I loved basically everything about this book! My favourite thing... The banter! Abby Jimenez writes TOP NOTCH BANTER!

Sloan's journey was touching. She is still heartbroken two years after the death of her fiancé, honestly who can blame her! But watching her come alive again was wonderful!

Jason, oh Jason, it's like Abby wrote a list of the very best attributes someone could have and just packed the guy full of them! He's not exactly in the best place in his life to start a new relationship, especially one that involves so much patience but he won't take no for an answer but not in a creepy annoying way!

I actually preferred Kristen as a secondary character, her personality was the perfect injection of humour and realness!

Let's not forget about Tucker!

There are ups and downs and moments you think everything is going to disintegrate and you're preparing for that "ugh" moment...

But then things work out or at the very least don't go in the exact direction you're expecting and you're like,

The use of music at the start of every chapter was great and now I want to go listen to the playlist in full! Also, some of the lines in this book will MELT YOUR HEART! And that is coming from a cynic!

Honestly, the end is a bit to perfect but the title kind of gives that away and I loved the rest so MUCH I wasn't even a little mad!

I absolutely loved the authors previous book which I recommend that you read before reading this book called The Friend Zone! So when the amazing readingmamareviews passed a copy to me I was beyond excited! It’s been two years since Sloan lost her fiancée Brandon and she’s still devastated, she hasn’t painted anything only jobs that she takes to make a paycheck , she refuses to cook and she stays locked in her house that’s filled with Brandons clothing. She has left everything the way he left it before he died. On the day she’s driving to Brandon’s grave, a dog runs in front of her car and somehow the dog jumps through her sunroof. After trying numerous times to contact it’s owner she decides
to keep the dog. Having the dog around helps her and adds a purpose, she finds herself leaving the house and actually visiting Kristen and Josh. Finally two weeks later the dogs owner Jason contacts her he’s a musician , and he’s been out of touch in Australia and tells her the dogs name is Tucker. Sloan agrees to watch Tucker until he comes back. Soon Jason and Sloan begin talking by text and then phone calls and they begin to flirt. He makes her promise to allow him to take her dinner when he gets back. Sloan doesn’t know if she’s ready to move on yet but she can’t deny that she’s getting feelings for Jason and their chemistry is amazing. What happens from there is a whirlwind of so many feelings and you just want both of them to be happy! I found myself laughing and loving this couple. I give this five amazing stars!! I can’t wait to read more from the author!!

Abby Jimenez has done it again. She made me laugh, and she made me cry. This book was an emotional roller coaster and I cannot wait to read it again. I was devastated for Sloan after reading the friend zone. In The Happy Ever Playlist I am so glad that Sloan got her shot at the happiness that she deserves. Also Jason isn’t too bad himself.
I would read anything that Abby publishes, even a grocery list.

4.5 stars!!


What an incredible story! After meeting Sloan in The Friend Zone and after all the tragedy involving her by the end of the book, I felt like no one deserved to get a happy ending more than she did. I immediately added this book to my TBR and I’ve been anxiously anticipating it ever since! I think my waiting payed off because this exceeded my expectations. It was not only funny and sweet, but also heart wrenching and a beautiful story.

The Happy Ever After Playlist may be a romance, and you never question that about the book, but I felt like it’s more than that. It’s a story about grief, about how to move on with your life after losing someone you thought would be with you for a very very long time. It’s about how leaning on others for support, how allowing your heart to open up again is so important when you’re healing, but the only person who can truly heal you is yourself. I thought Abby did a wonderful job with this aspect of the story.

I absolutely loved Sloan. She was an amazing women to read about. Her growth throughout the story was beautiful. She learned to move forward after losing the person she thought she would spend the rest of her life with, she opened her heart to someone else, she went back to her passion, and she learned to just be happy again. By the end of story I was just so happy for her and her development. She deserved to be happy like no one else.

Jason was one of the cutest heroes ever. His flirty personality made me smile so hard in the beginning of the story! And he was so understanding of Sloan, and so patient with her. It just made me love him even more.

Sloan and Jason were an amazing couple. They meet because Sloan finds Jason’s dog and “steals” him for a little while, and they start communicating by phone from there. Their early interactions are just hilarious. There was a little bit of an insta love in there, but I’ll admit that for the most part I didn’t mind it this time. I felt like their development was well done, their chemistry was amazing, and their moments together just made me smile & laugh out loud so many times. I felt like they were true soulmates. Jason mentions later on how Sloan stole his heart, and I don’t mean to be cheesy, but I felt the same way about this couple. A few chapters in and they had my whole heart. I really didn’t expect to love them as much as I did.

I also loved Tucker. The addition of dogs also makes my so happy, and I loved how important Tucker was to their relationship. I mean, he was the reason they met!


Lastly, I loved the scenes between Sloan and Kristen. Not just the sweet, heart warming ones, but also the funny ones! Kristen just like in The Friend Zone was hilarious. And I love seeing their friendship through Sloan’s eyes, as well as seeing Kristen and Josh team up to make sure Sloan gets her happy ending.


I do want to point out my reasoning behind not giving this a full five star. I just wasn’t a huge fan of how the conflict at the end played out, I guess. I thought it was a little bit abruptly done and overly dramatic for my taste.


Overall, such a win for me and definitely making it as a favorite!! The Happy Ever After Playlist may be a romance, and it may provide multiple funny moments, but more than that, it’s a story about grief, and about finding love again. It’s about second chances in love. And it’s beautiful.

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”.

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” or just the person to get Sloane through the “in between” time?!

Just like with “ The Friend Zone” you will want to scream at some of the characters in frustration, and you will both laugh and cry as you cheer Sloane on, in her quest to “choose happiness”!

Do read the “author’s note at the end of this book.
You may forgive Abby, when you do...if you haven’t already!

Thank You to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing and Abby Jimenez for allowing me to read a digital ARC in exchange for a candid review!

This title will be released on April 14, 2020!

Wow oh wow!!! I adored reading The Friend Zone last year and I was so flipping excited to get my hands on Abby Jimenez’s second novel The Happy Ever After Playlist!!!

Both novels can be read as complete standalones, but to truly appreciate the awesomeness of their storylines and character development it’s best if you read The Friend Zone first— trust me you will immediately move onto The Happy Ever After Playlist because you will be hooked!!!!

The Happy Ever After Playlist is a great romance with a perfect balance of laugh-out-loudness and heartstring pulling moments!!! The entire time I was reading it, it played out like a movie in my mind. Abby Jimenez does a fabulous job with writing characters you immediately love which in turn has you completely emotionally invested!! I could not put this book down and as I was reading I knew I should slow because I didn’t want this 5 star book to end!! If you haven’t read Abby Jimenez yet, I highly recommend you 1-click her now—I know you will love her novels as much as I do!!

Wow - this book snuck up on me!! It was a slow starter for me - I wasn't sure in the first few chapters if I was going to like it. But once I got into the relationship with Sloan and Jason, I was in. It's a very sweet story in a lot of ways - a beautiful love story. There are deeper elements which round it out and make it far more interesting, and you really struggle with the characters as they go through their trials. It's a little farfetched in some ways (girl falls in love with small town boy turned rock star) but in other ways, it's refreshingly real and honest. I think Abby Jimenez has done a wonderful job with this book and I am excited to read other writings by her.

Thank you to @netgalley and Forever/Grand Central Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review. After reading and adoring The Friend Zone, The Happy Ever After Playlist was one of my most anticipated books of 2020 and it did not disappoint. It was nice to follow Sloan’s story that we saw a snapshot of in the Friend Zone. Jimenez creates some amazing characters that deal with a lot of real life issues. She also is great with stories that have moments of laughter and tears. I loved that Sloan and Jason met because of his dog Tucker. I’ve adored both of her books and can’t wait for more!

I will share on my bookstagram account closer to the April 14th release date and update with the link.

You know when you finish a book, then immediately page back and find your favorite part and read that again? And maybe a third time? This is one of those books.
While the first book in this series (duet? Trilogy? Are there more?) was the kind of read that broke you into pieces and then patched you back together again, the conflict in this one more internal. The hero is a musician who is making it big, so this qualifies as a rockstar romance. That provides external conflict. But where the author really shines is delving into the heroine's grief. She lost her fiance two years earlier and has not found a way out of that. We go through her journey of chosing joy, processing loss, and then setting boundaries in her new relationship so she doesn't lose herself again. I'll be recommending this one over and over. Absolutely loved 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 progression. I just hate Kirsten with all my heart. And I felt so sorry for Josh to choose her.

And this second book is about Sloan (We already met her as Kristen’s bestie, so much likeable character, we ugly cried for her when she lost her fiancée! That was the most soul crushing, traumatic part of the first book) and indie rocker Jaxon Waters (that’s his stage name, just call him “Jason”)

Thankfully I loved both of the characters. And I adored Tucker, the dog that brought them together when Jason was in Australia for concerts and movie soundtrack installment. Cute Tucker literally jumps into Sloan’s car at the anniversary of her fiancé’s death (Sloan thinks this might be a sign and her death fiancée sent the dog to rescue her from asocial, restricted life!)

Sloan reaches at Jason and they talk and text on the phone for two weeks nonstop before they meet in person. And as soon as they meet, sparks start to fly around. Especially Jason is so sure he finally found “the one”.

This beginning was sweet, entertaining, swoony but that insta love parts were a little flimsy for me. But when we get in the middle and Sloan involves Jason’s over consuming and challenging tour plan, it rocked my heart several times. The story captivated my attention immediately: And I was still happy because one of them didn’t do something to give me a reason for hating them. (At least till the last quarter, everything was better!)

Especially the parts Sloan’s car is vandalized, tires are slashed and all the arrows showed the crazy-ex singer girlfriend Lola who is soul- twin of Britney Spears, I loved Sloan’s determination and I felt so sorry how she sacrificed herself for the well-being of their relationship. There is no sign of happy ending for the couple at least for ten years and she was still okay with it even though her heart was tarnished and broken, she hardly fought with her inner demons and still suffered from the grief, loss of her fiancée.

The angst and unnecessary melodramatic parts at the end made me angry and I want to punch Jason for several times but I gotta admit, he knows how to growl and suffer.

And let’s not forget the coolest playlist that Abby Jimenez presented us at the beginning of each chapter and all those amazing songs serve so well with the chapter’s contents.

So I cut only one star for the over exaggerated angst and heart-tearing parts and foolishness, masochism of our still so much loveable Jason. I’m also giving five stars to playlist. ( From Black Keys, Paramore, Billie Eilish , Artric Monkeys, there were my favorite artists and bands’ songs were on the list which made me cheered up!)

So I’m proudly giving four musical, tear jerking, cute, flirty stars. And I’m so happy this book’s ending was also satisfying (I cannot say the same for the first book, but this is promising and one of my favorite romance reads of this year!)

So much special thanks to NetGalley and Forever( Grand Central Publishing) for sharing this poignant ARC in exchange my honest review.

This was a good romance with a lot going on and characters that really made you root for them. Sloan is struggling to recover from her fiance's death when she finds her dog-best-friend Tucker. When she finds out that Tucker's owner is coming back to get him, they end up getting to know each other and opening up their hearts. In the first half, Jason is the perfect guy for Sloan cheering her on and encouraging her to rebuild her life and take the next steps, until his musician life gets in the way. The second half is very angsty with papparazzi and the industry causing multiple misunderstandings. It is lovely to see both Sloan and Jason truly loving each other and overcoming the craziness, and how their friends and family support them and the HEA and epilogue really brings it all together. I won't lie though, there were moments I just wanted to get through the drama and find out how they resolve things. I'm going to go back and read the Friend Zone, which is the prologue, once I have some time off.

Sloan's story is exactly what we need. If you loved the Friend Zone as much as I did, you can't miss this book. It takes place two years after the end of The Friend Zone so we get some updates on Kristen and Josh but it also allows Sloan to develop in a completely different way than if it had been closer in time. I feel so many things when I read Abby's books and absolutely can't put them down. Its a laugh, cry, need to know what happens book and I couldn't stop reading. Thank you so much to Forever Pub and Abby for letting me read and review. It was an absolute joy.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC copy of this book.

While I enjoyed her previous book (The Friend Zone), this book just hits it out of the park. The book started with the most adorable opening chapter I've read in a long time, and then it just stays that adorable through the first half of the book. Of course, the book then has to turn dark for a while, exhibiting the evils (boo! hiss!) of the recording industry. Then I just totally lost it during the obligatory culminating get-back-together scene. There was even a nice "three years later" epilogue that nicely tied up the story.

I rarely give five-star reviews, but this one certainly earned it from me.

Wow, just wow. I absolutely loved The a Friend Zone, but Abby Jimenez completely crushed it. This was a story I didn’t know I needed in my life. What an amazing read. It made me feel so good, tore me apart and then put me back together again. Jason and Sloan were everything. Their connection and love felt so genuine and real from the start. The chemistry was so potent and strong. I felt it in their initial texts and phone calls and it just continued to build. The love between them was just so swoony and I felt it to my very soul. I can’t say enough good things about this story. If you just want to feel good, but experience a little angst along the way, you’ll love this story. A book like this is the reason I read.

I loved this book so much!! Tucker was the heart of the book honestly. Sloan is very likeable and the blooming romance had me invested from the beginning. I love romance novels with flirty text relationships so this was perfect for me! I loved the Friend Zone and this one too!!Musician Jason was perfect for this book and for Sloan!

Is it possible for me to love this more than The Friend Zone? Abby Jimenez weaves together romance, comedy, tragedy and heart throughout her books. Loved this one! Sloan’s story is heartbreaking but I loved reading how she struggled and brought love back in her life.

What a charming, engrossing follow up to The Friend Zone. The dual perspectives helped you get to know each character and I was rooting for them both, despite their flaws. It was so nice to say hello to the characters introduced in The Friend Zone and find out what happened to Sloan in the aftermath of Brandon's death. This wasn't just a straight forward typical meet cute romance, it has depth and heart. At times the love story got a little predictable, but you know what? I didn't even mind. As a bonus, I loved that each chapter's tone was set by a song. I didn't recognize many of them so this added a fun element to Sloan & Jason's story.

After reading The Friend Zone, I was left wondering what exactly happened to Sloane? In The Happy Ever After Playlist, we get to visit Sloane two years after the accident that left her fiance in a coma. She's grieving the death of a life she thought she would be living and not quite sure how to move forward. That's when a puppy named Tucker enters her life!

Tucker is hilarious and I love how he was able to get Sloane out of her shell a bit. She tries to contact Tucker's owner - some guy named Jason - but she doesn't hear back and decides that Tucker is her dog now. That's when Jason and Sloane have their meet-cute. I loved the way Abby Jimenez is able to create this great chemistry between two characters who don't even meet yet! You see, Jason is a singer and has been overseas for a few weeks. He thought he left his pup in capable hands, but his pup got lost and Sloane was the one who found him. Now Jason wants his dog back, but Sloane won't agree. The witty banter had a grin on my face the whole time.

I absolutely loved how Sloane and Jason got to know one another. It was slow and sweet and Jason was so respectful of Sloane's feelings. He knew to be tender with her heart. Sloane's feelings were so transparent and I loved that. She was excited and hopeful, but wasn't sure if she was moving too fast.

The relationship between Sloan and Kristen that I loved so much in TFZ, was also here in The Happy Ever After Playlist. These two are always there for each other no matter what. We should all be so lucky to have friends like that in our lives. I also loved Jason's family and how much they support him. There were parts in this book that reminded me of how tight I am with my family and my husband's family. When someone needs help, whether that's around the house or on a property - we all show up and help the best way we can. That family dynamic was so very special in this book and it hit home for me in so many ways.

I won't spoil the rest of the book for you, but just know that I loved it so very much. The feelings between these two people were so genuine and real. They are a team and are willing to take on anything and to always keep each other happy. The level of angst that Jimenez writes is so so so good. My heart strings were being pulled on so hard and I couldn't help it when there were tears streaming down my face. If you get a chance to read The Friend Zone and can't wait to read Sloane's story - you won't be disappointed! I can't wait to re-read this beautifully written book. The Happy Ever After Playlist is set to release April 14, 2020.

p.s. each chapter has a song that corresponds to what is happening in that chapter. Listen to the music - I loved it so much and it added another dimension to this book.

Abby has done it again! Abby’s debut novel The Friend Zone introduced us to Sloan Monroe, and here we see her 2 years later.
Let me first say I used to read constantly – and for whatever reason….well life happened…..and there was this lady that owned this cupcake shop that was coming out with this book called “The Friend Zone” and it was so hyped up and who could resist it because cupcakes and books 😊 So preordered it and rediscovered my love of reading in a matter of minutes literally. That was almost a year ago and I haven’t stopped reading since! Thank you, Abby. I didn’t think it was possible to get a book that was better than Kristen and Josh but holy guacamole on all the tacos this book is amazing!
I received an ARC of The Happy Ever After Playlist and was hooked from the first chapter! Sloan is dealing with the loss of Brandon and while this may be a work of fiction, this story will resonate so thoroughly with so many that are dealing/have dealt with the loss of a loved one. It’s complicated as the story goes, but along comes Tucker. Tucker is owned by Jason; who we find out is from Minnesota. Being from Minnesota myself I loved this book and all of its true Minnesota references! It’s refreshing to have an author get it right (even in fiction where things don’t have to be).
My first moment that I thought I needed some serious support while reading was quickly helped out by the Zombie Apocalypse (whew crisis averted).
You won’t go wrong by reading this book. If you didn’t think anyone could be perfect for Sloan after Brandon, you’re wrong. It’s Jason. He’s perfect. He’s the perfect match for Sloan after Brandon and Abby knew it all along.

You can read this book even if you haven't read In the Friend Zone. I did and it just made me want to go buy it as soon as I finished this. Both books have now been purchased for our library collection
Also, I recommend listening to the Spotify playlist before you read each chapter. A fun, full experience.