The Happy Ever After Playlist (The Friend Zone, 2)

From the New York Times bestselling author of Just for the Summer comes a romantic comedy about how one adorable puppy brings together two perfect strangers.

"The Happy Ever After Playlist tackles love after loss with fierce humor and fiercer heart." --Casey McQuiston, New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue

Artist Sloan Monroe just can't seem to get her life on track. But one troublemaking pup who randomly jumps into her car with a ""take me home"" look in his eyes is about to change everything. With Tucker by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker's owner reaches out. He's a musician on tour in Australia. And bottom line: He wants Tucker back.

Well, Sloan's not about to give up her dog without a fight. But what if this Jason guy really loves Tucker? As their flirty texts turn into long calls, Sloan can't deny a connection. Jason is hot, nice, and funny. There's no telling what could happen when they meet in person. The question is: With his music career on the rise, how long will Jason really stick around? And is it possible for Sloan to survive another heartbreak?

USA Today bestseller
Publishers Weekly bestseller
Featured on NBC, NPR, PopSugar, Entertainment Weekly, Forbes, Business Insider, Bustle, Oprah.com
Goodreads Choice Award Finalist for Best Romance
SheReads Award Best Romance of the year
Frolic's Best Books of the year

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Published Apr 14, 2020

400 pages

Average rating: 8

324 RATINGS

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Readers say *The Happy Ever After Playlist* delivers a heartfelt mix of romance, grief, and new beginnings with relatable characters and emotional dep...

SherylStandifer

Jan 18, 2026

8/10 stars

I just really love the Abby Jimenez books on audio. The talent they hire to do the male and female voices are on-point, with conversational inflection that seems real. In this story, Sloan, the best friend of Kristen in The Friend Zone, gets her own story, after the death of Sloan’s fiancé. This is a couple of years later, when Sloan is still grieving, but gets dragged back into the land of the living by a dog. The dog has jumped into the sunroof of her car, which startles her, and she gets a ticket for impeding traffic. She tries to find the the dog’s owner, who turns out is traveling in Australia, and the dog escaped from a flighty model/old girlfriend who didn’t really make an effort to find the dog. The dog’s owner is a musician, Jason, who goes by the stage name of Jackson Waters. When Jason/Jackson finally arrives stateside to retrieve his dog, sparks ensue. And Sloan begins to think about getting over her fiancé and back to the things she loves to do - creating art and cooking. The only thing that was niggling me a little bit was that Jason seemed to use the f-word way too much. Not necessary, given that circumstances were of his own creation.

KelSpinski

Jan 09, 2026

8/10 stars

Cute love story. And who doesn't love a story with a dog?

siemelle900

Nov 28, 2025

8/10 stars

Was it my favorite book by Abby Jimenez? No.

Did I think it was a little cheesy? Yes.

Did I also love it? Also yes.

At this point, Abby can just take my money in advance and forward me copies of her books as they are published.

postcoffeepoop

Oct 21, 2025

4/10 stars

Pro tip: do NOT binge Abby Jimenez books. It's the same structure for every book, it's honestly so frustrating.

Her main characters are usually solid but then she writes these secondary characters that are only memorable (well, memorable is a strong word) because of their "witty" one liners.

Anyway, had to give that second star cuz Paramore is the first song. Nice.

MyBookNook

Sep 19, 2025

3/10 stars

This was better then the first. More funny, I laughed a lot more in this one than the first. I enjoyed both books, but I think there were a lot of potential marks missed that would have made this series much better. But still enjoyed, but didn't love it .