Jac K's Reviews > Best of Me

3-3.5 Stars

I liked this one. It dragged at parts, but for the most part, I enjoyed.

The blurb sets it up, Gabe and Aurora have been dating for a year when the book opens. The relationship is strained because of his living situation (he lives next door to his ex-wife and they have an open-door policy) and his 13-yr-old daughter Sophia HATES her and desperately wants her parents back together. They are both busy with their careers, and Gabe has been canceling a lot lately because Sophia either has an emergency or wants to do something as a family.

The Good-
🟩h that starts weak but grows some spine. She had some self-esteem/abandonment issues, but I liked that she didn’t just take him back immediately.
🟩 Loads of drama provided by his ex-wife and bratty daughter.
🟩 I LOVED her BFF Luna
🟩 I liked that they all got therapy (I really felt Aurora needed some too).

The Not-So Good-
❌ I hated how Aurora wouldn’t speak up and communicate with Gabe what was going on or her feelings for the first 20%. Even if he didn’t believe her, it would’ve generated more angst. It was frustrating that she just ate it.
❌ I liked the drama the bratty daughter caused but hated that so much of his actions/decisions revolved around her. I know in RL this is the way to go, but this is PretendLand, and in PL, I want my h to feel like the #1 gal. And I never really felt like she was because he was always so damn concerned about his little Sweatpea. (who sucked most of the book) It’s hard to feel swoony love while reading versions of this repeatedly…

Between Sophia and Aurora, there was no contest—I'd burn down the world for my daughter.

❌Gabe felt very beta to me especially when dealing with his ex and daughter, but the would lash out angrily at Aurora when he never said shit to the other two.
❌ I needed more of an epilogue farther in time to show me they actually made it. (there path was too rocky to have much faith in their HFN ending)

Bottom Line- Pretty good if you like ex wife drama and assholes. Gabe is definitely not BF goals for most of the book. I enjoyed it, but it felt long at times, and I felt like the ending was rushed. After reading 300+ of them at odds, I needed a firmer HEA. What’s to say Sophia won’t relapse into her bratty ways and demand Aurora gone again? She was nasty in Paris and that had nothing to do with the h. They haven’t even gotten to the tough teenager years yet. I would’ve felt much better 10+ years out with Sophia killing it in college (out of state), Iris broke and a social pariah, and Gabe & Aurora happily raising a couple kids.