Author: Abby Jimenez.

Length: 401 pages.

(Second book in The Friend Zone series)

“I told you Sloan. I’d notice you in a crowd of a million.”

Goodreads Synopsis

From the USA Today bestselling author of The Friend Zonecomes an adorable and fresh romantic comedy about one trouble-making dog who brings together two perfect strangers.

Two years after losing her fiancé, Sloan Monroe still can’t seem to get her life back on track. But one trouble-making pup with a “take me home” look in his eyes is about to change everything. With her new pet by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker’s owner reaches out. He’s a musician on tour in Australia. And bottom line: He wants Tucker back.

Well, Sloan’s not about to give up her dog without a fight. But what if this Jason guy really loves Tucker? As their flirty texts turn into long calls, Sloan can’t deny a connection. Jason is hot and nice and funny. There’s no telling what could happen when they meet in person. The question is: With his music career on the rise, how long will Jason really stick around? And is it possible for Sloan to survive another heartbreak?

My Thoughts

Oh. My. God. (in Janice’s voice).

I cannot begin to explain how much I love this book. For those that don’t know, this is the second book in a series. It can be read as a standalone, but I don’t recommend it. You should definitely read The Friend Zone first.

** Spoilers ahead… **

I am aware that a lot of people didn’t enjoy The Friend Zone very much, but I won’t address that here (considering that this is not the book we’re talking about). I really liked The Friend Zone and I’ve been dying to read Sloan’s story for a long time. Also, for those of you that don’t know, The Happy Ever After Playlist is actually the very first novel that this author wrote, but they chose to release it second due to the timeline of the stories. I think this was a very smart choice because the plot twist in the first book is unbelievable.

I must admit that I was a little worried about this story. I feel what I read. I cry, I laugh and I hurt when I read a story. This book hurt… In the best way possible.

The story begins two years after the events from The Friend Zone and Sloan still hasn’t been able to move on from Brandon’s death. The grief that this character feels is real. The author did a beautiful and amazing job at explaining how truly difficult it is to move on after losing someone so close to you in a very unexpected and traumatizing way.

In spite of the situation, the book starts off in a very fun way that definitely grabbed my attention. Similarly, the way that Jason and Sloan met and built the foundations of their relationship is adorable and smart. As the book moves on, things get incredibly more difficult and we see how our characters try to balance their reality with their dreams.

In my opinion, one of the most important things in this book is how Sloan learned to be happy again, and I LOVED how it was done. In most books that deal with these kind of topics, the authors make sure to tell us again and again that the character’s happiness doesn’t depend on their love interest and that they would’ve moved on regardless of whether they met or not and bla bla bla. We all know that is a big fat lie. There is no way that someone that has been depressed for two years and falls in love will suddenly be ok if that relationship were to end. But that is not what happens in this book.

Sloan and Jason face many more challenges than what I thought could fit in a book. And, most importantly, Sloan does learn to be happy on her own. She rediscovers herself and learns to live her life without Brandon. By the end of the book, we know that she really is ok and things can get better.

And let’s not forget about Jason!!! I love Jason. I think he’s amazing and patient and loving and thoughtful and so so so selfless. Whenever I started to think that he was ignoring Sloan and how she felt, he surprised me by doing what was best for her. He always does what’s best for her and I live for that.

Lastly, it’s important to read the author’s note at the end of the book because there is a lot of information on the inspiration for this book and why the author wrote it (don’t skip it!!!!).

This was an amazing novel. I loved it.