New Year, Same Me! So naturally, I’m back to trying to stay on top of my book reviews. But it’s a new year, right? Anything’s possible.
I’ve started a few other books this year that are taking me a bit longer to complete – for a variety of reasons – but the first two books I finished this year were both by Mia Sosa. And, in turn, both are romance novels. (One of my favorite genres, right up there with horror.)
The Premise:
Catalina is a wedding planner who was jilted at her own wedding. To make matters worse, her ex-groom-to-be didn’t even break up with her to her face – she sent his brother to do it instead. But despite her own personal set back, Lina is still considered a top-tier wedding planner in Washington, DC.
When the opportunity of a lifetime presents itself with a local hotel – a perfect wedding venue – looking to expand their brand, Lina finds herself teamed up with one member of a competing pair of top marketing associates to land the hotel. The pinch? The two marketing associates competing for the job are brothers. In fact, it’s her ex-groom-to-be and the brother who delivered the killing blow to their relationship.
And when, determined not to let the opportunity pass her by, she pretends not to know them, she gets teamed up with her ex’s brother (the titular Worst Best Man.) Can Lina put hurt feelings aside and work with Max to close the deal with the hotel? Will other unexpected feelings arise?
My Thoughts:
All in all, The Worst Best Man was a pretty run of the mill, contemporary romance filled with tropes, pop culture references (which, if I’m entirely honest, aren’t generally my favorite in fiction), and sweet moments. Fair warning, there were also a few steamy scenes in this one – though nothing I’d consider to be too over the top for a general audience romance.
As someone who doesn’t usually love the “enemies to lovers” trope, something I did love about this one was that there was no false-feeling exclamation of the male lead being an “arch-enemy.” It’s something that drives me nuts to no end when the male lead seems a bit standoffish, but not like a bad guy overall, and we’re supposed to believe he’s nemesis-level enemies with the female lead just because she said so. And that happens a lot. But I appreciated that with this story – even though it fits firmly into the trope “enemies to lovers” – it felt authentic. It seems pretty realistic to be at odds with the person who told you your impending nuptials are over, maybe even more so when he’s related to the runaway groom.
In general, I do think the family dynamics (all around, not just between the brothers) were kind of neat and insightful. While I thought the things with Max and his family felt a bit forced and odd at times – especially some of the scenes involving their mother – I loved the vibrancy of the relationships with Lina’s family. I was also excited to find out we were getting more of that in Sosa’s next book The Wedding Crasher but that’s for the next review.
Lina’s Brazilian family is so full of life. Not only are they relatable and jump off the page, but they provide insights into both Brazilian culture as well as Brazilian-American culture and it’s so fun and refreshing to see in a novel. Honestly, sign me up for any romance book with a healthy dose of the character’s culture. I’m always down for it. Doubly so if it involves wonderful, perhaps overprotective, aunts. (Adults dealing with ‘It takes a village’ type families are my favorite.)
And I guess in mentioning how vivid the family is, it goes without saying that I think the characters and family relations are where Sosa shines the most. It’s an unfortunate reality that most romances are pretty formulaic, and this one wasn’t particularly stand-out as far as plot goes, but the pops and flairs of sassy Brazilian women and their relatives made this one stand out from the pack.
Lasting Impressions:
I think, if you’re looking for a solid, fun romance with a zest for life, this is a great contender. It was full of heart and I think that’s an important quality in a romance novel. Was it the best I’ve ever read? It’s hard to compete with Ms. Austen in my mind, but this is a solid pick that I’m sure I’ll be recommending around. Would I read it again? That’s harder to answer. This wasn’t a book I swooned for, but it’s sure to be one that lives on in my mind for a while. Between this and The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas (which would have a link if I’d been on top of my reviews in 2022 😬) I’m loving this style of contemporary romance and will definitely be looking for more like it!
Oh! And a note: If you can, read this book in physical or e-book format. The audiobook narrator for Lina was absolutely wonderful, but the narrator for Max doesn’t have a great voice for the feminine speaking bits. Whenever he had to relay something Lina said, things got very silly sounding – enough to make me stop at points and laugh out loud. (Which I feel really bad about saying, but it was definitely distracting at times.) So you’ve been warned!
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