Book Review: The Best Man by Kristan Higgins

The Best Man
Author: Kristan Higgins
Publication: Harlequin HQN (February 26, 2013)

Description: Sometimes the best man is the one you least expect…

Faith Holland left her hometown after being jilted at the altar. Now a little older and wiser, she's ready to return to the Blue Heron Winery, her family's vineyard, to confront the ghosts of her past, and maybe enjoy a glass of red. After all, there's some great scenery there….

Like Levi Cooper, the local police chief—and best friend of her former fiancé. There's a lot about Levi that Faith never noticed, and it's not just those deep green eyes. The only catch is she's having a hard time forgetting that he helped ruin her wedding all those years ago. If she can find a minute amidst all her family drama to stop and smell the rosé, she just might find a reason to stay at Blue Heron, and finish that walk down the aisle.

My Thoughts: THE BEST MAN was both a humorous and heart-wrenching romance that was also quite heart-warming. The story begins when Faith Holland is jilted at the altar when her fiancé and love of her your life—Jeremy—announces to the congregation that he is Gay. She blames his best man Levi Cooper for forcing the issue. They have know each other all their lives but have never been friends. Faith flees to San Francisco and builds her career as a landscape architect.

Three and a half years pass. Jeremy is the town doctor. Levi has left the service and become the Chief of Police. Faith has had a number of false starts as she tries to find new romance including dating another Gay guy and a man who is cheating on his wife which leads to a funny confrontation with his wife and child. Faith is urged by her family to come home to stop their widowed Dad from marrying a hugely inappropriate woman. 

When Faith gets home she finds herself quickly gathered back into her rather dysfunctional family. Her grandparents are constantly bickering, her older sister and her husband are having interesting marital difficulties, and her dad is oblivious to the very obvious gold-digger who has him in her sights. Faith's attempts to find her father a better bet for a second romance were really funny. Who knew there were so many characters out there in the dating pool?

Along the way she keeps having run-ins with Levi who, she is certain, hates her. Levi is conflicted. He thinks she is hot but he can't quite get over that she is the ex-fiancé of his best friend. He has issues of his own too. He is raising his sister and both of them are still grieving the loss of their mother. He is dealing with a divorce from a fellow soldier who didn't find small town life exciting enough to keep her from re-enlisting. He is also still dealing with the fact that his father abandoned him when he was young and has now started a new life with a new wife and new sons. All of these things keep him from wanting to start something with Faith where he might be second-best. 

Faith is keeping secrets of her own too. She isn't the cute, perky character that Levi always believed she was. Besides suffering from epilepsy, Faith is still consumed by the fear that she is the one who caused her mother's death when she distracted her while they were driving. Probably the most touching part of the whole romance for me was when Levi did an accident reconstruction in the middle of the night and proved to Faith that the accident wasn't caused by anything she did or didn't do. He wasn't the sort of guy who could do sweet words or gestures but that said love to me.

Readers who like strong emotions in their romance and who want some humor too can't do better than to read this romance by Kristan Higgins. 

Favorite Quote:

"So, what happened?"

Her face grew red. "I flushed my sweater down the toilet."

"That happens to me all the time." This earned another glare. "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."

That comment just bought her a few more seconds in the window. "Well, if there's nothing you need, I'll be on my way. You have a nice night, ma'am."

He started to get back in the car.

I am part of the blog tour for this book arranged by Meryl L. Moss Media Relations and got my copy of the book from them. You can buy your copy of the book here.