Review: The Best of All by Karla Sorensen

The Best of All by Karla Sorensen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via the author and Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

While this is the 2nd book in The Best Men Series, it does read as a complete standalone. The first book is connected but follows a completely different couple. It is also amazing and I highly recommend checking out Burke and Charlotte's story in The Best Laid Plans. I feel like you could read the books in either order as they take place simultaneneously in the wake of the loss of couple Chris and Amie to a horrific car crash and their wishes change the lives of their closest friends. In this installment Liam is our hero, and as Chris' best friend he has been granted co-guardianship of their daughter with Amie's best friend Zoe.

Liam has never wanted a family, so not only is he grieving the loss of his best friend and two of the best people he has ever known, but now he has to come to terms with why they would put him in charge of their almost three year old. He is grumpy, broody, and he has some deep rooted issues that he isn't ready to face quite yet. Zoe on the other hand throws herself into taking care of Mira, she knew about the guardianship plans, so it came as no surprise to her, but she is also deep in her grief while taking on sole caregiver responsibilities of the little girl. Any parent knows that taking care of a toddler is tough with two parents, but when Liam refuses to help at first she is overwhelmed and forgets to take care of herself. As a mom, I related to that so much, it is easy to get lost in taking care of your family and forget about your own needs and self-care, even when you don't have extenuating circumstances like Zoe and Liam. After some thought, Liam decides to step up and help out. Mira instantly takes a shining to Uncle Liam, and despite his misgivings about not having a clue what to do with her he does just fine.

Zoe and Liam have been at odds for the decade they have known each other, turns out it was all a miscommunication and a wrong place wrong time situation. Now that they are forced to spend a lot of quality time together and play nice for Mira's sake, they find that they actually enjoy each other's company. Once they open the flood gates on the romantic feelings sparks fly and the chemistry between them is wonderful.

This book brought me to tears several times, so you are going to want to have tissues handy. Between the grief the characters feel over the loss of their friends, taking care of Mira, the issues they discuss about their past relationships both with their families and other partners, it is quite the emotional rollercoaster. The romance is a bit of a slow burn and it is more on the sweet side than the spice one. It takes Liam a long time to open up, but it is worth the wait when he finally does. His character development was excellent!

Overall, I loved this and I highly recommend it.

View all my reviews

Review: The Best Laid Plans by Karla Sorensen

The Best Laid Plans by Karla Sorensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via the author and Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This is the first book in a new series by Sorensen and I can't wait to find out who the next couple will be.  I suspect have some suspicions who some of the next couples may be in future installments but I'm excited to see who may be next.

This follows Burke, a recently retired pro football player in the wake of a career ending injury.  he is also grieving the loss of his best friend Chris after a horrific car accident.   Chris left Burke his family's historic property that he was in the process of restoring.  Burke is not only grieving the loss of his career and his friend, but he is confused as to why Chris and his wife would leave him this property.   He just wants to sit by the beach, read a book, and reconnect with his sister and her twins in his retirement.  He and his sister have alot of emotional baggage from their childhood from losing their mom early in life and a dad who only cared about living vicariously through Burke's football achievements.

Enter Charlotte, she is the project manager for the historic renovations that Chris and his wife had started before tragedy struck.  She is Burke's opposite in every way, but she loves the house and old things.  She has big ideas for the restoration and Burke wants nothing to do with it.  Charlotte not only has to manage the project but she has to manage Burke's bad attitude about inheriting the house and dealing with what feels like an impossible renovation.  The more time the spend together the more he softens and the more sparks fly between them.  As their relationship turns from professional into something more, both Burke and Charlotte open themselves up to being hurt and neither of them know what comes next as the house progresses.  

I loved the advice that her zany aunt Daphne and her partner Richard, I loved both of them in the book, gives her some great advice about being patient with Burke because he doesn't know how to deal with his emotions and he's dealing with a lot of them during this project.  He is grieving, doesn't know what to do with himself, and scared of opening up to someone.  I loved that Charlotte called him out for not communicating with her and taking away her choice in their relationship.  I also loved Tansy, Burke's sister, she gave him some great advice as well when it came to living his own dreams instead of always taking care of everyone else.  I hope Tansy gets her own book and happy ending in the future!

This book is a bit on the heavy side, but I really enjoyed it.  Burke is very much caught up in his grief and the trauma of his childhood.  He isn't really able to face his future and begin healing until he confronts those.  Charlotte on the other hand is very aware that he is in need of healing and willing to support him through that process.  I thought their relationship and character development was really done well here.  I used to watch renovation shows with my dad on Saturdays, and the bits of renovation woven into the book were nostalgic for me.  

View all my reviews