In the Friend Zone by Kristen Callihan, we meet Ivy Mackenzie and Gray Grayson. Ivy is a sports agent’s daughter, and Gray is a star tight-end college football player. Ivy has been studying abroad, and her father is working hard to sign the star college player to a professional contract. In need of a car, Ivy’s father loans her car to Gray. The only problem is it’s a tiny, bubblegum pink car. Gray receives an irate text from Ivy, threatening him if he dares damage her beloved car. A series of hilarious texts back and forth begin, and Ivy and Gray become best friends via text. The only problem is that when they finally meet in person, the sparks of attraction fly, but Ivy has vowed never to date one of her father’s clients.

I loved that this book began with a series of text messages. Gray and Ivy have never met, yet it’s obvious that they are friends and that they care for one another. The texting goes on for several chapters, and the story is told with alternating points of view so we get to see/hear what both Gray and Ivy are doing and feeling as they get to know one another. I loved that when they finally met in person, they felt like they’d known each other forever. This was a cute book.

I enjoyed it more than I did the first book in the series, the Hook Up. It may have been because Gray was such a great hero. He was such a clown. You couldn’t help but like his character. He wasn’t as likeable in the first book in the series where he was just the sidekick. I liked that the author gave him a chance to grow and become a better person than he had been in the first book. There is so much more to him than meets the eye. Ivy was also a great female lead, and Gray encourages her to think outside the box and follow her heart to a career that she had never even considered to be a possibility.

I highly recommend this one.