USA TODAY BESTSELLER!“A romantic comedy that’s fun and flirty, young and fresh.” – PopSugarNamed one of the Best Romances of 2020 by EW, 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, … 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
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Quite a Pair
This was my first Mia Sosa book and it most definitely won’t be my last. The Worst Best Man was a magnificently written love story. It was infused with witty banter, Brazilian culture, sizzling chemistry, and family. Lina and Max are unintentional enemies turned business colleagues turned lovers turned more. The character vulnerability and growth felt relatable and perfectly paced. Their growing admiration was so organic. I laughed and hoped and ached with these characters. I fell hard for Lina, Max, and their friends and family. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series and hopefully get more glimpses of this awesome cast of characters.his was my first Mia Sosa book and it most definitely won’t be my last. The Worst Best Man was a magnificently written love story. It was infused with witty banter, Brazilian culture, sizzling chemistry, and family. Lina and Max are unintentional enemies turned business colleagues turned lovers turned more. The character vulnerability and growth felt relatable and perfectly paced. Their growing admiration was so organic. I laughed and hoped and ached with these characters. I fell hard for Lina, Max, and their friends and family. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series and hopefully get more glimpses of this awesome cast of characters.
Listened to the audio book and loved it. Fun, lively, sexy…so sexy! An emotional journey for the characters that was delivered wonderfully.
I thought that this was a very charming romance between Max and Lina. They have many hurdles to overcome, including mistruths. There are a few times when you want the two of them to quite being such knuckleheads. Some of my favorite parts of the story are when they are hanging out with her family. Loved her family. Lina has to lower all of the walls that she has carefully constructed to protect herself, if she wants to be free to love someone with her whole heart. Max just might be the one who helps her to do it. I also really enjoyed the narration.
I enjoy books that feature characters whose experiences are different from mine. Lina’s family gave me a glimpse into a different culture, which added depth to the story for me. Max was a good foil and match for Lina. I laughed often. Smiling when I finish a book is the best, and I was smiling at the end of The Worst Best Man.
This enemies to lovers book was a fun read! Max and Lina parted ways when he was once the worst best man and found themselves working together years later. I loved their banter and Linas family was so fun. All the Brazilian food mentioned made me so hungry! It was well written and I enjoyed this book!
Carolina aka Lina is told on her wedding day that her fiance doesn’t want to go through with the the wedding by her fiance’s brother, Max. She handles it with “class” and moves on. Three years later she is offered the job opportunity of a life time – the caveat is that she will have to work with her Max – yeah the guy that told her her his brother didn’t want to marry her on their wedding day. Queue the awkwardness.
I ADORED this book. Lina and Max were so much freaking fun. Their banter was to live for. The pranks that she tried to play on him – again so much fun. This book was downright fun. I loved how much I laughed throughout this book. I was pleasantly surprised but that. The whole time I was reading I thought how much I needed to look into Mia’s backlog – I loved her writing style, the pacing of the story and how she had me enjoying a romantic comedy while trying to educate and make you laugh at the same time. But there was too much Portuguese with no explanation which meant too much stopping to google for my taste- it took away from me being lost in the story. Then we have the ending – gah – I have always said that the ending can and will ruin a book for me and it breaks my heart that this is what happened with this book. There wasn’t a cliff hanger, the story ended, the conflict was resolved but it literally ended right there. This is a romance book (right? I didn’t get that wrong) so once the resolve the conflict I want to see where they go from there. I don’t want two sentences about betting on forever. I want a glimpse of that forever. So while I really loved this book the ending ruined it for me and that truly breaks my heart. But I am not giving up. I will try another of Mia’s books in the future.
The Worst Best Man is funny, entertaining, romantic, and reflective. Immediately we are thrust into Lina’s worst nightmare: being left at the proverbial altar. Who is at fault? The best man might have nudged the groom in the right direction. Years pass by and when attempting to land a dream job, Lina is face-to-face with her ex groom and his best man (his brother).
A petty battle ensues as Lina and Max are forced into proximity for weeks, which left me laughing at their antics. I didn’t quite feel their love connection until much later in the book, however, I enjoyed the lead up to their realization that there was a spark between them.
My favorite part of the story was the discussion of racial disparities and how Brazilian women, or any woman of color, is perceived by society for having emotions or ever displaying an action that could fall into a stereotype. I felt a deeper understanding when we get this insight into Lina’s life and experiences that her family may have gone through. Sosa didn’t hesitate to go here and I am so glad that this was a discussion within a book of an interracial love, family, and discovering a true heart’s desires.
The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa is a romcom/contemporary romance following Lina Santos, wedding coordinator extraordinaire and Max Hartley marketing expert and the brother of the man who left Lina high and dry at the altar years ago. The two have to work together to create a presentation for a huge hotel company. There will be revenge, there will be stubborn pride, but there will also be love.
Things I loved about this book:
-Mia Sosa’s writing was great! It flowed well, and it kept my interest and attention.
-I absolutely adored Lina as an individual. She was adorably relatable at times. I could tell that she really loved her family and friends. She had a very strong will to work and succeed, and prove to everyone and herself that she could pick herself back up after a disastrous end to her last job. She was definitely a strong and independent woman which I admire so much. Not to mention her love of food had me falling in love very quickly 🙂
-On the same side of that coin, I liked Max too. It’s very obvious that he is always having to work extra hard to prove himself thanks to his older brother. He had my sympathy from pretty early on, and he takes all of Lina’s wrath in stride. He understands why she’s mad and that she is valid to those emotions. The biggest moment that made me finally see Max as a man of worth was when they were discussing why Lina doesn’t show emotions/open up easily. The subject of race was brought up, and after he truly listened and heard Lina he sat back and thought to himself “Yo she’s totally right. As a White man, I’ve never had to deal with that. I’ve also been one of those dumbasses who thinks sexist/racial thoughts without even realizing that I’m doing it.” The fact that he internally acknowledged and checked his privilege, yeah you can bet your ass I swooned a little.
-Lina’s family and group of friends were hilarious and so freaking supportive. They provided some much needed comedic moments throughout the book and as a whole they really added a level of warmth to this book.
Things I didn’t care for:
-There was one thing about Lina that really worked my last nerve: her pettiness. For the first third or more of this book was Lina getting back at Max for saying something to his brother Andrew the night before their wedding that ultimately caused him to leave her. But here’s the thing, he couldn’t even remember what was said because they were drunk. Also, she was way more hostile towards Max than she ever was towards Andrew aka the man who left her at the altar. It seemed backwards. I could understand being a little upset with him but to carry out the hostility for as long as she did ended up feeling immature and unnecessary.
-I liked the idea of Max and Lina as friends, but I just could not feel the chemistry between them as a couple. It felt forced and weird.
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I read this with a bunch of women on IG and some were surprised that there wasn’t an epilogue. I am of the opinion that it didn’t need one. It would have been nice to see them a couple of months down the road but I didn’t feel like it was absolutely necessary.
If you enjoy romances with enemies-lovers, bi-racial couples, a little forced proximity, Afro-Latinx woman rep, ex-fiancé’s brother, and not overly smutty then I think you should absolutely give The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa a try. I’m definitely open to reading more of her books in the future.
Overall rating 3 stars
Steaminess 2 stars
The heroine is Hispanic and she mentions it in every single paragraph. it should be advertised as a Latino book.
Mia’s a wedding planner whose own wedding didn’t happen at the last minute. Max is her ex’s brother, and he thought he was to blame for the non-wedding. Well, there’s a chance for Mia to expand her business, and guess who is the management company’s rep? Yup. Lots of fun ups and downs, a look into a hilarious but loving Brazilian family, and a HEA.
Review originally published at Romancing Romances.
This book is written by a Brazilian author, and I had a great time reading it, and reading a bit of Brazilian Portuguese.
The Worst Best Man has an “enemies to lovers” trope, although I don’t really think Max and Lina were enemies per se, but more Lina hated him for something they both believed he had caused, even if he hasn’t the one to actually do the deed.
Max is charming, funny, caring, and very good at his marketing job. Lina is a sexy, emotional, resilient, funny, hard-working wedding planner. And Lina was engaged to Max’s brother. Literally, they broke up on the wedding day – Andrew sent Max a text to tell Lina it was over. Classy, right?
Anyway, Max and Lina have to work together to create a pitch for Lina’s dream job, and pretty much Max’s dream job as well. Which means they have to put their differences aside and work together to “sell” Lina as the best wedding planner for a rich hotel.
As they start to get along, they go to visit a wedding venue, and… oh no, the car broke down, and they have to stay there, and there’s only one room for a couple, so of course they decide to share but there’s only one bed. Another great trope.
I really liked the way the author introduced the change in pace between our couple, how they are slight enemies, to friends, to lovers, to and actual couple.
The event at the wedding venue was a touch of genius to get the characters to open up without forcing them and to give us readers both inside in the life of WOC (Women of Colour), “A Black woman isn’t justifiably upset, she’s angry. A Latinx person confronts someone, they’re fiery or feisty. I don’t like raising my voice in public, Max. There’s too much baggage associated with it. A woman gets emotional in the workplace, she’s irrational and not fit for leadership.”, and a male character who recognizes his privileged and own prejudice, “I’m a White man, and I’m embarrassed to realize that none of this would have occurred to me if Lina hadn’t forced me to see it. It’s a privilege I take for granted—the ability to be who I want and say what I want no matter the space I’m in.”
This was a funny, steamy, enlightening rom-com, with great touches of Brazilian culture, from capoeira to brigadeiros, and it really was a joy to read it.
Mia Sosa
The cover and the blurb had me so excited to get my hands on this book.
Lina was left at the alter and now is having to work with her ex fiancés brother if she wants to take her business to the next level. I can’t imagine being in that situation.
I really enjoyed The Worst Best Man and look forward to more work from this author.
Great book
I’m on a romantic comedy kick (hey, it’s a pandemic) and this book not only had a cute title, but its contents checked all the boxes: funny, heartfelt, and sexy. The friends-to-enemies and oops-must-share-a-bed tropes were executed with real flair. Feminist and WOC points were made without getting too heavy. Bonus? All the yummy Brazilian/Portuguese food.
This was a fun-filled read with lots of drama! I loved the character growth in the book, for all parties involved. Max is my new favorite sweetie!
Carolina Santos (also called Lina) is a wedding planner who left at the altar by her fiancee, Adam. t, Lina’s offered an opportunity that could change her life but she has to collaborate with the best man from her own failed nuptials and he is also the brother of Adam.
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-fiancee, Lina. 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.
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.
I’ve been in a Rom Com mood recently and The Worst Best Man fit the bill. It has that fantastically awkward combination of cringe and funny.
Our Heroine Lina was left at the alter years ago by our Hero’s brother. And her ex-fiance is so cowardly he essentially forces his younger brother to be the one to tell Lina, after blaming him for “opening his eyes.” Understandably, Lina has some bitterness regarding the Hartley brothers. So when they are both in an interview for Lina’s dream job, she panics and pretends she’s never met them before. In order to win this dream job, she has to work together with Max, her ex-fiance’s brother.
The banter between the two was hilarious, and while their pranks on each other were a little immature, it was still lighthearted and fun to read about. You could really see their friendship develop as they adjust from enemies to friends and eventually to lovers. The sexy scenes were a little awkward, which took away from my overall enjoyment, but it didn’t feel as integral to the story as their emotional development.
One of my favorite parts was her relationship with her Brazilian immigrant family. How Lina felt like she had to measure up to her mother’s strength and success, how the rest of the world treated her as a Latinx and how she felt she needed to lock down her emotions in order to survive professionally. It was a great addition to the story and added some depth not always seen in a Rom Com.
I do feel like it ended very abruptly and could have benefited from an epilogue. Regardless, The Worst Best Man was a fun read.
Mia Sosa’s voice truly deserves the rom-com label. The Worst Best Man is funny, sexy, and full of heart. Mia handles the ex-fiancée’s brother trope like a champ, and Max and Lina were perfect together. We should all hope this book gets the movie treatment, because it would be so much fun to watch!
3.5 Stars!
The Worst Best Man was a fun read full of diverse and entertaining characters. Carolina/Lina and Max are forced to work together three years after Max’s brother Andrew left Lina at the altar. Max and Lina are not happy to see each other, but team up against Andrew so that they can both prove they have what it takes to be successful and take their careers to the next level.
Lina Santos is a strong, independent Latina woman. She has her own wedding planning business and is looking to leave her issues with relationships and love in the past focusing on work. Max has always lived in his older brothers Andrews shadow and is ready to step away and prove himself. The banter and chemistry between the two is beyond cute and hilarious. They love to push each other’s buttons and this leads to some amusing situations and eventually the two just can’t keep their hands off each other.
I not only enjoyed Lina and Max, but also their family and friends. Dean is a good best friend who only ever had Max’s interest at heart. In addition the Santo’s family is beyond amazing. Who doesn’t want a bunch of siblings, cousins and aunts to always have your back?! The incorporation of the Brazilian food, music and culture brought the story to life.
It took me some time to move past that Max was Lina’s ex little brother and they were both ok with getting together. There was also a bit of romance lacking for me… there was clearly lust but it took them a while to finally decide to be together. This was still a book worth reading… and I will be looking forward to Mia Sosa’s next installment!
“I’m certain that you’re my safe space. That I can be exactly who I am with you, and you won’t judge me for it. You’ll actually love me for it.”
Let’s start by talking about the Brazilian representation it has in the book, it was so good to see my culture being so well represented — I never read my culture like this in any book so I am really happy about it — my heart was soft reading the sentences in Portuguese.
I liked Lina so much, the way she imposes herself on her beliefs, she’s strong, smart and so dedicated to her work, I connected with her instantly but who stole my heart was Max because he is the biggest softy and my new book boyfriend, I loved seeing him being vulnerable in a lot of situations, — which should be totally normalized — and his friendship with dean is just awesome and hilarious, I loved it.
The family interaction was just wonderful, the way Lina was grateful for her aunts and mom’s efforts and doing everything possible to make them proud, and can we talk about the front line against anyone who could hurt Lina: Jaslene and Natalia, they’re wonderful side characters and their interactions with lina were just amazing and so funny
The writing is light and fluid that binds you and makes you want to read the book in one sitting. I just wish it had a epilogue because I love to see the characters in 2 or 3 years later but I’m hoping to see a little more of them in dean’s book, which I’m excited to read.
Overall this was an amazing book, sweet, funny and hot and I can’t wait to read more books by Mia Sosa