Everyone thinks they have a novel in them. But most debuts are nowhere near as impactful as The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez (June 11; Forever Romance).
In a friends-to-lovers story about a 24-year-old woman, Jimenez tackles infertility, killer periods and fibroids and what they mean at that stage of life. Kristen has a successful dog accessories business, a long-term boyfriend who’s gone more than he’s around (deployed again and again) and she’s built a life that assumes kids will never be part of the picture. And that’s the backdrop against which she meets Josh, the fireman who’ll be best man at her best friend’s wedding. Not so coincidentally, he comes from and wants a baseball team’s worth of kids.
Of course, how many kids Josh wants really wouldn’t mean anything, if something didn’t develop between them. Early on, I didn’t agree with it. I mentioned Kristen has a boyfriend, RIGHT? But it becomes clear that the boyfriend’s deployment just fits into the life she’s built, not that they’re really right for each other.
Told in dual POV, some readers will be yelling, “Just talk to each other, fools!!” It’s easy to say in a book, but it’s another thing in real life. And maybe that’s why it connected with me.
The Friend Zone is good at masking its complexity and its vulnerability behind a brash, fun exterior, so the reveals are extra affecting. It’ll sneak up on you as it explores the dichotomy of womanhood — if you have a uterus, you’re assumed to be able to have and want kids, but what if you (probably) can’t/won’t? If you know that in your mid-to-late 20s, how does it affect the romantic relationships you pursue?
I loved The Friend Zone’s bravery. Be prepared to laugh, cry and be gut punched. You’ll stay up late reading it and want to talk to everyone about it.
The Friend Zone is funny, sexy and honest. It’s a debut you won’t soon forget. Kristen may not be so good all the time at real talk, but somehow, The Friend Zone is.
4 stars
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P.S. So why isn’t this 5 stars? Something happens late in the game that let me down as a reader. I still loved it. Kinda like in real life, you may not love all of someone’s choices, but you still love them.