I was provided a preview of the book through NetGalley. The book is a clear follow-up to Jimenez’s debut novel “The Friend Zone.” All of the primary characters are back (Kristen, Josh, Stuntman Mike), but the story shifts focus on Sloan. Where she was a reliable supporting character there, she becomes a strong lead here, discovering her path forward after a life altering event. In an attempt not to spoil the preceding book, she’s in a bad place when the book opens. Yet, Jimenez deftly navigates Sloan’s dark place into the light of a potentially fun romance when a series of events lead her to meet the adorable Tucker, a dog that is quite lovable, and his handsome owner Jason. It's got enough of a hook to make you want to see where everyone will go.

I read The Friend Zone in one night and was plugging along, thinking it was like so many other books in this genre. Well, I was so wrong, and the shake up in that story sets the stage for The Happily Ever After Playlist. The author strategically sets up this sequel in The Friend Zone by having the epilogue fast forward two years, which is where The Happily Ever After Playlist picks up. I jumped right into the first chapter in this preview, enjoyed the banter between the main characters, and the direction the story is headed. Though I imagine some of the story will follow some tried and true formulas, I also expect Jimenez to throw in a curveball, keeping the reader on their toes. Can’t wait to read the whole book

I was SO blessed to be able to borrow Happy Ever After Playlist from a great friend who scored this amazing book before the release date. ⁣
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I LOVED this book so much.💕⁣
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Not going to lie, any time someone has a dog as the main character, a retriever at that, I’m in! 🐶🐾⁣
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If you haven’t read the Friend Zone, you might not want to jump ahead. ⁣
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Sloan has been mourning for 2 years and it’s finally time she gets back to being herself. That’s when a lovely pup leaps into her life, which brings a long a handsome, single musician as his owner and her world is flipped upside all over again.⁣
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The text and phone calls long distance between these two had my cracking up. My goodness was Jason a catch! Romantic, attentive, a musician, rugged, patient man.💕⁣
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Sloan and Kristens relationship is #bestierelationshipgoals.⁣
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I loved everything about this book. 5 ⭐️

Not my cup of tea, it’s not necessarily my genre but I also didn’t enjoy the characters or the plot. Just didn’t do it for me. I’m willing to try other books by this author, maybe they will resonate more!

*Received an ARC for a honest review* This was such a good book. One of my favorites for 2020. I LOVED the hero and the heroine. It was such a beautiful love story. It was so sweet how he loved her and took care of her. It was a bit of instalove but it felt more like a “meant to be” thing not a cheap, quick, wham bam. Awesome. Jason and Sloan...two of my favorites! Highly recommend.

Please note: I was able to borrow a completed ARC of this book from my friend Shannon (@workreadsleeprepeat on Instagram) so this review is for the full book, not just the Extended Preview.

Rating: 5/5⭐️⁣
Rationale: Abby Jimenez consistently knocks it out of the park with her characters and stories. After loving The Friend Zone last summer, this book was a highly anticipated 2020 release for me and it didn’t disappoint.
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𝗪𝐡𝐨 𝐈’𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐨: Romance-lovers who can appreciate: playful banter, midwestern gentlemen, complicated grief, and a good dose of Hollywood drama.
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝: Jason. First of all, sir, who gave you THE RIGHT to be sweet, understanding, witty, attractive, and musically talented. BRB while I fly myself out to the midwest in search of some of his relatives.

The banter in this one was 💯right off the bat, and I loved Jason and Sloan’s playfulness. This story hits you in the feels because of how emotional the premise is, but it will also make you cackle out loud.

For fans of Kristen, you definitely get hints of her spicy, no-filter antics throughout the story. You’ll also gain a new level of love for her as you get a deeper look at Kristen and Sloan’s friendship. She supports Sloan through good times and bad: picking her up during down times when she needs a hug, but also giving her a loving reality check when she really needs a kick in the ass.

I loved the major theme of timing: even if you find your *person* sometimes timing and life has a way of throwing a wrench in your plans. Sloan’s growth throughout the book (especially since the prequel The Friend Zone) is so realistic due to her messy, ever-changing, complicated grief. It was empowering to witness her character become comfortable with herself so that she didn’t become all-consumed by another person.

Additional kudos to Abby for the Author’s Note/Acknowledgements at the end. Don’t skip them.
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞: The drama in the latter half of the book was a little far-fetched in terms of character arcs, but I’ll allow it because the rest of the book was so damn on-point.

What a tease I loved this!! If you haven’t read the book before this do it!! You won’t regret it! I’m so thankful that I just got approved to read the whole book!!

THE HAPPY EVER AFTER PLAYLIST (EXTENDED PREVIEW) by Abby Jimenez was fantastic. For fans of The Friend Zone, this novel is going to be a must read. I instantly went out an preordered the book so I guess that’s the point of a preview. It’s capturing the recovery, romance, and humor that a good romantic comedy should have. Cannot wait to see what happens with Sloan and Jason! Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Abby Jimenez has done it again! Happily ever after playlist is both funny and witty. Kristen is easy to relate too as she learns too find herself after a tragedy in her life. I kept staring at the pages I had left to read of my extended preview hoping and praying it would magically go from page 187 to the last page of the full book. I am pre-ordering this book NOW!

We met Sloan in The Friend Zone (a book I loved and hated). Regardless, I thought Abby Jimenez was an uber talented writer so I was always going to read this sequel.

I was really angry about Brandon before, but now I'm here and I've met Jason, I'm really excited to keep going with this one. Oh please publisher grant me the rest of the arc for review (praying hands emoji)!!

I'm kicking myself that I even requested this, because I'm desperate for more right now, I could see myself curled up reading this for the whole day.

It's a romance, it's currently full of long distance communication between two people who have never met, need I say more?!

(Thank you Netgalley fro kindly providing this ARC excerpt).

I absolutely LOVED The Friend Zone and have been eagerly awaiting the release of this book. This preview has me hooked already and I can’t wait to finish it!

Abby is an amazing author. She is very witty and makes her characters so relatable. I can’t wait to see more from her!

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read a preview of The Happily Ever After Playlist. I read Jimenez’s last book but was unsure whether I would like this one based on the synopsis. I am happy to report than I enjoyed the beginning of the book and was quickly engaged by the writing and fun banter between Jason and Sloan. I am hooked and absolutely want to read the rest of the story!

I knew it would be a mistake to read this preview, the wait for the full book is now so painful! This preview shows us the meeting of Sloan and Tucker, a lost dog. Tucker's owner, Jason, is out of town, and we see an instant chemistry between Sloan and Jason, as they communicate via text and phone exchanges. Meanwhile Sloan is struggling with grief and depression and a feeling guilty about finding Jason attractive. The author doesn't shy away from those hard topics, even in this short preview. I'm very anxious to see how it all unfolds!

Love this first look at The Happy Ever After Playlist! I can’t wait to read the rest of the book when it’s released!

Such a good preview to this book! I cannot wait to read it #. I anticipate irk be just as great as her first book! I'm glad it's a follow up because I wanted to see what happens with Sloan.

Ok this is hands down a FIVE STAR review of this book .. and it was only a preview!
I can't wait to get my hands on this book on April 14.
I was instantly falling in love with the "new" people in Sloan's life and can't get enough of friendship she has with Kristen.
Is it April yet???

I am loving this preview! Sloan and Tucker have such chemistry. I just want to read more. I love Abby JImenez, I have been a fan of hers for a long time. I cannot wait to get my hands on this one to read. I am a huge fan of her writing style and it looks as though nothing has changed. It is still amazing. I had a chance to review The Friend Zone when it came out in 2019 and I will keep my fingers crossed so that I can get a copy of this to read and review as well!

Kristen and Sloan’s friendship is lovely to revisit. While this extended preview gave me some initial banter between Jason and Sloan, I didn’t feel the sizzle in their repartee that made me enjoy Josh and Kristen so much. As with most books this is exposition-heavy in the front and the weight of Sloan’s grief falls a bit flat for me seeing as it’s being told rather than shown. I find it hard to rate a partial book but based on what this preview gave, I would expect this to be a four-star read for me!

Holy crap! Let’s just say that after I contemplated to reading The Happily Ever After Playlist I finally gave in! I still don’t know why the heck I did that for! I lost the battle and somehow I don’t know how I will recover!

From just the five chapters that I read I know that I will definitely love it! I fell in love with Abby’s words the first time, but with Tucker and me being such a huge dog lover, this one has me hooked so much more!

I can’t wait for release day! I tried to request a copy of an ARC for my blog, but unfortunately I never received a response.

I hope to see Abby in LA once again! I drove 4 hours each way the last time and I’d gladly do it again!!

With only a few pages, it´s impossible to give an opinion or make a review, but I have to say that the chapters I´ve read are really interesting. Definitely I need more of Sloan and Jason. This preview isn´t enough for me. I need to know what will happen when these two finally meet each other. I really love the kind of flirting they have. The dialogues they exchange are sooo witty! Looking forward to april to read the end of the story.