Kind of the Friend Zone
Sheralyn Pratt
351 pages
Kindle Edition
From the Publisher:
Esme Taylor has an amazing fiancé, a lifelong best friend, and a problem. The problem stems from the fact that her best friend is named Hunter and, well. . .he’s kind of (totally) hot. It’s hate at first sight when her fiancé, Jon, and Hunter meet. Jon’s convinced that Hunter is in love with Esme, and that Hunter must be out of the picture if their upcoming marriage is to succeed.
Esme thinks Jon is paranoid.
The truth is, Jon’s not that far off. Hunter is in love with his best friend and always has been. What Jon has wrong, however, is that Hunter never had any plans of ruining Esme’s happily ever after. Hunter wants what’s best for Esme, even if that’s not him.
When Jon pushes hard to end Esme and Hunter’s friendship, opposition comes from the most unlikely of places. It’s an eccentric lady with a cookie cart who suggests a different solution to Esme’s problem: Hunter and Esme should give each other a chance.
They’ve both thought of the possibility over the years—of course they have. But with a ring already on Esme’s finger and a heap of hurt feelings and broken trust in the mix, there hasn’t been a worse time to explore the depths of their feelings for each other.
Both Esme and Hunter think it’s time to move on and leave childhood crushes in the past. The question is: Can one woman and the taste of one cookie change their minds?
Review:
King of the Friend Zone is a stand alone book, but part of the matchmaker series of books written by 12 different authors. I’ve really enjoyed this series, because it has twelve different books that are being released, one each month this year. So every month I know I have a new book waiting for me! While you can read each book separately there is one reoccurring character, Pearl (The Match Maker) in each book. I really love this idea and really liked the prequel novella about The Matchmaker. While I am familiar with some of the authors, some of them are new to me and I am excited to see how this all turns out! I also really like how the different books in the series are set in different periods of time, some are modern day and some are historical fiction. It is a really good mixture for me.
I haven’t read anything by Sheralyn Pratt before, but the synopsis of this book sounded great to me so I already thought I would enjoy it. I immediately loved Esme and Hunter and their friendly/banter relationship. I loved the setting and thought it was fun to read about their separate jobs as well. I did think it was a little far fetched that Esme and Jon had dated 6 months and she still hadn’t introduced him to her best friend Hunter, until after the engagement. If I were dating, and that serious with someone, I would hope my best friend would have met and approved on the person long before 6 months month – or an engagement! I thought the scene with Hunter and his toast at the party would have made a great movie scene. I could totally see this happening in my head as I read it!
I thought the cookies were a fun twist and Pearl’s character was perfect! She is more present in some books than others, and I liked her role in this book.
I really enjoyed this book. The book did touch on domestic violence and abuse but it was still light-hearted and not at all disturbing got read. If you haven’t read any of the match maker series, I highly recommend them. You don’t have to read them in any certain order, but I do recommend reading the prequel to the books first so you understand the base. I have wrote posts for all of the books, with the exception of one. (I just had a hard time getting interested in June’s book. I am sure it is just as fantastic as the rest of the series, just not the book for me to read at the moment).
- Power of the Matchmaker, Karey White, Rachael Anderson, Kelly Oram, Heather B. Moore, Julie Wright, Heidi Ashworth, Taylor Dean, Michele Paige Holmes, Janette Rallison, Regina Sirois, Sheralyn Pratt, Jaima Fixsen
- Broken Things To Mend, Karey White
- Not Always Happenstance, Rachael Anderson
- If We Were a Movie, Kelly Oram
- Love is Come, Heather B. Moore
- Four Chambers, Julie Wright
- O’re the River Liffey, Heidi Ashworth
- Chasing Fireflies, Taylor Dean
- Between Heaven and Earth, Michelle Paige Holmes
Overall, final score:
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