“The Worst Best Man” revolves around a group of people who were involved in a wedding that never happened having to come together again to work together again.
There’s a groom who left the bride, a bride stranded in her wedding dress, and the best man, or the brother of the groom.
It’s a cast that promises and delivered an entertaining plot.
I loved Carolina so much. Her emotional approach on romance and how she craves companionship felt so relatable to me and I don’t see that view point in many books. “But I want companionship, the security of knowing someone has my back, the ability to comfort and be comforted. Friendship. Vacations. Maybe even kids one day. Someone solid. Predictable. A person who doesn’t need passion and sparks to build a lasting relationship. I don’t know that I’ll ever find that individual—and that makes me extraordinarily sad.”
I also loved the inclusion of an Afro-Latinx woman as our main character. Some fiction books may have diversity/inclusivity as the forefront of the plot but some do it a little less on the nose. Both ways are equally as impactful and memorable. This book addressed it subtly. It popped up now and then in conversation but the topics of privilege and the way of life of living as an Afro-Latinx woman is a constant throughout the plot. I loved how strong Lina was and that it was discussed why she has to be strong, and why as an Afro-Latinx woman she has to be strong and hide her emotions. Books like this are great to read if you’re trying to make your reading more inclusive. Non-fiction books give us facts but books like these do it subtly or in real-life settings, allowing us to understand the issues POC/BIPOC deal with a bit more comprehensibly.
Max was such a softy, I loved it. I’m not sure if softy is the correct term but he was so supportive of Lina, my heart was melting the entire time he popped up on the page. I had the exact opposite reaction towards his brother. I wanted to pick up my brick of a calculus textbook and chuck it at his head. He was so annoying and the way he carries himself was absolutely infuriating.
My favorite part of this book was definitely the humor. Lina was so very, very petty and I LOVED IT. I was grinning and taking notes the entire time. I don’t know what made me laugh more, Lina being petty or Max somehow surviving her pettiness, hence making her even more petty. “I flick my gaze to the ceiling and count to ten. My choices are clear: I can get mad or I can get petty. It’s not a difficult decision. I choose to be petty. Now I just need to figure out how.”
And her family was so wholesome. One of my favorite tropes is a big family or a supportive/protective family and Sosa did not disappoint. There’s this one scene with Lina’s family where her elder brother is interrogating Max that I read twice because it was so hilarious.
The reason why I didn’t give this book a five stars is because of the smutty scenes. It’s honestly a preference but I wasn’t a fan of how they’re written. I also didn’t care for how things were resolved between our two main characters. I can’t go into details but there was this collection of scenes where the two characters talked/hashed things out and it felt a bit too easy. Maybe I felt that way because I was having too much fun with all the pettiness, haha. I honestly don’t have any big complaints on this book because I absolutely loved it. It was highly entertaining, vibrant with Brazilian culture and food (again, another book that’s made me desperately hungry), and had me laughing.