This was cute. A little predictable and cheesy but cute. James is back in town for his best friend's wedding. This brings up the past that he shared with his best friend's sister, Ivy. We are told from the beginning that they are mortal enemies but the story making them that way does not seem that nefarious. It seems apparent that they really like each other and that there was just a small misunderstanding that caused a lot of unnecessary stress. Anyway, interspersed with the love story is relationship drama, career doubts and family obligation.

I listened to the audiobook version and found the British accent annoying, mainly when the female narrator tried to imitate James or when James imitated a female. I don't think him being British added to the plot in any way.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

the next worst thing is one of the best books I've read this year! Ivy and James have known each other since early childhood, but since high school they have had an ongoing feud, causing them to both despise each other. Now that they are both in their twenties ivy is planning her older brother's wedding, guess who the best man is, yep James which means, unfortunately, they do need to spend quite a bit of time together.
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this book was so cute and wholesome and so much fun to read. I loved the family dynamic between luke and ivy and how they are super close to each other. I especially love how luke wasn't overly protective of ivy especially when James and ivy finally got together and how excited he was for them. the chemistry between James and ivy was absolutely perfect I loved their banter so much and found them hilarious together. overall I loved this book so much and can't wait to read anything that Sara Woodley writes in the future.

The Next Worst Thing
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Audiobook
Date Published: 10/4/22
Author: Sara Jane Woodley
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Narrators: Justis Bolding and Oliver Hunt
GR: 3.96

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: This is the first book in the series, Love in Mirror Valley. This was so cute and I listened within a matter of a few days. Such a swoon-worthy, cute, and lighthearted read. Ivy was the perfect heroine and James was the ultimate hero. The story was narrated by Ivy, in her perspective. In this enemies to lovers trope, the dynamics of Ivy and James go back since they were small children. The narrators were outstanding, I listened to this one on 2x and had no issues keeping up and understanding. I adored James’ accent, it was so British and so cute. Ivy and James challenged one another, while at the same time supporting and loving each other. The characters were well developed with depth, witty banter, oh so funny, deep chemistry, and an emotional connection that was genuine. The author’s writing style was complex, intriguing, flowed very well, and just brilliant. The small town setting was superb, it made you feel like family. This was a closed door romance, but was sweet and easily connected to. The MCs were very relatable and lovable. I highly recommend picking up this audiobook!

This was such a cute story! I needed a good HEA. Ivy and James were so precious! I laughed out loud at multiple images the book presents, so that’s always the sign of a good romcom! I cant wait for The Right Wrong Match (book #2 in the Love in Mirror Valley series) to come out in January!

Was given early access by NetGalley for the audio narration. Sweet, small town romance. At points it was sickeningly sweet, but it’s no worse that the hallmark movies. Definitely a happily ever after with miscommunications as the tension. It was an easy read and a nice, refreshing palette cleanser after the darker books I normally read. Overall, I wouldn’t read again, but I don’t regret my time with this one.

I really enjoyed listening to this book! The story was cute and flowed nicely, and the narrators were fantastic! Speaking of narrators, can I just say that Oliver Hunt can read me to bed any night. But I doubt I would ever fall asleep. His voice is. . . amazingly sexy. *Sigh*

Anyway, enough about the narrators they were a five out of five all across, both of them. So let’s talk about the book. This one was hard for me to rate, because I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to overlook a few nit-picky things that made the book more of a four than a five for me. But please, this is me being over analytical! The book as a whole was amazing, and I recommend it all day every day.

But… Have I read this book before? That’s how canon it felt. Love the small town and the Inn. But I could easily plot out what was going to happen and when. While I feel this is typical, it’s no less disheartening. I would love to see something with a little bit more surprise to it, or to break the pattern and throw the reader off. Romance as a genre tends to get a bad rap. (Unfairly, I might add. It is clearly the far superior genre.) . A lot of that has to do with predictability. The writing in this book was so good that I know there is more to come from her.

I hope next time it has a little bit of spice shaken into it and I don’t mean smut, just a little bit to throw us off our game then bring us back, and put us together again.

This was a cute rom com! I loved the characters and their banter with each other but also got so frustrated with the lack of communication between the main characters!

This is a cute and sweet romcom that looks to be the start of a series.

+ Hallmark vibes (big city vs small town, family inn, etc.)
+ Brother's best friend
+ Enemies-to-lovers
+ Small town meddling and fun characters

A cute rom com about a couple who grew up together and fought all while growing up but secretly had crushes on each other.
They finally meet again at the brothers wedding and somehow they begin to see that they might actually be meant for each other.
I really enjoyed the book and will look for more stories from the author.

I kinda love this book...well not kinda at all...I do love this book! So sweet and fun. The Next Worst Thing by Sara Woodley tells the story of Ivy as she navigates her life in a small town. She runs the family business, a small Inn while helping her brother plan his wedding. When her brother's best friend and her arch enemy arrive back in town for the wedding, things get interesting,

This book is an excellent rom-com that leaves you smiling. Both main characters are delightful and I really enjoyed the dual POV. I listened to the audiobook and the narrators were great. I fell like they fit the characters perfectly.

I would highly recommend this book!

Thank you Netgalley and @dreamscape_media for approving me for an audiobook arc of this book!

Ivy’s brother Luke is getting married to his childhood sweetheart. Ivy has pretty much taken over planning the whole wedding. That is, until James (her brother’s best friend) returns from the city to step into the best man shoes. Maybe she would have appreciated the help…if James and her didn't have an ongoing feud since childhood 👀

This book was adorable. A clean romance with a lot of fluffy moments and a dual POV. So if you’re looking for anything smutty, this is not it fam! I would say the story also could fall under second chance romance because if things would have gone differently for the main characters earlier they might have developed a relationship then.

I will admit that, as leads, Ivy and James did not capture me fully. They were cute and tender and there was nothing wrong with them... but the main conflict of the story was miscommunication and I always have a hard time with that because I can think of a thousand ways to have prevented the whole situation. Literally it's me, not you! However, I CAN NOT WAIT for the next book to come out because I was literally obsessed with Luke and Daisy. Every time they would pop up in the story I was much more invested and excited to see more of them! I will definitely be keeping an eye out for that!

Overall this was a really sweet and cute love story!

The audiobook was absolutely amazing. I loved that we had a narrator for each main character as that always helps solidify the story, specially with dual POV!!
What an amazing narration by @justis7 and Oliver Hunt!

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the review copy of this audiobook.

This was a very cute enemies to lovers rom-com. I am new to this author, and will definitely be checking out her other books.

The narration took me a bit to get into. Not because it was "bad" but it sounded like the female narrator was talking into a fan, or something <Luuuuke, I am your father.> Once I got used to it, it was fine. I loved the story line of this book and look forward to continuing on with the next one. I would recommend this to my rom-com friends.

I enjoyed the story line of this novel. There are a lot of lessons and chemistry throughout the book. Growing up, family, responsibilities, and following you dreams to name a few. The bickering to falling to being in love of the two main characters was absolutely adorable. I loved that this book was duel pov so you can hear and see both sides of the story and relationship these two shares. You also get to experience how these two each cannot help but fall for the other. The cutest rom com all in one, set in a little Inn and small town. There are so many tropes to enjoy in this book: brother's best friend, small town romance, he falls first, and enemies to lovers. I could not stop listening because the writing kept drawing me in, making me want more and more, chapter after chapter. If you are a romance reader, this cute easy story is worth all of the hype. Read or listen, now that the audiobook is available!!

Thank you, Sara Jane Woodley, and NetGalley for allowing me the chance to listen to the audiobook before it was published, in exchange for an honest review. The narrators were amazing and kept the story line moving with their voices and the way they told the story.

Pleasantly surprised on how cute this book was. From enemies to lovers trope; it was well paced with great character build up.

I was gifted the advanced listening copy. The narration was wonderful with two different narrators.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. I would definitely recommend this book!

Sara Jane Woodley's The Next Worst Thing feels like a retelling of a retelling of a retelling of a pretty boring and overdone from-com.

For me, as I made my way through the story of Ivy and James, it was really difficult to get past how straight dull everything about this story felt. And if I'm being truthful, I can admit that there's not a ton inherently wrong with the story perse--idiotic miscommunication anger plot at the end aside--but it's just been done so many times in almost this exact way that there's not a whole hell of a lot that any author could do with this sort of plot direction at this point.

There's a reason rom-com tropes exist. There's also a reason you're supposed to do something interesting with them.

As for The Next Worst Thing...we're really just stuck with all the most predictable pieces you could ever imagine, for a thoroughly forgettable story because nothing about it really stands out. Think of any typical MC owns an inn and the other MC is from out of town and has a big city job rom-com novel tied in with brother's best friend is the best man and helping with a wedding and you've pretty much got everything you need to guess nearly every plot point that's going to be thrown your way.

I just kind of feel like I wasted my time in reading this.

I did, generally, like the narrators for the most part. Overall, they did a fine job of adapting to the characters. Their source material was just really dull, so I can't blame them for not having much to work with.

“The Next Worst Thing” turns out to be the next best thing! This quirky romantic comedy will have you laughing to yourself as you listen to Ivy and James - frenemies since childhood - navigate the wedding planning of Ivy’s brother/James’ best friend. As the wedding gets closer they have to spend more time together and start to realize that their feud may not be what it appeared.

This was a sweet and fun listen that was entertaining and enjoyable. Thank you NetGalley for this audio version of The Next Worst Thing!

This was an adorable little romance. Great when you are looking for something light or a quick read. I liked the characters but found their romance a little dull. They seemed to be missing a spark and I didn’t feel a chemistry between them.

The love story is just sooooooo sweet (but also fully developed into a well rounded story, many would absolutely devour! There are tons of fun details, flashback and buildup. It's brothers best friend, rivals to lovers, small town and truly delightful. This feels like a Hallmark movie. Should definitley be a Hallmark movie. It is a really sweet PG-13 romance that I think many people will love!!!

The audio book daul POV is amazing. Spoiler alert; it's because the male narrator has a British accent. The narration is really good and adds to the already incredible story!

If there is not a sisters best friend romance sequel, I will riot.

*disclaimer; I received this book from NetGalley as an ARC. This review is honest and my own, with no pay or influence*

Omg. This book was so cute. Accent, small town, comedy, grumpy/sunshine; all the things I love in a romance. This was so good I didn’t want it to end. Great for an in between for me from all the thrillers lol. Can’t wait to read other works by SJW.

*Thank you NetGalley and DreamScape for providing me with the audiobook arc in return for an honest review!*

I enjoyed this book. It was a light and fun read. I would recommend it to someone looking for a good romance with a sweet HEA. However, a lot of the dialogue was pretty cringe, especially the pop culture references, and James accent was continuously described as a light accent since he moved to America young but the character was voiced with a full blown English accent. Just didn’t make sense. To me, Ivy seemed immature for someone who was in her mid twenties. I also don’t understand why we had this whole wedding as a major plot point just for the bride to not show up? It didn’t play a part in something bigger. The thing I liked the least about this book was how the author kept eluding to “the thing” that started the feud between Ivy and James, but it turned out to be something minuscule and anticlimactic.