3.5 ⭐️

I enjoyed this story more than the first book in the series. Liam and Zoe had the slowest burn ever, and I wasn’t mad about it at all.

I loved the way they became a family around their surprise guardianship of Mira, whose dad was Liam’s best friend and mom was Zoe’s. I thought the banter between the MCs was great. The side characters were a delight.

Here’s where a half star came off because as a mom, I could not for the life of me understand why Mira’s parents would make two people who on the surface hated-or at least COULD NOT BE CIVIL to-each other JOINT guardians of their child. WHAT. ON. EARTH?

While Liam had a horrible backstory that explained his “I will hate her to protect her” vibe, the love at first sight/oh no she’s engaged/therefore I will say THE SHITTIEST THING POSSIBLE start to their relationship lost another half star. Because, again, WHAT. ON. EARTH? You’re a grown man and you say “Good luck with husband number two” (implying her current fiancé and upcoming marriage won’t last)to a woman YOU LITERALLY JUST MET and then proceed for the next DECADE to annoy and piss off because YOU HAVE A CRUSH on her- ARE YOU 10?! Thus, I took away half a star.

Now, Liam maturing, stepping up with Mira, going to therapy, learning to express his feelings- ALL GOOD STUFF. Which is why I came around to him in the end.

Zoe? She’s harder for me to describe. Her marriage ended because the guy really was a jerk. She’s always wanted kids. Her mom’s a therapist so she’s good at talking things out. She’s amazing with the news she’s suddenly a guardian. But something felt like it was missing in her characterization, though I cannot articulate what that is. That’s the other half star I took away.

It was an enjoyable read, but at the end I was conflicted about what to rate it, and I also felt like the dynamic of Liam and Zoe as a couple was not fleshed out enough for me to be convinced they were in more than lust.

I don't even know where to start! A beautiful slow burn romance, with a found family and predestined love.
The couple's dynamic with little Mira is adorable.
Some themes covered, such as the importance of friendship, unconditional love, therapy, self-awareness, bring depth to the story and its characters.
Slow burn, mourning, internal struggles, pining, dirty books and fun elderly neighbors bring perfect elements to this delicious novel.

Zoe and Liam have known each other for over a decade. However, it felt like the right person at the wrong time situation. Now, both of them are the guardians of Mira after losing their best friends in an accident. They are forced to live together and get along for the well-being of the little girl. Also, they show us the stages of grief from their perspectives and how they deal with it in their own ways along with the new situation of taking care of Mira.

This is a slow burn, enemies to lovers story and does deal with a tragic loss of parents scenario, so read triggers beforehand.

Over all rating: 1.5 🌟

Short description:
-forced proximity
-enemies to lovers
-slow burn

Liam and Zoe became guardian for Mira, the daughter of their bestfriends. They need to live together and navigate their own lives for Mira.

The plot had really nice potential, unfortunately I wasn't able to connect with how the story was written.

Karla Sorensen is such a great author! I was looking forward to this book and was not disappointed. This is the second book in the series that is about another couple Chris and Amie bring together through their death. We briefly met them in book one, so this can be read as a standalone. But I highly recommend book one as well.

My emotions were all over the place. I smiled, laughed, and cried. Do I like Liam, or not? I went back and forth so often, but darned if I didn't cry for the man a few times. His situation broke my heart. Zoe was so strong and beautiful on the inside. She had so much heart. And Mira was cute as a button and stole my heart. The three older ladies had me laughing out loud. This book is character strong with a storyline that grips your heart. It's is a slow burn that was perfectly written. I absolutely LOVED this book!

What a great story! I absolutely devoured this one. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for letting me read this early

4.5 Stars
If you loved the movie Life as We Know It with Katherine Heigel and Josh Duhamel, you will love The Best of All because it has a similar but different enough plot. Zoe and Liam know each other through their best friends Amie and Chris. They have disliked each other since they met, which makes things even more complicated when Amie and Chris are killed in a tragic accident and leave their toddler daughter, Mira, in Zoe and Liam's care. 

Zoe and Liam were both devastated by the loss of their best friends. They both handled their grief differently. Zoe threw herself into caring for Mira. Liam was angry and took his anger out on the football field. There were so many times I teared up as they made peace with their loss and new normal. Things were rough as they tried to work together, slowly forming bonds and starting to truly get to know each other, but the payoff was big. Everything tough and uncomfortable they went through was worth it to see them give Mira the family she needed and fall in love in while doing so. 

I have to give a shout out to Zoe and Liam's friends and family who supported them along the way. Zoe's mom was a therapist, and I loved that Zoe turned to her for support. I also Rosa, the older neighbor, and her friends who gave Zoe a book group. Liam had his mother as well along with the guys from his and Chris's professional football team.

I only had one tiny complaint - I would have loved to have had more time with Zoe and Liam as a couple. This was a slow burn romance, and rightfully so, but I wanted more time with them. Readers will be happy there isn't a third act break up or any unnecessary drama with everything Zoe, Liam, and Mira are working through. Overall, this was a fantastic read and I loved where Sorensen took this story.

I love a good slow burn- enemies to lover's story. The right person at the wrong time for Zoe and Liam as they have known each other for over a decade.
The characters were likeable and even relatable, and they were accompanied by enjoyable side characters. I enjoyed the strength and perseverance of the female lead. This story revolves around real grief, and I really enjoyed the realism, and the way Karla wrote that into the story.
My only complaint is we needed more time with Liam and Mira.
Will be reading more Karla Sorensen in the future.

I loved this ! I’m a sucker for forced proximity and sexual tension. I think Liam might be one of my favourite book boyfriends. I sympathized with him, having a parental figure in your life who treated you so poorly impacts you long term. However it was so nice to watch him grow and overcome his fears and fulfill his late friends wishes. The love between them is adorable.

Wow
What a lovely book
I'm a sucker for enemies romance.
When a couple have a baby they put measures in place incase anything happens to them. Tragedy strikes and two people who detest each other have to put there differences aside and put miras needs first. I absolutely adored this book. I couldn't read it fast enough. Each character was lovable and you could feel the tension and chemistry.

5 bloody brilliant stars

This book had me feeling so emotional. Being a parent to a 3 year old, my biggest fear is leaving this earth without both of her parents. I really liked the book, but I felt like the slow burn was almost too slow and the explosive romance kind of came out of left field.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review early, Montlake.

My heart is full. The way Karla writes about grief is soul-healing. Whenever her books include this topic, it’s such a cathartic reading experience. She handles it so delicately and with so much grace, and realness.

Liam (MMC) and Zoe (FMC) were best friends of Chris and Amie (who we “met” in book 1 of this series) respectively. When they passed, Liam and Zoe became co-guardians to their toddler, Mira. The way they navigated through their collective grief, and the new reality of their new family unit was achingly tender.

Obviously there was a lot of growth throughout the book, for each of them individually and also together. I loved the journey.

I absolutely recommend this series. Don’t skip book 1, it’s equally good!

They say that there is a fine line between love and hate. I’m not saying Liam and Zoe hate each other, but maybe they were afraid of love. If anything can bring them together it is little Mira. As her godparents, they find themselves responsible for Mira and this could only end really really good, or awful. I had my fingers crossed the whole way through that book they would wake up and give in to their feelings for each other. I laughed and cried throughout their story and loved the “book club” - where can I find some octogenarians in my neighborhood!

I love everything by this author and it’s usually an automatic 5 star read for me, but I did struggle with this one and I’m not sure why.

I love this trope, the characters were likeable, there were great side characters and the story itself was well written.

This is a slow burn, enemies to lovers story and does deal with a tragic loss of parents scenario, so read triggers beforehand.

Loved the ending just wish the book had had a bit more time with them as a couple and their relationship moving forward.

4.5 stars

The book was beautiful, emotional and sweet. I liked it better than the previous book in this series and enjoyed it. I have to emphasize that the story is very familiar to me because I read something similar to this, I can't remember who the author is. It doesn't even matter, the most important thing for me is that I liked the story, I liked the main characters of the book, the British accent and the adorable girl Mira. The only problem I have is with Mira's dialogues because it is impossible for a 2.5-3 year old child to behave like that.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this opportunity, I recommend the book to everyone.

"The Best of All" is a heartwarming tale of unexpected love blossoming in the most unlikely circumstances. With a grumpy yet endearing male main character and a sweet, book-loving female lead, this novel captures the essence of enemies-to-lovers romance. Set against the backdrop of raising a daughter left behind by their deceased best friends, the slow burn between the protagonists adds depth and emotion to the story. Fans of forced proximity will delight in the tension and tenderness that develop as these two characters navigate their newfound roles as co-parents. With its charming premise and engaging characters, "The Best of All" is a delightful read for anyone craving a feel-good romance with a spicy ending.

My review for this book will not be good enough to let you know just how phenomenal this story truly was. Karla Sorensen will break your heart in tiny little pieces and bit by bit put it back together while her characters deal with loss and an uncertain future. What Liam discovers just with the touch of little Mira's hand was so emotional. Then throw in the aspect of single motherhood that just gets thrown in to Zoe's lap. This book proves that you are the maker of your own destiny and with love and support you can rid yourself of fear. Love conquers all - this was a must read!!

I will always jump at the chance to read a Karla Sorensen book- early or not. I genuinely love her writing and catalogue of books, That being said, I feel like this story was only the prologue to Zoe and Liam's relationship. They were never really a couple until the very end and it left me wanting more. Realizing this sent me into a tailspin about all other romance books I’ve read and I am now in an existential crisis because I never really realized that romance books only show the beginnings of relationships?!?! I desire to see couples in the thick of it and I wish all love stories could be shown all the way through (though I KNOW that is unrealistic). Unfortunately it took a bit too long for me to even consider Liam redeemable and it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth because of that. About 80% of the book could have been solved if he just went to therapy like a mature adult. I did still enjoy this book for Zoe and the adorable Mira, but the Liam that Liam was for 90% of the book was not my favorite hero. I do also wish we got a peek into their relationship more than two months later in the epilogue. I am so appreciative of Karla and Montlake for giving readers like me the opportunity to ARC review! 3.75 rounded up to 4.

If Karla writes it, you can bet I'll read it.

I recently discovered Karla Sorenson, and I've binge read a majority of her series in under a month. So, when I saw the blurb for this new story, I jumped at the opportunity to experience it!

Zoe, our FMC, is completely lovable. Her love life isn't much to write home about, but it's the solidity of her friendship with her best friends.

Liam, the MMC, also happens to be a part of the friend group. But for whatever the reason, he and Zoe have just never been able to get along.

In similar fashion to the movie, "Life As We Know It", their best friends pass away and Liam and Zoe are appointed co-guardians of their child, Mira.

Mira is possibly one of the sweetest toddlers ever! Zoe dives right into the responsibility and adjusts her life to take care of Mira. Because of her low opinion of Liam's ability to commit, she doesn't expect or want his help. And yet, somehow, Liam decides that he is going to give this ready-made-family the good old college try.

What follows is one of the most heartwarming journeys that Karla's taken us on. The main storyline is the enemies-to-lovers relationship between Zoe and Liam, especially once we find out how Liam's actually felt about Zoe for the entirety of a decade. But, I'd argue that the best relationship arc is that of Mira and Liam. "Little Duck" just melted my heart every single time I saw it on the page. This was especially sweet considering how much Liam had to overcome to let Mira in.

While it was a roller coaster of emotions, from laughter to tears, every little aspect of the story meshed so well together. This story is a 10/10 recommend for me!

4.5 🐥⭐️

4.5*

Wow, what a beautiful story; Zoe, Liam, and sweet little Mira stole my heart. My emotions were on the hook from page one and I did not want to put it down. And can we talk about the slow burn? Goodness it was hitting so good and when Zoe and Liam finally (finally!) took that step it was oh so satisfying. I loved the overall tenderness of this story; even when Liam was being his grumpiest self you knew there was a sweet heart beneath that exterior. Also, the way he was with Mira was too cute. Karla Sorensen has written some of my very favorite books and I'd put The Best of All right up there with them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC.