The Worst Best Man is the best Mia Sosa book I've read, but if you're just now thinking about picking it up, allow me to encourage you to get pao de queijo before you get started (Brazilian cheese bread) so that you can learn from my mistakes. This book contains a lot more food descriptions (maybe get some marble cake too) than I--or my pantry--was prepared for, but I wasn't mad about it.

The book is about wedding planner, Carolina, having to deal with her ex-fiancé who literally left her the day of her wedding and his brother, who encouraged him to do it. Said brother, Max, is desperate to escape his brother's shadow and if he has to work with Carolina to accomplish that, so be it. Turns out, Max is a sweetheart, but Carolina isn't quite ready to forgive and forget.

Lina tries so hard to be strong at all times because in her experience, showing emotion has been treated as a weakness. Here's a quote that I loved:

<i>Having learned my own harsh lessons when I was a wide-eyed innocent, I now know the rules well: We must never let our emotions get the better of us; doing so is either a sign of weakness, one that diminishes our well-earned respect, or a mark of combativeness, which will cause people to say we're irrational. And as women--women of color, more specifically--we simply can't afford to be perceived in those terms.</i>

So Lina has a lot of walls, but those walls make sense. I really loved her friendships with her cousin and her assistant. I think that all of the complexities of the family dynamics for both Max and Lina were superbly well handled. Sosa is really great at bringing her full cast of characters to life and I fell so in love with Max's friendship with Dean that I am desperate for Dean to have his own book. I absolutely adored him as a character.

Overall, the slow burn relationship between Lina and Max is really beautiful. There's a fantastic scene following the scoping out of a wedding venue for the project and I just loved everything about that entire exchange. I just don't want to spoil anything for you!

And now I leave you with my favorite mean quote in this

<i>Damn him to a world with no cake in it.<i>

And also these words of wisdom:

<i>And when I don't want to deal with an issue, sleep is always the answer. Always.</i>

Disclaimer: Oh, and also, I got to read this book early thanks to Netgalley and Avon! But my opinions are very much my own. Okay, thanks.

THE WORST BEST MAN is the rom-com we've been waiting for! Mia Sosa is a true talent, perfectly balancing laughter, swoony moments, and heat.

I’m so glad that I picked up my first Mia Sosa book! Firstly, this book cover is amazing and would be a total cover buy for sure! I loved the Latin infusion of Lina and her family it was really nice to read about the culture and food and I loved that! Unfortunately I had a lot of little problems with the characterization of both Lina and Max which definitely affected my overall rating. This is by no means a bad book just that the relationships could get stilted between these two characters! I would definitely recommend you try it for yourself though!

First Mia Sosa book and a great one to start! All the characters were well done- from Lina and Max, to Lina's family and Max's best friend (their friendship was so fun to read!). With their history making Lina and Max an unlikely couple with plenty of baggage, this was a great relationship to follow along with as they worked through their issues and worked together as an excellent work team. I'd love to read more of this author's work!

OMG ... what a read!
I can't thank you enough NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers/Avon for allowing me to read the ARC of this freaking amazing book! I can't tell you enough how Mia's words on the pages just come to life. This book has left me automatically putting every book she ever wrote on my MUST READ LIST! Five huge stars I rate this book...and will be shouting from the roof tops to all my book followers and lovers they need to run not walk to go buy this book when it's published in February 2020.

This is a laugh out loud, clutch your heart romantic comedy book. I loved the sarcastic dialog between Lina and Max and the openness of their feelings they had. This book truly has it all. I don't want to go into detail on what this story is all about because you can get it all by the book description. I just want to stress to you that YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK!

The only thing I would say that is missing from this book is an Epilogue at the end..I wanted to read of what happens to them. But maybe Mia did this on purpose that we will in fact get more to the story in Deans upcoming book witch is going on my TBR request now.

All in all this was a sweet, enjoyable, heartwarming, smart, entertaining rom-com that will surely be read by all more than once.

The Worst Best Man is hard to review because I can't pinpoint what didn't work for me at the end of the day. Lina Santos was a delight because she refused to let anything get her down or in the way of her own success. While I liked her and her family, I felt nothing when it came to her chemistry with Max. Max had a rivalry with his brother, the same man that stood Lina up on her wedding day, but that wasn't explored as much as I had expected. The romance was hot and heavy, but again, I didn't feel much for them as a couple.

Three stars: An antagonistic romance with a feisty, Brazilian female lead that was entertaining, but the romance was a little off.

Three years ago, Lina was jilted the morning of her wedding when her fiancé leaves her claiming his younger brother, while drunk, talked him out of marriage. These days, Lina is a successful wedding planner, who just landed the career opportunity of a lifetime. Lina is vying for a job to be the exclusive wedding coordinator in one of DC’s premier hotels. There is one minor catch, Lina finds out she must work with her ex fiancé’s brother, Max, the very one who ruined her wedding. Lina has two choices: work with Max or give up her dream job. Will Lina find a way to work with someone who destroyed her life?
What I Liked:
*The Best Worst Man is a steamy, antagonistic romance that brings together a wedding planner and her ex-fiancé’s brother. Talk about an awkward situation. What follows is a fun relationship full of spit and vinegar and then heat and passion.
*Lina, the heroine, takes some time to warm up to. She is a feisty Brazilian girl who knows how to hold a grudge, but underneath her frosty, tough facade, there is a tender, emotional girl with a big heart. It takes a long time to get to know the true Lina, and it required patience, but it was worth the time. I appreciated that I got a female lead who wasn’t your normal romantic lead. I loved that she had Brazilian heritage, and I enjoyed learning more about her culture.
*Max, unlike Lina, is much easier to fall for. He is kind, patient and charming. He puts up with Lina’s antagonistic and vengeful behavior with grace. I loved that he was the one who was willing to express his feelings, and that he didn’t falter when Lina kept getting cold feet.
*One of the best parts of the book was getting to know Lina’s large, meddling family. Lina comes from a family with strong matriarchal roots. Her mother and her aunts, and all of her cousins have her back. Even though they interfered, they all meant well. Some of the funniest scenes were when Lina had to talk her aunt and cousins out of inappropriate clothing, food and behavior at an upcoming family wedding. I always love a story that features a big, boisterous family.
*The romance is one that takes plenty of time to take root. The two start out as enemies, but then they are forced to work together. What follows is plenty of battles as the two get over their differences. Then a hesitant friendship forms as the pair learns to work together. Finally, sparks fly when the duo is stranded and forced to go to a couple’s retreat. Once the romance takes off, prepare for fire.
*The ending is sweet and satisfying. After some stumbles, the hesitant one finally figures it out, and all ends well.
And The Not So Much:
*For me, there was something a little off with the romance. I didn’t like that Lina channeled all of her negative energy at Max. He wasn’t the one who left her jilted at the alter. Furthermore, I thought her continued combative actions were immature. I didn’t think Max deserved so much hostility, especially when he was trying to help her land the job.
*The ex-fiancé is a real jerk, especially when some truths come to light about him at the end of the book. He gets off way too easy.
*I was disappointed that there wasn’t more on the showdown between the vying wedding coordinators. There is all this buildup centered around landing this dream job, and I was expecting it to be more competitive. When it gets to that portion of the book, there is a small scene and that’s it. There is nothing offered from the competitor’s side. I was wanting to see what the other team presented. It was kind of a fizzle after all the buildup.

The Best Worst Man was a romance I picked up wanting something funny and flirty. There were many things I liked about this one from the Brazilian female lead to the antagonistic banter and the eventual blossoming of the romance. However, I was put off by Lina’s insecurities and her immature actions. Her constant hostile behavior and cold feet got old. This is a good romance worth picking up if you want a foes to friends to lovers romance.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

Three years ago, Lina had the worst day of her life when it should have been the best day--her wedding day. Three years ago, the very last thing a hung-over Max wanted to do was tell his older brother's fiance that she had been jilted... and that it may be his fault.

Now, three year later, Lina has the biggest job opportunity of her wedding planning career--becoming the wedding planner for the Cartwright Hotel group. Now, three years later, Max thinks he has a chance to step out of Andrew's shadow and let his marketing ideas shine by impressing the Cartwright president. Now, three years later, Lina and Max must work together to make their dreams come true... but what are they to do about all of these feelings that are suddenly making it very difficult to work together?

A fantastic rom-com by Sosa, "The Worst Best Man" is a story of new beginnings, second chances from bad first choices, and finding self-worth--and how true love prevails. Sosa writes humor flawlessly--which, as she acknowledges in her Acknowledgements section, isn't easy--but she brings characters, settings, food, motion, and emotion to life effortlessly through her descriptions, dialogue, and tone.

I'm eager to see what will happen in the sequel, "The Wedding Crasher", focusing on Max's best friend Dean and--if the title is anything to go by--all the shenanigans that will come with that story.

A fun, sexy read. A little annoying and repetitive at the beginning but it picks up steam about a quarter of the way in.

Wedding planner Lina is jilted on her wedding day. The (ex-)groom's brother, Max, delivers the news and is apparently the cause of his brother's revelation. Years later Max and Lina have to work together if they want to succeed in their chosen fields. It's a rocky start.

This book is great. I loved it. Mia Sosa created characters I was rooting for with secondary characters who were realized. Lina has learned to fiercely corral her emotions because when she feels, she feels big, and as a woman of color the world is not accepting of that. She's walled off and wants someone safe. Max is not safe. He wants to be seen as independent of his older brother, but falling in love with his brother's ex-fiancee does not fit into that narrative.

I loved Lina's family and the Brazilian culture the book is steeped in. I loved the chemistry between the characters. I'm trying to find something to quibble with, but I'm all in on this story.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley for review.

This is my first time reading Mia Sosa. I think I found a new favorite author to explore! This book was a very solid romance title and I love the "friends to lovers" theme. This book had some heart-warming parts and some laugh out loud parts. The only thing I didn't love about it was I felt the ending was very rushed and it really seemed like it almost ended too abruptly for me. I needed a little bit more to really drive home the happily ever after. Overall though it was a great read and I enjoyed it. Looking forward to her next book!

I really enjoyed this book. At first it seemed that this was going to follow some typical tropes about a woman whose prospective groom abandons her before the wedding and the groom’s brother, the best man gets some of the blame.

But what really gives this book character is the book’s focus on the heroine’s Brazilian-American family of three sisters who moved to Maryland and opened a store selling Brazilian foods and goods. Lina is the daughter of one of those sisters and she’s trying to build her wedding planning business after the disaster of her own wedding.

There is a too-coincidental-by-half plot that Lina has to gain a job being a wedding planner for a ritzy Washington hotel and the hotel manager sets up an employment competition by pairing Lina and her competitor with two marketing executives who just happen to be...her ex-fiance and his brother. She gets paired with Max, the brother to prepare her pitch. This was just too unbelievable, but it does serve its role as a plot device to get Lina and Max to spend a lot of time together and come to enjoy each other’s company. And Max turns out, of course, to be much more than how he first seemed in the beginning.

I really enjoyed the exploration of Lina’s Brazilian heritage whether it was describing the food or capoeira, Brazilian martial art/dancing mix. And Lina’s family are a hoot and so much fun. The close bond among all of them is very endearing.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

**3.5 Stars**

This was my first Mia Sosa book and I enjoyed it. In terms of the premise it's pretty standard, but I liked the characters and the banter between Lina and Max as well as interactions with Lina's family. I will say the pacing is a bit off as the book progresses . It also felt like the Lina's feelings switched on overnight for Max. We really get his attraction to her, but I didn't feel it from her until the end.

Generally, I thought this was an enjoyable read and did what I expected it to do. If you like enemies to lovers and looking for a diverse romance, then this would be a good one to check out.

Thanks to Netgalley, Harpercollins and Avon for providing an e-ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun read! I enjoyed the banter between Lina and Max, and the way they danced around a very unusual and seemingly difficult situation! Watching walls get broken down and finding out that they actually had not only chemistry but a good friendship was fabulous!

Lina’s family was amazing! I loved not only the support they had for her, but the fun that they had with the situation!

And as much as was built up about this being a big no-no relationship – the reality was that the only ones that had an issue with it were, Max and Lina – no one else seemed to care! I will also briefly mention that I wish that there hadn’t been so much talk of the competition between the brothers – it was repeated a lot and I was WELL aware of it!

This being my first Mia Sosa read, I was not prepared for the steaminess level! Haha whoops, so there was a fair bit that was skipped over because of this!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book has a promising premise and I think a lot of readers will really enjoy it, but for whatever reason I found it boring and really couldn't get enthused about it. I thought the dialogue seemed unnatural at times, and I didn't really feel the chemistry between Lina and Max, but it's hard to put my finger on what exactly turned me off about this book. I'd say try it out if it sounds appealing--a lot of other readers appear to have had a much better experience with it than I did.

Overall, this was a pretty standard romantic comedy. I understood why Lina didn't like Max, but Max's initial reason for not liking her made him seem like a bit of a jerk (she wasn't nice to him after he delivered the news his brother was leaving her basically at the altar - get over it). I'm also not sure I totally bought the reason for them meeting up again. Why exactly did the hotel owner believe the candidates for the wedding coordinator job needed help from a firm to create their pitches? I liked the two of them together, but just not the circumstances that led to it. Andrew was such a jerk I couldn't imagine what Lina ever saw in him. I'd probably give this somewhere between 2.5 and 3 stars.

If you're looking for a spicier romance than a typical Hallmark movie, pick up The Worst Best Man immediately. Unlike those typical romances where either the man or woman return back "home" from a respectable career in "the big city", and end up staying home, Sosa's novel sort of does the opposite. It was Mia and Andrew's wedding day when Andrew texted his younger brother Max to have him announce that he didn't want to marry Mia after all. Fast forward several years; Andrew, Max, and Mia all have something to prove career-wise. Mia's wedding planning business has gotten her noticed by the CEO of a local five-star hotel; when she goes into a meeting about becoming the in-house wedding planner, she doesn't expect her ex-fiance and his brother to be in the room too. As marketing professionals, each of them pair up with one of the two wedding planners up for this newest position. When Max and Mia pair up, will new sparks fly? Can they do what they set out to do professionally if they're involved romantically?

This book is a delightful rom-com. Lina is left at the altar after her fiance's brother convinces him she's not the one. Fast forward a year later and they're forced to work together. I love how Sosa writes dialogue, it adds such depth to her characters. The romance felt a LITTLE rushed, but certainly not enough to hinder my enjoyment.

This was a cute read. For starters, I liked references to Brasilian culture and the fact that Lina was the daughter of Brasilian immigrants. Like many children of immigrants, Lina put a lot of pressure on herself to be successful and I really liked how her mother addressed it. I also liked how Lina and Max expressed uncertainty about their relationship (even though, no one around them seemed to cared that about the elephant in the room - that Max is a brother of her ex-fiance). There were some issues with the book as well: I couldn't understand why Lina channeled all of her anger on Max (the guy who was simply a messenger) instead of Andrew (her fiance who actually left her at the altar and didn't have the balls to tell her himself). The story is told from a dual perspective but there was little distinction between the voices of Max and Lina. In addition, so much of Max's story is centered around sibling rivalry and the competition between the brothers, but we never really see it at all. We are being told about it by Max, over and over, but it was never shown to us.

This is a solid debut. I wish it had a little more explanation into Andrew and Lina's relationship. Max and Lina were cute, but I didn't feel like OMG they have to get together.