4.5 stars

Another contemporary romance with a cute illustrated cover that was calling my name! I really really enjoyed this one; it was heartfelt, gut wrenching and emotional with heaps of love and hope and representation.

Josh and Kristen are both quite likable and full of wit, humor, and sarcasm. They’re definitely characters you can easily root for and see why they’re meant for each other. Kristen has a serious medical condition that plays a huge part in the plot line of the book and it was really great to see that hardship represented on the page, as it is something a lot of women can relate to. Plus, Josh is so supportive and loving and sweet gahhhh…I loved them both!

My biggest issue was that some of the back and forth between them was a little too much, which is why I took off half of a star. It felt like they kept having the same conversation, at least four times and it was maddening because information was being withheld and miscommunication was definitely afoot.

Overall though, this was a wonderful read; fast paced and emotional and just all around a lot of feels.

*Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. *

A fun and emotional journey through the life of two different people and at the same time so equal Kristen and Josh, Brandon end Sloan. Josh just moved to other city after suffering a disillusioned love and asked to be transferred from his workplace. Still emotionally shaken, he needs to move on and help out in his best friend's wedding and that's where he meets the complicated Kristen.

Kristen spent her life tormented by the demands and constants and dissatisfactions of her mother and now also needs to face a situation that will further shake her life. Upon meeting Josh, she is soon attracted to the sweet man but is sure that he deserves a woman without so many imperfections.

A book about losses and struggles that shows us how when true love comes along, we need to face all the challenges.

5 Stars!

"It was about her allowing herself to be loved, despite what she felt were shortcomings. It was about her recognizing that she wasn't defined by her ability to have children, and that her worth went beyond the state of her uterus. That was her happily ever after."

The hype is REAL for this book. How do I like my romantic comedies? I like them to be laugh out loud funny, heart-warming and ultimately realistic. This book is that and then some.

Kristen is planning her best friends wedding and is in a relationship with a man in the military. He's off on deployment and she's been focusing on her bff's upcoming nuptials. She doesn't do drama and will tell you how she's really feeling. She gets into a little fender bender one day and thinks nothing of it. The next thing she knows, she's met her bff's future husband's best friend since he's the one who tapped her bumper. From there, a sassy friendship forms and after awhile maybe she realizes Josh isn't all that bad.

But Kirsten has a bit of a dilemma - she always seems to fall for guys who want big families and she cannot have one due to some serious medical issues. She has been told all her life how she's not good enough and tries to save the men from her. Insert Josh who would do anything for Kristen at the drop of a dime. Kristen knows he's perfect - he always has food for her when she's hangry, he thinks shes beautiful with curlers in her hair and he will go to a sketchy taco truck with her at all times of the night. She just knows that her medical condition will cause Josh to never be hers but she can't seem to stay away...

This book is easily in my top 5 of 2019 so far. It was so realistic and I love when I feel like books have characters and story lines that I can relate to. I definitely have friends like Kristen in my life and honestly I'm probably more of a Sloan. The relationships in this book felt like real friendships and real romantic partnerships. There wasn't so much "fluff" that sometimes come with these stories. One other thing about this book was it easily made me feel the emotions the characters were feeling at any given time. I attest that to the real and easy going dialogue.

I'm lucky, as of now, that I've never personally experienced any fertility issues but I'm also not in the stage of life of having children of my own. I know other's have stated they've gotten emotional and cried during these parts but I was more empathetic towards Kristen rather than brought to tears. I think this is just because I have not experienced this or have gone through any fertility steps at this point in my life. However, the devastation that Sloan endures, that is where my heart broke. I could never imagine going through what she did but we see her true love shine through at the end.

Overall, this is a great laugh out loud romantic comedy. I cannot believe this is a debut by Abby Jimenez. I read this book in a day and only two sittings. I only stopped because I had to sleep at some point! This book publishes tomorrow, June 11th and you definitely need to have this one on your summer TBR list. Also, I can't wait for Abby's next novel coming March 2020!!!

Kristen Peterson is trying to accept the fact that following through with a surgical procedure, an utterly devastating one, will prevent her from ever having children of her own. She suffers from a condition affecting many, many women and, after several years, has made the difficult decision. She has quite a lucrative business making doggy clothing and furniture.

Meanwhile, as a bridesmaid to her best friend, Sloan, she is tasked with planning the wedding. Before she really gets started she has a run-in with what will soon be her partner in the planning, best man, Josh Copeland. From the very start, she doesn't like him - or does she? After all, she hit his car when he slammed on the brakes. Not the best start to her day. Josh, on the other hand, likes what he sees. What is more is that he really is very nice about what has just happened. Actually, Josh is nice about just everything.

From the start, Josh sees right through Kristin. One of the funniest things that makes this couple work is that he can always tell when she is hangry, and he makes it his business to keep her fed. Another thing that makes this couple work is that Kristin is more than a bit snarky, and that doesn't bother Josh one bit. What does not work for this couple, however, are Josh's dreams. One day he wants it all, a wife, kids, picket fence, etc. Yes, a big family. The one thing that Kristin cannot give him.

So, despite how well they get along while working on the wedding, and also Josh working with her in her business, and other times they are together, Kristin is never prepared to go beyond being friends. She can never imagine giving him the happiness she truly believes that he deserves. So, it is a fight. However, the fight is made even harder because Kristin feels she can never share her secret.

One minute I was laughing at the fender-bender, the aforementioned hangry moments, Kristin's sharp tongue. On the flip side, I was teary-eyed more than once while Kristin dealt with her pain, her secret. I often felt she was so alone. I felt very invested in the story. Not only did this affecting story bring in the emotions, it certainly had its share of spice.

The Friend Zone was multi-layered. Of course we have the growing relationship between Kristin and Josh. Her health and future, as well as her past and why her dreams are so important. Her friendship with Sloan was so wonderful. And, last but not least, Stuntman Mike, Kristin's dog. Oh, he tried to steal a scene or two.

But, this is a romance, so those tears of sadness found ways to tears of joy. What a journey! I also wanted to mention that I enjoy Author's notes, or acknowledgments. Reading those words after the story made me feel just so much! I applaud Abby Jiminez for writing such an absolutely incredible debut story that I think most women can relate to in one way or another.

Many thanks to Forever and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

WOW this debut BLEW my expectations out of this world you guys! I kept hearing raving reviews about this book and was thinking "well see about that... most likely I'll be on my outlier island again."

Oh my goodness was I completely wrong... I LOVED everything about this book. This is not your typical light and fluffy romance read. It's so much more then that.. it has depth and emotions that will rock you to your core.

I'm wondering what else does Abby Jimenez have up her sleeve? Abby truly writes like she's been writing novels for YEARS... I mean.. my gosh I couldn't put this book down and didn't want it to end.

This has truly everything you're looking for in a book. The characters were so connectable and I was crying when they were crying, I was laughing when they were laughing, I was angry when they were angry.

This book deserves all the true and raw 5 stars... and THAT is extremely hard in my book you guys. I rarely give out 5 stars so that is in itself should tell you to run not WALK to get this book ;).

This is one gem and true piece of special literature that you don't want to miss. I literally am biting at the bullet for her next novel that comes out in March 2020!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Forever Publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: 6/11/19
Published to Goodreads: 6/10/19

THE FRIEND ZONE was one of my top ten anticipated reads of this year and while I received this copy for review a while back, I was completely scared to read it. I felt like I may have too much in common with main character - her infertility issues and her doubts of allowing someone to love her when it may alter the future they imagined for themselves. I had to convince myself to be brave and start it. This book is a romance with some comedy, which I love, so of course I should just go ahead and read it.

I did experience the pain of the characters, but I finished reading it and felt a little less alone. While my circumstances aren't exactly the same, it's definitely something I understand and relate to. Yes, I did cry several times while reading THE FRIEND ZONE. Sometimes my tears were for the characters. Other times the tears were for myself.

And with all of the emotions that I felt while reading this book, what I can appreciate is how much this story made me laugh. Kristen just cracked me up. I loved her humor and her bluntness and the various ways she would make herself undesirable so that Josh wouldn't fall in love with her. I loved the fun little scenes with her yorkie, Stuntman Mike.

And then we have the oh-so crush-worthy Josh. He's now on my book-boyfriend list. I love how he loves Kristen and how he would give her a run for her money when she would turn up the sass. He was her partner in every prank she wanted to pull. He was the one for her, no doubt about it.

Laughable Quotes:

“You should name any dog according to how it will sound while yelling his name and chasing him down the street in a bathrobe.” - How little doggies like Stuntman Mike get their names.

"Did you send me a potato?" - Potato parcels! I've sent one.

“Do I have to put on a bra? Because if I have to put on a bra, I’m not going.” - She's right this can be a make or break moment.

"Have you ever had the urge to tell someone to shut the f*ck up when they aren’t even talking? That’s how I feel literally every time I see his face.” - Oh, we all know someone like this!

I don't know how many times I turned to my husband to share these laugh-out-loud lines, but there were a lot!

THE FRIEND ZONE definitely met my expectations for a most anticipated read for 2019. Even though I was nervous to read it, I'm glad that I experienced all of the emotions I did. This is a book that I needed to read. I loved it.

I really enjoyed this book for about 20%. I can see why so many people are loving on it. Then the hero kept describing the heroine as “a cool girl”. Maybe it was an unknown trigger for me. I guess my opinions about someone that is “a cool girl” are just not that positive. Slowly, I started hating the hero and heroine. I just couldn’t enjoy the story anymore. I wasn’t reading with open, positive eyes, but judgy eyes. I wish this wasn’t the case, but it is what it is.

I voluntarily read an early copy.

I first heard about The Friend Zone over a year ago when a friend of mine got to read the manuscript. She couldn’t tell me anything about the book (it didn’t even have a title and was still in submission) but she told me she loved it so, so much and she hoped that everyone got to read it. Fast forward to now and I can say she was 100% right. The Friend Zone was awesome. It was the perfect balance of humor and emotional heartbreak and I’m so happy I got to read it.

The Friend Zone is the story of Kristen, a strong, funny, feisty woman that is facing the fact she is about to have a procedure done that will stop her from being able to have children. Being the good friend that she is, she puts aside all of that to help her best friend plan her wedding. Which means she will be working side by side with Josh, the best man. As Josh and Kristen get closer it becomes harder and harder for them to stay in the friend zone. The problem is, Josh wants kids and Kristen won’t be able to have them.

What I loved about this story, besides Josh and Kristen, was the fact that the author stared what it is like to be a woman right in the face. She didn’t shy away from the problems women can have when it comes to reproductive issues and how that can make a woman feel. Jimenez was raw, and truthful in her storytelling but also added so much humor into the mix it was a nice balance. There was one part, okay, more than one part, that shredded my emotions and I 100% didn’t see it coming, but again it felt like real life because the unexpected can and will happen.

In the end, The Friend Zone was everything I was hoping for in a book. It hit all the notes I wanted it to and more. I definitely recommend picking this one up.

Tell the world:

Wow!!! I LOVED this book!! It has been awhile since I have stayed up until 2 or 3 in the morning to finish a book, but this one did that for me. There has been a lot of hype around this release, and let me tell you it is deserved.

First off, I loved Kristen as a main character. She was strong and loyal and just fun. I also loved how the author address reproductive issues. It was so refreshing to meet a character that was so real and to have these issues represented so well in the book.

And Josh. I just loves Josh. You can’t help but love a fireman who had all sisters. He was sweet and strong.

Kristen and Josh together were just perfect. They were perfect foils for each other. And their banter and slow burn relationship was well written.

And then there’s Brandon and Sloan. And well let’s just say I need to read book two RIGHT NOW!

Abby Jimenez is an amazing new romance writer, and I can’t wait to devour everything she writes!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Wow! Be ready! The Friend Zone packs an emotional punch. Prepare yourself to laugh and cry your way through Kristen and Josh's journey to a happily-ever-after. 

Weddings and relationships are not on Kristen Petersen's horizon because it makes life too complicated. That's until she meets the best man for her friend's wedding. He's everything she wants, but his desire for a family means she won't get involved with him.

The baby brother in a family with six older sisters, Joshua Copeland knows how to steer his way around a woman – he's had an excessive amount of practice. When he meets Kristen, he's not offended by her sarcasm and standoffish behaviour, after all, he's seen it all before and he likes the challenge. However, when faced with the reason for her attitude, will he relinquish his dream and accept a life with this woman comes at a price?

Have tissues at the ready. This story is intensely heart-aching yet full of humour too. For a début novel, the author knows how to wring out every drop of emotion from the protagonists. They are complex characters, made for each other but in time-honoured fashion, the journey for them to realise it is a difficult one for them to navigate. In some ways, the narrative ended up where I expected it to go. As a reader, I chose not to be disappointed but instead, embraced it because I wanted Kristen and Joshua to have their happy ending – to have what neither thought they could achieve together. Both are engaging characters in their own way but most importantly, they complement each other perfectly. Therefore it's easy to fall for their own unique charm in a relatable way. They are characters you'd want to be friends with in the real world.

After reading The Friend Zone, the justifiable buzz surrounding it is notable and I'm pretty sure it will end up in my top five favourite books of the year.

***arc generously received courtesy of Forever Romance via NetGalley***

I really enjoyed this book! This book has been all over different social media outlets and has been heavily hyped by the people in the book community that I'm connected with. I was a little nervous going into this book for that reason because I haven't always had the best experiences with super hyped books. I am glad that I took a chance on this book though because it was really good.

Even though this is a romance, this book also deals with some sad and heavy topics. I swooned, laughed, and cried several times while reading this book, so it definitely took me on an emotional journey.

I really enjoyed Kristen and Josh's characters. They made the book even more enjoyable to read with their obvious chemistry together.

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez is the story of Kristen Petersen and Josh Copeland.
Josh is to be the best man at the wedding of Kristen's best friend. So they are put in close working corners but they found a friend zone relationship. Kristen knows that Josh would want a big family because that is one of the reason he broke up with his ex girlfriend. Kristen knows that won't be something she can do for him due to a medical reason.
This was a sweet, funny and sometimes emotional read.

I have to start with Wow!!! Is this really a debut novel by Abby Jimenez and after reading The Friend Zone I’m predicting a very successful career for this very talented author.
This book has all the feels and emotions you want in a great read, I laughed, I cried and at times I held my breath, it’s certainly a book you will want to read in one sitting so please make sure you have time to get captivated in this romance that’s full of love, passion, humour and lots of emotion.
Fate plays a big hand in getting Josh and Kristen on their journey of love and it’s a journey you will want to join, you will want to meet the loveable characters who have depth and strength and you will want to see how their unique relationship pans out. I highly recommend this friends to lovers romance and I will certainly be following Abby Jimenez’s career. Looking forward to what’s next.

Told in alternating perspectives The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez allows you to get completely into both Josh and Kristen’s heads. By turns this book tore me apart and made me laugh hysterically. Though I am generally not a fan of characters that make decisions for other people, Jimenez drew me far enough into the story and Kristen’s head that I was able to let it go. Jimenez’s debut is heart-wrenching and not for the faint of heart. Those that take the plunge will find it well worth it….just make sure you have the large box of tissues handy and lots of water (hydrate!)

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this novel.

I laughed. I cried. My heart was shattered and mended together. This book was just as good as everyone has said it is, and I love a story that lives up to all the hype. It stays true to being a romance, but along the way takes readers on a true emotional rollercoaster as Kristen and Josh navigated major life issues on their path. I could not put this one down, and couldn't stop talking about it when I did put it down. I don't have enough good words to say about it, but I was so excited to get to the end and see what Abby Jimenez is working on next, because I need it.

This was absolutely amazing.! If you are looking for something that has drama and for characters that don't feel sorry for themselves and actually work things out , this is definitely for you.
If you like books that do more than root for the underdog and actually show you real layers of people and problems and life ,you won't regret picking this up

This was a great read. I immediately fell in love with the main characters, Josh and Kristen. They were both very relateable and even though the book was at times predictable, it didn't distract from the overall essence of the book. I enjoyed the alternating perspectives from Josh and Kristen so you could see both sides of their friendship and watch as they simultaneously both realized their feelings for one another. I was SO glad to see that there will be a second book, focusing on Kristen's friend Sloan, coming soon. I'm so looking forward to reading it and more by this new author.

***Thanks to the publisher and #Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review***

OK, here goes. I have a few issues with this book.
On the surface, the main characters are complex and likable. It was a big turn-off that Kristen had a weird hang up about people who drink wine and eat charcuterie plates (what's wrong with these things?) She made it seem like it was a character flaw to like nice restaurants instead of eating hot wings and drinking beer. Josh was fine, I guess, but was really into hunting, which creeps me out.

The story itself was somewhat fast moving, but it felt like the angsty internal monologues went on forever.

When there was a pretty big plot twist later in the story I was ripped from my comfort zone and this entire book changed its tone. Instead of being a fun, angsty romance, it turned into one of the most depressing stories.

The Friend Zone is THAT BOOK!! You know the one I'm talking about, our FAVORITE, the one we talk about all year. I'll admit that I was nervous as hell about actually holding and reading this. It was one of my most anticipated books this year. It came highly recommended by Kim @bookbruin and Kelly @bookmarkbelles. I think I asked Kelly like five times if she'd read it yet waiting on her to tell me what she thought. Once she read it, she wouldn't stop talking about it. I wasn't really worried about it living up to the hype. I just wanted to savor it. Instead, I ended up devouring it. I literally couldn't put it down. Thankfully I have a great husband who poured my wine for me.

"She was like a unicorn. A mythical creature. An honest, no-drama woman who didn't bullshit and drank beer and cussed and didn't care about what people thought of her. She was a unicorn, tucked in the body of an attractive woman with a great ass."

WOWWWW. This book was so much more than I expected it to be. I was so connected to these characters. I felt everything with them. I was smiling and blushing during their highs. I was also sobbing on their lows. The love will jump from the pages and grab your heart. I don't just mean the love between the couple. I mean the love for their friends, their family, Stuntman Mike and for the future they both want.

"Just say okay."

The only thing I'll say about Josh is he's PERFECTION. He's the man that girls dream of marrying. I connected with Kristen because she's basically me. I can relate to the stress cleaning. It's my go-to. It's all about taking control where you can. I'm an only child. I've also had the "thing" she faces and fears the most. You'll understand more when you read it.

There's so much more I want to say about this book but for spoiler reasons, I won't. I can't recommend this enough. The story was INCREDIBLE. It's BEAUTIFULLY written. It's a story that will stay with me for years.

First of all – I feel so fancy reading a debut book by a famous Food Network multi-winning chef. How cool is that?! Second of all, this book blew my expectations out of the water! I did not expect to feel this way about this book! I’m too emotional over here! I went into this book blindly because I just trust my fellow book reading friends so much. They loved this book too and now I can see why! I have endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome, so this book hit me on a whole other level. We need more books like this. Thank you Abby for this refreshing, feel-good, emotional love story.