Quick review: The Happy Ever After Playlist is a sequel to The Friend Zone. While TFZ followed Kristen as the main character, THEAP follows Kristen's best friend Sloan. Personally, I liked THEAP much better than TFZ, and it's all because of the characters - I am 100% team Sloan. I had a love-hate relationship with TFZ, mostly because Kristen's stubborn "rationality" drove me crazy. For more, see my review for The Friend Zone here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Full review: If you're planning to read TFZ, I would definitely read that one first, as THEAP has significant spoilers for the ending of TFZ. This review even has some spoilers for TFZ (though not about the main TFZ romance story line), so proceed with caution if you have TFZ on your to-read list.
In THEAP, it has been two years since Sloan's fiance passed away, and Sloan is still anchored by her grief. She has stopped taking care of herself - she doesn't cook for herself, doesn't keep the house clean, rarely does her hair and makeup, doesn't find joy in hanging out with her friends. Worst of all, she has stopped painting what she wants to paint and instead makes an income painting astronaut cats and other mass-produced art. Then one day she finds a stray dog named Tucker, and though she calls the number on his collar everyday, the owner doesn't call her back. Sloan finds that Tucker helps her open up - she's taking him on long walks, hanging out with her friends, cooking for herself. Until Tucker's owner, Jason, finally calls back after two weeks, claiming he's been backpacking in New Zealand and didn't get her calls; he wants Tucker back. At first Sloan is distraught to lose Tucker, but then she and Jason start texting and talking more, and they can't help but be drawn to one another. But will their blossoming relationship survive Jason's growing music career?
I loved the romance between Sloan and Jason - it's one of those loves that's rare and true and beautiful. I loved both of their characters individually, too - Jimenez developed them both with deep and complex backgrounds and personalities. As someone who has experienced intense grief in life and watched those close to me grieve, I connected with Sloan on a very personal level. Despite this seriousness, the book was also very light, funny, and heartwarming much of the time. I appreciated the book's ability to switch between light and dark. However, though the first and last thirds of the book had a great pace, the middle third of the book dragged a little. Also, like in the TFZ, THEAP sometimes focused too much on traditional ideas of masculinity and femininity, which was off-putting. As a whole, though, I really loved this story and its characters, and I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a feel-good read!
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