4🌟🌟🌟🌟

Tropes:
🖤enemies to lovers
🩷forced proximity
🖤sports romance
🩷grumpy x sunshine
🖤slow burn
🩷angst
🖤emotional

This book had the vibes of the movie Life as we know it, which I also really enjoyed. Zoe and Liam know each other through their friends Amie and Chris. They dislike each other tremendously, and have since they met.
When Amie and Chris are killed in an accident and leave their daughter, Mira, in Zoe and Liams hands things become a bit muddled.

Liam is not thrilled with this " new" family as he's always said he'd never have one due to how his dad was with him.. Zoe, does want a family, however has kinda given up on that in her life.

Zoe and Liam were both devastated by the loss of their best friends. They both handled their grief differently. They both showed growth from enemies to lovers and this story did feel authentic and realistic. Liam was such a grump except towards the two girls in his life.

The side characters were great in this book and I loved Trey and the book club, Rosa and of course little Mira. They gave this story some much needed laughs.

Overall though, this was a nice change from a traditional romance and Karla is someone i enjoy.

OMG! Where has this author been my entire life? She ripped out my heart, shredded it to pieces, then gave it back to me wrapped in a bow. The feels in this story is why I love romance. Add in the grumpalicious and tortured MC, the strong FC, and the slow and tormented journey to an HEA , even the moments of hilarity… Wow.

Slow burn, enemies to lovers! I am HERE for it!
Recently divorced Zoe swears off men. Her best friend unexpectedly passes away leaving Zoe as a mom overnight to an adorable child who is missing her parents. A trip to the lawyers brings Zoe face to face with Liam, her deceased friends husband’s best friend. Liam and Zoe have known each other for years since their best friends were together, but they have never seen eye to eye. Both thrown into a situation neither was prepared for. Now they have to figure out a way to deal with each other while doing what’s best for Mira. The tension between these 2 was insane!! Liam and all his grumpiness was rough around the edges but he definitely softened with Mira and showed a different side 🩷

This was a 4.5 stars for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the arc.

I ate this book up. Very angsty, with great characters. The FMC and MMC, Zoe Valentine and Liam Davies, have known each other for a decade, largely through their respective best friends, Amie and Chris Spencer. Zoe thinks Liam hates her, based on how hostile he acts when he's around her, and Liam is trying to stay as far away from Zoe, because he has "feelings". Suddenly, Amie and Chris perish in an auto accident, and Zoe and Liam are named as guardians of their daughter, Mira.

At first, Liam wants nothing to do with being a co-guardian with Zoe. He changes his mind after some soul searching, and guilt, and the forced proximity of sharing guardianship of Mira in one house, helps develop their relationship. Liam is a defensive lineman for the Denver professional football team, while Zoe is an accountant, who's also a divorcee. Zoe is hesitant about entering into a romantic relationship with Liam, primarily because of the hostility she's felt from him over the years. What she doesn't realize is that Liam is hostile because he's afraid of entering romantic relationships due to trauma he and his mother experienced in his childhood. Liam believes that he takes after his father in a lot of ways, and that if he has a family, he will treat his family like his father treated him and his mother. Trigger warning of graphic description of domestic abuse.

Reading about Liam's trauma was hard, but I appreciated how the author, Karla Sorensen, involved Zoe in noticing that there was something in Liam's background that brought about Liam's attitude. And Zoe assisted Liam in finding a therapist to help him work through his trauma. Both characters also made sure to attend therapy sessions together as they navigated the guardianship of a toddler, in addition to make sure Mira was paired with a good therapist. Mental health was definitely an important facet of the story.

The sex scenes were very hot, although the couple do not get together until the last third of the book. But I think that was the right timing, considering all the baggage both MCs had to unpack. I loved how Sorensen allowed used the time to have both MCs get to know each other, and get to know how to interact with Mira both individually, and, as a couple. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I look forward to reading more of Sorensen's work.

Oh my goodness Karla Sorensen has wrung me dry with this one!

If you like tragically sad, slow burn romances then The Best of All is for you.

In this emotional enemies to lovers (eventually) romance, we meet Zoe and Liam.

Destined to gripe at each other whenever they're in close proximity, you can't imagine the horror they face when tragedy strikes and they make a pact to live under the same roof.

Well, you can imagine...

However the star of this particular show is the duck loving, not quite 3 year old Mira who very soon has the NFL star, Liam wrapped round her not quite 3 year old finger.

It was stunningly beautiful to see the confirmed bachelor and 'no family for me' stalwart, fall madly in love with his gorgeous Duck.

I can so hear his English accent in my head as he whispers endearments and voices his frustrations in and around the precious bundle that is Mira.

A gorgeous addition to the catalogue of Karla Sorensen.

Como leitora maioritariamete de dark romance, este livro foi uma lufada de ar fresco.
Este livro é muito parecido ao filme "Life as we Know it"
Temos um casal super amoroso, definição de relationship goals, que infelizmente morre num acidente de carro deixando para trás uma filha pequena.
Zoe Valentine, sonha com a vida ideal casada e com filhos enquanto Liam só vive para a sua equipa de futebol profissional com fobia a relações.
Desde o momento que se conheceram quem têm uma picardia acessa, onde acham que se odeia quando na realidade têm uma massive crush um pelo outro mas Zoe estava noiva de outra pessoa.
Esta história desenvolve-se no descobrir quem é a Zoe como mãe adotiva de uma criança pequena, lidar com o luto da sua melhor amiga e tentar que o Liam desempenhe o seu papel de padrinho.
O Liam luta bastante mas apartir do momento em que se envolve na vida da menina sabe que não irá voltar costas nem fugir da sua atração pela Zoe.
É uma história bonita e emocionante entre 2 pessoas tentam o melhor que podem lidar com a perda dos seus melhores amigos e os seus sentimentos um pelo outro e a história de uma menina que perdeu os país e não compreende a sua realidade e têm de se adaptar à sua nova realidade, um patinho de cada vez.

Thank you to Montlake, Karla Sorenson, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has easily secured a place for one of my top books of the year so far. I love Liam, Zoe, and Mira so much. This book was so much more than a romance. It was a story of grief, trauma, healing, friendship, love, and family. Liam’s character development across this story was phenomenal. I felt like we truly watched him confront his demons and work on himself every step of the way. Zoe was a delight. She was fierce and soft and strong and so full of love. Mira was absolutely adorable and every moment with her on page shined. The dynamic between Liam and Zoe with Mira, both their own individual relationships with Mira and their relationships as a family unit, were written so well. I found myself fully invested in their emotions and development as they traveled through their grief and discovered how to operate on this new path in life. I loved that this book focused more on the family unit, with the tension and romantic relationship the underlying plot. It really allowed this book to stand out in the romance genre, while also still giving you all the feels you crave. The epilogue completely wrecked me in the best way. I could talk about this book and these characters for hours. Absolutely phenomenal.

What a great book! Absolutely loved it. Liam is a tortured soul but those who know him best know there’s a cinnamon roll hero underneath that grumpy growly exterior. I loved Zoe too she’s such a great match for Liam and such an easy character to love. This is a slow slow burn which I loved because it gave me a chance to get to know the characters along with their flaws and strengths. And the way they loved lil Mira oh my heart!

I really liked the book, although I feel that it has been perhaps too slow burn but it has given priority to other important things and I liked that a lot.
Liam and Zoe's relationship has been incredible, and I loved it how everything improves after so many years, although it has been for a very sad for the reason😭

Mira it's the best thing in the world, so sweet my girl🥹 ANT THE CONVERSATIONS between Liam and Mira were amazing!!! Well and the relationship she has with Liam and Zoe is that she's so beautiful, my little duck🐣

And the secondary characters that give moments of laughter to the book are top, the book club was🤌🏻🤌🏻


the cliches:

✨ slow burn
🏈 american football player x accountant
❤️‍🔥 frenemies to lovers
🎀 he falls first and harder
🧸 forced proximity

This book pressed all my emotional buttons and left me contemplating my own life choices and what I would do in a similar situation. After the tragic loss of their closest friends, Liam and Zoe are thrust into the roles of co guardians to little Mira. He is not up to the task and shows his commitment issues by walking away. She on the other hand steps up. But even a grump like Liam is not immune to the sweetness that is Mira. Their journey from antagonists to friends to coparents to lovers was slow burn torture but each step took us closer to their happily ever after. This book was a keeper, I’m giving 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 the judy.ann.loves.books stamp of approval, TBR and Enjoy!

Karla is always a go to author for me to pick up and read. I know I'm going to site down and thoroughly enjoy what I am reading from her and this was no exception. I love how the two complete opposites came together but it took them time to realize how meant to be they were.

We had glimpses of Liam, Zoe and little Mira in the previous book and I knew then I would loved their story.  

It was everything I had hoped it would be and more!

If you love a slow burn, grumpy-sunshine hero/heroine, forced proximity romance then this is a must read.  

Zoe and Liam are dealing with a lot, and Liam instantly retreats and leaves Zoe to look after little Mira their friends little girl.  

Eventually Liam realises it isn't fair on Zoe and pretty soon Mira has Liam wrapped around her finger!

This was a wonderful story and I loved every minute of it.

This was another solid romance from Karla Sorensen. I just love her writing and how she makes you care for these characters. I would have loved more of a connection between Zoey and Liam though.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the early chance to read and review “The Best Of All.”

As soon as I finished “The Best Laid Plans” I knew I need Liam’s story and Karla Sorensen did not disappoint. This was a poignant follow up story and I loved reading Liam’s journey with both Mira, the toddler who tragically lost both of her parents, and Zoe, the woman with whom he shares guardianship. There was some humor and some tears as I was reading but I wholeheartedly recommend to readers of contemporary romance. 5 stars.

This is what I call a palette cleanser read and I could not get through my reading career without books like this!
Light, fast-paced, good amount of spice, ticking all my favourite trope boxes and I could knock it over in a couple of days. Karla Sorensen delivers another solid romance novel that is predictable in all the best ways with "The Best of All" which is book 2 in The Best Men series.
You've got the grumpy commitment phobic pro-athlete with rippling muscles in Liam and the sunshin-ey hopelessly optimistic kind FMC in Zoe. A twist of fate forces them into a predicament they never expected and the close forced proximity causes both of them to feel what they have been denying for years. Whilst the writing is predictable and at times it feels like Sorensen is just filling time it's kind of why we love these books right? Slow burn, angst, miscommunication, it's all worth it when the heat erupts.

Heartbreaking and sad but so so good at the same time. Finding love and redemption in the midst of grief is tricky to write but this was done so well. Five stars

After reading The Best Laid Plans, I was super excited to read Liam’s story. I knew he would be perfection, as promised, he’s a grumpy ass 😂 but by the end of this book, I was absolutely in love with him!

Liam is a football player, playing by alongside his best friend Chris. Liam is grumpy and curses like a sailor, he never wants kids or a family. This quickly changes when Chris and his wife pass away in an accident, leaving Liam as one of the guardians of their 2 year old daughter Mira.

Zoe is recently divorced, she’s sworn off men because of her ex husband. She’s been taking care of Mira since the accident, after a meeting with an attorney, she finds out she’s one of Mira’s guardians along with Liam. They don’t get along well, so this is shocking news to them.

I loved Liam, he comes off as such an asshole at first, but deep down he’s not. He’s quickly wrapped around Mira’s finger, he would do anything for her, same with Zoe. Watching his relationship grow with both of them was beautiful, also seeing why he was so scared of getting close. I wanted to jump into the book and give Liam a hug 🥹

This book was absolutely beautiful, if you’re a fan of movies like Life as We Know It, you’ll love this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Montclake for the ARC!

I haven’t read the first book of the series, however they can be read as a standalone. This was a cute romance and I did very much enjoyed it from the start. However, towards the middle it did fell a little flat for me, and that it was missing something. It’s a slow-burn romance but then I thought at the end it felt a bit rushed.
I did like how it ended that part was very sweet.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for a copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a book I highly enjoyed. Its part 2 in two-part series but each book focuses on a different couple. This is about Liam and Zoe who don't know each other but are best friends with a couple who have died and left them as guardians of their young daughter. It was a beautiful story about accepting who you are and moving on. Growing and learning to love. Really an awesome story. I laughed, I cried, and I loved this story and the characters so hard.

There is only one thing I felt could be improved and that was it was too much of a slow burn. Things romantically only seemed to happen in the very last part of the book, and I wanted it a lot earlier. I wanted more romance, and I felt the romance was not enough but the story sort of overtook the romance than the other way around. I still loved the book and story, but I wanted to see the couple's romance more.

I dove into this book with high hopes. Alas, I was kind of disappointed.. Although there was some pining, it fell a bit flat for me.. Slow burn and I didn't feel any sparks till past the 70%. I really wanted to see how their relationship would blossom and that's what kept me going.
This is not my first Karla Sorensen, it won't be my last for sure. Will I recommend it? Yes, but selectively.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and share my thoughts.