The Friend Zone

A Slow-Burn College Football Romance Between a Star Tight End and the One Woman Who's Off-Limits

Kristen Callihan author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Harlequin Enterprises Ltd

Published:24th Apr '25

Should be back in stock very soon

The Friend Zone cover

Now in print with an all-new bonus chapter, Kristen Callihan's fan-favorite GAME ON series continues with a spicy college football romance built on the best friends-to-lovers slow burn. Perfect for fans of Elle Kennedy and high-heat new adult love stories.

“The Friend Zone is an exquisite, delicious cupcake of a book. You will gobble it down and hunger for more.”—SARINA BOWEN, USA Today bestselling author

It started with a text.
 
The last thing star tight end Gray Grayson wants to do is drive his agent's daughter's bubblegum-pink Fiat. But he needs the wheels, and she's studying abroad. When Ivy Mackenzie finds out her car has been loaned to a football player, she makes one thing clear: no shenanigans.
 
What starts as a bossy text turns into a nonstop conversation. Then a friendship. Then something neither of them expected.
 
Gray doesn't do relationships. He's the hookup king with a reputation to match. But Ivy isn't like anyone he's ever met. She's sharp, funny, and the only person who makes him want to be better. The problem? She has one rule: never get involved with any of her father's clients.
 
When they finally meet in person, the chemistry is instant and undeniable. Ivy wants to keep Gray in the friend zone. Gray wants out of it. And he's willing to risk everything to prove they're worth more than a label.
 
All's fair in love and football…game on.

Perfect for readers who love:

  • Friends to lovers (slow burn)
  • College sports romance
  • Sexy and funny texting romance
  • Off-limits / forbidden attraction
  • Football heroes
  • High-heat new adult romance


Looking for more spicy sports romance? The GAME ON series has four books of football heroes, high heat, and swoon-worthy love stories: The Hook Up, The Friend Zone, The Game Plan, and The Hot Shot. And don't miss Kristen Callihan's newest football romance, Only on Gameday!

Praise for Kristen Callihan’s GAME ON series

“The Friend Zone is an exquisite, delicious cupcake of a book. You will gobble it down and hunger for more.”
SARINA BOWEN, USA Today bestselling author

“Gray is delicious—sweet and sexy and a more than worthy book boyfriend. Did I mention sexy? The Friend Zone is a must read!”
MONICA MURPHY, New York Times bestselling author

“The Game Plan has pulse pounding sex and stomach twisting emotion. I fell in love with the hero by chapter one, straight into all-out lust by chapter two.”
TESSA BAILEY, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“This is seriously one of the best new adult contemporary romances I have ever, ever, EVER read. I absolutely loved it.”
ELYSSA PATRICK, author of the With Me series

More praise for Kristen Callihan’s books

“Callihan has a great talent for sexual tension and jaw-dropping plots that weave together brilliantly in the end.”
DIANA GABALDON, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Smart, sharp, and wonderfully romantic; a hero to die for and a heroine so endearing you’ll want her for a friend; I fell hard for this book and Kristen Callihan’s incredible writing!”
KATY EVANS, New York Times bestselling author

“Sizzling chemistry, flawless banter and a hero that runs hot and cold in the best ways make Managed impossible to put down.”
JAY CROWNOVER, New York Times bestselling author

ISBN: 9781335015884

Dimensions: 201mm x 132mm x 21mm

Weight: 256g

Reissue