Best,
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Pub Date 30 Jun 2026 | Archive Date 26 Jun 2026
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Description
A slow burn wasn’t on the agenda…
Flora and Mark are both professors, both mid-career, and both unlucky in love. As the new year starts, they're assigned to serve on the dreaded Budget committee at Astor College, the small liberal arts school where they both teach. The catch? In the decade they've worked together, their animosity has only deepened. Flora thinks Mark is a performative tryhard, while Mark sees Flora as the frontwoman for a snotty Mean Girls clique on campus.
A mystery soon falls into their laps, foisted on them by an anonymous informant. As they investigate possible wrongdoing, they end up having to work together, and despite some undisguised derision, some woefully awful dates with other people, and unknown forces threatening their careers, they pick apart the web of mystery surrounding Astor. In the process, they start to see the good in each other. Or, at least, they each start to find each other slightly less annoying. Most of the time.
Best, is a romantic comedy with a mystery at its heart. Deeply tongue-in-cheek, the book is full of the quirky, rewarding, and deplorable aspects of academic life.
Content warnings: clean romance but with a ton of coarse language. Like, a lot.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9584590681874 |
| PRICE | $3.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 374 |
Links
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Featured Reviews
Kelly P, Reviewer
Books set on college campuses and stories about professors and students are among my faves. I devoured this story about two professors and the mystery that surrounds the work they are doing. I enjoyed the writing style and the way the book unfolded. Well done! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
Allegra C, Reviewer
I really loved this story. I liked how they slowly opened up and learnt mopre about themselves and each other. I like that is was set at a college as well as not only the students have difficulties.
Aishwarya T, Reviewer
WOW! I went in not knowing what to expect but hoping for a cute romance with a college and budget committee, plus some side fraud, and what I got was AMAZING! I enjoyed reading this book SO MUCH! The dual-POV of Mark and Flora was a JOY to read. Both such distinct characters and personaties, who seemed so real with their strengths and flaws. It was a delight to read them. I loved how the budget committee and the money fraud was such a core topic and theme of this book and the characters did not stray to highlight the romance intensely. What this book has, was perfect for the characters, I felt. It was very refreshing to read this book and Mark and Flora are adorable! I will admit, I did not understand the budget side much but I still had a lot of fun reading it. I hope Dave Dobson and Anonymous, Ph.D. will write more such books together. A joy!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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