The Friend Zone

Wilson revisits the football theme of #Awestruck in a clunky redemption story with appealing but stereotyped characters. Texas quarterback Logan Hunt has a plan to escape from poverty via college football, but he’s almost thwarted by his anger issues. He ends up on the team of Seattle’s Edwin O’Leary College, where Coach Oakley’s rules include no drinking, no swearing, and no dating. Logan tries to channel his interest in his math tutor, Jess, who is also the coach’s daughter, into assisting her in winning the attention of her crush, Ben, away from her enemy, cheerleader Danielle. Logan and Jess try to maintain a strictly platonic relationship, but their chemistry and growing mutual trust make it increasingly difficult to adhere to the rules. Subplots involving sexual assault are handled in a vague fashion and fail to build reader empathy. Though it’s set on a college campus, the book’s petty social dynamics, parent-centered barriers, and lack of sexual intimacy give it a high school aesthetic that is unlikely to appeal to adult romance readers. (June)