The Friend Zone is a debut with chapter switching povs between the heroine and hero, laughs, serious life issues, and a easy paced flow. Kristen suffers from uterine fibroids that cause her to have long heavy periods with extremely painful cramps and other intensified pms symptoms. Even though she feels she would eventually want children, her medical condition makes it implausible, so she is considering a hysterectomy. She's currently dating Tyler, a Marine overseas who is not planning on re-enlisting and coming home to live with her. Tyler doesn't want kids, so even though Kristen isn't sure she loves him, she thinks they are a good match.

Josh just broke up with his girlfriend and is moving from South Dakota to California to work with his bestfriend Brandon, they're fireman. He comes from a large family, six sisters, and has always wanted kids. He's not looking to get into a relationship until he feels settled in but Brandon's fiancee's maid-of-honor captures his attention.

“Fine. Stay. But don’t go catching feelings. I mean it. We are not a thing. Got it?”
“Using me for sex. Got it.” He pulled me closer and kissed my shoulder.
“Stop!”
“Good night.”
I could tell he was smiling.

Kristen and Josh definitely have chemistry on the pages, they have similar tastes, attitudes, and sense of humor; I enjoyed the playfulness between the two. There's a little bit of love triangle with Kristen dating Tyler but being extremely attracted to Josh. At first I liked how the author didn't immediately demonize Tyler, but about halfway through Kristen gets an easy out solution and the love triangle conflict lost a lot of its umph.

The main conflict of the story is Kristen knowing that she probably will never be able to have children, knowing Josh wants them, and so feeling she isn't good enough to be with him. Kristen is a sassy, tell it like it is character, easily discussing or mentioning her period issues but clams up and refuses to tell Josh that it could lead to her never having children. This creates a situation where Kristen is constantly pulling Josh in, because she is incredibly attracted to him and doesn't want to admit to herself that she loves him, but then harshly emotionally pushing him away, it started to get a bit exhausting and annoying. Lack of communication becomes part of the premise of the story and with two leads who otherwise have no problem communicating, it felt somewhat forced.

Josh for his part, plays a pretty understanding sensitive guy. He constantly bends and makes way for Kristen's needs, so often and completely that while he is definitely sweet, I didn't feel they had an equal relationship, how was Kristen meeting Josh's needs? Kristen is twenty-four and Josh twenty-nine, I felt this had a bit of a New Adult feel to it, Kristen came off young and immature at times and Josh felt a bit stand-in for Fairy Tale Submit To All Your Wants and Desires placeholder hero.

But being with her wasn’t even something I had to think about. I did want kids. But I wanted her first. Everything else was just everything else.

I thought it was great that the author showcased Kristen dealing with the health issues she did, we don't often get to read heroines with these issues but the ending had a bit of a surprise to it that I know will leave some readers feeling betrayed, it almost felt like a bait and switch to me. [Kristen ends up getting magically pregnant to their surprise (hide spoiler)]
There was also an ending heavy emotional situation that came off feeling somewhat manipulated, it was shocking but I wasn't completely invested in the secondary character because they weren't fully fleshed out and it ended up feeling more set-up for the second in the series than adding to the emotional fabric of this story.

Overall, this author has a very easy reading style that does keep you reading the pages. There was some “cool girl” vibes going on with Kristen that I could have done without, women who eat cheeseburgers aren't necessarily cooler than those who don't; comes to close to the manic pixie girl vibe promoting for me. The main conflict of the story ended up feeling bait and switch, Kristen's push and pull with Josh started to drag, and there was some layers and depth to characters I was missing that kept me from fully sinking into the story. This is an author I'm going to keep an eye on though, there's some charisma to her writing.

4.5 stars

I requested this one on a whim as I usually try to stay away from super hyped books.

I loved Kristen and Josh. She’s sarcastic and sassy and I loved every minute of being in her head. He’s a sweet and charming marshmallow who is an amazingly good person. Together they have banter and chemistry and it was so easy to root for them.

Plot wise, it was...mostly good. The entire thing was a giant game of push and pull and that got tiring real quick. Yes, yes, I get the reasons behind it, but still. Have a conversation already. I loved all of the talk of periods and fibroids and Josh not even being fazed by it. There is a plot thread that I didn’t see coming and the book turned in an entirely different direction. And even though it was heartbreaking, it added a layer of sincerity that I couldn’t get enough of.

Overall, I devoured this book from the first page and was irritated that I had to stop to eat, although I think Kristen would approve. This is such a strong debut, I can’t even wait to see what’s next from Abby.

**Huge thanks to Forever for providing the arc free of charge**

Better Than The Hype!

So, I’m usually really leery of books that have a ton of hype because most of the time I don’t love them as much as everyone else does (which is totally fine, different books work for different people for different reasons). But...THIS. ONE. IS. BETTER. THAN. THE. HYPE!

Josh and Kristen connect immediately and everyone feels it, including the reader, there’s just three little problems: Josh broke up with his last girlfriend because she didn’t want kids, Kristen is about to take steps that make that no longer an option for her, and she has a boyfriend...sort of. So Kristen decides to kill him and her feelings with sarcasm and showing him the real her from the start...too bad he falls hard for the real her and isn’t willing to stay in The Friend Zone.

The explorations of love, friendship, infertility/reproductive issues, loss, self worth, and sacrifice are so beautifully handled that even as your heart is being torn apart, along with the characters’, you’re laughing and smiling and having your faith renewed. Abby Jimenez’s voice and style are so perfect for romance and I can’t wait for more!

I received a complimentary review copy of this book but all opinions are my own.

Oh man, what a great debut book!

Loved this one from the very first page. The dialogue was great and the chemistry was even better! I truly love it when I take a chance on a new author and realize that I am already wanting more words from them as soon as I finish the first book.

The Friend Zone is one of those books that is an easy rec for club reading and will also touch women in very personal ways. I felt very deeply for Kristen. And I dare you not to fall in love with Josh...Especially if you're looking for a Realistic Romance to root for with sprinkles of Women's Contemporary Fiction, this is one of my top picks

5 Star Review of The Friend Zone by Abby Jiminez

I find it so hard to believe that The Friend Zone is Abby Jiminez debut novel.

What an emotional roller coaster of a read this book was. Once I started, I couldn’t put it down as I laughed and cried.

Fate works in mysterious ways as Josh and Kristen meet over a car accident, shocked even more to discover that they are both in the same wedding party.

The friendship they strike up is deep and meaningful; despite their attraction to one another, they focus on being friends first.

Josh longs to settle down and have a big family and Kristen knows that is something she cannot give him, children. She loves him to much to stand in the way of his dreams.

There were times I ugly cried while reading this book, times when I laughed out loud and times when I just sat there feeling Kristen’s pain. The banter between Josh and Kristen was fabulous and I loved their friendship.

This story was well written and real. The situation that they find themselves is one millions of couples face every day and Abby Jiminez handled it with respect and realism.

I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

This is my favorite book so far this year.
What an amazing debut from Abby Jimenez. The story of Kristen and Josh from their accidental first meeting, to the amazing conversations and bantering, to a long distant relationship and best friends and heart break and finding your worth and being enough despite preconceived shortcomings.
I’ll be honest... my emotions went through the wringer. I laughed, I was frustrated and angry and I cried with my heart just breaking. I haven’t felt that in a long time and to experience so much in a debut novel that I was obsessed with and couldn’t put down (and when I had to walk away because of life, I couldn’t stop thinking about), I am floored and in awe by Jimenez’s talent.
A must read, a new-to-me author that is now a favorite, I am blown away by this book. The perfect summer read and an author to watch... I see many good things coming from her and I can’t wait until the next one in 2020.

4.5 ⭐️

Is it just me or am I a sucker for a meet cute-to-lovers type of thing because this one did it for me.
I absolutely loved Joshua and Kristen’s sense of humor and sarcasm. I have my own Joshua and I can speak from experience...the foot massages are legendary 🙌🏽

I cried the last third of the book because it was so moving! Praise for OCD rep (and no, people with OCD are not “neat freaks” or “crazy”. It’s a legit thing and needs to be taken just as seriously as anything else on the ASD or anxiety or depression). Pockets for fertility struggles/woman’s reproductive problems being a topic too.

So much yes.


Thank you so much to Estelle & everyone at Forever Romance for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This novel dealt me an emotional blow that I was not expecting. The whole prose was surprisingly deep as it dealt with themes such as infertility, the impact on first responders, and death. It was more than i had ever experienced in romance novel before and i was so grateful. Everything was delivered in such a genuine manner that it felt wholly authentic. I cannot WAIT to read this author's future work!

The Friend Zone has a lot of hype and high ratings already so I was very excited to read it. And although I did enjoy it, I didn't love it as much as everyone else seems to. I liked many aspects of the book: the combination of humor with more serious themes of chronic illness and infertility, interesting characters with good chemistry, and the author's writing style. But I had some beef with this book too.

One of the things I hate to see in books is when an author will elevate the heroine of their book by bringing down all other women. In The Friend Zone it would go something like this: "Kristen was the "cool girl", she was one of the rare women who was gorgeous without being nuts; she was thousand times better than the drop-dead gorgeous yoga instructor; she wasn't one of those women…blah, blah, blah." Basically, the readers are told that all other women are crazy bitches, but not Kristen. Kristen is cool. It really grated on me. It was very apparent in the first half of the book, but got much better in the second half, otherwise I don't think I could continue reading it.

Why do authors still do this? I want to read books where women are not brought down just to highlight what a special snowflake the main heroine is! Since this is a debut novel, I will give the author the benefit of the doubt and I hope we will not see anything like this in her future books. And despite my ranty review, I did not find this book all bad, I actually had a mostly pleasant reading experience. Overall, this is not the best romance novel I've read but not the worst either.

ALL THE STARS for this one, folks. Hands down, this will be one of the best books of 2019. If you like your romances steamy with tensions running high, a side of laugh-out-loud humor, and (let's not forget) a good ole gut-wrenching punch to the feels, look no further--The Friend Zone has all of this and more.

Once I started reading this one, it was pretty much physically painful to put it down. And here I am, days after finishing, unable to get it off my mind. It absolutely blows my mind that this is a debut novel because I loved everything about it. Josh and Kristen were incredibly well-written characters, and I loved reading their alternating perspectives. I think this was what made the push-and-pull between them less frustrating to read because as a reader, I was able to understand their choices and mindsets. My heart swooned over Josh, and my heart broke for Kristen. I loved that everything about their relationship felt real--from having period talk to getting through life's many difficulties together. Sometimes feelings are complicated things, so it was nice to see how Abby brought that in--the story became just that much more relatable.

Not only that, but there were some more difficult subjects (infertility, grief, mental health) that Abby was able to compassionately shed some light on, and I know readers will appreciate that. Again, that added depth is part of what makes this story feel so real. Along those lines, for as often as this book had me crying, it also had me laughing out loud at some of the banter between characters, especially Josh and Kristen. For example:

"I cocked my head curlers shifting. 'When did you stop drawing penises on stuff?'
He snorted. 'What?'
'Like, how old were you when you stopped drawing penises on stuff? I was just thinking about how great a guy roommate would be and I realized the only downside would be finding penises drawn in the steam on the bathroom mirror.'
His dimpled smile made me grin.
'I just drew a penis on Brandon's truck the other day.'
I laughed. 'So men never outgrow it. Nice.'"

All in all, a truly good book can't get much better than this. The Friend Zone is not some fluffy romance (which I'm okay with, now and then). This book will run you through a full gamut of emotions. You will laugh, you will cry, you will cheer, you will want to throw things. I'm not kidding, friends--you DO NOT want to miss this seriously impressive debut. It releases on June 11th--pre-order now and prepare yourself for one of the best books you will read in 2019!

This book has been one of my anticipated reads for the month and it didn't disappoint! After reading the first chapter I was hooked. I loved Josh and Kristen so much. Their connection was instantaneous, their chemistry was off the charts and loved their banter in this book.

This story touches on infertility and the struggles some face. Kristen reminded me of my grandmother and mother who both suffered with the same issues as she did. I loved the way it was handled. My heart really aches for Kristen in this story because she feels she isn't good enough because she can't have kids and that she's damaged goods. I loved when she finally let her guard down and let Josh love her fully imperfections and all.

Josh has been added to my book boyfriend list which I don't take lightly. I loved how he didn't shy away from the unpleasantness and was there for it all. Josh loved Kristen and never gave up even when it hurt and he was just perfection in this story.

As a long time reader of romance novels, this genre can get stale and Jimenez delivered such a refreshing and realistic read. This book had me all in my feels. I would laugh, smile, shake my head in frustration at the characters and then I was crying as I read. It's been a long time since I've cried while reading a book.

I was in such a book slump and this book knocked it right out! Now I'm in a book hangover. I've been seeing a lot of good things about this book and its definitely worth the hype. Make sure to pick up a copy on release day. Jimenez knocked it out of the park with a well written, raw, realistic,heartwarming, debut novel.

Oh my god this book. I loved it. The only reason it doesn’t get 5 stars is because books that break my heart automatically lose a star. This book was tugging my heartstrings even before THAT ENDING. And I have to say, I was even ok (perhaps even rooting for) my least favourite romance novel trip to play out. This book deals with infertility in such a respectful and caring way, and I was cheering on Kristen and Josh from the get go. But the ending broke my heart and as wonderful and well written this debut (!!) was, I don’t think my heart will be able to handle Slone’s books.

This book has really rave reviews, so it's with great confusion and sadness that I have to say - I didn't like it at all. Writing quality was amazing, but the story itself wasn't my thing.

First off, I hate love triangles. With a fiery passion. Love triangles ruin a romance for me, every time. And cheating is another big no-no for me. If the hero or heroine cheats, either on each other or on someone else during the course of the story, I can't really get behind them. And in this case, we have bother. There is the love triangle involving two marines and a young woman, and one of the marines isn't even there to defend himself. The woman is so horny that she can't stop mentioning how long it's been since she's had sex, because poor her, it's so hard being safe at home without a man because he's off fighting a WAR. And she constantly thinks about the new guy, and even tells him flat out that he's sexy. Um, girl, you have a man. He's coming home in three weeks. Do you recall? Apparently not, because she proceeds to tread the line of cheating for quite some time. Do they have sex while her marine is still her marine? No. But to me, what happened was borderline. The other man seems really sweet, and both men deserve better, honestly.

Also, as a side note, I really didn't like when the heroine said that she brings her dog with her to the store, because he's wearing clothes, which makes him an accessory and not a dog. So yeah...um, no. One, bringing a dog into a store knowing that he's not a service animal and isn't supposed to be there is beyond ridiculous. Two, there are people who are highly allergic to fur, and you are bringing an animal into a store unnecessarily. I can't really like a character who thinks this is a cool viewpoint to have - it drives me nuts in real life.

Oh, another side note, speaking as someone who has endometriosis and will most likely never be able to have children - this does not excuse bad behavior. This does not mean a character should be b*tchy towards other people. I'm not giving her a pass on this, because I don't give myself a pass on this. Just saying.

Not my cup of tea. I can tell this author is a really good writer, but if I can't like the heroine, it's a big no for me. Hopefully the next book will have a more likeable heroine.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this digital ARC.
Okay...so I don't even know where to start with this one. I expected this to be a deeper romcom because of the topic. Kristen has fertility issues, which is very well done and represented well. The author doesn't shy away from period talk or the struggles that Kristen goes through daily. Because of this, she has a hard time opening up and thinks she's not worth the trouble of a true relationship and being loved. Josh, on the other hand, is a hot fireman who is family oriented and a friend (with benefits) that you'd probably want to know.
First of all, COMMUNICATION is what kept ringing through my head while reading this. It's one of the things that frustrated me throughout this whole book. I know that the lack of it was used to build up the reveal to Josh to where she had issues and couldn't have the baseball team he always wanted but it was so annoying. So many problems can be solved by actually talking to that person. Their friends with benefits situation had such a yo-yo effect because Kristen kept falling for Josh's charm and then pulling away because she didn't feel worthy. Then she didn't even want to tell him when it would have been so much better. Still, I liked their relationship and their dynamic because it was nice to read. There's humor in this but there's so much more. It's filled with angst and really tough topics. I personally liked being in Josh's head more than Kristen's but I was happy to hear the stories from both sides. Also, I loved Kristen's dog, Stuntman Mike.
Secondly, this became a lot darker than I had expected. The cover doesn't do it justice. It makes it seem like a cute romcom. This is actually the second time that I've been thrown by the cover (yeah yeah. Don't judge a book by its cover) but still. I became attached to the supporting characters (except Shawn because he's just the worst) and their journey to the altar. Sloan and Brandon were a great couple and I would have loved to get to know them more.
There are definitely issues with this book but the writing and the story deserve 4 stars (maybe 3.75). I will always say that communication is key for these books. It's not what I was expecting at all but I think that overall, the author did a good job for her first novel.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. This was a good book and many people will love it. I thought it was witty at times and totally heartbreaking at others. There were some things I didn't enjoy however. The main character has a boyfriend overseas and another man comes into her life. She lets him stay over and he wants to be with her all the time. The period talk was a lot. I understand there is a stigma and people don't want to talk about it but it felt like it was on every page. I felt like the main character wasn't respectful of her best friend at the end which made me mad. It also was tidied up pretty well at the end I was hoping it would take a different direction.

There were many good things about this book even though it had some flaws. I liked the characters most of the time and it does talk about infertility which is important. I will read more by this author and hope the next book will be even better!

Wow, I wouldn't have thought this was a debut novel! It was well written and well paced. I found myself wanting to read more. Of course there were times when I wanted to just hit both Josh and Kristen over the head, maybe more Kristen, lol! Then there was that twist I didn't see coming! It is a testament to this author's writing that I was already hoping she would write another book, before I even finished reading this one!

WOW!!! This book was amazing! I laughed and cried the entire time. I loved Kristen's character. She was so funny and very stubborn. She really cared about people and you could tell her infertility and reproductive health made her life very difficult. I loved how much she resisted Josh until the day her boyfriend reenlisted. Her best friend's loss of her fiance was something I was not expecting. It was really hard for me to read that part because it was so sad. It added a layer of complexity to the novel and is what really ended up getting Kristen and Josh together. The first time they hooked up I knew she would become pregnant at the end. I didn't think it was going to take so long to find that out - I almost thought I was wrong! It was something that was obvious to me, but it might not be for everyone.

Really amazing book. Talks on many issues like infertility, reproductive health, and grief.

this book. this book was SO good. it was super emotional because of the infertility - though i thought that was handled the best way possible - but it was also hilarious AF and steamy to boot. i loved the characters, i loved the story, i just straight up adored it. cannot wait for the next one!

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez is a contemporary romance about Kristen, a no-nonsense small business owner and her newest employee/counterpart for her best friend's wedding, Josh. Josh has moved to town after an awful break up and is looking to start over. Instead of playing the field he finds himself completely infatuated with Kristen. It's a shame that Kristen has a boyfriend who's deployed overseas. As time passes Josh thinks there could be more to him and Kristen through a shared love of movies, eating at shady dives and her unfriendly little yorkie, Stuntman Mike. But life is never that simple as Kristen's keeping a secret and uncontrollable events change their lives forever.

The Friend Zone made me feel a spectrum of feelings. Let's start with the characters and go from there. Kristen is a sarcastic, honest, strong headed 20 something with a small business to run and a long distance relationship to manage. She has health problems that lead her to keeping secrets first from her best friend Sloan and then Josh. A lot of her problems could have been resolved if she trusted Josh. He never really gave her any reason to not trust him which putting his comments aside was the true issue here. I also didn't appreciate the emotional cheating that happened in the book while she had a boyfriend . I know it wasn't physical but to my it's still cheating 🤷

Josh is an all around good guy. He steps into Kristen's life making her dog staircases as she's in a bind for a contractor and he can use the money. He truly keeps her sane and centered in a way that no one else can. He pushes her to express her feelings and that's where things don't always work out for him. They push and pull at each other until finally it seems like it just crushes them.

As a book it made me laugh and made my heart hurt as the truth came out and tragedy strikes. There was a bit too much back and forth with Kristen and Josh being on and off again but it built up their characters and pushed the story in the direction it was headed. It didn't feel rushed which I always appreciate.

The book as a whole was well paced and interesting. I was happy with the characters and although it hurt getting there the end was well worth it.