Title: The Happy Ever After Playlist
Author: Abby Jimenez
Rating: ★★★★★

Last year, Abby Jimenez impressed me with the emotional complexity, romance, and wit in her debut novel The Friend Zone. When I saw she had a new release coming out this year, I knew I had to check this one out as well!

The Happy Ever After Playlist centers around Sloane, who is trying to pick up the pieces of her life following a tragic event that happened a couple years prior. Those who have read The Friend Zone know which event I’m referring to, but for those who haven’t or don’t want to be spoiled I won’t mention anything more about it.

The Happy Ever After Playlist is full of giddy romance, great chemistry, and emotional depth. As with The Friend Zone, I love the complexity Jimenez brings to her books. I wouldn’t necessarily call these books Rom-Coms, because while they do have moments of levity and humor, they also deal with some heartbreaking topics. I alternated between crying and grinning like a jackass the entire time I was reading this. Every scene with Jason and Sloan was so wholesome and heartwarming. It’s impossible not to smile whenever they’re together!

The pacing of some parts of the book felt off compared to the rest. I think towards the end it started to slow down a bit and there wasn’t as much of the cute interactions and witty dialogue between the characters. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing–it was honest and realistic and written well–but I did miss the butterflies the first half of the book gave me!

I highly recommend The Happy Ever After Playlist to anyone who enjoys reading contemporary romance! Abby Jimenez has written another beautiful, poignant novel about grief, friendship, and finding love again.