*** REVIEW ***

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars

When I read The Friend Zone earlier in the year, I loved it and knew this was an author to watch. I also expected her follow-up story, The Happy Ever After Playlist to keep me enraptured.

I was not disappointed!

The story follows Kristen's best friend, Sloan two years after a tragic event leaves her in a state of catatonic grief. She finds a dog in a rather unique way (he jumps through the sunroof of her car) and starts looking for his owner. Through a series of text messages and phone calls she finds Tucker's owner (a hot musician named Jason AKA Jaxon Waters). When they meet, sparks fly.

I loved Sloan and Jason's story. It left me with many laughs, some tears, and an abundance of sighs.

Make sure you read TFZ first for background information.

Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

While this initially grabbed me and the depiction of grief and grieving was real, the relationship and conclusion were way to unrealistic and contrived to be believable.That said, the author does a good job creating engaging characters with good backstories and I did enjoy reading their story.

Absolutely loved this one! Read it in basically one day. It was even better than her first. Sloan and Jason were great together and I loved the music collection!

I absolutely loved this follow up to The Friend Zone. Both books are the epitome of great contemporary romance novels in my opinion. The characters are relatable and well written and their is just the right about of steam! I loved how the dog was a large part of this story as well. The author’s use of songs for each chapter was unique and creative. Overall a great story and one I’ll recommend to everyone!

This had a really fun meet cute. I liked how the main characters had a bit of a friendship before they dated. After reading and enjoying The Friend Zone, I'm glad I picked this up. I saw that there will be another book in this series which i will also read.

While I didn't love it QUITE as much as The Friend Zone, this sequel that stands alone is still awesome. Jiminez is able to write dialogue that sounds almost exactly like actually real people who are fun and funny talk. You want them to be your friends. The depiction of Sloan two years after losing her fiance felt realistic. I'm glad she got two years to grieve so that her new relationship felt guilt-free. She had waited long enough. Jason (aka Jaxon) the music star felt a little idealized, but he was charming and appropriately awesome. Will recommend!

I really enjoyed this novel. I read the Friend Zone first and I was invested in the character's story. And I was curious to see how the other character's plot line would turn out. This was a cute, funny and sometimes heartbreaking read. I would definitely recommend this novel.

Woo boy, Abby Jimenez writes the kind of romance I think we both want and need right now. The Happy Ever After Playlist is not only fun, smart, and sexy, but it will also break your heart while still giving you so much hope. The characters are so grounded and their hardships are so real, but the love story is still light enough especially during these crazy times. I think this book is a perfect quarantine read! It takes you on tour with Sloan and Jason as they try to juggle grief, fame, and love while being constantly tested by outside sources. If you liked Sloan is The Friend Zone then you’ll definitely want to pick up this book to see her full journey. And honestly, Jason is the cinnamon roll we all deserve! So go grab a coffee, a bunch of tiny creamers, and settle in for a great spring/summer read.

Thank you Netgalley for the early copy.
This book was so much fun to read. I enjoyed it so much. Great follow up to Friend Zone. I was quite entertained by this book. Super sweet rom com. It has all the feels.

This was my first book by Abby Jimenez and I can tell you it sure won't be my last!
The Happy Ever After Playlist follows Sloan two years after her husband was killed in an awful car accident.
Ever since that day, Sloan has been stuck in a never-ending whirlwind of pain and sorrow then on the anniversary of his death as she is on the way to the cemetery she is stopped by a large golden blur running in front of her car and then he jumps through her sunroof window right into her passenger seat.
This big ball of fluff named Tucker takes Sloan and his owner Jason on a heartwarming roller coaster ride and helps Sloan to reopen her heart!

I have always followed Abby because she is an amazing chef! Turns out she can cook up a great contemporary story too!

The characters are very well developed and Abby made the emotion come through the story perfectly!
I love Sloan and Jason's relationship and how Abby shows that the ups and downs of dating in the world of Glitz and Glam isn't always a good thing!

There is an actual Playlist with songs for every chapter that perfectly fits the theme Abby had for each part of the story!

All together I give this book a total of 5 out of 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
After Abby Jimenez sucker punched us in The Friend Zone it was a relief that Sloan gets her own book. Jimenez knows how to write quirky, witty characters with sizzling chemistry. She also deals with real issues, which I admire.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and, damn, it did not disappoint! 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 follows Sloan's journey from tragic loss to finding yourself again and more. We met Sloan in the previous book, The Friend Zone, but you don't have to have read it to dive into this one.⁣⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Right from the get go I loved the unexpected meet-cute between Sloan and Tucker. No, Tucker is not a regular boy, he's the goodest boy there ever was! He's a dog, in case that wasn't clear. lol⁣⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Thanks to Tucker we meet Jason. Jason completely stole my heart and I loved him and Sloan together from the start. This book had everything a love story needs to be a top one in my book. I won't give it away, but the highs were high and lows were so freaking sad! I cried so much when these two were going through it in the end and I was so relieved for that HEA. I had not cried like that because of a book in a VERY long time, but this book just made me feel all the things!⁣⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I highly, HIGHLY, recommend you pick this one up. You won't regret it!⁣⠀

2.5 (maybe 3?? We’ll see when I process more)

Very mixed on this one. The pacing was
good and kept me hooked, but I didn’t necessarily like the multiple time jumps, nor how it handled sexual assault (as in, never naming it as such even though it blatantly was)

I've been dying to read this book since the moment I heard about it. I've also been putting it off for several reasons, namely because I just *knew* it would make me so at some (most likely several) points, just like The Friend Zone did. Jiminez had a GIFT for weaving a story that reels you in and makes you feel as if you're living life alongside the characters. So when hard things happen to them, it's as gut-wrenching for the reader as it is for the character. It a beautiful, amazing thing.

And this story absolutely loved up to everything I had built it up to be in my head. It was at times hard and filled with its characters pain, yet deep and thoughtful, and most of all joyful and hopeful. It ended squarely on the latter with such resounding hope that I had a dopey from on my face and immediately set out to read my favorite portions again.

Absolutely cannot wait for more from Abby Jiminez. <3

I really enjoyed this contemporary romance! Sloane is afraid to love after losing her fiance in a motorcycle crash. Jason is the owner of the dog that she found and when he comes to get him, sparks fly.

A love story with a built in soundtrack and a precious dog sidekick, I was hooked fast.
Sloan and Jason didn’t move in the same circles. They had no reason to ever meet until one precocious and friendly dog lands in her lap. Literally, he lands in her lap via her sunroof. That was a great scene!
Sloan’s back story is a bit a of tear jerker. She loved someone and then lost them tragically. She’s still in mourning and not ready to re-enter the living world much less the dating world. But then she gets a sign. He’s furry and full of life but Tucker came bounding into her life at a truly important juncture in her life and he gave her a reason to be happy again. Too bad he belongs to someone else.
Touring musician Jason is that someone else. I already wanted Sloan to keep her happy so I was really hoping Jason would be reasonable and even nice to her. He’s actually super sweet. From their second conversation I knew this was going to be a fantastic story and I wasn’t disappointed.
They have the best text conversations. Honestly, I was laughing out loud and smiling like a loon. If you don’t want people giving you strange looks, don’t read this book in a public place.
I haven’t read the prequel to this book, The Friend Zone, but I think I must. I want to know more about Kristen and Josh. These are obviously good people, good friends and have a sweet romance.
This book checked off all of my romance boxes. Great chemistry (even thru the text messages), fun characters and story that had me looking forward to their first face to face meet. It was sizzling I tell you. SIZZLING!
For romance that will give you all the feels and the best kind of swooning HEA, read this book!

I think I liked this book better than Jimenez's first one. Jason and Sloan were sweet characters and I liked the two of them together. I enjoy Jimenez's books celebrate women's friendships. I think it's important for women to have close women friends, especially to build each other up.

Read this if you're looking for a cute romance read. I'll be on the lookout for more by this author.

After reading Kristen's story, I couldn't wait to start this book. Sloan's grief was realistically portrayed and heartbreaking to witness. The Tucker meet-cute was adorable and him helping her cope with her pain was perfectly done. Jason was so understanding of Sloan's issues and it made him the perfect antidote for her. I loved that his rock star life wasn't perfect. I also loved that we were shown the hardships that this life cost their relationship. Instead of living happily ever after they had to work for their happiness. This author better bring us more stories from this world. Perhaps Josh's cousin could meet Jason's assistant?

I cannot express how much I loved this book! I read the author's book that is prior to this one, The Friend Zone, and I loved it, but it ended so sad. I was glad to have the second book that compliments the first and have it end on such a high note. I would love to see another book about Lola or even Zane! The book made me laugh, sigh, and even shed a tear or two. I recommend that anyone who reads this book to listen to the songs that are listed with each chapter. It really adds to the story, and is just some really awesome music. I was glad to see several that I know and love in there that could be hidden gems for others. This was amazing, and I have been recommending it to everyone I know, blogging about it, and will go to amazon and audible to review it. Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the books in exchange for an honest review.

If you have read The Friend Zone, then you’ll love this continuation, with Sloan in the lead. Sloan is definitely worthy of her own story and her own chance at a happy ever after. Just as in The Friend Zone, Abby Jimenez puts the characters through the ringer— but it is totally worth it.
I’ve already both laughed and cried and definitely recommend keeping Kleenex near by for both. This is hands down a five star ⭐️ read for me.