The Worst Best Man: A Novel

Mia Sosa

Feb 2020 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

"A romantic comedy that's fun and flirty, young and fresh." – PopSugar 

Named one of the Best Romances of 2020 by EW, Cosmo, OprahMag, Buzzfeed, Insider, and NPR! 

Mia Sosa delivers a sassy, steamy #ownvoices enemies-to-lovers novel, 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 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. 

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 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. 

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...

"The Worst Best Man is rom-com perfection. . . Sosa has a gift with words that’s infectious and wry, one that keeps the pages turning in delight." — Entertainment Weekly

Ratings and reviews

My first read by the author and won't be my last. Meet Max and Lina. I had the love/ hate thing going on with Max for a while. Lina is a gem. Meet Max and Lina. Max is the brother of Lina's ex who dumped her at the altar, Max had the misfortune of delivering the bad news to the bride, along with the role he played in the groom changing his mind. Max isn't a bad guy, the brother is a class A jerk. They both work for their mother's large corporation; brother rides on Max's coattails while taking all the credit and praise for a job well done. So there's that. Max just wants to be acknowledged for what he does and really does try to make things a success, even in the worst of circumstances. Max meets that when the firm lands a big job handling PR for a highly successful boutique hotel, where the new manager wants to break into the wedding destination business. After she meets Lina who is now a wedding and event planner at a family wedding, she invites Lina to apply for the position. When a meeting is arranged with the PR folks and Lina, she walks into her worst nightmare. There sits her ex, his brother Max and herself. Lina decides to play it like she didn't know them and the two go along with that. Not wanting to sabotage the job, after all they have to answer to their mother! Max and Lina are working together to formulate a plan for her to present to the new manager. This new work could be the answer to her prayers. No more struggle, no more feeling like she's disappointed her mother and aunts. Lina has a lot riding on this, along with dealing with Max and all the pretending that goes on. Max wants Lina to succeed, not just for himself, to prove to his mother that he is valuable, but for Lina. As the story unfolds we watch their relationship change into something other than as well. The book is full of laughs, cultural diversity, the strength of women encouraging other women, sibling rivalry and witty banter. I enjoyed the banter between the two. I also enjoyed watching Max getting Lina to take a risk and to relax. Good story and you'll be rooting for Max and Lina to succeed! Add this to your TBR! Great story!

Lina is first-generation Brazilian, not particularly fluent in Portuguese, determined, dedicated and utterly adorable! With a family of aunts and cousins who are involved in every step she takes, and everyone has some sort of ‘specialty” they are protective, hard working and the love of family (and those they accept into the circle) shines through. Actually, while I was reading this I was missing the people that I used to work with from Brazil and Portugal – from their good-natured overbearing mothering to the food – the chance to see things from the ‘other side’ was welcome. But, as busy as she is, Lina’s struggling to make ends meet in the competitive and expensive DC market. A wedding planner who in one wedding managed to ‘create’ eyebrows for a groom, praise a bride’s choice of a green dress that had her looking more like a celery stalk and a chat with a guest who handed over a card and asked to meet – things just may be ready to change. The chance of her lifetime comes with several hiccups – most of which Lina handles with a calm exterior and some rather brash decisions as she stuffs down her shock at coming face to face with the man who left her at the altar AND his brother who (as the story goes) was the one to ‘reaffirm his choice”. When you add that shock into the ‘competition between Lina and her ex’s brother Max against another wedding planner and her ex Andrew, the story is cleverly set to be an enemies to friends and possibly lovers story. Once you get past all of the obstacles: emotional, familial and the ever-present potential of their ‘connections’ being unveiled. But aside from giving BOTH Max and Lina some real issues to work out: from sibling rivalry to low self-esteem, Sosa also manages to dip into the secret reasons behind Lina’s often ‘ice princess’ demeanor, and shared the difficulties of being a woman with emotional reactions, further complicated by being a woman of color AND the pressure that she feels to not let her mother and aunts down – as they had all worked very hard with next to nothing to provide their children with opportunities and options. Honestly? Most of this book was like sitting in the room as everything happened around you – with captions for the interior dialog. From heartfelt sharing of confidences, issues and challenges to steam up the room – the story felt organic, real and like a very loud group of friends had invited you in – and let you celebrate, struggle and love with them all. If you’ve not tried a book from Mia Sosa – Start with this…. Then I can recommend her Love On Cue series as you wait for her next book. You won’t regret it – this is a favorite read from easily the last 18 months or so! I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

I was excited to find an Afro-Latinx author. Plus I’m a sucker for rom-com and this book delivered! Had me laughing and learning about Brazilian culture. Of course can’t forget the love between Max and Lina. However, I do wish the love interest wasn’t so predictable so fast. Excited for more Afro- Latinx authors!

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Mia Sosa writes funny, flirty, and moderately steamy contemporary romances that celebrate our multicultural world. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Yale Law School, Mia practiced First Amendment and media law in the nation’s capital for ten years before trading her suits for sweatpants. Born and raised in East Harlem, New York, she now lives in Maryland with her college sweetheart, their two book-obsessed daughters, and one dog that rules them all.