This was a fun enjoyable NA read that captivated me right from the start. Logan Hunt had been a star football player in Texas on the path to a NFL career. Then trouble found him and now he's in Seattle at the EOL college. EOL - end of the line and how true that was. Screw up here and you're done for good. All Logan needs to do is keep his head down, study hard, and follow all the million rules the coach has. Part one and two are no problem but the no girls rule not so much. Making matters worse the only girl he wants is Jess. The coaches daughter. Yeah all kinds of trouble there!

I definitely recommend this one.

This book was addicting and delicious, I could not stop reading it once I started...bad idea to start this book late at night because I was dragging the next day, but it was worth it!

I'm not a big fan of new adult college romances anymore. To be honest, I never really got into them too much because they always felt unrealistic and cheesy, but I could not resist reading THE FRIEND ZONE after I read the synopsis. I am WEAK for sports romances, and I've been starved for a quality football romance, so THE FRIEND ZONE was the perfect solution.

Definitely recommend this book if you are a fan of sports romances because this one was SPICY, but the romance was also heartwarming! Will be posting a full review on goodreads soon!

Thanks for the early copy Netgalley!!!

Oooooh friends, this book was so yummy. I know that when I love a book it comes out mostly in the adjective "yummy" but I just cannot help myself. That's because this book is so good I figuratively ate it up. And I would literally eat it up if it were actually food. Which it isn't. But, it did have pizza and gelato in it. 😀

This book was so much fun to read. The dialogue was witty and flirty, the attraction and chemistry had an amazing build that became combustible. Oh man, did it ever. The explosions were worth waiting for. 😍🔥

There was depth and struggle for the characters and I love how they took the place in life they were in very seriously. They trying to make good choices and live up to their potential. Logan and Jess were easy to like and easy to root for. I am really hoping that this is the start of a series that will include Bash! He needs his own story! I need more of him.

So yeah, my yummy siren is singing out loud and constantly with this book. I would love to sit down and read it again right now because it made it me happy. Sariah Wilson is so good at writing books that I love. This one might be my favorite. (do I say that every time?!) This book will be released on June 11th so pre-order it now! I do believe it will also be on KU if you have that.

Content: kissing, a couple make-out scenes, mention of child neglect and abuse, mention of date rape drug and almost rape with no details.

- I received a complimentary copy of this book but I have pre-ordered my own copy.

This was such a sweet story. Tragedy has made Jess wary of guys. She’s just starting to take an interest in dating, but the object of her crush doesn’t seem to know she exists. Enter Logan. New quarterback for the football team. He has his own set of rules. Coach says no dating. No girls.
No problem. He and Jess can be friends while he helps her gain the interest of her crush, right?
I think you know where this is going. But I loved Logan and Jess’s dynamic. It doesn’t hurt that their chemistry is off the charts. Logan is hilarious with his cutting jokes towards Jess’s crush, Ben.
I laughed. I even shed a few tears in the end. 5 stars!!!

This is my first book by Sariah Wilson and I really enjoyed it. I love to read sports romance novels, hockey would be my favourite but football follows a very close second. Add in that it is college based and I knew I was going to enjoy this book.
Logan and Jess's relationship that isn't a relationship was great to read. With all the rules in play from Jess's father who just so happens to be Logan's coach, the couple end up getting to know each other very well without crossing any lines.
As this is so different to so many romance novels out there, it really made a refreshing change.
I would definitely read more from this author especially if it involves Bash.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.

The perfect friends to lovers, sports romance. You can't help but fall for Logan and Jess, while watching them grow close, trying to fight the chemistry. A wonderful start to the series!

If you are looking for a sweet, YA romance, then The Friend Zone is definitely worth checking out.

After his college football career gets derailed, Logan gets a second chance playing at a small junior college dubbed the End Of The Line. The first person he meets is quirky, funny Jess -- who of course, turns out to be the coach's daughter. And the coach's top rule? No dating his daughter!

Through a lot of non-dates, Logan and Jess get to know one another in that old school, slow-burn way. Is their relationship worth the risk when it comes to Logan's future as a football player and angering Jess' father? Or will they forever be in The Friend Zone? This book is totally rated PG, and it was actually a nice change of pace. The story is slow and sweet, and a real friendship is established first between these kind of broken characters. Eventually, Logan and Jess realize that they do deserve to be loved, and they bring out the best in one another.

I received an advanced copy via NetGalley and voluntarily left a review.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Sometimes in life people aren't dealt a good hand. It truly takes hard work and determination to pull themselves out of the dark and into the light. Logan Hunt is one such character. His life as a kid wasn't the greatest. It was a dark time in his life and all he had was football to help with the aggression he felt towards life.

His last chance to make something of himself he joined a football team that had the potential to send him to the NFL. The problem is Coach has a strict set of rules. No dating being one of them. Especially his daughter, Jess.

Jess happens to be Logan's math tutor. Y'all can guess what happens when you spend a lot of time with someone right? These two are so funny together and they compliment one another very well. Jess has her sights on someone else though, and because of Coach's rules Logan can't even go there with Jess. Friend Zone it is.

I enjoyed reading this contemporary romance. These two characters definitely had a hard time in a few stretches of their lives. Now it's up to them to make smart choices and see where it takes them. You'll be rooting for their relationship the whole book!

To be "friend zoned". what a joke when both parties feel the chemistry pull! This is a fun read with some emotional pulls too. Logan has one last chance to play in front of the NFL scouts-follow the rules, keep your nose clean, transferring to EOL was his last shot. He's determined to follow the rules, his future is riding on it. Problem: the coach's daughter, the ultimate number one NO. He was ready for Jess or their clicking into sync. Jess knew she shouldn't find Logan attractive, she already has a crush on someone else, friends should be easy , right? Overprotective father, unplanned kisses, and big decisions makes this an engaging read.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and I am happy to give my honest review.

This was my first read of Sariah Wilson and I requested this book because I love friends to lovers. However, I'm not a big fan of New Adult. I think I'm just at a point in my life where I don't really care about college aged people. Their struggles are different than mine and I don't really want to relive that part of my life.

This book stars Jess and Logan. Jess the the football coach's daughter and a math major and tutor. Her dad moves them to EOL community college after she (CONTENT WARNING) is raped by players on his old football team. I think the author did a good job of showing how you can start to come into a new normal after that kind of trauma. She chooses a safe guy to crush on (bland, self absorbed, etc) and lives at home because she knows her dad worries about her.

Logan has had a crappy life. Like, legitimately a terrible life. Mom in prison, stepdad abusive. He's kicked out of his old college and lands at EOL as their quarterback on a full scholarship. Coach's rules prohibit dating, swearing, drinking, and lots of other stuff. Of course Logan is attracted to Jess and they have a back and forth attraction/friendship. She is assigned as his math tutor and in payment he helps her get closer to her crush.

There were some really funny lines in this book. I quite liked both characters but felt more of a connection with Logan. He was trying so hard to get through this hard part of life before more opportunities would open up. He was trying to be serious about following Coach's rules and being transparent with Jess but I felt like she didn't support his discipline as much as she could.

In the end this was an entertaining read. I loved the handling of the big conflict and Logan's emotional maturity. I'm hoping the next books in the series will feature Ford and Keilani because I need to see what their deal is. Check this book out for light and fun banter with a slow slide from friends to lovers.

What an awesome start to this series!! I'm already a huge ELO fan!

This is my first book by this author and I definitely enjoyed it. I did think the book was a little longer than it needed to be and I definitely started skipping in the middle. I get it... Logan and Jess aren't allowed to be together. The angst and buildup here went on way longer than it needed to.

Even though I skimmed some parts, I really loved these characters and was completely invested in them making it. I hated Danielle something fierce and her conversation with Jess toward the end made me hate her even more. If that convo was supposed to garner sympathy, it didn't work. She's awful. Logan was funnier than I was expecting him to be and I loved the interactions he had with Jess and Bash.

I'm really looking forward to more in this series! I'm rooting so hard for this team!

Sariah Wilson is a new to me author and I know that I will be reading more of her books in the future. The blurb really got my attention when it came to this story. I love a friends to lovers romance and this one is definitely a MUST READ for anyone who loves that trope.
I loved Logan and Jess’s relationship. They knew they couldn’t date and that being friends was their only option. They set rules that they wouldn’t cross, but sometimes life doesn’t always work out how you plan.
Jess’s father also happens to be Logan’s new football coach and he has some strict rules when it comes to his team, such as no drinking, no drugs, no dating, no swearing. Logan knows he is on his last chance to make a better life for himself so he makes sure he follows those rules to a T.
I loved seeing Logan and Jess’s friend grow through their “non-dates” and watching their feelings develop for each other as they got to know each other better. Their chemistry is off the charts and when they finally give into each other it is explosive! This story is fun, steamy, sweet and emotional at times. Grab yourself a glass of emotional support milk, because you will need it and enjoy this fun take on a friends to lovers romance.

This was a very cute and easy read for me. I fell in love with all the characters over a short amount of time, espesically Logan who was funny and adorable and made me laugh out loud too many times to count. This book focused on falling in love with each other, espesically when you don't mean to do so and taking the consequenses of it. But also talking about grief, moving on and those touchy subject and i think it did a good job. I actually hands down have nothing bad to say about it, other than i wish it was more to it..

I received an early copy from Netgalley.

This book overall gave me a bit of a "meh" feeling. Okay, Fine. Nothing outstanding. I'm usually a fan of the friends to lovers trope and also the forbidden aspect didn't deter me. I think overall, the characters remained a bit flat to me, and the writing didn't entirely engage me to read. It took several attempts to finish. There was nothing directly bad, just nothing outstanding either.

This book was so sweet. The characters were real and the romance was believable. I look forward to reading more by Sariah Wilson

The Friend Zone is everything you want out of a friend's to lovers romance. Not just because he is a big, gorgeous jock. Not just because she's a beautiful math nerd. They both have a hidden side. Both are not entirely what they seem to be but it's impossible to stop the fall. Honestly, he could have killed a cat on a "not date" and I still would swoon.

Fun, sexy, and rife with tension, The Friend Zone has me wanting to start all over again. Friends make falling so much easier...

I'll be honest, I really struggled with this book and am on the fence whether to rate this a 2 or 3 star read. Unfortunately, I started and stopped this book so many times and had to force myself to finish. The first 60% was just really boring and seemed to drag and offered no motivation to continue. I'd find myself checking at the beginning of the chapter to see how many more chapters I had to go before I could mark this one as complete. Since I can count on one hand how many books I have DNF'd in my life, I figured I'd keep reading in hopes it would grab my attention. This book could have easily been written with half the pages and been 100x better. I couldn't even count on some heat to keep me interested, as they only made out twice and that was it, FOR THE ENTIRE BOOK). I'm usually not a fan of YA since it's hard for me to relate (I'm at least 15 years older than the characters in this book). But the premise of this one sounded interesting and I'm a sucker for a good sports romance, so I gave it a try, especially since this was a 'new to me' author.

I didn't really have an issue with the plot itself, which is a plus. I did find myself having a hard time connecting with the characters. Jess wasn't my favorite character. She was so obsessed with 'Ben I Am' that I just became annoyed. I really hated hearing about another love interest for most of the story and hated how she used Logan (at his insistence though) to get closer to Ben. She seemed a bit too shallow and one-dimensional to me.

I really liked Logan ... a lot. He had such a rough childhood and had made obvious mistakes, but he was serious about turning his life around. He wasn't obsessed with playing in the NFL, only wanted to graduate so that he could become a teacher. I had a lot of respect for him and found his honor and respect for Coach's rules to be inspiring.

Speaking of rules, Coach's rules were absurd and not at all realistic. I mean to prohibit a player from having ANY romantic relationship with a woman, not even the holding hands innocent kind, was taking things a step too far and into communist/dictator territory. I almost put the book down and didn't go past that chapter once I read that. It made me that mad and had me scoffing at the same time.

Around the 60% mark, I started getting more into the book. Things were picking up with Logan and Jess' relationship and the plot sped up. So for that alone, I gave my review an extra star. That 'emotional support milk' the author threw in at the end of the book just had me swooning. That was unique and made my heart melt for the guy. I wish we had gotten more of an epilogue. I felt like we were taken through the book on such a drawn out journey and then left to hang and assume life after college would be great.

I really wish the secondary characters had provided more color. They just seemed to make the occasional appearance and were pretty bland. I found Ford and Keilani to be very intriguing and I wanted to see more of them instead of more of Jess/Logan.

This sweet new adult sport romance has a lot of rules for NFL players and the biggest rule is broken. Because NFL player Logan falls in love in the coach daughter Jess. A story that is so much deeper than just ordinary collage romance. Both Logan and Jess had very trouble past full of pain. Somehow, they heal each other and offer support with which they have feeling that they can accomplish more and to fight for what they want. Their story is amazing and to see how they developed and become wiser.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly

The title of this book is absolutely perfect! There is so much "friend zoning" going on in this book. That's what happens when the football coach makes "no girls" one of his rules. This coach's rules are rigid and if you break them, you are basically done playing for him with no questions asked. Logan cannot afford to lose the football scholarship so he makes the comment to his math tutor early on that no girl is worthing losing his future. The math tutor, Jess (aka Jessica) is also the coach's daughter. She and Logan become friends while she is tutoring him. He agrees to try to help her make another math tutor, Ben, jealous. She's had a crush on Ben for a while but he's been having a "thing" with her nemesis. Somewhere along the way, Jess realizes it's not Ben she's interested in anymore, but Logan. Unfortunately she knows that can't happen because of her father's rules and of all of them, dating her would be the biggest violation. She refuses to be the reason that Logan could lose his ability to play football and thus continue school. She also doesn't want to betray her father's trust. So, she and Logan both try to resist the increasing attraction that they feel for one another.

The underlying passion between these two is palpable. They acquiesce to some kisses here and there but are constantly in fear of being caught. Logan is driven to succeed by his intense need to not "be his step-father" and he firmly believes that getting his education is his ticket out. Jess has been battling her own demons after a situation that happened to her in the past. Logan's friendship has helped her to see that all football players are not the same. She is attracted to his caring nature, sensitivity and vulnerability. Of course, I'm sure his perfect athletic physique doesn't hurt matters either. She battles it because she knows he can't afford school without the scholarship. Yet, neither of them can fully distance themself from the other and they think they can maintain a friendship without stepping over the line again. Can they make this work or are their hearts too invested already?

The Friend Zone was a very enjoyable slow burn romance. The characters had depth and had experienced difficult life experiences. It made it easy to feel invested in their outcome. I also really liked Logan's roommate, Bash. He was just a big lug with a heart. It was also rewarding to see Jess and her father's relationship grow as well.

This was a fresh and rewarding sports romance. Even though a lot of underlying sexual tension and attraction was at play between our main characters, the book only contained some steamy kissing scenes. However, those were definitely some hot kisses. If you like sports romance, fake relationships, friends to lovers and somewhat forbidden relationships, you'd enjoy this book.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for providing me with the ARC.**

A great friends to “lovers,” slow burn novel and so much more than your typical sports romance. Logan is the fallen star football player looking for a second chance and Jess is his new coach’s daughter. Their love is forbidden from the start thanks to Coach Oakley’s no dating, and especially no dating the coach’s daughter, rule for the football team. This rule forces Logan and Jess to be friends first and to really get to know one another. Both Logan and Jess have experienced traumatic events in their past, but Wilson does a great job of balancing the heavy content with light banter and overalls this is a fun read.

I’m really hoping this will be the start of a series because there were some great secondary characters. If so, fingers crossed for Bash as the lead in book 2.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Montlake Romance for giving me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.