Title: The Friend Zone (The Friend Zone #1)

Author: Abby Jimenez

Publisher: Forever 2019

Genre: Romance

Pages: 384

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook

Kristen Peterson 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.

CW: Infertility, death

I read this one as I friend warned me not to read Jimenez’s newer book (The Happily Ever After Playlist) before reading this one for spoilers. I didn’t realize it was a series. Thank goodness I didn’t read the summary of the number two before reading this book. Spoilers abound!

As for this volume, I was disappointed. The first and second halves of this one feel like different books. The tone becomes very serious in the second half and I was not prepared for the switch. The cover deluded me into thinking this was a lighthearted romance story. Nope! There are serious events and issues in this book. I was not prepared at all. And the two biggest themes (infertility and death) could really mess with a person who was not prepared to encounter those in the book. Beyond the tone, I was not on board with Kristen as a main character. She was very immature and selfish throughout most fo the book. I just wanted someone to knock some sense into her at many moments. And the way she treated Josh was so not fair. It was very bad behavior indeed. (I even felt sorry for Tyler who didn’t seem like a terrible guy, just different than Kristen wanted.) One last gripe: the big event in the second half of the book really felt like a device to get Kristen and Josh together. It’s devastating to at least one other character, but most of it gets brushed over so we can see Kristen and Josh get their HEA. Not a book for me.

The Friend Zone

• #1 The Friend Zone

• #2 The Happily Ever After Playlist

• #3 Life’s Too Short

Next up on the TBR pile: