Genre: Contemporary Romance

My Review - 5 Stars

CW: infertility

The Friend Zone was one of my most anticipated reads of 2019 and it exceeded all my expectations. The story has emotional heft and hit all the right notes. It’s compulsively readable. In fact, I read it in one day. It made me laugh out loud and it made me cry. I can’t stop gushing about it! Watching people realize they’re worthy of love is one of my favorite things and the payoff for Kristen and Josh’s happily ever after has given me so much life.

Here’s the thing. Abby Jimenez made me enjoy things I normally hate in books. If I hadn’t been so intrigued by the premise, I would have steered clear once I realized there was a potential love triangle and concern about infidelity. I would have missed out big time! Then there’s essentially a lie of omission plot, when Kristen doesn’t share what’s happening with her medically and insists they can only be friends with benefits. Characters who need to freaking communicate already generally drive me nuts. But Jimenez was able to make all of these situations not only understandable but relatable. That’s the sign of a talented author! So if you have similar book dislikes, I’m here to tell you to give this one a chance. You’ll be glad you did.

Kristen and Josh meet in a literal fender bender and right away I knew Kristen was the heroine of my heart and that Josh was going to make me fall hard for him.

Kristen is one of the most refreshing heroines I’ve encountered in a while. She’s salty, hilarious, irreverent, and fiercely loyal to her friends, even though she doesn’t like most people. She’s so loyal, in fact, that she hasn’t told her best friend that she needs to have a hysterectomy because she doesn’t want to ruin Sloan’s wedding day. Kristen has had horrific periods for years and they’re only getting worse so she’s made the decision to have her uterus removed and be done with menstruation altogether. She really wrestles with what she sees as her body’s brokenness and how this has ultimately led to her inability to conceive on her own. I’ve never read a romance that dealt so honestly and openly with periods before and I was here for it.

Kristen cracked me up time and again but she also made me want to hug her, as she dealt with the ramifications of infertility for her relationships. I could understand how she was just trying to protect her heart. Her character arc was profound and I’m in awe of how it developed.

Josh is a solid hero. He’s consistently there for Kristen through thick and thin. And even when they’re resisting their feelings for one another, as Kristen is dating someone else, he puts her first. He’s just a tremendously good guy, the kind I, as a single woman, want to believe still exists in this world. Josh loves Kristen exactly as she is, not in spite of her flaws but because of them. The progression from friends-to-lovers was so engaging and I could not wait to see how it would develop, especially because there is still a barrier between them once Kristen gets out of her relationship. Josh doesn’t know Kristen can’t have kids and he wants a big family. The angst of this!

I loved not only the friendship Josh and Kristen had with one another—banter goals—but the friendships they had with their best friends Sloan and Brandon, who are engaged to be married. All four get along great but some of my favorite moments are when Kristen and Sloan or Brandon and Josh are together, just hanging out. There are so many great moments and we also get to see them walk each other through very difficult circumstances.

I’m not going to lie: what happens is tragic but it felt authentic to the story Jimenez was telling. She is able to show her characters dealing with very sad, hard things without emotionally manipulating the reader in the process. The way the situation unfolded, while tragic, felt organic to the story.

Even with this tragedy, the story ends on a hopeful note. Kristen has an amazing epiphany about being worthy in and of herself. Josh’s grand gesture is so perfectly tailored to Kristen. I’m still not over it! Their happily ever after is beautiful and real and honest. This book made me overwhelmingly happy because it didn’t shy away from the hard parts of life. It reminded me that love isn’t a a reward for good behavior or whatever reason we think it hasn’t come to us yet. It’s out there and one day our turn will come.

I'd like to address how the infertility storyline is resolved, as I know this will be important to some. This is a spoiler; highlight brackets to see. [It turns out Kristen gets pregnant in the end. My personal preference would have been for her to not get pregnant, mostly because it was so profound for her to realize she was worthy of that kind of love and because babies are a weird short-hand in romance epilogues that can send iffy messages to those of us who can’t or don’t have kids for whatever reason. I would have been fine with it being left open-ended. That said, I liked how Jimenez wrote it.]

All in all, a wonderful debut contemporary romance! This will be on my Favorite Romance Novels of 2019 list for sure. Abby Jimenez has a fan in me for life.

CW: infertility, grief, OCD, Spoilers, highlight brackets to see [death of a secondary character, character on life support, motorcycle accident]

Synopsis

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.

The Friend Zone will have you laughing one moment and grabbing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass.

Buy The Book (affiliate links):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice

Disclosure: I received an advanced copy from Forever Romance in exchange for an honest review. The author and I became friendly during the course of this book's release and she asked for my input about the story's medical aspects before final edits were due.

Cupcakes are from Abby's bakery Nadia Cakes and they are amazing. If you're in the Twin Cities, MN or Palmdale, CA, you must go!