The Happy Ever After Playlist

The Friendzone is definitely a comfort read for me and it meant something very special to me so I was beyond excited to read this. I couldn't stop thinking about Sloan after finishing the first book and how badly I wanted her to have her happy ending. I needed to read this book to have closure on how she ended up.

The humour of the characters is what got me with the first book and I was so happy to see that it wasn't lost in this one.

Jason and Sloan's interactions left me feeling giddy and I found myself smiling like an idiot while I read on multiple occasions.

“You're worth the wait. You're worth everything.”

Can I please ask where I can find a Jason and when can he become available to purchase?

SPOILER BELOW

I will admit that when we believed that Lola was behind all the things going wrong, I was bothered because I'm not fond of stories making women out to be villains in stories. I'm so happy it wasn't the case and I was pleased when Lola was able to have her redemption and the help she needed. I felt it was so important that it showed that because addiction and mental health are real issues that so many people deal with. She was crying out for help and someone listened. I'm so happy for her.

“She was every love song I've never been good enough to write.”

This line is so beautiful and I will never forget it.

There was something so special about this book. It was heartbreaking and so beautiful. I became obsessed so quickly. I went into this wanting closure and I got that and more. This is definitely a comfort read.

4.5 stars

The characters are freaking amazing and I couldn't put it down!
First half of it was definitely 5 stars, the second half was 4 stars because there was a little too much drama but I freaking loved it! The epilogue was so perfect, I loved it!
Definitely one of the best romances I've read in 2020. Highly recommended.

A dog jumps into Sloan's car, and Sloan sets out to find the dog's owner. It turns out that the owner is Jason, and he is a young musician off in Australia making a movie. When Sloan and Jason finally meet, they fall instantly in love. But there are some big obstacles they will have to overcome if they are to make a go of it.

Completely and totally predictable, but sometimes that's exactly what we want. Sloan and Jason are quite likable people and the story has some lovely surprises.

3/5 - This was cute, but nothing about it stood out to me. Sloan was way more tolerable as the FMC than Kristen was in The Friend Zone.

However, Jason had some MAJOR red flags that didn't sit well with me. The biggest red flag was how he resorted to violence when he was angry. There was no reason to destroy your phone and hotel room just because Sloan didn't roll over for you. I would run if I were Sloan, but what do I know.

Why did I read this??? After 1-starring The Friend Zone merely a few days ago?? I suppose because I really liked the Part of Your World series, and I was hoping TFZ was a fluke. I'm sorry to learn that it was not.

This whole series feels like Emily Henry for Republicans. Everyone wants a million kids, three seconds after they get married! The women cook all day while the men go hunting and do construction! (And yes, obviously they all have guns!) The mom diapers the baby while the dad grabs a beer! The patriarchy of it all! These are simply not things I'm interested in entertaining in the year of our lord 2024.

After not just one but two less than stellar reads in a row, I wanted to read something that was a) unlikely to disappoint (because I didn't have high expectations in the first place), b) uplifting and c) easy to “digest”. “The Happy Ever After Playlist” was almost exactly that. It started right by being funny... “I snorted and descended into manic laughter again, putting a finger to my twitching eyelid.” ... and went on to be just “nice”, good-natured maybe or - as my daughter might put it - “wholesome”... “Ten days. I'd had Tucker for ten wonderful, fur-on-my-bedspread, wet-kisses-in-the-morning, tail-wagging days.”It felt pretty much like watching an old favourite TV show from childhood. Exactly what I wanted.Of course, a (mostly) simple romance like this, featuring a hot bone-marrow-donating (to save a little girl!) rock star, Jason, and a curvy blonde, Sloan, who falls for him, is pretty much as cliché as it gets.Thus, I read this alternating between smiling (and sometimes giggling) and cringing (“I wanna get my hands on your pipes.”) - sometimes even simultaneously.What helped was how effortless this book is written and, thus, to read. Even the constant switching between the perspective of both Jason and Sloan felt natural and made sense. Where other authors tend to be heavy-handed and “artsy” about such stuff, Jimenez got it exactly right.Up until about the middle of the book, everything worked just great. It got slightly more complicated after as both Jason and Sloan mess up three times over mostly stupid issues. Maybe that's “true to life” but one “crisis” is enough for me in a romance.A minor detail but a nice touch were the song titles that precede every chapter. Judging by the titles they fit nicely and since I'd never heard of most of the musicians, I'm currently playing the eponymous “Happy Ever After Playlist” (which you can find on Apple Music here). (I must admit, I'm slightly disappointed now as the titles sounded more promising than what I'm hearing now. :) )Ultimately, though, this was exactly the kind of literary junk food I was craving and what more could I possibly ask for?! Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram