What’s the story – From Goodreads:
Kristen Petersen doesn’t do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don’t get her. She’s also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children.
Planning her best friend’s wedding is bittersweet for Kristen—especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He’s funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he’d be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it’s harder and harder to keep him at arm’s length.
The Friend Zone will have you laughing one moment and grabbing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass.
Review:
I want to first thank Estelle Hallick at Grand Central for allowing me to have an advanced reading copy of The Friend Zone to review for the blog.
The review for this book will be different from any than I have ever written. There is a story I would like to share before I get into the review itself.
I first heard about The Friend Zone when I attended Book Lover’s Con in New Orleans this year. I went to a panel and when it was described, something inside me knew that I had to get my hands on it. I had to read this book.
Infertility is a topic that not only have members of my family faced, my friends have faced, but I too have faced. I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) in my early twenties and I knew there was a possibility that I would struggle with getting pregnant. I had the insulin resistance, the hair growth, and everything in between. It was frustrating to know that I was starting out trying for kids with struggles. My husband and I tried for nearly two years and miscarried. I saw all my friends getting pregnant and there I was with tears and an empty feeling in my gut.
It wasn’t until I went to a fertility specialist that I got pregnant with my twins, Ethan and Emma. It was a long pregnancy filled with anxiety and lots of doctor’s appointments. I think I was the most relieved to deliver. I couldn’t wait to hold them in my arms.
This being said, some women will never get to experience giving birth this way. There is a reality that their child will come from all the other means that have been given to us in this modern world. I am forever grateful for those means because it gives us women so many possibilities to get our family. The one we always wanted.
The Friend Zone is such a raw account of what it is like to live with something that effects fertility. It isn’t only something physical but something emotional and something that is so deeply rooted that it can tear someone apart. I loved that I could relate so much to Kristen. This also helped me fall in love with Josh.
Did I agree with all of Kristen’s actions when it came to not telling Josh about her health issues? No, but I did understand why she did it. I knew she was trying to protect his vision of a perfect family. The thing is and what Josh brought up is that visions can change. That is also true for me. I always envisioned a family with four kids but when it got down to it and I experienced what I did and had a son with other health issues, I realized that my two were perfect. Sometimes we have to live life a bit to understand our dreams better.
I laughed and cried through this book. My in-laws in fact walked in on me as I was finishing it and saw me crying happy tears. It’s a sign of a good book if I bawl my eyes out during it.
What I also will say is that you will meet Kristen’s best friend and you will feel all the things with her story and the one to come. Prepare yourself.
Rating: 