Review: The Best Man

The Best Man by Natasha Anders
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Where to start? I love, love, loved The Wingman, I thought it was clever and funny and cute. Unfortunately I just thought that this was a hot mess.

Daff(odil) McGregor is the oldest of three girls (Daisy and (Dah)Lia being her younger siblings. Daisy is marrying Mason Carlisle (ex-Special Forces, ex-male model, millionaire etc) which forces Daff as her Maid of Honour to play nice with Mason's older brother Spencer who is also his best man.

Spencer had a crush on Daff all through school and used to send her notes and poems. She being a self-absorbed teenager mocked him mercilessly and was paranoid that her friends would think she liked him. Years later and Daff has a job she hates and is aimlessly drifting through life. Spencer and Mason had a difficult childhood with druggie/ alcoholic parents, Spencer practically brought Mason up single-handed and they were viewed as the town's ne'er-do-wells, bad boys and delinquents, when really all they were was hungry and cold. Now, Spencer parlayed a short career in professional rugby into a successful sports shop and is doing well.

Daisy and Mason got together as a result of Spencer asking Mason to be his wingman at Lia's abortive wedding, by drawing the frumpy Daisy away from Daff so that he could chat up Daff. When Daff found out she was furious and has held a massive grudge ever since.

Why didn't I like this book? First, I didn't like Daff and I couldn't understand what Spencer saw in her. She was unkind to him at school because he wore threadbare clothes and scuffed shoes and wrote her love notes. She holds a grudge for one small incident, an incident that led to her sister finding love, and she has some massive insecurities and low self-esteem. Spencer on the other hand is a paragon of virtue. He uses his wealth to help disadvantaged children, he brings Daff healthy lunches every day, he has a beautiful family home, he's a real homebody. There's just too much angst. Spencer's angst about his childhood, Daff's angst about her past relationships (don't even get me started on that!), the runaway girl that Spencer wants to help - it was all too much. Third, considering the girls had a loving family childhood with not traumas the three of them seem to have some massive issues. Also, the set up for the next book about Lia was too blatant and frankly the guy seemed like a douche.

It's a pity because I really liked the other books I have read by Natasha Anders but this one just didn't do it for me.

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