Picture-perfect escapism with a sexy center.
On the surface, the main players in this book by Abby Jimenez are too outrageously beautiful, obscenely masculine/exquisitely feminine, with inordinately glamorous careers. One of them donated bone marrow to a stranger before becoming a burgeoning rock star. The other is a shockingly talented artist who abandoned the creation of new work after an incredibly painful loss.
It's an excellent setup for a romantic comedy of a book with enough heartache that your teeth don't hurt from the sweetness.
Sloan is a heavily tattooed yet romantically traditional woman sometimes presented as so broken that her best friend and her beau Jason are her saviors, while there is no corresponding brokenness for Jason. (There is an impulsive vulnerability as well as a single-minded devotion to Sloan; not truly faults by any stretch.)
There is a will they/won’t they tension that takes the reader through twists and turns. (And there’s a piling on of elaborately perfect story wrap-ups at the end that made me laugh.)
Jiminez provides the drama and angst and romance for picture-perfect escapism with a sexy center. The Happy Ever After Playlist is a perfectly satisfying read with enough ups and downs to make you almost question whether the story will end up the way you predict. The author’s note about her inspiration for the book’s initial setup is heartwarming.
I expected Jimenez to simply summarize the sexy parts, but no no no, she did not.
Each chapter begins with a song title, and if you like the music, you can listen to the mix on Spotify, which is a fun idea.
What did you think?
This was perfect escapism reading for Pandemic Times and general trapped-at-home malaise.
Have you read Jimenez's other book, The Friend Zone?