Solid 4+!

This had some heartstring pulling moments, from the infidelity confrontations, to infertility struggles, to everything that is Logan Milgram. Reading through the emotional and physical journey that is IVF was so informative, while everyone's journey is different, I could never imagine the struggles women have through it. Reading this did give me a glimpse of what struggles women go through and my heart only goes out to them.

I found a SMALL part of myself frustrated with Nicole because of her indecisiveness when it came to Logan, when it was plain as day that he had her on a pedestal. everything he threw back at her was exactly that, a placement holder in her temporary life until she figured everything out. That suck so much to read for Logan, because he literally did everything right for her and was such a gentleman about it all these years.

While we can be stubborn or scared to acknowledge something as good as Logan, I can also see her struggle to decide what is appropriate for either of their lives considering the state of her life when they reconnected, but she should not be the one to decide for him.

It was refreshing to have the FMC dole out a third act break up redemption speech for once! It was like the movie 'Never Been Kissed' where Drew Barrymore made her grand gesture.

Logan is quite the golden retriever MMC, the flirty banter came to be so cute and genuine you can't help but adore him and just laugh.

Thank you, Lauren Okie & Netgalley for a copy of an ARC!

- 3rd person POV
- Dual-ish timeline, sprinkled flashback chapters
- Infertility
- Infidelity (OP)
- Right person, wrong time
- HEA

I loved this debut book from a new writer. The story between Logan and Nicole is so sweet and I adored their witty conversation that felt much realer than most romance novels. The descriptions of places - homes, streets, restaurants - added so much to this book, as did the references to other books - so, so well done. The way the author deals with infertility is very real (understandably since based on the acknowledgements it’s something she has personal experience with). The *only* complaint I have is that Logan and Nicole broke up one time too many. I found it hard to believe he would keep going back.

Very good book. Easy to read and flows well. I really enjoyed it. Highly recommended. I could really relate to her and her infertility problems.

I came across this book from others that were read an ARC and have loved it and it truly did not disappoint. Despite being filled with many difficult topics, the love story still puts a smile on your face in the best possible way. Nicole and Logan have a tough and messy journey but it is also beautiful and so worth it. I love this one and can see myself recommending to others and maybe even picking it up again for a reread in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book, was in every sense of the words, the most beautiful, heartbreaking, real, raw and awe encompassing book I’ve ever read. You ever feel like you go into a book one person and finish that same book and come out as a different human being?? That’s how life changing and honest and truthfully, hilarious this book was. It dwells on the heartbreaking and real challenges of infertility and this book becomes more powerful when you read the acknowledgements and realise that parts of this story were written from real life experiences from the author herself. In all the best parts, in all the heart aching sections, it reflected her life but also the realities that many people experience. It was so entertaining and funny while simultaneously dealing with very real, very heartbreaking sensitive topics! While it also manages to be a love story!!! I am in such of awe of this book, because I hate to restrict it to simply a romance novel because while romance does take a centre in the story (Logan, my man my man), it is way more than that and I’m glad for it. This is a story that needed to be told, this is a story that people need to read.

Nicole Speyer has a nearly perfect life, a successful husband, a great house, but the one thing she would change is her infertility. But after coming home from her last embryo transfer to their surrogate, Nicole discovers that her husband Gabe is having an affair with their dog walker and her world crumbles. She now finds herself in one of the most vulnerable positions a married woman can find herself in: jobless, husbandless, childless, and alone, all while living in her cheating husband's house using her cheating husband's money.

Enter Logan Milgram, Nicole's former coworker. As they reconnect, they both start to see better versions of themselves, and then Nicole finds out that her surrogate is pregnant. She's now forced to reconcile all the truths of her life: she's now irrevocably tied to Gabe through their child, and she's slowly but surely falling in love with Logan.

Okie uses a personal and difficult topic—infertility—as the catalyst of much of this story. As something she endured herself, she represented this struggle as something that's both profoundly personal and simultaneously universal. It served as a self-discovery point for Nicole, allowing her the ability to forgive her body for it's flaws and giving her a community of women to lean on through the trials of fertility issues, divorce, and motherhood. I love when authors work a sensitive and personal topic into a fun, romantic story. It gives a larger message to the book and the actions of the characters.

I don't often read romance books, but when I do, I love books like The Best Worst Thing. This book was so much fun to read and was a light, fun, beach-read-y romance. I think this book would be a perfect one to use to get out of a reading slump. It's about finding and/or rediscovering all types of love: friend love, relationship love, and self love most of all. It also helped that I was giggling and kicking my feet at Logan the whole time I was reading. You can never go wrong with a fun story that encourages all sorts of female empowerment just like this one.

im obsessed. this book was everything i wished it would be and more. the characters felt so real and dimensional, nicole especially. truly unputdownable.

The best way I can describe this story is right person wrong time. You might laugh, cry, and scream while reading this story. You will be so emotionally invested in all the characters and their relationships even after you finish reading.

Please check trigger warnings before reading this heavy yet beautiful novel.

“The Best Worst Thing” is Okie’s debut novel.

Thank you to @netgalley, @avonbooks, and @laurensybilokie for allowing me to read an early copy of #TheBestWorstThing

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the eARC of this stunning debut for Lauren Okie.

Nicole and Logan were beautiful and heart breaking and heart mending. The banter was top notch. The characters felt real and flawed and relatable.

The tender topics of infertility and miscarriage were handled with honesty and felt authentic and not gimmicky.

I can’t believe this was the author’s debut novel, and I can’t wait to read more to come from her in the future!

Right person wrong time will forever be my favorite trope. It hits every time and this story was no exception! I loved the banter between Nicole and Logan, I loved the obvious pull between them.
Definitely gave Jim and Pam vibes.
Definitely check the trigger warnings. There is a lot of heavy talk of infertility and miscarriages, which was hard to read but it's the reality of some women's lives.
Miscarriages are unfortunately pretty common, and I think there needs to be more representation surrounding it. Props to @laurensybilokie for handling it so gently.
This was a book I was so excited to read. The minute I read the synopsis and heard I could request it on NetGalley.... I ran lol I ate this book up. It comes out October 14th, 2025. So keep your eyes peeled!

This is such a solid debut book dealing with some very heavy topics. While I enjoyed the romance of the story, I was so distracted by Nicole's self sabotaging ways. Between the flash backs and Nicole's own thoughts about the start of her & Logan's relationship the story seemed very repetitive to me - and I couldn't stop thinking about the nuances between emotional and physical cheating! That aside, I couldn't have loved Logan or the ending of this book more. I enjoyed the look at how hard it is to let go of what you thought your life would be & also how not everything in life is easy or black and white.

I will be looking forward to Lauren Okie's next book - especially after reading the acknowledgements!

Perched in a beautiful house in Los Angeles with a gorgeous husband, a podcast job, a cute dog, Nicole seems to lead a charmed life. But Nicole desperately wants a baby. Her husband was onboard, but as procedures and heartbreaks took over their lives, it shifted for him. Then one day - the day there is finally success with an embryo and a surrogate, Nicole comes home to find Gabe has been having an affair. Maybe more than one.

Maybe, if she’s willing to admit it, their marriage has been over for a decade.

This is when Nicole shows up, unfairly, ostensibly for a one night stand of no strings attached fun, encouraged by her best friend, at the doorstep of a former colleague.

Logan is flummoxed. Because, see, Logan has been in love with Nicole since the day he met her four years ago and there is no way she doesn’t know this. It feels cruel in a way, to offer yourself for a fling with a man who harbors feelings for you.

As the two navigate this affair along with his career goals, her messy marriage turned divorce, her impending motherhood, and about seventeen other things, they also have to figure out the meaning of this spark between them.

This did not work for me.

First I will say the author’s note shares that the fertility journey she included mirrors her own, and I applaud her for that willingness to share her vulnerability.

Then she admits: this journey was not a story on its own, there was no reckoning, so she had to add pieces to create drama.

But this is where she faltered.

Plus, the book is favorably compared to multiple very popular cultural references. To this I say, tread lightly. If you tell me I’m getting Jim and Pam vibes, they better show in spades.

So let’s talk about the comparisons.

While Nicole could be described as a meaner Pam, and Logan is a dorkier Jim, Nicole feels like she is using Logan, that their friendship is lopsided. There is teasing (one way, she is merciless), but the bigger issue I have with this comparison is that all of the office foreplay happens in unnecessary flashbacks meant to reveal something we already know. Perhaps done in real time this would have worked better.

Funny Story vibes - maybe Logan is a bit like Nick but selling it as heartbreak meets new love story doesn’t work here. The new love story feels wildly out of place and overrides the seemingly bigger story of finally becoming a mother. I was disappointed at how much of a backseat the infertility and soon-to-be mom took to sex with Logan. I expected that finally realizing her lifelong dream would be at the forefront.

A Nobody Wants This comparison is dangerous, and though both feature a podcast, that’s it. Do not compare these characters. No. It doesn’t work.

It boasts humor like that of Wedding People but I’d say that’s a miss, too. While there is some mean cute banter between Logan and Nicole, overall it isn’t a funny book.

Open door intimacy is used as leverage to dig deeper into turmoil, as it is in How to End a Love Story, but this book creates multiple failed attempts at intimacy that are abruptly and ridiculously short changed for a reader and felt forced. It doesn’t feel the same.

DO NOT compare a book to Ready or Not or to Shep. Just don’t. With a surrogate carrying the baby and Nicole not being too concerned about the pregnancy, Logan is not cast as Shep except in an overdone epilogue.

I also did not get Nora vibes, as in Nora Goes Off Script, but then again, Nora was an incredibly likable FMC; I did not feel the same about Nicole.

There are a few scenes that seem …unwieldy. Also the volatility of Nicole’s relationship with Gabe is so hot and cold that it reads like whiplash and is hard to buy.

The writing is strong. I think I’d give the author another chance with something less personal, something I didn’t read all of the comparisons about prior to reading the book.

This was my first NetGalley arc!!! I was so excited for this but unfortunately I didn't like it at all and I had to DNF at 32%. I wanted to finish this just because it was my first arc, but I couldn't bring myself to continue. I thought the premise of this book was so interesting, I thought it would be a more mature kind of story since it deals with the sensitive subject of infertility, but for me it didn't feel mature at all. The MMC was portrayed as this golden retriever, and I did like the character, but it seemed like the author was really forcing us to love him by going over the top with all of the amazing things he does. It wasn't realistic for me. My least favorite scenes were the one where a lawyer told her she couldn't divorce her husband or she could get IVF banned nation wide (wtf?) and the one where she was screaming outside of the MMCs locked car while he wrote on a napkin the dirty things he wanted to do to her (too cringe). Actually I couldn't continue past that last one. I also don't think it's romantic for a relationship to start the night you find out your husband is cheating on you by showing up at an old coworkers door drunk. Idk. The two friend side characters were also indistinguishable to me, they didn't really bring much to the story besides just being the person that the main character talks to. The cringe was strong with this one, but I can see the potential for people who love contemporary romance.
Maybe fans of Lucy Score, Tessa Balley, or Abby Jimenez might like this one! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this early, sorry I didn't like it at all.

Thank you to the publisher, Avon, for the advanced reader copy of this heartbreakingly beautiful, laugh out loud funny book! Lauren Okie is now an auto-buy author for me after reading her debut, The Best Worst Thing.

This story showcases the trust you lose in yourself along the way of life, and most especially for our main character, Nicole, as she's navigating betrayal in her relationship (infidelity) and what feels like a betrayal from her body (infertility).

I'm grateful for the myriad of ways in which fertility and infertility were discussed in this book - with frustration, hope, guilt, empathy, and more. Nicole's journey with IVF and her relationship with her surrogate were treated with such care and intention.

Amidst these heavy hitting topics is a LOT of laughter! Nicole and Logan are a prime example of why friends to lovers is my favorite trope ever. They are constantly teasing each other; he reads her favorite books; she buys him an ant farm. Their time together is amazingly wholesome and intimate from movie nights at home to wandering together for hours.

The Best Worst Thing is filled with suspense as Nicole and Logan are each navigating many life changes right when they are finding their way back to each other. The story really makes you wonder about the concept of "right timing" and how much weight we give and patience we place in this.

The Best Worst Thing releases on Oct 14 2025 - be sure to pick up a copy and/or request from your local library <3

This book is full of heavy topics (TW: infertility and infidelity) but will still make you smile and kick your feet all the way through. The characters are layered and messy and grow throughout the novels and their chemistry is palpable. I enjoyed this book and did not want to put it down!
This debut novel is full of heart and character journey. I don’t usually gravitate towards books about pregnancy but I’m glad I picked this one up (thank you NetGalley for the ARC!). I can’t wait until this book comes out and I can recommend it to anyone and everyone.

The Best Worst Thing by Lauren Okie was a whirlwind. Okie writes a devastating depiction of infertility how it not only impacts relationships but the individuals sense of self. Nicole has years worth of trying to have a baby as her life is falling apart around her unbeknownst to her. After finding out her husband has been having an affair she reconnects with an old friend and begins the messy process of healing.

I think Okie was really able to capture the messiness of relationships and growing up. Regrets and challenges and settling for less than what you want or deserve. Nicole was at times difficult to have sympathy for (when she’s being mean to Logan or going back and forth about him) but you also feel heartbroken for her. For what women give up, change or accommodate to be what they perceive as “perfect.” I ultimately gave this 4 stars because of the two third act break ups which I have a hard time with in books. But the yearning, realness and love story certainly made this worth the read!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

I enjoyed this book! Based on the title I wouldn’t have known it was more of a fiction romance novel. I thought it explored great themes of what it means to be a mother and be a part of a family.

I think it discussed heavy topics in a way that made me think more about what being a woman means in different contexts (mother, wife, etc).

I think Nicole’s feeling not complete because she can’t give a child to her husband is something many women struggle with so seeing it be the topic of a novel was nice. It shows relationships can be complex but they can also work ! I loved all the characters as well. I felt the moving forward between past and present with Logan helped develop their relationship for me in a way that just staying in the present wouldn’t have.

Happy to report that this will be a must read come October when it releases!! Trigger warning: fertility. Nicole and her husband, Gabe, have been trying to conceive for a long time, ultimately resorting to IVF. When that wasn’t working, they had a one last shot at a baby and went with a surrogate. But right before news comes of the transfer worked or not, Nicole’s world falls apart. But don’t worry, Logan enters the scene and we go on a rollercoaster ride from there.

I loved this book, it was genuine & sweet. Though I’ve never had to endure the difficulties of getting pregnant, I believe this book will reach those who have and can relate in a way. I’ve also never read a book like this; one that speaks on fertility issues, IVF, and more. Keep your eyes out for this one come October!!! A line that I found so cute in this book: 3D printed. Read it to figure out why 🥹

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher. This was such a binge read for me. I really loved this book. It felt like an old school romance in the best way possible.

The only thing I was disappointed in after finishing this book was that this is Lauren's debut and I can't read anything else she's written. I tore through this book, hooked on the lyrical prose, the gut-wrenching subject, the fully fleshed out characters, and the setting that made me feel like I was there. The title is so perfect—I truly felt like I was reading the best worst thing. I loved Nicole's growth throughout the book. And the more I learned about Logan, the more I fell in love with him too. His long, rambling monologues weren't long enough for me. I could listen to him talk all day. His support and love for Nicole was like a warm hug to the reader. And that note!! SWOON. It was truly a break you apart and then put you back together wild ride that I wish I could experience again for the first time. I hope Lauren's working on her next great novel, because I cannot wait.

Thank you, thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.