Critically acclaimed author Mia Sosa delivers a sassy, steamy enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy about a woman whose new job requires her to work side-by-side with the best man who ruined her wedding: her ex-fiancé's infuriating, irritating, annoyingly handsome brother. Perfect for fans of Jasmine Guillory, Helen Hoang, and Sally Thorne! A wedding planner left at the altar. Yeah, the irony isn’t lost on Carolina Santos, either. But despite that embarrassing blip from her past, Lina’s managed to make other people’s dreams come true as a top-tier wedding coordinator in DC. After impressing an influential guest, she’s offered an opportunity that could change her life. There’s just one hitch… she has to collaborate with the best (make that worst) man from her own failed nuptials. Tired of living in his older brother’s shadow, marketing expert Max Hartley is determined to make his mark with a coveted hotel client looking to expand its brand. Then he learns he’ll be working with his brother’s whip-smart, stunning—absolutely off-limits—ex-fiancée. And she loathes him. If they can survive the next few weeks and nail their presentation without killing each other, they’ll both come out ahead. Except Max has been public enemy number one ever since he encouraged his brother to jilt the bride, and Lina’s ready to dish out a little payback of her own. But even the best laid plans can go awry, and soon Lina and Max discover animosity may not be the only emotion creating sparks between them. Still, this star-crossed couple can never be more than temporary playmates because Lina isn’t interested in falling in love and Max refuses to play runner-up to his brother ever again...
ebook, 368 pages
Published: February 4th 2020 by Avon
Source: Publisher
Three stars: An antagonistic romance with a feisty, Brazilian female lead that was entertaining, but the romance was a little off.
Three years ago, Lina was jilted the morning of her wedding when her fiancé leaves her claiming his younger brother, while drunk, talked him out of marriage. These days, Lina is a successful wedding planner, who just landed the career opportunity of a lifetime. Lina is vying for a job to be the exclusive wedding coordinator in one of DC’s premier hotels. There is one minor catch, Lina finds out she must work with her ex fiancé’s brother, Max, the very one who ruined her wedding. Lina has two choices: work with Max or give up her dream job. Will Lina find a way to work with someone who destroyed her life?
What I Liked:
- The Best Worst Man is a steamy, antagonistic romance that brings together a wedding planner and her ex-fiancé’s brother. Talk about an awkward situation. What follows is a fun relationship full of spit and vinegar and then heat and passion.
- Lina, the heroine, takes some time to warm up to. She is a feisty Brazilian girl who knows how to hold a grudge, but underneath her frosty, tough facade, there is a tender, emotional girl with a big heart. It takes a long time to get to know the true Lina, and it required patience, but it was worth the time. I appreciated that I got a female lead who wasn’t your normal romantic lead. I loved that she had Brazilian heritage, and I enjoyed learning more about her culture.
- Max, unlike Lina, is much easier to fall for. He is kind, patient and charming. He puts up with Lina’s antagonistic and vengeful behavior with grace. I loved that he was the one who was willing to express his feelings, and that he didn’t falter when Lina kept getting cold feet.
- One of the best parts of the book was getting to know Lina’s large, meddling family. Lina comes from a family with strong matriarchal roots. Her mother and her aunts, and all of her cousins have her back. Even though they interfered, they all meant well. Some of the funniest scenes were when Lina had to talk her aunt and cousins out of inappropriate clothing, food and behavior at an upcoming family wedding. I always love a story that features a big, boisterous family.
- The romance is one that takes plenty of time to take root. The two start out as enemies, but then they are forced to work together. What follows is plenty of battles as the two get over their differences. Then a hesitant friendship forms as the pair learns to work together. Finally, sparks fly when the duo is stranded and forced to go to a couple’s retreat. Once the romance takes off, prepare for fire.
- The ending is sweet and satisfying. After some stumbles, the hesitant one finally figures it out, and all ends well.
And The Not So Much:
- For me, there was something a little off with the romance. I didn’t like that Lina channeled all of her negative energy at Max. He wasn’t the one who left her jilted at the alter. Furthermore, I thought her continued combative actions were immature. I didn’t think Max deserved so much hostility, especially when he was trying to help her land the job.
- The ex-fiancé is a real jerk, especially when some truths come to light about him at the end of the book. He gets off way too easy.
- I was disappointed that there wasn’t more on the showdown between the vying wedding coordinators. There is all this buildup centered around landing this dream job, and I was expecting it to be more competitive. When it gets to that portion of the book, there is a small scene and that’s it. There is nothing offered from the competitor’s side. I was wanting to see what the other team presented. It was kind of a fizzle after all the buildup.
The Best Worst Man was a romance I picked up wanting something funny and flirty. There were many things I liked about this one from the Brazilian female lead to the antagonistic banter and the eventual blossoming of the romance. However, I was put off by Lina’s insecurities and her immature actions. Her constant hostile behavior and cold feet got old. This is a good romance worth picking up if you want a foes to friends to lovers romance.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
