The Friend Zone

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.

“I'd found my person.She was the foundation. She was the thing that all other things are built on. Everything was secondary to being with her. It didn't matter where I worked or if I liked my job, where I lived or how many kids I had. My happiness, my sanity, my well-being – it all started with her. And now that I knew that, I didn't want to just be her boyfriend – I wanted everything.”

On top of Kristen and Josh being special snowflakes and not like other peers of their gender as way to explain what's so great about them, their relationship moved too fast. They went from having a scuffle about the accident to supposedly being best buds because of so many convenient plot devices. Their interactions are always superficial at best but somehow we're supposed to believe they would die for each other in a matter of weeks? And how convenient that Tyler broke up with her in a voice message even though he didn't actually do it? He said he reenlisted and she said in the past that's a no go for her but they didn't actually have a conversation to discuss it and make things clear. And this whole time she was emotionally cheating on Tyler until the point of even ignoring his calls to hang out with Josh. In what world this constitutes being loyal?

Then what she does next is despicable. She's hot, then cold with Josh. Pushing and pulling, jerking him around without any explanation. I'm not a fan of Josh but it's not ok how she treated him. He basically used him because she was attracted to him while refusing to acknowledge how he feels when she keeps rejecting him, then reeling him in, then it's off again. Sadist move. If it were a guy doing this to a woman y'all be up in arms about what a douchebag he is.

No matter how hard it was for her to talk about it, she should have told him from the begining that she thinks she can't have kids. It's not up for debate. You don't hold critical information from someone you're involved with if it concerns them, even if it's just a hook-up.

Another thing that was absolutely icky was when Brandon got into the accident and died they still made it about them. I could not have it in my heart to be cheesy and spew declarations of love when my best friend is in the hospital between life or death. And then they got married when his body was barely cold.

The cherry on top, Kristen, who's womb was supposedly distended from the fibroids, who bled non-stop got miraculously pregnant and carries it full-term? What a slap in the face to all the women out there who have infertility issues. I have a friend who has one fibroid, 7 cm, and she's had 4 miscarriages because of it. Yes, miracles do happen, it's not the norm. This book is an F-u to so many women out there who will never be biological mothers because they either can't or they chose not to have kids.