For as long as I can remember, I’ve been the dark to my sister’s light—the awkward loner to her social butterfly. Growing up, she had it all: our parent’s unyielding approval, perfect grades, a permanent spot at the popular table, and the attention of the hottest guy ever—Duke Kincaid. After eighteen years of living in her shadow, I couldn’t wait to escape—to finally be my own person. Yet here I … Yet here I am, I’m back in my hometown, once again in Valorie’s shadow. Only now, it’s eternal.
I had life all planned out: join the force, marry Valorie Parsons, and start a family of our own. I have the job, but the girl and all my dreams died before my very eyes.
At the urging of my friends, I agree to a blind date. Imagine my shock when I arrive and find, Valorie’s twin sister, waiting across the table from me. Mallory should be a reminder of all that I’ve lost, but instead she feels like my redemption . . . like maybe life’s giving me a second chance.
But, how can I be enough for her when I’ve already given her sister the best of me?
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Dear lord above and all that is holy…
Stop. This book. I can’t even form proper sentences.
This isn’t my first rodeo with L.K. and it won’t be my last. I loved this book from the prologue to the epilogue. It had you feeling so many different feelings straight from the beginning. It will make you cry ugly tears and lovely swooning tears. The chemistry between Duke and Mallory was off the charts. You felt their individual pain and their love. I highly recommend this book!
I knew from the last book that Duke’s story was going to be emotional and boy it did not disappoint. Duke has endured things that no person should have to but it happens all the time, losing someone you love. Valorie is a twin to the woman that Duke was going to marry and by chance or fate her new job has her living in the same town, becoming friends with his friends and making a life for herself. We find out just how cruel she is treated by her mother and why she goes away to college to get away and has nothing to do with her family. Duke doesn’t understand this and he thinks she is completely selfish when she is the exact opposite. These two had instant chemistry and attraction yet because of the taboo nature of their connection they both try to fight it. I really liked how when it came to Duke she did stand up for herself and a backbone. Duke, poor Duke struggled with his feelings because he thought he was betraying the memory of his first love but once he decided it doesn’t matter what others think he goes after Valorie and won’t take no for an answer. Beautiful story.
I bow down to the queen!!!! What a way to finish the Bay Ridge series.
Lk Farlow slayed with me with the prologue alone. It was in that moment I knew she was my spirit animal. This book brings back our favorite characters including little miss tater tot. Relive some awesome memories from the first two books too as we welcome the newest member of the gang, Mallory.
Your heart will break, you will cry, and you may even need to change your panties because this slow burn is not only deserving of more than , it deserves for the instant chemistry between Duke and Mallory.
Duke and Mallory have both lived years with a heavy weight on their shoulders and together they find not only healing but that they are both actually worthy of love. This is a definite one-click and reread over and over again for me.
Omg this book gave me ALL the feels! I loved Duke in the previous book and loved meeting Mallory in this one. I won’t give too much away but this enemies to lovers story is sure to bring a smile (and a few tears) and worth the entire emotional journey!
When I found out Duke was getting his own story, I have been waiting not so patiently for it. L.K. did not disappoint with this book! Goodness, this was such an amazing, heartfelt and moving book that I was able to relate to on some deep levels. I was worried this book would be too morbid from the synopsis but L.K. did an amazing job of navigating what could have been really awkward and weird and guilt-ridden and making it work. She made it clear early on that Duke did not see Mallory as a replacement for Valorie so that made it easy for me to root for them but I understood their apprehension and guilt about admitting their feelings for one another and trying to make it work. This story had so much light to balance out the darkness of Mallory’s past and the loss of Valorie. I loved Mallory so much and I so badly wanted to be her friend to tell her that she was an amazing person and her stupid, worthless parents did not deserve her at all. She was such a light and airy character that had to deal with so much growing up and thrive and become more than her mother ever thought she’d be. I enjoyed Duke after he stopped being a jerk and got his head out of his butt as Mallory accused him of. He was so thoughtful, considerate, and kind but so full of love when he found the right woman to give that to. The two of them together was perfection. I loved their relationship and how slow-burn it was. I loved how they talked everything out before ever deciding to date. They just fit and I loved seeing them grow and come to terms with their pasts and what connected together.
Tatum is still my absolute favorite character from this series. That little girl cracks me up and was so much wiser than her age. I loved being able to see more of Jenny, Nate, Natalie, and Alden. I also found Mallory’s best friend, Ashley to be a hoot and the type of best friend every girl should have. I loved everything about this story and I totally only meant to read a few chapters while I ate but ended up not being able to put the book down at all. I cannot wait to see what L.K. comes up with next! I totally recommend this book!
This story was well worth the wait! I love everything about Best of Me. Duke and Mallory are adorable together and all the secondary characters are the best. I can’t wait to go back and read the other books in the Bay Ridge series (I keep reading interconnected standalones out of order!). I devoured this book in about a day and if I didn’t have to adult it would have been done even sooner. Duke’s heartache and Mallory’s strength sucked me in and wouldn’t let me go. I had to know how their story ended. I felt all the feels. This is a story I can’t wait to read again!
Duke Kincaid. Where do I even begin with this man. Holy moly. I love his character. There were moments I wanted to smack him upside his head, but even then I loved him. There is just something about a tattooed, dirty talking, grumpy cop that gets to me. Underneath it all though, he’s a big softie and I absolutely adored that. Throughout the entire story, Duke is dealing with the loss of Valerie and the life they were planning to have together. Duke was positive that he had already given the very best of himself to Valerie, so when Mallory came into the picture he had no idea how to deal with the feelings she was stirring up in him. He kinda goes all caveman on her because he doesn’t know how to handle the fact that he wants Mallory. He thinks it’s wrong to want to be with Valerie’s twin sister, but it’s not wrong when the two of them fit together so perfectly. He knows logically that Valerie would want him to move on and be happy. Neither envisioned it would be Mallory, but the heart wants what the heart wants. I fell in love with every single part of Duke.
Mallory Parsons is an amazing character. She is one of my absolute favorite female leads. She is so strong and resilient. She had a really crappy upbringing, but instead of letting that make her ugly and mean, she used it to become beautiful and kind. Her mother absolutely hated her for whatever reason and used every chance she could to tell Mallory she was ugly, stupid, worthless, and nothing compared to her twin Valerie. She pitted the two sisters against one another. Her mother made sure Mallory had no one and no one did a darn thing to stop it. Out of everything in the book, that made me the most angry. How could her father and sister stand by and allow that? The people who are supposed to love and protect you are not supposed to hurt you the most. My heart broke for Mallory. She deserved so much more from her family. Mallory is amazing though. She didn’t let how her family treated her affect the way she treats other people. In fact, she came out stronger and better than all of them put together. I absolutely love that she became a teacher as well. She wants to do some good in the world and help children who were like her. She wants to show them that there are people out there who care about them and no matter what anyone says you are worth it. Gosh. Mallory is simply amazing. I love her character so much.
Duke and Mallory have amazing chemistry. I simply adore everything about these two. They were a little hot and cold, but that was mainly because Duke couldn’t get it together! Honestly, when these two worked their issues out I couldn’t have been happier. If anyone in Bay Ridge deserved happiness, it is these two. Mallory didn’t know what it was like to feel unconditionally loved, to be put first above others, and to actually feel like her thoughts and opinions mattered. Duke didn’t know what it was like to be truly happy, to be able to love again, and to find someone who truly understood him. I think these two were made for each other. Honestly, I don’t think Valerie and Duke would have worked out even if Valerie hadn’t passed away. I think Valerie was right for him at a younger age because she helped him focus and mellow out, but Mallory is the one who sets his heart and soul on fire. She pushes him to do and be better. She pushes him to want more out of life. And maybe Valerie could have been that for him, but life had other plans. Watching Duke and Mallory’s love unfold and grow was an amazing experience. I simply didn’t want their story to end (although, that ending was pretty amazing). They both deserve happiness and I am so insanely giddy and ecstatic that they found it in each other. These two are so perfect for one another. They make my heart happy!
The secondary characters in this book were hilarious! I enjoyed Ashley the most! She is seriously the best! And I love that her and Mallory sign off their calls with “Love you big” and “Love you bigger.” That is #friendshipgoals right there! I loved all the couples in Bay Ridge and I can’t wait to go back and read their backstories. It’s going to be amazing!
Overall, I rate this story 5/5! I can’t even tell you how much I love Duke and Mallory. I honestly didn’t want their story to end! It started out so sad and heartbreaking, but ended in such happiness and pure joy. I can’t wait to read more of LK Farlow’s work!
This was the first book I have read by L.K. Farlow and I fell in love!! So even though this was a stand-alone, it seemed to be the third book written about this group of friends. Best Of Me made me feel all the emotions, I laughed, I cried and I swooned! I really enjoyed the story line and how these two came together!
Duke’s world came to a halt when his girlfriend died in his arms. He continued through the motions of life but his heart had been gone since that day. Fate had other plans; a blind date had him sitting next to his late girlfriends twin sister. What should have been the shock of his life turned out to be something he couldn’t seem to put his finger on. She should be off limits, but why did it feel so right?
Mallory was excited about her new job but not how close it was to her hometown. She had left years before to get away from a – not so nice – home situation. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would end up being set up on a blind date, let alone fall for, her late sister’s boyfriend. How could that happen? Why could she not stop thinking about him?
Gah!! So sweet! These two took me on an emotional ride. The pain they both went through and the guilt they shared made them stronger and ready to take on the world.
ALL THE FEELS!!! I LOVED IT! A perfect story about a second chance at finding that person who completes you! After experiencing a tragedy that left him empty inside, Duke meets his dead girlfriends twin sister! The feelings between these two are instant and beautiful but they both feel they are wrong because of the one they both lost.
“It’s kind of crazy how well I already know her; it’s almost as if my soul has a direct line to hers.”
Their growing attraction and all the trials these two face made me sad for them both! However watching them grow in their forgiveness of themselves and allowing them to feel for each other. Mallory was so giving and kind, so caring and loving! She was exactly what Duke needed exactly when he needed it.
Given the phone-it-in, NA-ness of Best of Intentions as well as having the trope I dislike most, sibling to sibling, (why did I read this) I liked this book.
Duke is a very emotional hero and was a basket case in BoI so yay…drama. Here he is not much better. He lost the love of his life in a car accident and the author tortured him and us by having him see the mangled body as a responder. Mallory the heroine, her twin sister, is the scapegoat of the family and has moved back to town. He is livid. Where was she all those years? Why wasn’t she at the funeral?
Emotions run high. And when I say she was a scapegoat for her family, it is along epic lines of a scapegoat stoned in Ancient Greece. The mother was ugly which always adds some nice drama, but this was disturbing. How bad? On a scale of 1 to 1o with Margaret Way’s mothers being tens, this bad mother was a 100.
Now for the story.
My heart sank when I read this,
But I’ve been thinking about asking Val to marry me since she agreed to that first date all those years ago. What she and I have is special—it’s that once in a lifetime, knock-you-on-your-ass kind of love.
How do you come back from that and fall in love much less with her twin? Not identical thank goodness.
It’s off to a rocky start as Duke is furious, emotional and confused whenever he sees Mallory. Mallory just wants to get settled and finally make some friends and stay as far away from her Pyscho mother as she can. No, she’s not a gentle dweeby doormat who wants to suck it up at all costs. She is just happy to not relive the abuse as a child. She did something few heroines do in romance, she had therapy.
The emotional connection and sexual tension is hot between the two, but Farlow spares us insta-bed hopping and allows them to build a relationship. The confusion and sexual tension is laced with humor,
I’m taking my dead girlfriend’s twin sister on a date.
and the two eventually get together. The H does the required pushing away and stupid stuff, but the romance is solid until the mother enters the picture again.
Three stars for making me believe that he fell for the heroine on her own rather than a stand-in for her sister.
This story blew me away. Two lost and broken souls are reunited after tragic events. They both feel vulnerable with how the world has changed them. Seriously, Mallory and Duke stole my heart.
I loved this book soooo much!! I loved the storyline and it was so well written that it didn’t seem as taboo as it could’ve been. I can’t wait to dig into the rest of the series!
I held off on this one b/c I was scared.
I love Duke. You meet him in the previous book.
This book has all three couples and Tatar Tot. Which is AWESOME.
It was rough. It was true. It was love.
Oh, my heart! Have you fallen for Duke and Mallory yet?
Best of Me may very well be my favorite of this series…and my favorite book by LK Farlow. This one had me laughing and crying, and it gripped my heart in the very best of ways!
An emotional and sweetly forbidden romance, and I’m still recovering from this book hangover.
What can I say about this book besides—you have to read it. Seriously, it’s unique and sweet and keeps you wanting to get to the next page. I can’t say enough about this book!
5 Forbidden Stars
LK delivers a touching, slow burn romance that will melt your heart. This book has a touch of enemies to lovers, a touch of the forbidden and all the delicious angst. I loved everything about this story from start to finish LK kept me utterly enraptured with Duke and Mally.
“When she died, she took the best of me right along with her, leaving a shell of the man I was before.”
Duke is one hundred percent book boyfriend material. He is brooding and angry but deep down he will melt your panties with his sweetness not to mention all the tattoo’s (Insert immediate swooning). He goes through something incredibly tragic that wrecks him in a way that many don’t recover from. He closes himself off from love and finding someone, ultimately, he’s just going through the motions of living, without living. It’s heartbreaking to see this beautifully strong man so closed to possibilities. I loved his character so much; his pain was so real and tangible you can feel it pour from the pages. You want to coddle him a little but at the same time when he’s a complete douche to Mallory you want to whack him upside the head.
“Mallory’s my own personal brand of torture, and yet, she sparks something to life in me that I thought died with her sister-hope-and that just pisses me off all the more.”
I felt so much for Mallory she lived through some epically tragic things that would destroy even the strongest of people. But she persevered, she made it out and made something out of herself. Her strength and compassion even given her childhood are awe inspiring. She has a lot of residual insecurities that she must deal with, but she doesn’t let them stand in her way.
I loved her banter with Duke, their chemistry was instantaneous and can be felt burning through your Kindle. They try to fight their undeniable attraction to each other, but some things cannot be stopped. And their connection is one of them. I simply adored watching them together even in the beginning when Duke was being a jerk, I loved it because you knew that it wasn’t coming from a bad place. Watching what they have mature and grow into something that heals their souls was beautiful to see.
“Mallory kisses just like she lives, with all of her heart and soul, and here in this moment, I know she’s claiming a piece of both of mine.”
This story will break you heart but in the same moment start putting it back together. Duke and Mally will steal your heart and leave you breathless. You will love this story from beginning to end as LK has woven a perfectly balanced tale full of love, loss, forgiveness, and humor. Go out and grab your copy of this story today, you will not be disappointed, fall in love with Duke and Mally as I have and let their journey be a part of your life.
If you know me, you know I’m a sucker for any book that gives you all the feels! Best of Me gave me just that! Duke and Mallory are both people who have experienced hardships that no one should have to endure. From losing the love of your life, to having parents that don’t want you. They both traveled a rough road to get their HEA, but they finally got it. I loved this book so much! So glad I decided to read it!
Best of Me is romantic perfection. Duke is swoony. Mallory is fierce. Together they combust in an incredibly emotional journey!
Farlow delivers a poignant romance that both devastated and restored me.
Duke and Mallory have suffered a terrible loss. One that was navigated with honesty and finesse. It would have been so easy to get derailed and turn their story into something dirty, instead we have an intricately woven tale of two shattered souls finding peace in the place they least expect to find it. The last place they WANT to find it, because the guilt is strong. The emotions leap from the page, and I totally put myself in their situation and rooted for their happy ending.
Beyond the H and h, Farlow creates phenomenal secondary characters. By the time you finish her books, you will feel like one of the gang. That takes talent and this woman has it in spades.
Wow! Talk about an emotional roller coaster ride, Best of Me by LK Farlow is going to leave you gasping and clutching your chest with tears running down your faced. Yes, it’s that good. With a great heroine and an equally wonderful hero these two characters could not have been written any better. The story is as passionate as it is heartbreaking. 5-stars for Best of Me.
Mallory Parsons hasn’t been back home in eleven years, now with a new job in her future she has no choice but to live one town over, just a mere fifteen minutes from her own personal hell on earth. What Mallory wasn’t expecting was to become friends with a group of people that are warm and loving, something she never really had. Much to her surprise Duke Kincaid, he dead twin’s boyfriend, is in this small group. Duke’s life basically ended the day Valorie died. He’s been going through the motions but that was it. Now two years after her death Val’s twin Mallory is back and is thrust into his group of friends much to his chagrin. He hates Mallory with every fiber of his being but can’t deny the attraction as well. How can he be with Mallory when her sister was the love of his life? How can he spend time with her knowing that Valorie took the best parts of him with her when she was buried?
Some times the greatest tragedies tear apart people and sometimes just sometimes those huge tragedies can bring people even closer together. Enter Duke & Mallory, both of who have a painful past both of who are needing to heal.
I’m not usually a huge fan of significant others falling/dating an ex’s sibling but in those one LK did an amazing job. The ways this book was written, I felt like I was thee experiencing every joy, every pain and every triumph with Duke & Mallory.
My heart broke for duke, my heart broke for Mallory but both of them caused my heart to hooch in the end.