and genuine and I loved the banter between the MCs. The writing was good, sometimes intense or suspenseful and emotionally evocative, which kept me listening and made it overall an enjoyable listen.
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infertility, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, and War
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: Cursing, Death, Infertility, Grief, Medical trauma, and Car accident
Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit
rachrreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Vomit and Pregnancy
readerette's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Infertility, Sexual content, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Vomit, Car accident, and Pregnancy