Īn excellent debut that combines wit, humor, and emotional intensity.Įleven years ago, he broke her heart. Kristen’s take-no-prisoners attitude is smart and sassy and perfectly balanced by Josh’s easygoing resourcefulness, though at times her lack of transparency while jerking him around makes her seem more immature than self-sacrificing. Jimenez tackles a myriad of issues in her debut and hits each one with depth and sensitivity. Josh knows he’ll never be happy without Kristen, but he’ll have to think outside the box to convince her to take a chance on them. The two reach a painful impasse, but when tragedy strikes, they find themselves reevaluating their relationship. Unfortunately she also knows Josh wants children, which would be nearly impossible for them due to her malfunctioning reproductive system. Josh thinks Kristen is mourning the end of her relationship with Tyler, but really, Kristen realizes Josh is her perfect match. Kristen and Josh sleep together, but she slams the door on his hope for a real relationship, telling him it will never be more than a friends-with-benefits situation. Then Tyler reenlists, effectively breaking up with her.

Counting down the days until he gets home for good, Kristen adamantly puts Josh in the friend zone, refusing to acknowledge their growing closeness and her spiking attraction. Josh is immediately smitten, but Kristen has a boyfriend, Tyler, who’s deployed overseas. Minutes later they discover that their best friends are engaged to each other and they were slated to meet that day at the fire station where Brandon and Josh work. There's minimal damage, so she disappears. Josh meets Kristen with a bang, literally, when she slams on her brakes and he runs into her. A woman refuses to be with her soul mate, but life intervenes, making her choice harder and more heartbreaking.

The friend zone abby