The Best Man by Kristan Higgins (Blue Heron #1)
Romance Contemporary
Paperback
February 26, 2013

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “That. Man. Was. Suchapainintheass.“

Faith Holland left her hometown when her soon to be husband came out of the closet…on their wedding day. Older and wiser, Faith has decided it’s time to return home to her family and lay to rest some ghosts from the past. When she runs into Levi Cooper, local police chief and the evil villain behind her wedding disaster, Faith finds herself re evaluating her animosity towards him. After all, a nice ass in a well fitted pair of jeans can help you overcome a lot of animosity.

Levi Cooper never had much to do with Faith growing up. He found her silly, naive, and a distraction. However, grown up Faith proves to be an even bigger distraction-of the best kind. Unfortunately, she still blames him for ruining her wedding and he is a little put off women at the moment. Besides, with all the additional drama revolving around her family, Levi can’t even get Faith alone for even a minute to investigate this new development.

When Faith moves in next door to Levi, all bets are off and suddenly the town watches and waits to see if Faith will bury the hatchet with Levi …and where she’ll bury it.

The Best Man revolves primarily on Faith Holland. Faith was standing at the altar, all set to marry her high school sweetheart, Jeremy, only to find out he is gay. Of course, she finds all this out from her sweetheart’s best friend, Levi Cooper. Levi and Faith have always had an uneasy relationship since grade school. Levi thinks she is a spoiled pain in the rear, hence his nickname for her, Princess Super-Cute, and Faith thinks he is a jackass.

Faith leaves home after Jeremy breaks the news to her and tries to get on with her life but life has other plans for her. She has the most unbelievable bad luck yet manages to land on her feet with her humor and smart mouth intact even if her pride is laying shredded at her feet. The term “bless her heart” was made up just for her. Her dating repertoire includes several gay men and even a married man. Throw in her father’s gold digging girlfriend, her brother in law’s channeling of Christian Gray from 50 Shades, and her grandparents constant fighting, and you have a mad cap hilarious story that have you laughing the whole time.

Kristan Higgins is a master of light hearted romantic contemporaries that uses snarky humor, endearing characters, and crazy romantic plots to write enjoyable stories you won’t want to put down. The Best Man is a romantic contemporary that digs deep into your heart and funny bone and doesn’t let go. A fast paced humorous and heartfelt story about two people who start out as enemies only to become friends and eventually lovers. Higgins goes one step further by giving us our protagonist’s back story through little memory snippets. The characters are all delightfully quirky and wonderfully flawed with a deep vein of realism running through them. The story is written in an enjoyable conversational style with engaging laugh out loud dialogue that will keep you entertained all the way to the end.

Faith is hilarious with her calm manner and snarky dialogue. A pretty 20 something woman, she just wants to be loved. Unfortunately, life keeps getting in her way. Strong and self reliant; she has a very vulnerable side she hides well. That is until the one person who has always made her doubt herself won’t go away.

Levi is an enigma. The chief of police in the small town he grew up in, he left only once to do a stint in the military. Married and divorced within three months, he has issues with abandonment. A quiet, broody, gruff, emotionally stunted alpha. Yet, he is also a genuinely nice guy who would do anything for anyone or anything. Wash a dog who gets into it with a chicken. Baked chocolate chips cookies for his homesick sister. Make his best friend tell the truth to his soon to be bride on their wedding day. Faith and Levi have a love/hate relationship. Their bickering, snarky dialogue will leave you laughing as these two waver between ignoring one another and striving to drive each other insane.

“Is there a problem here ma’am?”
“Nope, just taking in the view.”
“Me too. Nice night isn’t it?”
“It is. It’s beautiful.”
“What happened to your shirt?”
“I, um…I had a wardrobe malfunction.”
“I see. […] So, what happened?”
“I flushed my sweater down the toilet.”
“That happens to me all the time.” “So you decided to climb out the window?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Where you are now stuck.”
“”Wow. Those analytical powers of yours are just stunning, Levi. No wonder you’re a cop.”

[…]

“Okay, I’ll just…is it alright, Faith, if I hold on to your arms and pull you out?”
“Yes! Isn’t it obvious? Or were you planning to use the force instead?”

There are actually three story lines about love in here that intertwine; romance, friendship, and family. Each one is given equal time with no sacrifices to the others. When Faith and Levi embark on an affair, they open their beds but not their hearts. Both of them have issues that need resolving that impede their ability to forgive and more on. The relationship develops slowly but the chemistry between them blazes white hot from their first scene together. They remind me of kindergartener’s who pick on each other to show their affection.

“Heard you were divorced, Chief.”
“Yes.”
“How long were you married?”
“Three months.”
“Really! Wow. What a short time.”
“Yes, Holland, three months is a short time.”
“Bet you wish someone had stopped your wedding. Seems only fair since you’re so good at doing that for others.”

For being complete opposites, they fit well together. The love scenes are romantic. Not overtly sexual or visible, but very romantic.

The secondary characters are all well fleshed out as they add delish snarkiness and humor to the story. Faith’s family and friends are hilarious. There is so much love between them all. Her dad is a steady, if not oblivious, rock of the family. I LOVED Faith’s sister, Pru. Her husband’s need to spice up their love life using ideas from 50 Shades of Gray and her reactions to it all left me crying with laughter. Sexting takes on a whole new meaning and I’m pretty sure I’ll never eat frozen peas again.

Though I enjoyed the story overall, Levi’s attitude a bit irritating, especially in regards to his ex wife. His closed off emotions come back to bite him in the arse, hard. Towards the end, I was ready to pitch a brick at him and really wish Colleen HAD spit in his drinks.

All in all, The Best Man is a delightful contemporary romp that explores love, friendship, and second chances in an engaging delightful tale. Fans of Jill Shalvis or Jill Mansell are sure to enjoy.

Overall Rating: B+

Recent Reviews:
Romance Around the Corner – 2/5
Bookpushers – D
Under the Covers – 4/5
Goodreads

Author Website l Series Listing

Amazon l B&N

There will be a live chat with Kristan Higgins on Tuesday, March 12. More details below.