Ms. Wilson is one of the few authors that I will request/buy without hesitation when a new book comes out. That's partly why it's taken me so long to sit down and actually write a review for The Friend Zone. I imagine authors read some (if not all?) of the reviews from the ARCs their publisher gives out, so I'm cringing thinking about what I'm going to say, but I hope Ms. Wilson understands my still-standing admiration when I start by saying "You've done better."
The plot should be 5 Star - forbidden romance because the new recruit to the football team isn't allowed to date the coach's daughter. My problem is the characters and execution of the plot. First off, as the reader, I'm not really sure why this unbreakable rule is an issue because I didn't feel any real chemistry between the two main characters. They're good looking. She doesn't seem to give him any interest - which of course interests him more. She knows he's got a not-so-awesome past. Uh... so? Other than the obvious physical attraction they have to each other, they do really hit it off right away, but, I don't know... it always seemed more like friends than really a lover vibe to me. The flirting was cute, but it just fell a little flat in terms of me really believing it. I wasn't grossly invested, I wasn't unable to stop from turning the page.
In fact, the execution of the plot kind of dragged on. Obviously this is the kind of book where you know what's going to happen before you read page 1, I don't mind that. But too early on, I found myself like "let's get on with it." It felt repetitively slow and yet rushed at the same time. Honestly, had it been almost any other auhor, I would have DNF'd it. (After all, I know where the plot is going before page 1...) I'm not really sure what about it led me to feel this way. The dual POV? The fast paced, instalove? The sheer predictability of the overall plot? The fact that it felt like neither of them was really "fighting" their attractions to each other even though they claim to be? It's obviously a slow burn type plot - which I typically LOVE - but this one seemed to be the end of the bonfire when you're wondering if it's going to relight itself or just burn out.
Overall, this is still a fun, cute story about growth and love. It's clean, it's sweet, and I would definitely recommend it to my girlfriends or my students. It reads a little YA even though it's set in college, but honestly what even is YA/NA anymore? You should give it a try; I do believe that. I also refuse to give this lower than 4 stars because I think Ms. Wilson has a true talent, and just because aspects of this particular work didn't work out super well for me, I will still be impulsively requesting her future works. It does deal a little bit with the aftermath of a sexual attack, child abuse, and coping with a dying parent, but that is absolutely not the plot. (Dare I say more like a plot device, even? You judge that.) Also, I couldn't picture anyone but Tim Riggins as Logan, and I need someone else to be stuck with that wonderful image as well. You're welcome.

This was a fun and cute story. It didn't go where I expected it to do bonus points for keeping me guessing. I would love to read more by this author. She has a unique voice.

4 Stars

I enjoyed this story. It was a good read that tackled some serious issues. I thought the main characters were likeable (mostly) and the secondary characters had prominent stories as well which I always feel helps to shape the story. I would recommend this one.

DNF

I would like to thank netgalley and Montlake Romance for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm usually a fan of this authors work, but the main character not being bothered to say a character of colours name because she couldn't pronounce it, turned me off this book.

The Friend Zone by Sariah Wilson a five-star read that you will want to win all of the zones of. This was a great story filled with characters that you will adore, it will make you chuckle, and it will make you want to punch some people as well, mainly a football team, but a girl can have dreams can’t she. Logan Hunt starts as one man and ends as another, I’m not saying I would kick either out of bed for eating crisps, but I would definitely prefer the second version. Jess is sublime and I can honestly say I would even take math again just so she could tutor me (I may have a girl crush as she was so well written and such a great woman). Being just friends sucks, but sometimes you need to try and do what’s for the best for everyone, but what happens when that doesn’t agree with what you need. This story will show you in the best possible way.

This was a sweet book, if a bit juvenile. It skewed YA but the hero and heroine we're pretty adorable. I liked their relationship development.

I absolutely adored The Friend Zone. Logan and Jess have already had some hardships in their short lives, which makes them relate to one another on a level no one else has before. However, Jess' father's very strict rules stop them from moving past friendship, no matter how much they might want to. The Friend Zone was equally funny and moving and had the romance tropes we love but with a twist that made it fresh and exciting. I highly recommend it.

The story was cute and I liked the characters. Just wish it would have moved along faster, as I never really understood what she liked in Ben, and I would have liked to see him not help so much once he knew he liked her.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thanks to the author for providing a copy of this book via Netgalley

What an adorable story with amazing book boyfriend!! I'm smitten with him!
Caring, tender, brave, honourable man!
The heroine was about immature, a bit so so.
This book is PG-12, only kissing scenes, no sex
Hero celibate before and after meeting heroine, heroine kissed someone else during their friendship.

**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
This book was adorable. It’s odd to say that when there are serious issues from the past for both main characters. Logan comes from a home full of serious neglect and his anger has already gotten him kicked out of one college. EOL is his last chance to play football and finish college.
Jess is the coach’s daughter and had a horrific experience in her first college that resulted in her dad losing his job.
The coach has a lot of rules for his team and he’s very serious about them. Logan and Jess become friends but both start to feel more.
I loved the banter and the playfulness of Logan and Jess’s relationship. I really appreciated that these two were smart kids faced with tough decisions. They were able to talk about things instead of running away or causing unnecessary drama. I’m not sure that Danielle was necessary but some of Jess’ comments about her are hysterical.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It’s well written and a really solid story.

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was actually pretty good. Logan gets an opportunity to play college football and falls in love with the coach's daughter who is assigned as his math tutor. He cant really date her since her dad forbids it but they find a way to stay friends. Eventually they fall for each other. Both have incredible chemistry and get to know each other organically without all the heavy sexual scenes. This is a clean romance and worth the read

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the main characters. Sports romances are a sub genre that I frequently read and thought this measured up against some of my favorites.

The Friend Zone by Sariah Wilson was short and sweet and I found it mildly entertaining. However, I didn’t feel like there was much to the story. I didn’t understand Jess’ attraction to Ben who was an obvious d-bag from the start of the story. I also didn’t like the author used Jess’ assault as a way to push the story forward because she did it in a way that uses sexual assault as a plot device rather than addressing the real feelings survivors of sexual assault have to deal with. Personally, I disliked that and felt there were better ways to drive the story. So while the story bad some cute bits, overall I didn’t think it was that great.

When Logan gets a second chance at playing college football, he decides that no matter what, he won't mess up this time. He was playing quarterback at a major Texas university and messed up by getting into a bar fight, but since that time he's gone through counseling and dealt with his anger management issues. Not that anyone would blame him, his life has been rough -- a drug addicted mom in prison and a stepfather who abused him physically and mentally.

The offer to play comes from a community college, with a well-respected coach who gives young football players another chance to play when they've messed up at the bigger schools. But it comes with a catch--Coach Oakley has some very strict rules and a zero tolerance policy if the men mess up even once. The rules include no drinking, drugs, keeping their grades high, and no women (no dating, girlfriends, etc.)

Most of the other teammates don't take the rules very seriously, especially the no-women rule. But Logan decides that he will follow every rule to the "t" -- he really wants the opportunity to play football, and he's hoping for an eventual NFL contract. And Sariah Wilson does a wonderful job with dialogue--especially "puny" dialogue and jokes between the characters!

The problem is his math tutor -- Jess -- who is also the coach's daughter. From the moment Logan meets her, he feels a strong attraction. But he fights it, trying to keep her in the "Friend Zone." Then, one evening at a costume party, her dressed as Catwoman and Logan as Batman, they unknowingly kiss each other, and its explosive. But it's a case of mistaken identity -- Jess thinks she's kissing another guy that she's been crushing on for months, who was supposed to wear a Batman costume.

Now they both realize they have very strong feelings for each other. They fight the attraction and try to just hang out as friends. Jess doesn't want to risk Logan's chance at a second chance, especially since one of the NFL scouts will be watching the team.

But the more they hang out together, the more they both realize that they are soulmates and meant to be together. But how can that ever be, without ruining Logan's chances at a career that will take him away from the poverty he grew up in? They will need to make a choice -- to be together (and forgo Logan's chance to play NFL football), or to be apart.

I especially liked the hero in this book. Logan strives to be honorable, despite his attraction to Jess. He has to make many hard choices and he's choice near the end shows how unselfish he is and how much he's willing to give up for the love of his life. But does he need to?

If you like romances where the underdog hero rises above his past issues and problems, and finds happiness, I think you will really like this story! Especially good if you're a football fan, too.

I have to preamble this review by saying I don't usually read NA books (I certainly don't read YA; don't get me started on that), but I really enjoyed this one.

Right from the start, I could see the doomed relationship between Logan and Jess and I knew they were only going to fall harder for each other, wondering how they would solve it all by the end.

I admired Logan's fortitude and moral character. He tries so hard to be the opposite to the man who raised him, keeping his goals in sight and knowing what he has to do to get there. He's honest, he's kind, and he's a good friend. Not only that, but he listens to Jess and he pays attention to her.

Jess has gone through something hard in her life and it has changed her. In the beginning, I got the sense she didn't take Logan seriously. But as she gets to know him, and experience what a good friend he is, she opens up to him, and they both discover they see each other, they understand each other.

I loved watching them fall in love and how strong their attraction was, both physical and intellectual. The ending was really great and adorable!

Highly recommend!

I got a copy from the publisher through Netgalley and this is my honest opinion.

The Friend Zone is a slow burn romance, that was a cute and short read for me. Having a "no sex" rule in place for Logan made for an interesting plot for how the romance would happen, but it was good. Jess is the coach's daughter (of course), but I liked her. She was a strong character, and I liked the relationship between her and Logan.

*Scroll to the bottom for content warnings*

I had a hard time reading this one and deciding if it should be 2 or 3 stars. At 30% I wanted to stop reading- I wasn't enjoying it, it was a slog through endless inner dialogue- but I pushed through because this was an ARC and I felt I owed the author my review. I am glad I finished it, because it did redeem itself *slightly* but I was flipping past a lot of what felt like filler after just skimming the page. So stick with me as I present my see-saw of feelings!
Love the premise- sports romance always makes me happy and I like the 'career building' stage. Sports romances are really the only college romances I'll read. I loved how smart the dialogue was between all the characters- there wasn't any 'bro' speak, no immaturity to be seen and Wilson writes FUNNY dialogue really well. This was shaping up to be a 3 or 4 star in my mind.
Then we see how the h interacts with her nemesis- the way she thinks, speaks to and about this other woman made me hate her. Not dislike, hate. *She barely redeems herself in my opinion at the end* Normally this would make it a 1 star review and get added to my DNF shelf, but the dialogue between h and H was so awesome I was feeling generous with 2 stars. I continued reading because again, I committed to a review, and for the H.
H was so sweet and such a MAN. So mature and the way he reacted to situations did not feel like I was reading a college romance. Because I didn't connect with the h at all I couldn't see what he saw and didn't really understand their relationship- until about 80%.
At this point Wilson starts moving faster (the pace the rest should have been at IMO!) and wraps everything up nicely. I start to like h again and love h&H together. So end result, I settled on 3 stars: I skipped most of the middle fluff to get the best parts but the best parts were so good it was worth the read.
I will definitely try another story by Wilson because the dialogue was just that good and maybe this story just wasn't my cup of tea.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review.
Content Warnings: A character is roofied, sexual assault, child abuse, parent death, cancer
#TheFriendZone #NetGalley

Another heart warming romance from Sariah Wilson. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Rich world populated with interesting, well developed characters. Definitely recommend.

The Friend Zone is another book by Sariah Wilson that I enjoyed reading and would recommend. As with all her books, The Friend Zone has wit, humor and laughs aplenty. Somehow though, this book was elevated and on another level. I have read almost all of Sariah's books and this is the first of her's that I can remember that has the dual first person perspective. I really enjoyed looking inside both of the character's heads, thoughts and emotions. You don't always get the male point of view and it was nice to know what Logan was thinking and feeling. I think because of this, I liked him as a character that much more. He had a drive to succeed, a strong determination and showed integrity at the end. He was going to be honest and do what he needed to do, no matter what. What woman doesn't want to be first on a man's priority list? The ending was satisfying and more emotional than other books and will stay with me. I know that each time I read it, it will be just as great as the first read through. I loved the "Ben" jokes. Those never got old and I'm surprised at how many Sariah could come up with. Jess was a great character, too. I think she and Logan fit well together. They each showed some growth in the book and I think it's important to see how characters grow and change throughout the story. The content of the book is overall clean and not graphic. I think there are some more innuendos or almost language that aren't in Sariah's other books, but nothing more than that. I loved this book and can't wait for Sariah's next book to come out.

Logan Hunt hasn't had an easy life, drug addict mother, obnoxious step-father, his only skill is playing American Football and he was on a dream trajectory until a bar fight got him kicked off the team and losing his scholarship meant he couldn't stay at school and graduate. A life of minimum wage construction beckoned until Coach Stan Oakley from Edwin O'Leary College offers him a final chance to play college football. Unfortunately EOL (or End of the Line as they call it) comes with some very strict rules, no drugs, no booze, no dating and maintain your GPA. Logan is all-in with any rules that will allow him to graduate, anything to avoid a life of construction work, he doesn't even care about getting drafted to the NFL, he wants to teach. Everything is going fine until he arrives in Seattle and meets Coach Oakley's daughter Jess, she won't take any of his cocky B-S and seems supremely unimpressed by football players in general, she has her eye on a poetry reading, math nerd called Ben.

This is a cute, sweet teen story of two people desperately trying to deny their attraction while Logan tries to Cyrano de Bergerac Jess in her relationship with Ben. Oh and there's a mean girl, a costume party, crazy golf and french films!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.