Beautifully poignant instant family, slow burn romance dealing with blending lives, grief and heartbreak - all whilst a potential spark of romance blooms.

Liam and Zoe’s have held a grudge for a decade but when their respective best friends die and leave them joint custody of their little girl, Mira, they try to put aside the snide remarks and grievances to be the parental influences she needs.

Liam is a huge grump but he loves Mira and only wants to protect her from more hurt. Zoe is like sunlight in human form and she'll do her best to make everyone around her happy. But there are other forces afoot to try and push these broken hearted guardians together - Zoe's elderly book clubbers!

Heart-breaking, life affirming and ultimately a HEA for this brand new little family!

"The Best of All" by Karla Sorensen is a great story about two people who start out as enemies and then fall in love. It definitely has a Grumpy X Sunshine vibe. I loved watching Liam and Zoe become a family when they are both given custody of their friends' little girl after a terrible accident. It's a slow burn, but well worth it.

Karla is such a fantastic story teller. She tells such beautiful stories that encompass so much more than just the love story. I love the way the tension and everything is built up. Zoe and Liam met each other through their friends Charlie & Amie. We see a little bit of their past with them, but then in the present, Charlie and Amie tragically pass away leaving behind a young daughter. Zoe immediately steps in to take care of Mira. Soon Zoe & Liam find out that their friends wanted both of them to raise their daughter if something happened to them.

I loved Liam’s journey in this story. He wasn’t initially willing to take care of Mira but eventually came around. Liam and Mira actually had the cutest and the funniest relationship. Liam isn’t used to kids, he curses all the time around her and maintains his grumpy disposition but Mira absolutely loves it and always wants to go hang out with him.

Liam & Zoe are navigating their grief together while also having to adjust to not only becoming the guardians of Mira but figuring out a co-parenting relationship. Together dealing with their grief and loss as well as Mira’s they find comfort in each other. There is a lot of sexual chemistry and Liam & Zoe get closer and closer as time goes on. I loved that their journey to love and parenting was also one that provided healing and a promise for a future. This was an incredible slow burn and was absolutely worth it!

5 Star Review The Best Of All by Karla Sorensen

This is Liam Davies and Zoe Valentine’s enemies to lovers’ story and what an entertaining story it was. From the first paragraph to the last I was riveted to the story that Ms. Sorensen wove.

When fate delivers a cruel blow, both Liam and Zoe will have to put aside their differences to raise their late friends toddler, Mia.

This was a beautifully written love story with plenty of romance, angst, and was a heartwarming and heartbreakingly emotional story that left me with a smile on my face and is everything I could've asked for in a romance.

I really do love Karla Sorenson's characters and the worlds she builds. The whole idea for this book/series is such an intriguing one. I did have a hard time with the male main character in this one before he got it together, so it just didn't grab me how her previous books have. I think this was a personal preference thing, and that people will still enjoy this single guardian romance!

Zoe has always had an antagonistic relationship with Liam even though their best friends were a couple, and it hasn’t gotten any better over the years. When a tragic accident results in the deaths of their friends, they will find themselves having to work together when they are named joint guardians of their three-year-old daughter Mira.

Due to his past Liam never wanted to be a father however he can’t refuse his best friend’s request. He isn’t certain how to deal with Mira or Zoe especially when his attempts to distance himself are unsuccessful and he finds himself questioning if he can be the man they need him to be.

Zoe is strong and resilient as she accepts her role in Mila’s life without a second thought while Liam must realize that the past doesn’t determine the future. The pacing of their romance was slow and steady as they moved from adversaries to co-parents to lovers while they healed from the past as well as the present.

The Best of All is a gut-wrenching, hate to love romance that will surely have you crying!

From the moment Zoe and Liam met, they couldn't stand each other! It was constant bickering. When their mutual best friends tragically pass away, they leave them as the guardians to their toddler, Mira.

Liam isn't too receptive of the idea of raising a toddler. His fears have him in chokehold. However, Zoe is determined to make good on her best friend's wishes. While Liam battles his demons, Mira slowly steals his heart. Together, him and Zoe must learn to co-exist and make nice as they discover things about the other along the way. When these two finally come together–it's explosive!

The Best of All is a slow burn, which develops in forced proximity. There are tons of tender moments as Karla Sorensen sure knows how to write a swoony grump whose a bit of jerk but underneath hides a softie. A truly special and heartfelt book!

I was gifted the ARC for The Best of All, and went back and forth between the physical ARC (once received) and the ebook, and thank you so much Karla Sorensen for the opportunity!

What would you do if your best friends tragically and suddenly pass away leaving you their baby girl? That is exactly what happens to their best friends Liam and Zoe. Zoe steps all in taking care of Mira and outs her life second to ensuring that Mira is the priority. Meanwhile, the ever reluctant Liam takes some time to come around and be there for the two of them more than just financially.

I loved his from the very first sentence to the last. I laughed, I cried, I felt the love between Liam and Zoe, and most of all the love between them and Mira, this was without a doubt a slow burn, but in the best possible way. The tension was palpable, and it made it that much sweeter when they finally ended up together.

Karla knows how to write in a way that lets you feel what her characters are going through, and although unlikely anyone has been in the same situation as Liam and Zoe, you could still empathize with them and feel what they were going through, This was such a beautiful journey navigating love and loss, and learning to be a family unit.

10/10 recommend to anyone and everyone!

I don't have the words to express how much I loved this book!

Watching Liam and Zoe navigate raising their best friends child will pull at your heart strings. Every moment Mira is on page, I couldn't help the smile on my face.

My favorite part is hearing Liam call her "Duck", and all the shenanigans they get up to revolving around that animal.

This is definitely one audio that I'll be listening to again in the future and it has the slowest burn, but it was so worth the wait knowing that he fell first.

** Enemies to Lovers
** Forced Proximity
** Grumpy x Sunshine
** He Falls First
** Slow Burn

The audio is available for free in Kindle Unlimited, so I highly recommend going that route if possible. Shane East brings Liam to life with his accent and I was drawn into the story immediately.

4.5 ☆

Tropes to expect here:
-Sports Romance
-British MMC
-Co-Guardianship
-Enemies to Lovers
-Grumpy x Sunshine
-Roommates
-Slow Burn

*insert blurb about how much I love Karla Sorensen and I'll never get enough of her books*

I don't think you can ever prepare yourself for how much this 'thrown together by tragedy' family are going to grab you in your feels. Forget the romance aspect of this book -because boy oh boy is it a one of the slowest burns I've read from Karla - and marvel in the beautiful story and raw emotional journey that she seems to take you on so effortlessly.

Liam and Zoe are granted co-guardianship of their mutual best friends 3 year old daughter Mira following their tragic death. One fiesty lady is ready to step-up, and one brooding british male is not. But would you expect any less from Liam after reading TBLP?

Zoe has been burned in her life, yet she remains strong in the wake of recent tragedy and boy do I love it when a woman can hold her own. Zoe's bond with Mira was so lovely; they knew each other so deeply and their relationship continued to blossom throughout.

Liam is so spun into his web of buried feelings brought on by his father's failed attempt at being a father, and subsequently worsened by the passing of his best friend Chris. His grief and his anger at life completely rule him, so the transformative journey he follows in this book is truly something special. He'll always be a grump, he'll always swear at least twice in 30 seconds, and you can guarantee that he will always love Zoe and Mira with every fibre of his being.

The tension and chemistry was masterfully woven into this epic slow burn, and my only gripe is that we didn't get to experience more of Zoe and Liam together. My heart ached for them to finally give in and when they did the book was over just as soon.

Rosa and the book club girls are some of my favourite side characters in the Sorensen universe, and I'm here begging and shooting my shot for them to be featured again somewhere along the line.

Thank you so much to Karla for the ARC opportunity. You continue to blow me away and I am forever grateful to you.

This was so good. It's extremely slow burn but so worth it. Liam and Zoes story was so beautiful. I also loved Mira. It runs parallel with Burke and Charlotte which made it better. The chemistry was great and it was well written.

Another great addition to The Best Men series! If you are a fan of enemies to lovers, slow burn, forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine, sports romances you won’t want to miss out on this one! I was hooked from the very beginning and didn’t want to put it down! This book will have you feeling all the feels! It was quite the slow burn! I loved Liam and Zoe! I really enjoyed watching grumpy Liam grow as a character! This is definitely one of those books that when you get to the end you won’t be ready for it to end! I got super attached to the characters and I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to them! Overall a great read that I definitely recommend!

Received an arc for a honest review.

I really enjoyed this storyline, I’ve been looking to read this trope for a while so I was happy to read it. The book is very interesting and the characters were so good. I liked how the main characters started to understand each other after many years of showing dislike. They were able to see sides of others they never knew existed.

The MMC was very scared to co-parent with the FMC as he felt that he would be letting down his best friend by being a disappointment to his little girl. The little girl that they become guardians off is so adorable. She is instantly smitten with the MMC even though he has reservations about helping raise her, their bond is really cute.

This is going to be short & sweet.

This book is a masterpiece.

The Best of All by Karla Sorensen is not only a love story, but also a heartbreakingly beautiful story about navigating grief. As someone who lost their best friend in recent years this one really did a number on me. While the circumstances weren’t the same, the feelings I’ve experienced since losing her were reflected in the way Zoe was feeling. When she said “I miss my friend”, I felt that. It’s a statement I’ve made many, many times in the past couple of years.

I loved the relationship built between Liam & Mira. Leave it to a sweet, little, almost 3 year old to knock down the walls Liam had built around his heart. He never stood a chance.

Liam, Zoe & little Mira are going to stick with me for a long, long time.

This book is going to be on my top reads of 2024 list, no doubt about it. It may just join my favorite books of all-time list.

liam, zoe and mira 🥹💕✨

liam and zoe’s best friends may be best friends, but the two of them have never gotten along. after their friends pass away in a tragic accident and they become the co-guardians of their daughter, mira, they have to move past their issues.

the slow burn in this is delicious torture, full of grief, reluctant bonding and emotional growth. liam is grumpy and standoffish, with daddy issues, wholly focus on his nfl career with no room for anything else. zoe is selfless and sweet with serious trust issues, but she is still holding out for her fairytale despite her past. the forced proximity and forced companionship—and mira being absolutely adorable—turns their dislike of each other into respect, and breaks down their stubborn walls. the tension mixed with their fear of falling made my heart pound with anticipation.

i knew going in to this one that it would be another emotional gem and it absolutely is. this book is heavy and their love story is hard fought, but so worth it. i love them so much.

The Best of All was a wonderful read! It was emotional and real with amazing characters and I loved their growth throughout the story as they let their guards down, fell in love, and became a family. It was painful at times but also filled with sweet, heartfelt moments. I enjoyed it all!

I loved Zoe and Liam. Zoe was giving and determined but also in pain from her divorce and the loss of her best friend. I loved her doing everything she could for Mira and embracing the situation with Liam. Liam comes off as a gruff jerk and I couldn’t wait for his walls to come down and to find out why. When his moment comes and his past is revealed, it was heartbreaking. Besides their personal issues, they're also dealing with their feelings for one another in the middle of this complicated situation. There is a pull between them that I could feel. There was a slow burn happening and I was caught up in the emotion and all the healing taking place as they came together.

There’s a nice cast of characters mixed in. Mira was adorable and I loved the relationships she had with both Zoe and Liam. There were so many fantastic moments with her that made me smile. There were a lot of fun moments with Liam and his teammates and Zoe with her new friends that added a bit of levity as well.

I thought this was well done. I loved the dual POV and thought it flowed well. I really liked the descriptions and all the feelings it brought out in me. It's light in the drama department but it's intense with all the emotion thanks to them dealing with grief and moving on from past hurts. While I did enjoy the slow burn, it was a little too drawn out for me. By the time they got there, some of that chemistry I had felt between them from the start had dwindled.

Overall, I thought this story had entertaining moments, was full of heart, and I loved the building heat and sexual tension. I flew through it I couldn't wait for all of them to get their happily ever after.

This was book two in the The Best Men series, and I will say this is the slowest burn I’ve ever experienced, the further I got in the book I kept thinking it was going to end in a cliffhanger.. this how long it will taking but I loved the journey getting there!

I personally loved this story and while I did loved Liam and Zoe individually more than I did as a couple, I liked how they both worked really hard to make Mira losing her parent as easy on her as possible..

Zoe is sunshine and rainbow, with everybody except for Liam, and while she is heartbroken about losing her best-friend, she jumps right in and starts raising Mira. I loved how they really depended on each other so much. And do I even need to mention the bookclub ladies?! They were a much needed break from the tension and stress of everything

Liam is a very grumpy football player, and the last thing he wants is a relationship and a child, so when he learns his best friend left him custody of his daughter, he freaks out big time.. however I enjoyed him slowly opening himself up letting walls crumble especially when he came to Mira, I couldn’t get enough of them together, I loved how he talked to her like she was a teenager but at the same time meet her on her level, I loved him calling her duck so much!! I also like that he took care of Zoe as much as she would allow him to anyway.

This was my first time reading Karla Sorensen but it definitely won’t be my last, and thank you so much for this cute pr package!! I truly can’t wait to read the next book in this series.

I love Karla Sorensen's books, and this one is one of my favorites! Zoe and Liam are incredible together, and the tension and chemistry between them is so well written that I could have read hundreds more pages. The story is also very emotional, as you see them mourn the loss of their friends and have to look after their daughter. All in all, the perfect book for me, and I already want to reread it 🫶 🫶

The Best Of All is book 2 in the best men series but can be read as a standalone, I did. Can I just say SLOW BURN? Wow, Sorensen this book had tragedy, grief, angst, banter, and love.

We meet Liam, the son of a famous British athlete who knows things about his father that make him determined not to be like him, including anything resembling a relationship. Liam plays american football in the NFL with Chris. Zoe is the best friend of Chris's wife, when they meet for the first time she takes his breath away, but he has to smash it down. he doesn't do relationships and shes engaged to another man.

For a decade they trade heated barbs. Zoe is convinced they hate each other. However, tragedy strikes and they are thrown together in order to raise their friends daughter, Mira. Mira is a light in Liams dark world and both she and Zoe breach the carefully constructed walls of his heart.

Zoe is so attracted to Liam, but is convinced he hates her. Reading about these two dancing around each other, snd their feelings for each other while learning to be parents was really well written and felt very realistic. I really felt for Liam and the pain, anger and grief he was working through. i cried too when they visited the therapist with Mira. They were already a family.

I highly recommend this book if you want a realistic love story with ALL the feels. Get your tissue box AND your pom poms ready!

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the second book in the series, and I would most definitely recommend that you read book one first, as it starts at about the same time, but deals with another fallout and another redemption entirely. I read it ten months ago and very quickly (even after reading 200 or so books in between!), I was right back in the situation. I didn't remember much about the lead characters, but certainly Mira, Chris, and Amie... and a few tears!

Catapulted into parenthood, Zoe is embracing her grief at her friends' deaths whilst doing her best for Mira. Then the lawyers reveal an unexpected twist – she shares guardianship with her nemesis, Liam. We soon can see that his brusque, brash behaviour is a front to cover up some pretty bad damage from his dad... and a clear desire to make Zoe his.

Even if we have a good guess at how the book will end, the journey is hugely enjoyable – and well written with plenty of treats thrown in. Liam's NFL life and how he is dealing with his grief, how his teammates support and challenge him, shows us the man he truly is. Zoe's lovely older neighbour, Rosa, and her saucy book club; its members love to tease and joke about the naughty books they read!

I really hope we get more of this lovely new family, and ideally Burke and Charlotte too – because I really like this world!