Fall in love with this hilarious and heartwarming USA Today bestselling romantic comedy that LJ Shen calls “an absolute treat.” Kristen Peterson 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. 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.
“Your next favorite romantic comedy…The Friend Zone is that rare beach read with tons of heart that will make you laugh and cry in equal parts.” —PopSugar
“Your next rom-com to obsess and cry over.” —–Cosmopolitan
- Goodreads Choice Awards nominee – Best Romance, Best Debut
- O, The Oprah Magazine Best Romance Novels of the year
- Audie Award Finalist
- USA Today bestseller
- Bookish Best Books of the year
- SheReads Best Romances of the year
- Women’’s Health Best Romance Novels of the year
- Good Housekeeping Best New Books for Summer
- PopSugar Best Books of Summer
- Publishers Weekly Starred Review
- Booklist Starred Review
- Booklist Top 10 Romance Debuts of 2019
ing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass.
“Your next favorite romantic comedy…The Friend Zone is that rare beach read with tons of heart that will make you laugh and cry in equal parts.” —PopSugar
“Your next rom-com to obsess and cry over.” —–Cosmopolitan
- Goodreads Choice Awards nominee – Best Romance, Best Debut
- O, The Oprah Magazine Best Romance Novels of the year
- Audie Award Finalist
- USA Today bestseller
- Bookish Best Books of the year
- SheReads Best Romances of the year
- Women’’s Health Best Romance Novels of the year
- Good Housekeeping Best New Books for Summer
- PopSugar Best Books of Summer
- Publishers Weekly Starred Review
- Booklist Starred Review
- Booklist Top 10 Romance Debuts of 2019
w
- Booklist Starred Review
- Booklist Top 10 Romance Debuts of 2019
ing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass.
“Your next favorite romantic comedy…The Friend Zone is that rare beach read with tons of heart that will make you laugh and cry in equal parts.” —PopSugar
“Your next rom-com to obsess and cry over.” —–Cosmopolitan
- Goodreads Choice Awards nominee – Best Romance, Best Debut
- O, The Oprah Magazine Best Romance Novels of the year
- Audie Award Finalist
- USA Today bestseller
- Bookish Best Books of the year
- SheReads Best Romances of the year
- Women’’s Health Best Romance Novels of the year
- Good Housekeeping Best New Books for Summer
- PopSugar Best Books of Summer
- Publishers Weekly Starred Review
- Booklist Starred Review
- Booklist Top 10 Romance Debuts of 2019
ing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass.
“Your next favorite romantic comedy…The Friend Zone is that rare beach read with tons of heart that will make you laugh and cry in equal parts.” —PopSugar
“Your next rom-com to obsess and cry over.” —–Cosmopolitan
- Goodreads Choice Awards nominee – Best Romance, Best Debut
- O, The Oprah Magazine Best Romance Novels of the year
- Audie Award Finalist
- USA Today bestseller
- Bookish Best Books of the year
- SheReads Best Romances of the year
- Women’’s Health Best Romance Novels of the year
- Good Housekeeping Best New Books for Summer
- PopSugar Best Books of Summer
- Publishers Weekly Starred Review
- Booklist Starred Review
- Booklist Top 10 Romance Debuts of 2019
w
- Booklist Starred Review
- Booklist Top 10 Romance Debuts of 2019
w
- Booklist Starred Review
- Booklist Top 10 Romance Debuts of 2019
ing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass.
“Your next favorite romantic comedy…The Friend Zone is that rare beach read with tons of heart that will make you laugh and cry in equal parts.” —PopSugar
“Your next rom-com to obsess and cry over.” —–Cosmopolitan
- Goodreads Choice Awards nominee – Best Romance, Best Debut
- O, The Oprah Magazine Best Romance Novels of the year
- Audie Award Finalist
- USA Today bestseller
- Bookish Best Books of the year
- SheReads Best Romances of the year
- Women’’s Health Best Romance Novels of the year
- Good Housekeeping Best New Books for Summer
- PopSugar Best Books of Summer
- Publishers Weekly Starred Review
- Booklist Starred Review
- Booklist Top 10 Romance Debuts of 2019
w
- Booklist Starred Review
- Booklist Top 10 Romance Debuts of 2019
Housekeeping Best New Books for Summer
- PopSugar Best Books of Summer
- Publishers Weekly Starred Review
- Booklist Starred Review
- Booklist Top 10 Romance Debuts of 2019
w
- Booklist Starred Review
- Booklist Top 10 Romance Debuts of 2019
more
Abby Jimenez’s debut is absolutely everything you want in a book. Funny, sexy, and at times, heart-wrenching. It also touches upon a subject that is rarely explored in romance: infertility. The lead characters are people you would want to sit around and have a drink with, and for me, that makes the best kind of book. I cannot recommend this one strongly enough. If you haven’t read it yet, get yourself a copy!
Funny and lovable characters with a great storyline. Cannot wait to see what else this author has to offer. Definitely one to watch out for.
The Friend Zone gave me belly laughs, shook me up, and made me feel hopeful about love and the human strength of spirit. A romance for the ages!
5 Star Review of The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
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 Jimenez handled it with respect and realism.
I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
This is a great friends to lovers to frenemies to lovers to many different shades on that spectrum. I really related to the main characters and rooted for them to get it together. The book dealt with issues of infertility and what happens when one half of a couple wants kids and the other half of the couple can’t make kids. The twist at the end of the book won’t be for everyone, but I was happy that Josh and Kristen got their happy ever after.
This is what a summer read is supposed to be!
This book y’all! I was legitimately worried that it would not live up to the hype, because there is SO MUCH hype over it in Romancelandia, but now I can honestly say that it is well deserved. While I can see why The Friend Zone moved droves of readers to tears, I only experienced that sting in the eye sensation a few times but that hint of visceral emotion was well earned. The characters that Abby Jimenez created are so real – you can’t help but feel for them and that’s what makes this book such an awesome experience. Josh Copeland is officially one of the best book boyfriends ever (one of these days I’ll have to compile a Top Ten list). From his meet cute intro to Kristen (and the Reader) to the epilogue he is just everything: masculine, considerate, sexy, sweet, intelligent, thoughtful, and not plagued with hyper-masculinity. He was my favorite part of this reading experience and that’s saying a lot because The Friend Zone is truly superb from beginning to end. And now I sort of need a book about Shawn – he deserves to get bowled over (HARD) by love. 5 out of 5 wine glasses.
***4.5 Stars***
Ok…
Here’s the thing…
I Loved this book.
I did
I swear
I devoured it and all it’s ‘We are only friends because I know what’s best for you’ frustrating goodness
But…there is that ONE thing that had me going
W.T.E.L.F (yeah figure that one out)?!?
Why?!?!
Why did the author have to put me through that???
Not cool…I mean I get it…but still
*takes a deep breath and let’s it out*
But on to the review…
I couldn’t put this one down. It was funny, sweet, swoon worthy and all kinds of frustrating, but it was addicting and I couldn’t stop turning the pages to see what would happen next.
I loved Josh and Kristen. Josh is sweet, sneaky, smexy as all get and simply a good man.
Kristen has moxie. She doesn’t mince her words, in fact saying she has no edit button is pretty apt. But she has a unique wit and a huge heart that helped to make some of her rougher edges smooth out.
To say their journey to their HEA was frustrating is an understatement, I still enjoyed it, but man the conversations they had with themselves in their heads and the belief that one could know what was best for another without talking to them tried me. But even as frustrating as their situation was, I still loved them together. They got each other and, with an exception or two ~ mostly because they had no knowledge of it ~ they just got each other. The flow was there. The chemistry was there and I loved how much they enjoyed simply being together. There are a lot of landmines in this one, and one was huge, but I really liked where the ended up.
This was a fun read, with one exception, but overall a fun one. The writing was engaging and I ended up loving the characters ~ especially Stuntman Mike. As for that one exception ~ it’s been almost a week since I read the book (My vacation was ending and I came back to #workhell and my brain just couldn’t do anything but get my #worklife straightened out) and I’m still in limbo about it. I get it, it’s all about realism/life happens kinda thing, but part of me thinks it was a bit much ~ but that is simply my opinion and I’d still recommend this one when everything was said and done.
~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~
4.25 stars. I agree with most of the early reviews I’ve read about this book. It is hilarious. The characters are fantastic. The story is compelling and well-executed. And it does pack an emotional wallop. As such, I cannot agree that it’s the “perfect beach read” because ugly crying in public and causing streaks in my SPF 50 is not my idea of a good time. The book is worth a read, but I’d recommend waiting for a rainy day.
Kristen’s sarcasm and orneriness drew me in immediately because I appreciate a romance heroine who isn’t always smiley and sweet like a cartoon princess. Josh is clever, devoted, and funny. His Midwest nature stood in clear relief against his new California life. Sometimes I worried he was a little too introspective for a 20-something guy, and focused a little too much on “why is this my fault.”
Extra kudos to Jimenez for getting the details right – medical details, firehouse life details, Los Angeles details, etc. It never once felt incomplete and it all added texture and immediacy to the story.
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 voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
Sometimes you come across a book that seems to embody everything you could want – it had best friends, friends to lovers, humor, heartbreak and it brought me to tears more than once. This highly anticipated debut novel from Abby Jimenez was as good as I had been hearing that it was.
Kristen is a twenty-four year old woman who has started her own business, is enduring a two-year long distance relationship with her boyfriend who is in the military and she’s helping to plan her best friend’s upcoming wedding. She’s feisty, strong, funny and is unfortunately facing a life changing surgery that will make her unable to bear children.
Josh has just moved to town after breaking off a long-term relationship with his girlfriend. He’s a firefighter and is thrilled to be working with his best friend at the firehouse even though the job isn’t the most fun one he’s ever had. Josh is smart, funny, kind, handsome and who doesn’t want that in a guy?
Kristen and Josh unknowingly meet one another in a fender bender before being properly introduced by their best friends where they realize that they are the maid of honor and best man in the upcoming wedding and will be spending a lot of time together. When Kristen talks about needing a carpenter to build the doggy stairs for her business, Josh’s carpentry skills quickly become an asset to her meaning they end up spending quite a bit of time together.
The chemistry between Kristen and Josh is evident from the outset. Josh knows he can’t act on it since Kristen has a boyfriend, but Kristen in turn knows she’s in trouble because of how drawn to Josh she is. Can these two manage to keep things in the friend zone?
There was so much emotion in this book, both happy and sad. It was about friendships, forgiveness, not taking things for granted and also how not everything is black and white. I laughed, I cried, and I felt deeply. The realness in this book really got to me as well. Infertility is such an issue in our world today and I felt like Jimenez portrayed it in such a realistic way and brought attention to it, giving some a look at it that they may not have otherwise had. I highly recommend picking up this wonderful read!
5 stars isn’t enough for this laugh out loud, beautifully honest, and sometimes heartbreaking novel. This book consumed me in the best way possible right from the start and I’m confident it will be one of my favorite reads ever. The Friend Zone was one of my most anticipated reads of 2019 and it was more captivating and moving than I ever could have imagined. It’s hard to believe that this is Abby Jimenez’s debut novel!
I absolutely loved Josh and Kristen! They were both such perfectly imperfect people. Their struggles (individually and together) were so relatable and honest. They had the best witty banter and their playful barbs were so much fun. I loved how they each gave as good as they got. Things start off on the wrong foot for them, but as they spend more time together, that spark they felt ignites and they recognize that their attraction is more than just physical. They truly see the other and that feeling of being known is so powerful. The build up between these two was delicious and their chemistry was off the charts. I felt all the longing and every stolen moment between them. It was all worth the wait though because when things come to a head, they aren’t just hot, they’re nuclear!
Without a doubt, Josh is a shoo-in for my book boyfriend hall of fame. He was everything I love in a hero – loving, considerate, loyal, understanding, funny, protective, intelligent, and an all around good guy. His thoughtfulness and unwavering patience only made him more endearing. Kristen was a fantastically complex heroine. I loved her blunt honesty and take no prisoners sarcasm, even though she mainly used it as armor to protect herself. She was fiercely loyal and cared so deeply and wholly for those that she loved. Her friendship with Sloan was unparalleled and I loved how they complemented each other so well. Yes, Kristen did frustrate me at times with the push and pull with Josh, but given her history and mindset, it made so much sense. One of the things I appreciated most about this book, is that the story was as much a love story between Kristen and Josh, as it was between Kristen and herself.
The author’s sense of humor really shines and there are some truly hilarious moments and dialogue that had me cackling like a mad woman. (I’m looking at you Shawn! LOL ) The humor balanced the poignant and heartwrenching scenes so well and readers will definitely want to have some tissues handy for the last quarter or so of the book. Through the tears though, there is also a wonderful message of hope and unwavering love. I don’t think I will ever be able to adequately express how much I loved this book. It resonated and touched me in a way that few books have. It was like the author opened my chest and held my heart in her hands. I felt every emotion while reading this one. Jimenez tackled infertility in such a compassionate and truthful way. It was gut wrenching and painful, but to those that have had their lives touched in this way or are a part of this club that no one ever wants membership to, it’s also unflinchingly honest. Kristen’s feelings of worthlessness and not being good enough will sadly hit home for many, but that’s what makes this book so compelling. I highly recommend reading the author’s note at the end as well since it gives greater insight into the story and characters. The epilogue brought everything together so wonderfully and I’m eagerly awaiting the next book, which features one of the beloved secondary characters who is sorely in need of their own happily ever after. Truly an incredible book and one that will stay with me.
*I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book*
LOVE LOVE LOVE it <3 josh&kristen
Oh my god, I love this book!
The banter between the two romantic interests was witty and full of sexual chemistry. Jimenez does an amazing job of mixing highly emotional topics with humor and romance.
The characters were complex and relatable AND I was FULLY invested in their relationship from the get-go.
I read this series backwards and actually glad I did. I loved learning the backstory of Sloan, Brandon, Joan and Kristen. I hope there’s another book or 10 in this series!
Really loved this book. Such a refreshing twist on the genre and so good to see real-life issues incorporated into a romance novel. While the characters were at times frustrating and I wanted to throttle them, that’s the whole point, because that’s real life, that’s how we act from time to time. Josh was outright freaking adorable and loved that he never gave up on Kristen. And I for one thought the ending was perfect…and realistic.
~ Claire
This book is about Kristen & Josh. The two meet through mutual friends (they are both to be officiants in Brandon & Sloan’s wedding). Kristen owns a dog clothing business that also sells pet steps (So dogs can climb up on beds) Kristen hires Josh to build the stairs for her. They set a lot of time together & eventually became more than friends.
Loved the build up to Kristen & Josh’s story. They enjoyed each other’s company & they had amazing rapport. The underlying theme to the book was that Kristen struggled with infertility. This really struck a cord with me as I also suffered. I haven’t come across a lot of books that battle this topic as it is a bit rough. But Abby Jimenez did a wonderful job writing about it.
Erin & Teddy really delivered in both of their performances! The book had a lot of emotions, both high & low and the both delivered them amazingly.
I loved the characters in this book a lot. Was a quick and simple easy read. I laughed a lot.
Great story. Get the tissues ready! You’ll laugh and cry.
I had really neither high nor low expectations about this book. I was going for a rom-com and a rom-com it is.
I enjoyed most of the book. The story is nice and I really like the journey Kristen faces. But I didn’t particularly love the characters. I mean they were nice, but there were things that I just didn’t like. I like that she doesn’t beat around the bushes and is not afraid or embarrassed to say what she thinks. However, I did like Josh more than Kristen. There were minor things I didn’t enjoy about him, but, mostly I liked him.
But the big issue for me was that the problem between them was dragged for too long. It was tiring.
Still, is a nice, fun, light rom-com that I’m sure people will enjoy!