 4.0 out of 5 stars 4 Cupcake & Special Sauce Stars Gray Grayson and Ivy Mackenzie are a match made in best friend heaven. From the very first (threatening) text, these characters connect.Their relationship is one I understand - it’s like finding your own reflection - a perfect compliment - someone who really gets you & isn’t put off by your funny little idiosyncrasies, or bad grammar, or lame jokes.For me, that person is my good friend Foxy. I was really fortunate to read this book with her. We’ve read a lot of books together over the past year, or so. This is what (just one of) our convos about this book looked like: (see attached photo)The Friend Zone is a slow burning romance - which I LOVE. It's a perfect type of friends-to-lovers story, which I also LOVE. The characters are smart and witty ... Their banter is light and fun ... The chemistry is freakin' HOT!Even when the story takes on a more serious tone, these characters remain real. They may sometimes loose their way, but they do not get completely swallowed up by the drama ... They remain true to themselves ... And each other (even if it takes them a while to get there).The appearances by Drew & Anna from The Hook Up (Game On book 1) are fabulous! Of course, Drew is Gray's best friend, so the story would be lost without him. But it was really nice to get a peek back at the relationship of Drew & Anna (especially from a different pov). And The Hook Up was one of my favorite books, last year.It was also nice to see a shout out to Logan, from Elle Kennedy's book The Mistake - love when authors support each other.Overall, Gray & Ivy's story is sweet, with a touch of sassy. Just the way I like 'em!Can't wait for the next installment in this series!! Reviews with images
Top reviews from the United StatesThere was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2015 05/08/2015 -- Well, Jilly Boo and I finished this one yesterday [she a bit before me because she is speedy fast]. We both really liked it and we liked much of the same things in it. Here's my take. What things do I want to remember I liked about this one? Ivy has always been a pretty misfit. She's really tall for a girl and has felt awkward because of it. Her parents divorced because her dad s*** on her mother and so she doesn't really trust men .. especially men in and around a sport. She's smart, fun and talented, but can't quite figure out what to do now she's all grown up. Each of these two are pretty great characters, but having them here in the same book and makes it pretty amazing. Rarely do I like two characters in the same book so much. 2 -- Jill and I talked about this in the beginning. One of the first scenes in the book presents such a mental visual image, it highlights the talent of this author. I struggle sometimes knowing how to communicate what I like and especially look for in a good author. This one scene is what it is totally about. It is about Gray running through the airport looking for Ivy -- he's worried he's late and she has no idea it is he who is coming to get her. It really is amazing. I can so imagine it. Jill could too and it allowed us to share this together through this authors words. Hard to describe, but you really have to read it to know. One of the last scenes in the book revisited this scene a bit and I loved it. It tied it all together for me neatly. 3 -- The story really was satisfying. It wasn't terribly deep or unique, but it was just fine for me. There were a few things I didn't like and I'll outline them below. It wasn't perfect, but I don't think the author was striving for perfect. You get the impression that this is just cake for the author who writes PNR most of the time with all the deep world building and such. She could have done quite a bit more, but she didn't have to in order to give us a story worthy of 4 stars. No prize here, but well worth your time and money. 4 -- Love the title for this one. I've had guy friends that I've put firmly in that bucket. Not because I wasn't attracted to them, but because they meant so much to me as to keep them a friend. I didn't want to risk losing them to some flighty romance. Especially when we would be just having fun. This is where this all started for these characters but they couldn't fight the attraction. Do you know how brave you have to be to contemplate losing them if a romance fails? Brave when these people mean something to you. Never happened to me. Glad I didn't have to go there. Not sure I would have had the courage to lose my guy friend. I've found my guy friends are friends deeper and longer than my lady friends. Big points for bravery to these two here. Okay, a few things that were a miss for me here: 2 -- The cover is silly really. I guess it is an eye-catcher for some, but seems a bit "over the top" cheesy to me. 3 -- Very little football here. I've said it before, I really like a book that has a sports theme to give us a bit more than surface references. None of the lingo or locker room here. Very little and I hate that. Even with all the elements that didn't quite measure up, this is a 4 Star read for me. So, what's that say? Pretty darned good. I'll read this one again .. just know it! Happy Reading! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ First sentence: 4:13am. Text to Gray Grayson from unknown source. Mr. Grayson, my father tells me he lent you my car. Last sentence: "Take me home Mac. We've got shenanigans to get to. Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2015 I absolutely loved this story. The characters were fabulous and the story flowed so well. You could feel the click of their connection from the first text messages and the tight friendship which grows between them. This will be
going right next to The Hook Up on my Go-To Book list. Admittedly, it took me more than one read of The Hook Up to come to like Gray Grayson. At first I saw him as a jerk who was judging Anna poorly for doing exactly what he was doing. Anna wanted to keep things casual and just sexual with Drew and Gray was acting like she was a heartless woman. Yet Gray only spent enough time with women to get them naked and once the sex was done, he forgot they even had names. After the second or third read, I started to see that Gray didn’t hate Anna so much as he hated to see that his friend was suffering because of her. Gray still didn’t understand why Drew wanted Anna so badly instead of simply finding another women who wanted him. At least that is until Ivy MacKensie came into Grey’s life, and that is what made The Friend Zone so fabulous. Not only do we have this instant and incredible connection between Ivy and Grey which starts off with simply texting while she is in England and he is here at college, but once they finally meet, we get to sit back and watch their relationship develop from such a strong foundation of friendship. Grey, who never spent time with a woman that didn’t involve a bed and being naked, finds himself desperate to spend time with Ivy just sitting around doing mundane things like watching T.V. Grey isn’t caught by Ivy so much as happily throws himself into her arms. At the end of The Hook Up, Grey needed a car and ended up borrowing one from his new agent whose daughter was out of the country. Grey was forced to drive this tiny, pink monstrosity while Drew borrowed his truck. The texting started when Ivy found out Grey was driving her car. Their friendship blossomed quickly and their texting became a mutual highlight of their days. The whole Prologue is just their texting back and forth and making that initial connection. It is their tight friendship which caused the emotional trouble throughout the story. Once Ivy returned to the U.S., she and Grey were spending all their free time together enjoying each other’s company. All the while, there is this simmering sexual tension between them. They both feel it, but their time together means so much to both of them that neither wants to risk losing it all. Ivy is aware of Grey’s past playboy lifestyle with women, both from her father’s warnings and basically anytime she it out and about in public with Grey and women are literally sitting in his lap and offering him sexual favors. Ivy has only had one-long term romantic relationship and has never done the one-night-stand. She doesn’t want to be a friend with benefit for Grey. Actually Grey doesn’t want that either. He wants a girlfriend for the first time in his life but he can feel Ivy pulling away anytime things start moving toward anything more than just buddies hanging out. Grey would rather have Ivy in his life as his friend than lose her if she doesn’t want more from him. Where normally I would feel frustrated that no one is saying anything while they are dying to progress the relationship, here you can also feel their desperation not to ruin the friendship which has come to mean so much to both of them. This was such an enjoyable story and definitely one I will be reading again and again. I didn’t get a review copy of this one but I picked up a copy on the release day and had it hovering in the background until I finally had a chance to squeeze it in between deadlines. It has thrown off my schedule but it was sooo worth it. If you haven’t started this series, grab both today. You can thank me later. :) Top reviews from other countries4.0 out of 5 stars Started slow but thoroughly enjoyed it by the end. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 8, 2021 It took a chapter or two to get into it, but by the end of it I absolutely loved these two characters. The author did very well in creating a nice ramp up, showing them growing closer and actually building a tangible connection (which is often sorely missing in romance books). Again, only the slow start and text heavy paragraphs at the beginning threw me off here. For people who hadn’t met each other, and were only connected through a business relationship (father was the agent), their texting seemed a little too in your face so quickly, if that makes sense. However, whilst I can’t relate to her height, I can absolutely relate to Ivy in so many ways, I couldn’t help but smile as I read this book. 4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 Stars!! Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 5, 2015 Gray, Gray, Gray, Gray, Gray. Loveable and affable, he is both a heart and panty melter that's for sure. In book 1 The Hook Up, we learnt that Gray Grayson is not only a football player on the field but a bit of a player off the field. However, from the minute he texts Ivy Mackenzie he's smitten. Ivy is the daughter of his soon to be sports agent, and when he is in need of a car to loan he is lumbered with Ivy's bubble pink Fiat Cinquecento. Ivy is in London with her mother, but when she hears that her father has loaned her car out, she texts Gray to warn him to look after her car, and here forth start the texts. The TEXTS are a funny and cute interlude to their friendship, and we are gifted with a book full of banter, chemistry and feels. Gray has never found a woman who can make him feel all the things that Ivy is invoking in him, he spent his childhood living with his harsh football coach father and even though he was pushed into the game, he loves it with a passion. Nothing has ever come close until Ivy. Ivy has seen what being in a relationship with someone from the game is like, her parents marriage ended because of her fathers hectic work schedule and the tempting women that are part and parcel of the lifestyle, so she is happy that her and Gray are firmly established in the friend zone. Slowly but surely, their relationship lines begins to blur and Kristen delivers some beautifully intense sexual tension, delicious dirty talking along with some hot sex. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, the complex characters along with the supporting cast made it an absolute pleasure. Looking forward to reading about Gray's team-mates. ARC gratefully received from the author in exchange for an honest review 5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful story Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 16, 2015 I love when you find a new amazing author. Until recently I hadn't heard Of Kristen Callihan but it's safe to say I will be following her work from now on. I only downloaded 'The Hook Up' after seeing reviews from friends in my news feed. I held no expectations and I really enjoyed it. However, 'The Friend Zone' had me gripped as soon as I read the blurb. I do enjoy a friends to lovers story and this is one of the best I've read. The story: I fell in love with Ivy and Gray. Two amazing characters who both desperately deserved happiness. They were funny and sweet and blew me away. I laughed and I cried as I travelled through their story, a story beautifully crafted which touches upon difficult subjects in a sensitive manner. This is a must read! 3.0 out of 5 stars Okay'ish Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 24, 2021 I have thoroughly enjoyed some of Kristen Callahans books, but this one I found immensely boring. It actually took me 2 weeks to finish as opposed to the usual '2-day-book-devour'. I think the characters were just too nice... and ultimately boring(?!). I only finished this book a couple of weeks ago and I cannot even remember their names 😐 5.0 out of 5 stars Mac & Cupcake Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 29, 2021 Mac and cupcake went through some tough times, and with there pasts they had to push through some hard situations that
came with it. |
The friend zone by kristen callihan read online
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