Review: The Best Man – Kristan Higgins

The Best Man by Kristan Higgins
Published by Harlequin on 26 February 2013
Genres: Adult, Chick-lit, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 432
Source: Netgalley
Buy on Amazon |

Faith thought she had her life all planned out after Jeremy, her high-school sweetheart, Jeremy, proposed to her. The shock of having the wedding called off when his best friend, Levi, spoke up during the pastor's "Speak now or forever hold your peace" spiel almost shattered her. Even the fact that Jeremy was gay didn't really register with her at first. She promptly left for San Fransisco - and stayed a lot more than the four days their honey-moon was supposed to be. When she finally went back home to Manningsport for longer than usual, the first person she ran into - almost literally - was Levi who was now Police Chief, and he stopped her for speeding.

*I received a free ARC of The Best Man from Harelquin Books via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*

The Best Man is exactly the kind of contemporary romance I love to immerse myself in! Cute little tourist town upstate New York. Quirky and seeminlgy ‘real’ heroine. A hot and brooding alpha-male – whom Faith is trying her best to hate, and who does his best to show her his disdain. A big family that is united in many ways, but where they all still feel shattered by their mother’s death twenty years ago. Romance, hot and steamy make-out scenes – and The Best Man has all the ingredients for success!

I really, really enjoyed Faith. She went away to mend her broken heart after Jeremy left her at the altar, and the readers got to learn about her and Levi’s pasts through well-placed flash-backs. The Best Man during the wedding that never happened was, indeed, Levi. And he spoke up to make sure his best friend wouldn’t make the biggest mistake of his life. For a long time after the non-wedding, Faith absolutely hated Levi. She even went as far as to think it would have still been better to marry Jeremy – even if he truly was gay. This, of course was her broken heart talking and she later did make peace with the fact that the perfect fairy-tale of eight years with Jeremy had come to a halting stop on the day that was supposed to be the best day of her life.

The Best Man is well written, a quick read, and the story really appealed to me, just as the characters did. Both Faith and Jeremy were well fleshed out, as were most of the secondary characters as well. It was fun to get to know all this characters – and I would like to spend more time with them than I did! There were some really great humorous moments as well, and I both laughed and cried while reading. Some of the most funny moments happened when Faith was trying to find the perfect match for her dad – who had never gotten over his wife’s death.

Faith is the kind of character I love to read about. She’s the girl-next-door, not model beautiful, but charming, funny and perky. She has a job she loves, even if it’s not part of the family winery, and she is confident in herself and what she can do. That is – until it comes to picking a man to date. Ever since Jeremy, she’s had a few bad dates, but nothing serious at all. The Best Man really manages to show the heart-ache and insecurity that comes with having a relationship that seemed perfect in all way be shattered in seconds. At the same time, it also shows that time does heal all wounds of the heart.

Apart from getting over Jeremy, Faith has another secret as well about the accident she and her mom were in, and where her mom died. Levi is the one to help her get over that. But his brooding personality, and the fact that he always treats Faith as if he really doesn’t like her makes her pretty confused about her feelings. Of course, Levi has been through some heart-ache himself. First when his dad walked out on him and his mom when he was little. Then, when his wife packed up and left him after only three months of marriage.

The Best Man shows that in order to mend a broken heart, you have to dare to open it to love again. And it shows it beautifully. Of course, Levi with his hot body and green bedroom eyes had me sighing every now and then, even if he did act like an ass sometimes. Faith is mushy – just like me – and I cried in some of the same places she did.

That was the problem. Good enough for Dad meant sort of a Mother Teresa/ Meryl Street vibe.

There was  a certain smell to late sumer; the air was so sweet with the scent of grapes, but there was a hint of melancholy in the air, too, as the leaves prepared to die their beautiful deaths and the earth prepared for winter.

And sure, Faith had it in the back of her mind that maybe, just maybe, she’d meet a sweet and wonderful man. One who looked like Jake Gyllenhaal, maybe. or Ryan Gosling. She’d take either. Or both. Why not? A girl could dream.

His hand moved through her hair, then down her back, pulling her against him, and, oh, he was as solid as granite, utterly dangerous and absolutely safe.

 

 

 

 

 

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