Guys. I finally read The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez after waiting weeks for it to become available from the library, and let me tell you something.
You all know my love of Jimenez’s first book, The Friend Zone, so you will be surprised to learn I checked out at the 50% mark of this book.
I will also tell you to immediately go out and get it and read it and you’re welcome. Let’s dig in.
The Premise
We finally get Sloan’s story!
I loved Sloan in The Friend Zone, and I hated what happened to her but couldn’t wait to see what she’d become out of that tragedy. (I won’t tell you what the tragedy was because ya know, spoilers.)
Sloan’s life is turned upside down when a dog jumps through the sunroof of her car. (This is why I love Abby Jimenez.)
Sloan spends two weeks trying to a hold of the owner, but he doesn’t return her calls/texts, and she’s pretty much determined the dog is hers now. And the dog is lovely and his name is Tucker.
One day the owner finally calls back. It happens to be Jason Larsen a.k.a Jaxon Waters, an up and coming rock star, who was backpacking in New Zealand.
Begin falling in love.
The Characters
I loved Sloan more than Kristen in The Friend Zone. There I said it. Sloan’s character is so smooth and realistic. She’s someone you’d want as your best friend. I was so excited to have her get the spotlight in this story.
Jason was a great character, but I noticed other reviewers saying the same thing I felt. He was a little too polished. He never did anything truly stupid. Anything he did, he did for Sloan even if Sloan didn’t like it. I would have liked to see him screw up a little more.
Now the Bad and the Ugly
I cruised through the first 50% of The Happy Ever After Playlist and smashed into a brick wall like a coyote after a road runner. I was so confused by my sudden disinterest in the book that I went to see what other reviewers thought, and a lightbulb went off.
The first half of the book is Sloan and Jason falling in love. In the second half of the book, Jason becomes a rock star and starts touring.
I cannot relate to a rock star’s touring drama.
You lost me there, Abby.
I have the same reaction to some Christina Lauren books where the character is too outrageous for me to connect to.
However, I still finished the book, and I still say you must read it. Here’s why.
Final Thoughts
Abby Jimenez writes a damn fine book. Like daaaaaaamn fine.
Read all of her books. I will read her next book without question. I don’t relate to rock stars. Maybe you want a rock star book romance to lose yourself in. Then this is the book for you. Maybe you love dogs. Then you’ll love The Happy Ever After Playlist. This book has heart, and that makes it worth the read.
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