Rating: Unrated | 9hrs 32 mins | Forever Romance | Contemporary | 06/11/19
The Friend Zone is one of the first in the trade illustrated cover romances (that have sparked many a conversation on Twitter) that I’ve read and wow it this book a doozy. I’m not a romance genre purist, I’m open to non-traditional takes when it comes to plot, story and structure and The Friend Zone takes some devastating turns that may be off-putting for those looking for a traditional HEA.
Kristen and Josh are preparing for their best friend’s wedding and they are instantly drawn to each other… too bad Kristen has a loving boyfriend overseas. Part of Josh’s attraction to Kristen is that she has a huge case of “not like other girls’ (She likes Quentin Tarantino, she is brash, she loves to eat and says whatever is on her mind). It may have been a bit heavy-handed but I’m all for extroverted, crude and non-traditional heroines so I liked Kristen. Josh is a more sentimental man looking to start a family, which might be an issue because Kristen has uterine fibroids that have been causing her trouble her whole life and may inhibit her ability to have the family Josh wants.
Jimenez created high stakes and big obstacles for her characters to climb. However, this is one of those books where most of the issues could be solved if the characters just TALKED TO EACH OTHER I mean could totally see why Kristen might not want to tell someone she just meant about her health issues, but her not telling Josh is what prolongs the books a few more chapters than maybe it should have.
Slight Spoilers
Yes, this book has a complicated HEA that I found kind of shocking, but I feel like with romance trying to appeal to the “mainstream” it’s okay to do something a little different. Although I do feel like this book was being a little emotionally manipulative because before the big incident happens there are all these little moments where you think something catastrophic or terrible has happened but it doesn’t until readers least expect it.
