THE FRIEND ZONE – KRISTEN CALLIHAN

**Spoilers Ahead, Read On With Caution**

What better thing is there for me to do when I’m ill again, and have zero voice left at all, than to crack out some reviews for books I finished weeks ago. I’ve been a very shitty reviewer lately, and that’s vastly to blame on how ill and gross I’ve felt recently, and just how damn tired. It’s been a bit of a mission, not gunna lie. THE FRIEND ZONE was an absolute favourite of mine when I was reading it, as I loooooved Gray Grayson as a character, and especially him with Ivy Mackenzie. 

Gray doesn’t make friends with women. He has sex with them. Until Ivy. The last thing star tight-end Gray Grayson wants to do is drive his agent’s daughter’s bubblegum pink car. But he needs the wheels and she’s studying abroad. Something he explains when she sends him an irate text to let him know exactly how much pain she’ll put him in if he crashes her beloved ride. Before he knows it, Ivy Mackenzie has become his best texting bud. But then Ivy comes home and everything goes haywire. Because the only thing Gray can think of is being with Ivy. Ivy doesn’t have sex with friends. Especially not with a certain football player. No matter how hot he makes her… Gray drives Ivy crazy. He’s irreverent, sex on a stick, and completely off limits. Because, Ivy has one golden rule: never get involved with one of her father’s clients. A rule that’s proving harder to keep now that Gray is doing his best to seduce her. Her best friend is fast becoming the most irresistible guy she’s ever met. Which means Gray is going to have to use all his skills to win Ivy’s heart. Game on.

One of the things I liked most about THE FRIEND ZONE was how it was a real situation that so many of us actually go through. We have all at some point in out lives been friend zoned, and know the true annoyance of it, when it’s not what you were hoping to achieve. When really, you so wanted to be more than friends. This is definitely not the case for Gray and Ivy, as they’re all about that friendship. And it’s the best friendship to read! It’s the type of friendship where you wish they’d get together, but sort of also wish that they don’t act on it as you don’t want to see it be ruined over avoidable lust. Gray was charming, funny and beyond likeable so it was no surprise why Ivy eventually caved to him. In THE HOOK UP I had a hard time really liking Gray as he came across as a bit of a massive manwhore most of the time, but THE FRIEND ZONE really gave him the depth I was looking for, and the lovable personality that was previously a bit skimmed over. 

“Talking to you is like talking to myself. Only better.” “It’s scary that I get that.” 

At no point when reading it did I ever think that the plot wasn’t plausible, or that it was way too far fetched to be happening. I liked how gradual it was, and how it all starts with a texted conversation over a bubblegum pink car. I love love loved it! And the nicknames, oh man, Kristen Callihan sure knows how to pick a pair of good nicknames in her books. 

“GrayG: Just to clarify, putting the perfectly reasonable and technically correct name aside, shenanigans are a go?” Laughing now, I lean back more comfortably in the ugly plastic airport seat and answer. ‘IvyMac: All night, Cupcake. I can’t wait to taste your frosting.’ A couple seconds pass and then, ‘GrayG: Mac, you sent a dirty text. I just shed a tear of pride. I also have a hard-on. I think the little old lady sitting next to me is checking it out.”