I had to DNF this book 30% of the way through. There was no forward movement in the story and the only thing that happened up to me putting the book down for the final time was an abundance of fluff and the minimal amount of chemistry between the main character and her old crush. The scenarios of each chapter were so drawn out and over played it made it nearly impossible to get to the root of the story. All fluff no plot unfortunately.

I used to read romances of all shapes and sizes all the time. I’ve been balancing my romance reads with more mysteries as well as my beloved historical fiction and, these days, I tend to read more rom coms than romances. And I think there’s a reason. I’m finding it harder to connect with the love interests in such sweet stories. The Next Worst Thing was one of those chaste romances and I just couldn’t get invested in Sara Jane Woodley’s latest novel. I wanted to enjoy it, obviously I really did. But it ultimately let me down and I’ll probably forget all about it as soon as I hit publish on this post. Was it the worst thing? No, not really. (Unlike that pun!) It just wasn’t a book for me.

Here’s the book’s description:
I’m just trying to get through this week alive.
I didn’t ask to organize this wedding. And I certainly didn’t ask for the world’s worst best man as an assistant.
But my brother is marrying the love of his life, and I’ll stop at nothing to give him a perfect wedding day–and get our family’s Inn some much-needed publicity in the process.
Which means playing nice with James Weston.
My brother’s best friend and I have been feuding for as long as I can remember. We don’t like each other, plain and simple.
Or is it?
Is it possible that James isn’t the monster I’ve always thought him to be? And why does he keep showing up to save me right when I need him? (Not that I’d EVER admit it).
Falling for James is not on my carefully color-coordinated agenda.
Too bad nothing seems to go according to plan when James Weston is around…
Audiobooks always take me a little bit longer to read, especially these days when I don’t have time for long walks or working on puzzles or crafts (even though I need to go for walks and have an abundance of puzzles and crafts to do!) and my commute is only about 20 minutes. Long enough to listen, for sure, but not quite long enough to get totally stuck into a story. But. I can make time to listen and when I don’t? I know that’s probably the book’s fault. It took me so long to get through The Next Worst Thing because I just wasn’t excited about getting back to it.

There was a lot about this book I should have liked. Brother’s best friend with a hint of teenage crush (even if they didn’t realize at the time that they were totally into each other)? Small town? Event planner heroine? Swoony, English-accented hero? All things I love. And yet…I struggled hard with this story. I don’t think I particularly loved Ivy – she seemed so self-deprecating for no reason and no one likes when a strong, independent lady doesn’t realize that she’s a bad ass. She had a loving family in her brother and grandparents and none of them thought she was less-than for being a woman (though it would have been great if her grandparents had listened to her or she had tried harder to tell them how she felt about the inn). She had a fabulous BFF in Daisy. So, what, she was clumsy? I’m clumsy. You know how many doors and walls I walk into? I don’t let that embarrass me. I laugh, confirm to colleagues that, yes, I DID just shoulder check a doorframe, and move on.



The other issue was all the “miscommunication” that ran rampant in the story. Yes. I used quotes. There wasn't any real miscommunication. If people had just freaking TALKED to each other there would have been zero drama. So, I couldn’t get behind any of the issues that popped up. It made the characters all seem so young and immature.

Speaking of young and immature. I have absolutely no idea how old the characters were supposed to be. There were mentions of ages and how long ago they had been in high school but none of it really added up. Should that have mattered? No. Was I already annoyed so any little thing bothered me? Um. Yes.

As I mentioned, I listened to this one on audiobook and I really liked that there were two narrators. It helped me get a bit more invested in the story than I think I would have otherwise. Justis Bolding and Oliver Hunt did a great job bringing Ivy and James to life (even if I found them two-dimensional). Hunt had a delightful accent which also helped! His female dialogue voice was…a tad irritating at times but I’ve for sure heard worse. And Bolding was able to pull off an English accent when she was voicing James. I’d be happy to listen to more audiobooks by either narrator.

Obviously, The Next Worst Thing was not a winner for me. The basic romance and the miscommunication between pretty much every single character was just too much for me to be able to fall in love with Sara Jane Woodley’s novel. It is the first in a series and I will say that I’m ever so slightly intrigued to find out what happens next with the characters in Mirror Valley so it wasn’t a total write off. Maybe I’d like the next romance more?

*An ALC was provided by the publisher, Dreamscape Media, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Unfortunately this book was a big miss for me. I didn’t care for the audio, the overall story wasn’t something I was interested in or wanted to get back to.

Missed downloading this, I wish we would receive a notification with the app when something new is added.

Will be listening to this on Scribd and update my review then.

This is an enemy to lovers troupe where the couple meet in high school but things happen in the past that makes Ivy hate James. Of course to complicate matters, James is Ivy's brother's best friend and is coming to the wedding and Ivy keeps running into him and while relationships are messy you get cute scenes where Ivy gets confused by James' kindness and while the wedding arrangements are going on, you have an enemy to lovers book. This was a romance and if that's your genre you might enjoy this one.

This book is a small town romance mixed with my brother's best friend with a dash of enemies to lovers. Our main character Ivy runs her grandparent's hotel and is helping run point on her brother's wedding. As ending plans progress she starts to realize it would be great advertisement for the hotel. Then who walks in? James, her brother's best friend and best man. Who happens to tease and not get along with Ivy at all. But when he sees he he doesn't see the girl she was. Instead the woman who she became. Problem is he's not here for long. He's just on holiday from his big corporate job.

This book is a sweet and very charming rom-com. Managing the dynamic with the brother, the inevitable return to his job, and overcoming how they used to see each other is witty and cute. I hope this is the start of the serious and we will get a book about the brother soon because I want to see what happens next. Anyone looking for a sweet, lighthearted, read I recommend this book.

The Next Worst Thing is a delightful enemies to romance story by Sara Jane Woodley. Since their early teens Ivy Brooks and James Weston have tortured each other with embarrassing pranks and comments. Ivy is none too happy when James returns to Mirror Valley, Colorado, from his fancy job in Denver to serve as her brother Luke’s best man. And worse yet, he will be home for several weeks using up accrued vacation.

Ivy is now managing the Brookrose Inn, an historic inn and resort first founded by near ancestors, after her grandparents have decided to retire. Having lost their parents to a fatal accident, it is their dear grandparents who raised Ivy and Luke. But the elder Brooks’ have second thoughts about placing this responsibility on her, thinking they are expecting too much of Ivy and keeping her from pursuing her own ambitions.

As Ivy and James negotiate the tasks having to do with the wedding and the possibility that the family inn will be sold, they reveal long held secrets and new dilemmas. This was a very well crafted story told with heart and humor. The characters are delightful and the setting is beautifully described. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

The Next Worst Thing by Sara Jane Woolley is a sweet enemies to lovers romance.

Ivy is planning her brother’s wedding, when his best friend (Ivy’s nemesis) shows up. Preparing for the wedding means they have to spend a lot of time together. And that’s not going to be easy.

I really enjoyed this one. I’m a rom com fan and love a good happily ever after. I loved the small town setting and the long time friends/enemies to lovers.

I gave this one 4⭐️

I listened to this one on audio.

Thanks to #netgalley for providing me with the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

this was a whole lot of wholesome fun. the two MC are kind of enemies to lovers, but more frenemies, or poking at each other all the time, when they were in school. (sort of how younger kids will pester someone they like)
Once Ivy comes back to town to help coordinate her brother's wedding, she and Luke are thrown together to work on it.
There are a few bumps along the way, but a very satisfying story. It's not a stormy sex-scene sort of book, so don't go into it expecting that.

Um, I’m here for all the English accent narrators! This was a cute novel, had some sweet moments between our MCs that were heart warming. But truly, that accent just had me ;) great choice for the narrators.
This is enemies to lovers, brothers best friend, forced proximity, and all the goodness that comes from romcoms. I liked the best man/wedding planning feel. Having to run errands together, yes please! This felt like a classic chick flick storyline that I would expect to see at the movies back in the early 2000s (not a bad thing, I love(d) those movies!)

Thanks to netgalley for the audio! I definitely enjoyed my time with these characters.

Unfortunately, I didn’t love this book. I felt like Ivy was a bit too immature for me (she holds on to the fact that her love interest laughed at her back in high school for like 10 years). She also is mortified and has a small meltdown when digital photos of her “acting silly” are released. It’s not like nude photos of you were leaked!

The chemistry between the two main characters just wasn’t believable for me either. Their relationship didn’t give me goosebumps or anything and if I’m not that invested in them being “end game” I feel like their connection was lacking.

This is my honest review of an ARC audiobook from NetGalley.

Cute, sweet closed door romance. I didn’t realize it was going to be a closed door (meaning no sex scenes) or so clean. And I was pleasantly surprised! How refreshing! No language or sex! But still sweet romance and great chemistry.

Qt first it felt a little slow and I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. But then enter James. (And the narrator for James. Wow.) And I was hooked.

There was a lot going on in the story, lots of subplots. But the author did a great job bringing them together. No lose ends. Although some weird reactions that fell flat for me. Like the whole Lenore thing. I felt like there was something there and I didn’t love how flat that all fell. Also, the big THINGS that are supposed to be the big conflicts of the story were so overblown by the characters. Like their whole feud was over something that could have just blown over but instead it became a years long feud…that actually wasn’t a feud at all but just an ignoring of someone she used to know. It wasn’t like they were constantly around each other jacking with each other’s relationships or something like a feud suggests. They just fell off from each other. And over basically nothing. That was dumb to me. And then the biggest conflict was like, yeah okay, take an apology, have a conversation and let it be over. It just wasn’t that big of a deal.
But overall, cute romance that I would definitely recommend.

Narration was fantastic.

I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the audiobook ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

I usually really love romance audiobooks, so I was super excited when I was approved for this one. I actually ended up quite enjoying the narrators themselves, even if they aren’t new favorites, and felt they fit the characters quite well. I wasn’t always a big fan of how the male narrator did female voices, especially for some side characters, but it didn’t end up bothering me too much. I think the narration itself is what made me stick around and finish this book, instead of DNFing it.

I wanted to love the romance itself, and it had many elements that I felt could build into a good romance, but it just never got there. My biggest issue with the book was the female characters, and how it felt like there were just women hating on other women. About 50% of the named female characters were simply there to prove how hot James was and ogle over him (and that 50% is counting family members and older women). It was just such a frustrating pattern: we’d meet a woman who served some other narrative purpose at first (played a role in the wedding, was a shop-owner, etc.), and as soon as James shows up, they’re just there to ogle him and make Ivy jealous. Even if I had been enjoying the book besides this, this would have ruined it for me.

Alongside that, I also just didn’t feel any chemistry or sparks between Ivy and James. It felt like so much development happened off-page, with dates or scenes being introduced but then ending up being summarized instead of actually diving into conversations between the pair. I also just never felt any real fire behind their ‘rivalry’, and since this is what the entire book is kind of built on, it made a lot of the story fall flat. Don’t get me wrong, Ivy and James were cute together, but I would’ve been just fine if the story ended up with them not being together. Their journey also felt like such a straight path, with no deviations, that it was uninteresting because there was no tension behind any of it.

Overall, while I enjoyed the narration and will definitely be listening to more audiobooks done by these narrators, the story itself just wasn’t for me, unfortunately!


Review will be live on blog on November 18th

Cute rom com but it was just such a typical enemies who fall in love story. Too typical. To the point that I was bored with the story. The predictability of each character made it boring. Everyone from the main characters to the supporting cast. I knew within the first couple chapters what was going to happen with everyone involved. I felt that the dislike for each other the two main characters had was played up too hard and the reason behind it, when finally revealed after it being a secret, was just not worth the wait. Also, their disdain for each other suddenly passed quickly and went straight to I love you forever without a real good transition.

Despite the story not being very strong, I did think the characters and their "voices" were great. They were endearing and funny, which actually kept me reading/listening till the end. The narrators were great too, although the male narrator could have done a better woman voice. He sounded a little whiney.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audioARC.

This was the cutest book! I listened to the audiobook, which was great. I related so much to Ivy and her awkwardness around her crushes while also having a hate/hate relationship with her brother's best friend, who always seems to turn up at the right time to help with wedding planning disasters. This was a cute, quick romance that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Ivy and James are old frenemies connected by Ivy’s borther, who happens to be James’s best friend. When James comes into town and attends the wedding that Ivy is organized, they are forced to interact.

Read this book if you like:
- Enemies to lovers
- Small towns
- Brother’s best friend


The narrator did a great job and this was an enjoyable read. James is British so they had to have a British accent.

This book did rely on bad communication to build tension, but a ton of rom-coms have the same problem.

Over all, a cute story that is worth reading! It reminded me of a Hallmark story in the best way.


Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute romcom! Ivy and James have been rivals and enemies since they were in high school. Ivy’s brother is getting married and James is the best man. They have to work together for the sake of the wedding. I loved this book and laughed out loud several times! I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Ivy is trying everything to show her grandparents she can run the inn and turn it into a must wedding spot so shes starting with her brothers wedding trying to give him the perfect wedding. Then enters James her bothers Luke best friend and her nemesis. They used to be friends but slowly turns into always trying to have the upper hand. Ivy will do everything to ignore him and not let him get into her head or in her way. She has to make Lukes wedding the best.

But that is easier said then done.
This was a quick read and there was a lot of obstacles everyone in the family and story that they have to over come. there are a lot of downs but the ups makes up for a lot of it. IT was a good story but I did feel like something was missing for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this audio Arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was sweet! And really endearing! A nice small town romance. I enjoyed it. It was an easy ready in the best way. It was also a really great friends to enemies to lovers situation! I thought that was really nice.

I really enjoyed the narrators. I thought they did a fantastic job.

4⭐️

“You look beautiful, Brooks.”
“You didn’t even look at me when you said that.”
“I don’t have too. You’re beautiful every time I see you.”

My gosh this was so cute! Brothers best friend, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, dual POV.

This story revolves around Ivy and her brothers best friend James, who is also her high school rival. But when it’s time for Ivy’s brother, Luke, to get married, James comes back into town and stays at her family inn. Will they be able to put their feud to the side or will fate get in the way?

Where can I find a James? The garden date was the CUTEST THING in the world. I couldn’t stop giggling! Definitely giving off some Hallmark movie vibes! James is so supportive and protective of Ivy but not in an overbearing, almost cringeworthy way. Their relationship is very healthy and heartwarming. Also the relationships between Ivy and her brother Luke, Ivy and best friend Daisy and between James and Luke are so healthy, with great communication, it was very refreshing! If you want a fluffy romcom with an HEA please give this a read/listen! Plus there are a few Abba references!

I did feel like there was minor conflict throughout this book. I didn’t get much of the enemies in the “enemies to lovers” trope. There could have been a little more build up and conflict, maybe some high school flash backs, between the two MCs but I still loved this.

This book is narrated by Justis Bolding and Oliver Hunt, thank you for that beautiful sworn worthy British accent. They both did a fabulous job and make the listening experience so enjoyable! I’m excited to pick up the next book in the Mirror Valley series!

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced audio copy for my honest review!