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The Happy Ever After Playlist

(The Friend Zone #2)

Abby Jimenez (Goodreads Author)

4.16 · Rating details · 58,872 ratings · 7,495 reviews

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. ...more

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ebook, 401 pages

Published April 14th 2020 by Forever

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Start your review of The Happy Ever After Playlist (The Friend Zone, #2)

Feb 10, 2020 Abby Jimenez added it · (Review from the author)

Hello readers!

This book is very close to my heart. The Happy Ever After Playlist was actually the first book I ever wrote and the book that got me my literary agent. While we were shopping it to publishers, I had the idea to go back in time and write The Friend Zone so we could live through the events that made Sloan who she is in her story. Since The Friend Zone came first on the timeline, we led with that as my debut novel.

Obviously because Sloan's book was already written, certain *ahem* TH Hello readers!

This book is very close to my heart. The Happy Ever After Playlist was actually the first book I ever wrote and the book that got me my literary agent. While we were shopping it to publishers, I had the idea to go back in time and write The Friend Zone so we could live through the events that made Sloan who she is in her story. Since The Friend Zone came first on the timeline, we led with that as my debut novel.

Obviously because Sloan's book was already written, certain *ahem* THINGS in The Friend Zone had to happen—because they already did. They happened before I ever wrote one word of Kristen and Josh's love story. The *big thing* in The Friend Zone wasn't done to facilitate Kristen and Josh's HEA or to add drama. It was done because doing it was the whole purpose of writing The Friend Zone in the first place.

On the chance that you're here reading this and you somehow haven't read The Friend Zone or the blurb on this book, I'll sidestep the actual spoiler. Then I'll tell you to stop what you're doing and go read The Friend Zone before you touch this one. Both books are standalone novels, but The Friend Zone will give The Happy Ever After Playlist so much more depth.

Sloan's grief will feel authentic—because it is. I wrote The Happy Ever After Playlist after watching a very close friend struggle following the sudden death of her husband. It wasn't until a beta reader told me I did a good job with the complicated grief that I realized what I'd written had a name. It was based on my own observations and attempts to help a friend trapped in a cycle of sadness that she couldn't seem to escape from. I encourage you to read the Author's Note at the end. Actually, I encourage you to read the Author's Note at the end of The Friend Zone too. Both books are based loosely on real events. The infertility struggle in The Friend Zone is, from start to finish, my best friend's real life experience with severe uterine fibroids.

One more quick note. The songs at the start of each chapter were meticulously selected for tone, title, and lyrics. Listening to them before each chapter really enhances the reading experience. There's a Spotify and Apple Music playlist for the book for easy listening.

I hope you love this read! It's been a long time coming and I can't wait to share Jason and Sloan with the world. ...more

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Jul 13, 2020 emma rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 3-and-a-half-stars, recommend, romance, reviewed, non-ya

This was SO DRAMATIC but I’d be lying if i didn’t say i got heart-squishy feelings.

Like, first half: four stars. Normal rom com. Pretty good stuff.

Second half: The kind of scandal and constant ups and downs that I have longed for since my days of reading fan fiction in which the slightly older tour costume designer who is definitely just a self insert for the author falls for Justin Bieber. (Yes I am thinking of a specific one and please for the love of god sound off in the comments if you remem ...more

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May 04, 2020 jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

this book is proof that authors deserve a second chance. after the problematic fiasco that was ‘the friend zone,’ i was hesitant to give this a shot, but i am surprisingly relieved that i enjoyed this.

the first part is an absolute delight. the adorableness of how sloan and jason meet, how they interact and get to know each other, and how they eventually fall for one another is just too sweet. but then the story takes a turn as jason goes on tour and then it becomes like every other romance stor ...more

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Apr 02, 2020 Angelica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, release-2020, arc, contemporary, read-2020

Guys!! Read this book!! It's so cute! I thought my face was going to cramp up from all the smiling!!!

I went into this book completely blind. I didn't see any early reviews, I didn't even read the synopsis. I saw the cover and I went with it.

And I am so glad that I did because I lowkey fell in love with it.

For the first half of the book, I was convinced that it was going to be a full 5-star read. It's still pretty close to five stars, but not quite, and I'll explain why later.

The first half of ...more

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Mar 12, 2020 Nilufer Ozmekik rated it really liked it

I’m so happy right now because I have to admit, I have so many second thoughts before requesting this book to review!

I can hear you ask me:” Why the hell you requested and stole other romance lovers’ chances, you…” Okay, don’t fill the blanks and I hope you didn’t get angry to me. But I have a good reason: This is the second book of Abby Jimenez and I had so much trouble to like the first one. I didn’t any problem about the witty, sarcastic writing but also angtsy, heart-wrenching story progress ...more

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Apr 25, 2020 Kaceey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: buddy-read, top-reads-for-2020, audio, libro-fm, favorites

All the stars! Or should I say hearts!
💖💖💖💖💖

When Abby Jimenez released her previous novel The Friend Zone, I opted for the audio version. It became the first audio that I really enjoyed. Let me re-phrase that…I loved it! A solid five-star experience that left me anxious to pick up Ms. Jimenez’s follow up The Happy Ever After Playlist. I had high hopes I’d have the same thrilling experience. And boy did I. Didn’t think it was possible but occasionally lightning does strike twice, and I have to say ...more

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Mar 14, 2020 Jayme rated it it was amazing

Shelves: women-s-fiction, rom_com

I know!

Abby Jimenez really made some of you angry with the direction that Sloane’s life took, when we met her as Kristen’s best friend, in book #1 “The Friend Zone”. (Another 5 ⭐️book for me)

And even though, she promised to “make things right” in this book...you just could NOT imagine how she could!!

Well, let me tell you...she found the PERFECT way...and his name is Tucker. 🐶
Oh, and Tucker’s dog daddy, Jason isn’t bad either.
Even if he is a “soon to be famous” rock star!

Will he be “the one” ...more

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May 10, 2020 Sian rated it it was ok

Originally I was going to give this a full 3 stars. On further deliberation, I’ve decided it was really a 2 or a 2.5. While the execution and writing style is there, I couldn’t let go of some of the toxic tropes in this book. As the twitter saying goes, it’s not the inclusion of problematic tropes that’s an issue, it’s the exclusion of illustrating that those tropes are wrong.

Of course there’s the little things that annoyed me. Like the fact that Jason’s stage name is Jaxon Waters. It’s like aut Originally I was going to give this a full 3 stars. On further deliberation, I’ve decided it was really a 2 or a 2.5. While the execution and writing style is there, I couldn’t let go of some of the toxic tropes in this book. As the twitter saying goes, it’s not the inclusion of problematic tropes that’s an issue, it’s the exclusion of illustrating that those tropes are wrong.

Of course there’s the little things that annoyed me. Like the fact that Jason’s stage name is Jaxon Waters. It’s like authors don’t understand that stage names don’t have to have some hidden meaning or have to sound outlandish. I’m not saying no to a stage name - I’m saying just not one that sounds like the kind of name a 14 year old fan fiction writer on wattpad would create as a name for her grimey, emo rockstar love interest in the early 2010’s. Also, setting book in LA? I’m over it. It’s old.

New paragraph for this particular little gripe: the hunting. The main character Jason hunts wild animals with his family in yee old Minnesota and Sloane thinks that’s hot?? And Jason was such a boring, classic manly-man with his camping, and muscles and love of the wilderness. These characters (with maybe the exception of Kristen) were so vanilla it made me cry. They all fell into these neat little, stereotypical boxes that make them sound like they’re from the 1950’s. I mean, the women cooking while the men do all the handiwork and go shoot stuff? What year year is this? What kind of country is America? Killing animals for the joy of the hunt in a time period where you can buy from the store is not attractive and never will be.

I liked the way grief was expressed in this book. I appreciated it even more after reading the authors note at the end describing how this book was written in an attempt to help a friend who was in the same position as the main characters. There were also some moments of real joy that were sweet and some of the jokes made me laugh.

My main problem with this story was the lying and miscommunication tropes which are, like the LA thing, also getting incredibly fucking old.

Jason and Sloane we’re constantly back and forth and back and forth. Their relationship was almost never stable. When they fought it was because Jason was lying to her or because Sloane was sacrificing her whole life to be with him and he was giving up nothing in return. They had almost no balance. The kind of gut wrenchingly annoying miscommunication is exactly what I’d expect from an author who writes insta love into a book despite this being 2020. No shit - Jason’s world was crushed when Sloane said they should break up when they’d only been together for A WEEK. Jason was full of unnecessary dramatics.

The codependency was ripe in this book too. Neither of them could survive without being constantly tied to the hip like the prophecy from Harry Potter (it was a “neither can live while the other survives” kind of emotional attachment). If this was one of my friends, I could not express to you how concerned I would be for them. That’s not healthy in the slightest. There was a grace period at the end during Jason and Sloane’s three month breakup (which was because Jason lies to her about cheating on her to irreparably break her heart and let her have a better, non-groupie life - which was unbelievably shitty of him) where Sloane was relatively happy, independent and healthy... and then Jason came back and professed his love for her on stage at his concert and then BAM they’re married with kids. I really thought they were gonna stay separated and finally have their own lives but nope that was too much to ask.

Lola’s redemption arc didn’t sit well with me. It could’ve been a great way to show how women are mistreated in the media and by their companies but she did still grope Jason in public and show up at his house without underwear with no true consequences for those actions. Being a drug addict doesn’t excuse that. Usually I’m the forgiving type when it comes to these kinds of stories about women but she caused so much relationship damage which made the book even longer than it needed to be which pissed me off.

We need to stop glorifying and praising books that encourage these kinds of tropes. It’s not a good example for younger readers and it’s not great for adult readers either.

Not only are rockstar books not for me, but neither is Adult Romance to be honest. I thought I could learn to love them, but apparently not.

My last criticism is this - for a book marketed about a women who finds a dog, there was definitely not enough dog.

...more

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Apr 01, 2020 Christy rated it really liked it

4.25 stars

photo EC8C2CB9-E862-4B87-AC4C-8986EC2D8EF8_zpsccbhacxh.png

You can’t control the bad things that happen to you. All you can do is decide how much of you you’re going to let them take.

Last year I read Abby Jimenez's debut novel 'The Friend Zone' and I was blown away. When I saw she had a new book coming out, I jumped on it. The Happy Ever After Playlist can be read as a complete stand alone, but if you've read 'The Friend Zone', you'll recognize the heroine, Sloan. Sloan is Kristen's best friend and suffered a tragic loss. Her fiancé, Brandon passed away, and Sloan hasn't been herself since.

Sloan has been living half a life since Brandon died, and it takes a stray dog named Tucker to bring her back to herself. When she finally gets a hold of Tucker's owner, she doesn't want to give him back. After spending some time talking with Jason, she realizes he's a good doggy dad and they plan to meet up when he gets back in town.

Jason and Sloan haven't met, but they become close by their constant phone calls and texts. For the first time in a long time, Sloan feel something for someone. I loved watching Sloan come back to herself. She suffered an unthinkable loss and naturally it took her time to move on. Jason was perfect for her in so many ways.

This book started off so strong for me. The first half, I couldn't keep the smile off my face. It was truly perfect. The last half had a lot of great parts, but there were some things that I sadly didn't love and tampered my enjoyment of the book. Still, I highly recommend this because there was so much good about this story. I really did love so much of it! Jason and his family were amazing. He was just the kind of man Sloan needed. I also loved Sloan and really loved seeing how much of Kristen and Josh we got in this story!

The Happy Ever After Playlist is a fun, feel good romance with a bit of an emotional punch. It's heartfelt, swoony, and I loved it! Jason is the most lovable type of hero and I recommend this to all my fellow romance lovers!

“I want everything with you.”
...more

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Jan 04, 2020 Larry H rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: arc

It's been nearly two years since Sloan's fiancé was killed and she has spent the whole time grieving, a shell of her vivacious, creative former self. She hasn't cooked, she hasn't painted creatively, and she barely sees anyone, including her best friends, Kristen and Josh. But she can't fathom moving on with her life since the moment it changed so drastically.

One day, on her way to visit Brandon's grave, she sees a golden blur rush out into the street. She slams on her brakes, hoping against hop ...more

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Apr 29, 2020 Gabby rated it liked it

Shelves: actors-or-hollywood, lost-interest, read-in-2020, contemporary, disappointed, romance, 3-star-books, audiobooks-i-listened-to, over-freaking-hyped, liked-it

I wasn’t planning on reading this one after being so upset over The Friend Zone, but then I was able to get my hands on the audiobook thanks to Libro.fm, and so I decided why not, and gave it a go.

This book was fine, it actually started off really good. I love reading about the dog Tucker and the way the couple meets in this book because of the dog is really interesting and the way it was setting up, I thought it was gonna be something I was really gonna enjoy. But then I feel like when the cou ...more

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Apr 27, 2020 BernLuvsBooks rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-reads, romance, 2020, fave-reads

This book gets all the stars for eliciting all the feels! Run to purchase it & read it!!! ⁣
⁣
While so many people loved The 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘡𝘰𝘯𝘦, the ending just didn’t do it for me but I did love the romance so I knew I had to read 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 and see what became of Sloan. If you’ve read 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘡𝘰𝘯𝘦 you know she deserved her happy ever after. ⁣
⁣
I’m here to say that this book blew me away! It was everything I wanted and more - romantic, emotional, sexy, adorable, funny and yes - steamy. 🔥 ...more

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Apr 16, 2020 Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Much to think about on this one! I definitely liked this one waaay more than Jimenez's previous book, The Friend Zone (check out my review of that one here), but I still wouldn't call this a new favorite. I really liked the characters and even at times when I normally would have found their interactions to be way too cringe-y, I was completely hooked and rooting for them to succeed. ESPECIALLY that ending scene. Sa-woon. But I think the reason that I didn't enjoy this one as much as I could have ...more

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Jun 21, 2020 JanB rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-reads, audiobook

My relationship with rom-coms is complicated but in the early days of the quarantine not many books were working for me. This was recommended so many times I decided to give it a try and I'm so glad I did. A dog brings the characters Sloan and Jason together in a cute way when he jumps into Sloan's car. His name is Tucker. (I have a sweet Tucker of my own so how could I not love him? 💖) The witty banter between the characters was my favorite part of the book. The narrators in the audio version w ...more

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Apr 17, 2020 Susanne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: buddy-read, 2020-five-star-books, netgalley, goodreads-best-of-list-2020, rom-com, libro-fm-alc

5 Perfect Stars!

“The Happy Ever After Playlist” by Abby Jimenez, Hits All the Right Notes! Cue the Smiles, the Laughter and yes, even the Tears!

What a Gem this novel is. In times like this, each and every one of us needs a book that will make us break into a smile and bring on that hysterical laughter. This, my friends, is that book!

First, there is the friendship between Sloan and her bestie Kristen (from Abby Jimenez’s prior novel “The Friend Zone”). These two will have you laughing so hard, ...more

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May 25, 2020 Whitney Atkinson rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, read-in-2020

3.5 ish stars, idk.

A book with both Abby Jimenez and Casey Mcquiston's on it is one that had me so hyped, I was sure nothing would stop me from giving it 5 stars. But. Here we are. It was good, but it wasn't the greatness of book one, The Friend Zone.

I'm gonna mention this first because in the grand scheme of the book, it didn't matter, but it still rubbed me the wrong way. Jason is a hunter, Sloan runs a blog about cooking game, and in general, their relationship is quite heteronormative. I'm n 3.5 ish stars, idk.

A book with both Abby Jimenez and Casey Mcquiston's on it is one that had me so hyped, I was sure nothing would stop me from giving it 5 stars. But. Here we are. It was good, but it wasn't the greatness of book one, The Friend Zone.

I'm gonna mention this first because in the grand scheme of the book, it didn't matter, but it still rubbed me the wrong way. Jason is a hunter, Sloan runs a blog about cooking game, and in general, their relationship is quite heteronormative. I'm not going to say that this read like a republican romance, but it was really difficult to fall in love with the characters when they're talking about hunting all the time and Sloan is always talking about cooking for him while he's outside working and ~being a man~, and none of it is challenged. It's a very snowflake comment for me to make, but still. It was a huge barrier of why I couldn't fully fall in love with these characters. I wish it focused more on them liking the wilderness because the scene where they went camping was cute. But. The rest of it wasn't.

I did like Sloan as a main character, and as a person who typically doesn't enjoy books about musicians OR celebrities, Jason was actually pretty great too. But this book's conflict with girl on girl drama and miscommunication felt very juvenile. Also, Jason made some really dumb and insensitive comments during their arguments and never took accountability for his words or actions, so it really put him in a negative light from there on out. The first 200 pages were going toward 5 stars, but those aforementioned plot elements made this a bit of an eye-roller by the end. Sloan was so quick to forgive Jason for the shitty things he would say to her, which made the "I love you"s a bit cheapened.

But the last 200 pages aside, Abby has mastered (already by her sophomore novel) writing characters who are realistic but funny but have complexities not evident to the naked eye. She writes people realistically but in a way that still makes you wish you were in their shoes, no matter how dull or normal those shoes are. Her writing just works, even when it doesn't go in my favorite direction. Or when there's only one sex scene. .-.

(view spoiler) ...more

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Jun 30, 2019 Sheyla ✎ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: awesome-banter, favorite-character, romance, 5-fangs, best-2020, 2020, series, sweet, funny

It's not a secret that The Friend Zone was one of my favorite books of 2019. It was such a good story that I thought how can Abby Jimenez top that? This was the main reason why I had reservations about reading The Happy Ever After Playlist. I was so worried it was not going to meet or surpass my expectations.

It turns out, I didn't need to worry. I ended up loving it. The ending is now on the list of my favorite endings of all time. While I was reading it, I was a mess. I cried, I laughed. I ...more

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Apr 10, 2020 Paromjit rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, netgalley, contemporary-fiction

This light hearted, entertaining and warm offering from Abby Jimenez is likely to appeal to many readers looking to alleviate the stress and anxiety of our current global pandemic. Sloan Monroe is a Los Angeles artist whose life descended into utter misery and never ending grief on the loss of her fiance, Brandon, almost two years ago. Nothing and no-one has managed to lift her out of the despair, not her best friend, Kristen, and her husband, Josh, she has been unable to produce her original ar This light hearted, entertaining and warm offering from Abby Jimenez is likely to appeal to many readers looking to alleviate the stress and anxiety of our current global pandemic. Sloan Monroe is a Los Angeles artist whose life descended into utter misery and never ending grief on the loss of her fiance, Brandon, almost two years ago. Nothing and no-one has managed to lift her out of the despair, not her best friend, Kristen, and her husband, Josh, she has been unable to produce her original art, making do with producing the more commercial astronaut cats. She has given up on cooking, and has let everything slide, including her appearance, living in her too expensive dilapidated home that she and her Brandon were going to do up but is now too much for her.

She is on her way to the cemetery to visit Brandon's grave when life takes a turn for the weird when she almost runs over a dog that leaps through her sun roof and into her car. In a state of shock, she discovers her new pal is Tucker, and the dog belongs to Jason, whom she is unable to get hold of as she leaves messages on his voicemail. In the meantime, she takes care of Tucker, taking him to the vet and finds herself beginning to engage in everyday normal activities for the first time in two years, as she takes him for walks, and falls in love with him as he gives her a reason to start living. Tucker's owner, Jason, is a musician on the cusp of rock superstardom, having recently signing a contract with a big recording company. He is overseas, off the grid, without his phone, missing all of Sloan's messages, astounded to discover that he has to prove to Sloan that Tucker means everything to him. Before he knows it, Sloan becomes increasingly important to him as the two of them flirt with each other through a two week period of texts and phone calls before he can come home.

Jimenez writes with wit and humour of the life love that develops between Jason and Sloan, but which is strewn with challenges and obstacles, such as the life of touring on the road that leads to their deteriorating mental and physical health. Then there are the limitations Jason's future places on their life choices, a recording contract that threatens their love, not to mention the presence of a famous singer, Lola, a batshit crazy psycho, who looks as if she going to tour with Jason. One of the highlights of the novel is the authentic depiction of how grief can be so difficult to emerge from for many people, like Sloan. A wonderful read that I can see bringing a window of joy and comfort for many readers at the moment. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC. ...more

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Feb 01, 2020 Corina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: emotional, musicians, sweet, funny, rom-com, banter

I’m happy to say that I LOVED The Happy Ever After Playlist!!!

The book was almost entirely divided into two entirely different tropes, a rom-com and a rockstar romance.

I LOVED THE ROM-COM PART…

The first half of the book was AMAZING. It had the most wonderful rom-com feel, and I’m not even a fan of that particular genre, but let me tell you, the author did a FABULOUS job. Great flirty and funny banter, witty and smart dialogues – the book had it all. I was smiling throughout the entire first half ...more

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Aug 07, 2019 book bruin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: forever

Abby Jimenez has done it again! She continues to amaze me by writing the most wonderfully relatable characters and stories that are not only heartfelt and emotional, but also laugh out loud hilarious. After reading The Friend Zone (which is one of my top reads ever!) I could not wait to get back to this world. The Happy Ever After Playlist can definitely be read as a standalone, but it would probably be best enjoyed after reading The Friend Zone, since characters from that book appear and th ...more

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Apr 23, 2020 Norma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: review-requests, alc, holy-shooty-balls, favourite-reads-2020

Well well well! I've got my second "Holy Shooty Balls" read of the year!

Endearing, heartwarming, and irresistible!

THE HAPPY EVER AFTER PLAYLIST by ABBY JIMENEZ is an outstanding, adorable, engaging, enchanting and fun rom-com so beautifully written that it gave me all the feels. I was smiling, laughing, teary eyed and totally mesmerized with what I was listening to.

After finishing this book I discovered that Sloan’s best friend Kristen was the main character in Abby Jimenez’s previous novel, TH ...more

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Jun 04, 2020 Berit Talks Books rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: advanced-reader-copy, fun, libro-fm, sweet, 2020, audio-review, romcom, musician, advanced-listener-copy, beach-read

SO darn fun! Abby Jimenez stole my heart with this adorable romcom.Sloane and Jason had the most perfect meet cute ever (not sure if technically this was a meet cute, but I’m calling it that because it was super cute). The beginning of their relationship was pure magic, so sweet and authentic. They of course had some bumps in the road when they were literally on the road traveling while Jason’s band was on tour. It was all resolved almost as adorably as they met. The audiobook was narrated by Er ...more

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Nov 05, 2020 Tina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: women-s-fiction-romance-chick-lit, library-books, audiobooks, read-in-2020, series, friends-to-lovers

This is a Romance, and this is the second book in the Friend Zone series. I cannot put into words how much I loved this book. In fact I think this is my favorite romance book I have read this year. I am so glad I read this book. I could not put this book down. The characters where cute and funny, and the storyline/plot was so much more then the normal romance.

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Apr 08, 2020 Ceecee rated it it was amazing

Well, if you want something for right now that’s entertaining, fun and well written then this one is ‘just the ticket’, ‘fits the bill’ and totally ‘cuts the mustard’. Sloan Monroe is stuck and has been for two years since the tragic death of her fiancé Brandon. She’s in a state of inertia and cannot move on. Then Tucker most unexpectedly enters her life as does his musician owner Jason a few weeks later. Tucker is the star of the show, he’s a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever. Yes, I didn’t kn ...more

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Apr 05, 2020 Suzy rated it it was amazing

5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Abby Jimenez, thank you for creating these characters! I simply ADORED this book! If I could give it 10 stars, I would!

I loved The Friend Zone. It was a solid 5 star read for me. When I finished it and found out that Sloan’s story was coming up in a sequel I could barely contain my excitement! Little did I know that The Happily Ever After Playlist would be even better!

Sloan is still reeling from the death of her fiancé. While out and about, she meets Tucker - the c ...more

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Nov 11, 2020 Tina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, audible

Oh thank-you to my Goodreads friend Tina who praised this book so much in her review that it made me read (listen) to it right away!! What an enjoyment it was!

I was mesmerized right from the start. The story of Sloane and Jason is so cute and the way they met just makes your heart melt! This was a fabulous Audiobook. Both narrators were outstanding!

I did not read, "The Friend Zone" but I will for sure pick it up now. I think this book is tied for the best romance of the year for me. Way to go Ab ...more

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Apr 17, 2020 Lana ❇✾DG Romance❇✾ rated it liked it

Shelves: contemporary-romance

3.5 Stars

I would notice you in a crowd of a million.”

I've been dying for Sloan's story ever since the end of The Friend Zone made me cry my eyes out. I loved her and Brandon so much, it was difficult to imagine the man that would make Sloan's heart beat again. But man, oh man, never in a million years could I have imagined the perfection that was Jason.

Sloan has been a shell of herself for two years since the tragic loss of her fiancé. Her love for Brandon was one of a kind. But sometimes, life gives you a second chance that you never see coming. For Sloan, this comes in the form of a dog that literally jumps through her sunroof and into her car after she almost hits him while driving. She takes the dog in while trying to get in touch with the owner, and quickly falls hard for the adorable mutt. When the owner finally calls looking for his dog, she's not ready to let go.

Now, admittedly, I'm a little over the rockstar element in books. But Jason was so different. He's a rising talent on the music scene and one of the most down to earth men I've read in a while. He's charming, sweet, and incredibly patient. Their relationship starts through a series of funny texts and phone calls that I couldn't get enough of. I love that they get to know each other before they even know what the other looks like. Jason falls hard and fast for the mysterious woman that refuses to share what she looks like or give his dog bag. He's determined to woo her for a date. And woo her he does. The man woos her so hard. It was DELICIOUS.

Now I will say, I loved the sweet undercurrent of the book. I really did. I loved the slow build of a relationship between Sloan and Jason. I loved that Jason was a genuinely nice guy. I loved that he was so patient when it comes to Sloan and didn't try to replace her dead fiancé or felt threatened by his memory. I loved that he treated her right.

What I didn't love is a lot of the drama around the industry part of Jason. I wished that the time spent on the drama was spent more on seeing Sloan come out of her shell. It was just a touch too much for me, especially at the end. This is entirely personal preference, so take this with a grain of salt. I'm just not a fan of OTT drama, and this felt like OTT for me. It did drive the plot forward, so it certainly wasn't aimless, but it did nothing for me either. I think I was just so invested in Sloan's HEA after the events of The Friend Zone, that I wished more time was spent on her personal growth and moving on rather than Jason's industry drama. I think this is why I'm over the whole rockstar thing in my books, because the industry drama sort of comes along with the territory.

Now don't get me wrong, I still loved the romance here. SO MUCH. And the ending? Absolute perfection. It wasn't the laugh out loud hilarious sort of romance that Friend Zone was, but it was a sweet and emotional one that was just as satisfying.

ARC courtesy of publisher in exchange for an honest review

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Feb 08, 2020 Nursebookie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, arc-ebook, romantic, romcom, women-author, foreverpub

Abby Jimenez is one of my favorite authors hands down! When I finished reading this book, I had to decide whether I loved The Friend Zone better than HEAP, and I think that Abby just keeps getting better and better. Both these books are my top reads for 2019 and now for 2020.

It has been two years since Brandon, Sloan’s fiancée dies of a tragic motorcycle accident from a drunk driver, and Sloan is still grieving the loss. Sloan has had no desire to do much of anything anymore and have lost her p ...more

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Apr 03, 2020 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-releases, rockstar-romance, good-guy-romance

I know that people have mixed feelings over The Friend Zone, but I was a huge fan of that romance. After what happened to Sloan's character in that book, I was very excited to see her find her own happily ever after.

Sloan is having a hard time moving on. Life has been at a standstill for two years until an adorable pup literally falls into her life. I loved how this book started out with Sloan breaking down her walls with this dog that came into her life. Then, her and Jason start communicating ...more

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Apr 28, 2020 Christy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-series, humor, read-in-2020, favorites, romance

Okay Abby Jimenez... I see you! I was pleasantly surprised by The Friend Zone, so I had high hopes for this one. I mean, what an adorable title and cover! SHE'S TWO FOR TWO! I absolutely loved this book and not sure which one I like the best now. It's funny and heartwarming, but also deals with much deeper and emotional things such as loss and mental health.

The Happy Ever After Playlist follows Kristen's best friend, Sloan, from The Friend Zone. Her husband Brandon died two years ago, and she's ...more

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About Abby Jimenez

Abby Jimenez

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Abby Jimenez is a Food Network winner, New York Times best selling author, and recipient of the 2022 Minnesota Book Award for her novel Life's Too Short. Abby founded Nadia Cakes out of her home kitchen back in 2007. The bakery has since gone on to win numerous Food Network competitions and has amassed an international cult following.

Abby loves a good romance, coffee, doglets, and not leaving the ...more