Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This novel had very salty language in it from the start. I'm glad this was only a 5 chapter preview as I would not have finished it otherwise.

After hearing about The Friend Zone in a few places, I was glad to see the publisher released this five chapter preview!

Kristen and Josh were hilarious, their banter was fun, and there was just enough of their story introduced in this preview to make me excited to read the whole book! Also, how can you not like a character with an adorable dog named Stuntman Mike?

After five chapters I can tell this is going to be such a fun book. Kristen is fun and her don't-give-a-damn attitude is a nice change from most female romance leads. Josh is fantastic and, even five chapters in, is already such a well-developed character. I can't wait to read the rest of this one.

I really liked it! It lived up to my expectations. I also liked how Kristen was not shy or coy about her interest towards Josh. The only reason I'm giving it one less star is all the talk of cheating. I hope that after reading the book, that won't be an issue anymore. But I'm definitely interested to read this book. I was interested the moment I saw the blurb and found the main conflict really intriguing. But reading this extended preview has raised my curiosity about the book even more!

Thank you for the extended peak!

Based on this extended preview of the first five chapters, I’m not entirely sold on the story yet. I love Kristen and that she says whatever she wants and doesn’t back down for anything. Josh on the other hand? He comes off as arrogant and some of the little comments he makes offhandedly rub me the wrong way.

Like, Josh keeps reiterating he’s a man but who isn’t afraid to do things for women like buying tampons only because he has six older sisters. Him saying Kristen has good character for not being interested in other men when her military boyfriend is deployed. Him being super judgmental about Kristen’s little Yorkie. Him saying that the reason why it didn’t work about with his last girlfriend was because she didn’t want kids.

The last one is fine if it were JUST that but I honestly don’t know how that’ll work with this story since the blurb says that Kristen won’t be able to have children? I guess my sticking points in this story are that Kristen is dating her long distance boyfriend of two years at the beginning of the book, and I just don’t really find Josh likable enough to keep reading the full story when it does come out.

Heroine has a 2 years long distance relationship with marine boyfriend who is due to move in with her in a few weeks following the end of his final deployment. Hero is ex-marine now firefighter moonlighting as carpenter. They are maid of honour and best man respectively at the upcoming wedding of their friends. Their initial meeting was not quite affable, having a run-in over a traffic mishap. But the sexual attraction was there right from the start, and that is the problem.

She and others seem to be giving her credit for staying faithful to her boyfriend so far. My definition of faithful means you keep your eyes to yourself, don't sniff up his clothing, and don't make comments to your BFF about wanting to shack him if it's not because you have a boyfriend, like it's an afterthought. She tells her boyfriend she loves him over the phone, her internal dialogue supports the fact that she does love this absent guy, but then feels guilty after hanging up because she knows she's not entirely faithful in her mind. As for the hero, he's deciding to hang around hoping the other guy might exit the picture at some stage. For a marine, he shows remarkable disrespect to a fellow marine who is currently in active service.

Apparently this book will be heading into more serious territories, dealing with infertility (I gather she has endometriosis). The bantering while okay is not sharp enough to entice me to continue considering my misgivings about where this is heading.

I’ve heard nothing but positive reviews for The Friend Zone, and after reading these chapters I can see why!! I can’t wait to read the rest of it when it’s released. The author seems to have a real knack for banter between the characters, something I think is necessary for a good contemporary romance. I don’t know if I love that the main character Kristen has a deployed boyfriend when she meets Josh. That type of thing happening in books and real life makes me a bit uncomfortable. 4 stars for this preview!

My honest review -- I don't know if I'll read this book once it gets published. The plot synopsis does not divulge that the main character Kristen currently has a boyfriend who is a Marine and is currently deployed when she meets Josh, her best friend's fiance, who she is instantly attracted to. As a military spouse, I will not read a book that has the girlfriend cheating on her military boyfriend while he is deployed overseas. Will not. However, if that hadn't been a part of the plot, I probably would have enjoyed seeing the chemistry between the two characters develop.

I absolutely love getting sneak peeks of books through NetGalley and I'm so glad that publishers are offering them more and more! The first five chapters of this book went WAY too fast and I can not wait to get my hands on the whole thing. The main characters are so interesting, their meet-cute was unique, and the writing is hilarious (I'm also *dying* to find out what happens to the fiance!). I need this one ASAP!

Promising start. There are a ton of characters being established in these early chapters -- that's the danger of making one of your MCs a firefighter -- so it's a lot to grok. Kristen, 24, is brash and no-nonsense. Josh is a little less defined, except that he's a former Marine who has six sisters, so he knows women? Except, he's 29, so, not really? I'll be interested to see if either/both break out of their archetypes.

Intrigued to keep going...all I know is Javier already needs his own book.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this sampler! It's difficult to review a book when it's just a few chapters because the beginnings are always the set up for the rest of the novel. I was pleased by what I read, though not absolutely hooked or anything. By reading the first 5 chapters of this book, I feel like I already know exactly how it's going to go. I'm not a huge fan of predicable books, so hopefully the rest of this book will surprise me! Here are my thoughts so far:

- There is a lot more swearing than necessary in this book. I didn't mark it down any stars for this, but in my opinion, a lot of that could've been replaced. Use more creative words to hook your readers!

- One of the main themes of the book so far seems to be sex. And while that's okay woven throughout the story, why does the whole thing have to center on it? I would love more depth and story rather than just admiring people's butts and talking about sex. Because of this, it did seem to be a little shallow. But it's chick-lit, so I suppose that's kind of expected. I am looking forward to reading more of the book to see if it digs into real things more!

- I felt like the relationship was a little bit rushed. Make me crave for them to be interested in each other! Instead they both already basically want each other, but there are other things (a boyfriend) in the way. I would love for it to be a slow burn, and grow into something, instead of just being an initial attraction and all of a sudden the rest of the story is predictable.

- There were a few sentences that felt awkward. They seemed to show instead of tell. Here are a couple examples: "Kristen stared at her best friend like she was telling her to shut up," and "She said it like it was physically painful."

I will definitely keep reading this book once more chapters are released, and I am hopeful that I'm pleasantly surprised!

I am really loving this! These 5 chapters were very short, but also very worth it. I am definitely intrigued.

This is a fun read, with a main character that is relatable and likeable. I can't wait to find out where this story goes.

There is not second guessing that I would buy this book. This is definitely going on my tbr list!

Ok, I will admit I never pay full price for books. I'll borrow from my local library or wait until it's $0.99 on sale on amazon but I will definitely be purchasing this book. After those first chapters I NEED to read the rest! I laughed out loud many times just in these first 5 chapters.

I was actually really excited about this book initially as the plot sounded amazing and was definitely one that I felt thoroughly interested in reading. Unfortunately there were just aspects to it that I didn't really care for, particularly that of Kristen's marine boyfriend and the fact that the main love interest is written as wanting to break them up. This particular sort of manipulative inserting of oneself into the life of a woman he doesn't know in order to get with her in spite of the fact that, to his best knowledge, she is perfectly happy with someone else is something that doesn't really sit right with me. And as much as I would love to have been able to get to know the main character and the struggle that ensues with her medical condition--the piece that really drew me to this novel in the first place--but I just don't think I can get past my dislike of the main love interest.

The sample, while an extended preview, doesn't really give me enough to really get me into the story. I would have loved to see a little bit more about the medical condition and how Kristen is coping with it rather than simply having it glossed over briefly and kept secret. I didn't like the way the two characters met nor did I care for most of their interactions later. I think, ultimately, this book just isn't for me.

I have been seeing this book all over my Instagram/bookstagram feed for awhile. So many people are rating it 4&5 ⭐...I had to see what all the hype was about. I just flew through these 5 chapters. I loved this book. I can't wait to read the rest of this book! I also think the author has great talent for writing in this genre!

Seems like a really good read. I'm loving the protagonist, she seems like a good we'll rounded character.

I only got to read the first five chapters; it ended when it was just getting really interesting! The witty banter was fun, and I liked how it looked like this was going to be a slow burn relationship. Also, in the first five chapters at least, Stuntman Mike in the book seems a lot better-behaved than he is in real life. :) I can't wait to read the rest!

In just five chapters I’m already loving these characters. Kristen is so unapologetically herself and I love that about her. She’s witty and smart. I found myself laughing out loud a few times already (the slogans on her dog’s shirts!) I can’t wait to dive into the rest of this one.

I really liked the first few chapters of “The Friend Zone”, so I’ll probably pick up the book when it’s out in a few months.

Thank you so much for this "Extended Preview" I cam't wait to read the rest I will definitely be picking it up at my nearest bookstore..