The Friend Zone

On page two of this book I thought to myself, “Oh no. I think this book is going to be terrible.” And shew, I was right. But due to near pathological need to finish a book once I've started, I continued. I don't think I've hated a book more in the last 6 months. I was infuriated every single time the main character was referred to as a ‘cool' girl- you know one-of-the-guys cool girls but it's only acceptable by bros because she's just so hot. Did we really have to hear about how hot everyone in this book is on every single page? Every single character (even the ones NOT in the romance) were described like swimsuit models and sometimes even described AS models. It was just so so shallow. There is a lot of laughing at each other's “jokes” in this book, which is ironic because literally nothing any character says in this novel is remotely funny- especially the dog's clothes. THEY WERE NEVER CUTE/WITTY. And the ending! UGH. I really just cannot deal with this book.

This book is wonderful, with great tension, plenty of steam, and an undercurrent of more serious issues that pave the way for the subsequent book. I didn't love two elements of the book - how Kristen is a “guy's girl” (can we just agree that women have diverse interests and preferences just like a man?) and the “surprise” ending that felt implausible and perhaps triggering for women facing infertility.