A review by fischers_reads
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

3.0

Originally I had started this book months ago but for some reason I wasn’t in the mood for it. I was at Barnes & Noble and overheard a woman telling another customer that this book was her favorite by this author. Being that I’ve already read quite a few books by Abby Jimenez I had to find out for myself why she loved it so much. Kristen & Josh are both in their friends wedding and their first interaction wasn’t the best. Kristen has a boyfriend, who’s in the military, but he doesn’t live with her yet. Josh ends up helping her with work and they start to get closer. I got super annoyed with Kristen because she straight up says that she likes Josh more than her boyfriend Tyler. Kristen has some health issues that makes her think she doesn’t deserve Josh. So there are definitely heavy topics in this book but there is also so many humorous moments. Kristen & Josh have the best banter and chemistry. I just couldn’t stop thinking about her boyfriend and how he had no clue. There was no denying that Kristen & Josh were meant to be but the obstacles they face were real life shit and it was heartbreaking at times. I really loved how open and honest Kristen was with Josh in the beginning but it changed so fast. I was hoping they would continue being the same way throughout the whole book but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. One of the tropes I hate is miscommunication and this book has it which really bummed me out. I was so invested that I kept reading to see how everything plays out. They hook up so early on that I knew there had to be so much more to this story. I screamed “JUST TALK TO HIM ABOUT EVERYTHING” more times than I could count. A man in love is so damn patient and that was 100% Josh. This man is perfect and the way she flipped a switch and started treating him differently really ticked me off. He deserved so much better. I was so frustrated with Kristen for most of the book and my head hurt, so I could only imagine how he felt. I really tried to sympathise with Kristen and everything she went through but even by the end of the book I was over her. This book deals with infertility so make sure that is a topic you don’t mind reading. There are actually a few trigger warnings to be aware of so be sure to look into those. Am I happy I read it? I guess. I would have been wondering if I would like it if I hadn’t. Will I continue with this series? I dont think so. 

SPOILERS:

Where do I even begin. In the beginning of the book I loved Kristen. I loved everything about her and once she met Josh I thought they were perfect. Their banter was hilarious and they got along so well. Problem was she had a boyfriend who is in the military and was deployed. While he is gone she is getting close with Josh. I don’t like that. I was a Marine wife for 4 years and long distance is hard and there are times you wont talk to them for weeks on end. That doesn’t give you the right to fall in love with someone else. Kristen didn’t technically cheat but I still think emotional cheating is cheating and its wrong. Kristen was so open with Josh the whole time and then once they slept together she completely changed. A switch flipped because Josh wants a huge family and she has a lot of woman issues and is told she can’t have kids. Instead of talking to this wonderful, understanding man about it she just shuts him out. Will have sex with him no problem but no relationship. That pissed me off! Tyler (the Marine) is her ex and he ends up showing up trying to get her back. The reason they broke up was because he kept calling her and she never answered and he finally left a voicemail saying he was reenlisting. She always told him if he reenlisted that they were over. Once she got that voice message she jumped into Josh’s arms and onto his cock. Anyways, Tyler showed up to get her back and talks her into going to dinner. Mind you Josh is there because he helps her build pet stairs in her garage. They go to dinner and Tyler ends up proposing to her and at first she said “no” but then she said “maybe”. MAYBE???? BITCH WHAT?? Josh is seriously perfect and deserved to be treated better. Kristen and Josh met because they were both in their friends wedding. Sloane is Kristen’s best friend and Brandon is his. Fast forward to a little over halfway through the book and its almost their friends wedding and Brandon gets into a motorcycle accident and dies. It was super sad but I didn’t cry. I guess I didn’t feel attached to those characters. Even during that whole thing Kristen still pissed me off. Josh needed her and she was there but she wasn’t. He didn’t deserve the way he was being treated. This man would do anything for her. FINALLY she tells him about her troubles and this man does research and gets them options on having kids and all that. Of course that wins her over FINALLY. Well they go to the doctor to find out what they need to do first and the doctor tells them they can’t do any of those things because SHE’S PREGNANT! Then end up having a little boy and instantly try to have another baby but it doesn’t happen. THE END. I’m sure I missed shit but that about sums it all up.