Overall Grade: A
Tropes: hate to love; enemies to lovers; forced/close proximity; grump/sunshine; slow burn; he falls first; sports romance (football)
I am always thankful when God grants Karla Sorensen the words, story, and characters for her next book. There is something special about her stories that attach themselves to you. When I pick up one of her books, honestly, it’s almost impossible to stop reading it, and, when required to adult, I mourn for my time in her stories. Her newest book, The Best of All, is more of all of this.
While it borrows a plot point from the 2010 movie, Life As We Know It, starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel (a movie I adored), Sorensen writes her way through it with her brand of romance. You may ask, what is Sorensen’s brand of romance? Well, recently, her stories showcase grumpy, protective MMCs who love their FMCs hard from afar, hiding their emotions behind walls that reach the heavens; FMCs who are so beguilingly independent and amazing that everyone falls in love with them; and so much slow burn that you don’t know if they will ever find their way into each other (wink wink!). Seriously, Sorensen knows exactly how to craft a slow burn which doesn’t lead you to want to send her DMs, cursing her for keeping her MMC and FMC apart. Instead, she inches them closer at a pace that feels organic to her characters’ story. At least, that’s my impression, although 73% for a first touch was eye-opening.
What I loved the most about The Best of All (and having fallen deep for the predecessor book to this one, The Best Laid Plans – I loved this book more) is Liam. Oh how I loved Liam. He’s so emotionally buttoned up, denying himself of his heart’s desire for much of the book that you cannot help but fall in love with him because he is protective and intentional even when it’s misguided. Through Liam, Sorensen showcases the power of therapy to find the words for feelings. His journey is the foundation of this book even though Zoe has her own important Zoe. For me, though, what drew me to him a bit more over Zoe is the way he loves her to his bones. He hides it behind acrimony and derision, but it’s all an act meant to turn her away. I have found that this brand of MMC is my favorite by far. My therapist had a bit to say about the reasons for this, but we agreed that, in fiction, MMCs such as Liam make for swoon-worthy romances. And that is definitely the case.
Once again, Karla Sorensen showcases her ability and passion for writing romance in The Best of All. I loved every page of this book, and it’s been one of my fastest reads in recent months. The ending felt poetic and beautiful, and it receives the highest marks from this reader.
In love and romance,
Professor A
Professor Romance 