The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa is chick lit gold. I picked this up on a whim (I love a fun book cover) and whizzed through it! Grab this for a funny, multicultural, heart-filling read!
Meet Carolina (Lina). Afro-Brazilian, single, owner of wedding planning company Dotting the I Do’s (so cute – I love a pun), and absolutely unflappable. She is highly rated by her clients, fulfilled by her job and her self-made success, and loved by her family. Lina has walls built around her and she intends to keep her real self hidden. Lina’s light within went out after getting jilted the day of her wedding to former fiance, Andrew.
The bearer of the goner groom? Andrew’s brother Max. Who was led to believe by Andrew that Max convinced Andrew to call off the wedding.
Insert car crash audio. 😮
Fast-forward three years. Lina gets scooped by Rebecca, a Cartwright Hotel Group employee, to apply for the wedding planner job at the Cartwright Hotel. A huge win for Lina – financially and professionally. She would be vying for the role against one other candidate in a five-week project period. Who does Rebecca bring in to help with the marketing? You guessed it. Andrew and Max, marketing consultants both eager for their assigned interview candidate to win the job. Max is assigned to Lina’s project; Andrew is assigned to the other candidate.
Lina is a badass. The girl can hurl some serious insults. I legit cringed at some of her words. A couple times I thought ‘gawd, she went a bit far.’ So, kudos to the author for keeping it super real! Lina’s assistant, Jaslene (Afro-Puerto Rican), and Natalia (Brazilian), Lina’s cousin, also throw a good amount of shade.
I liked this book because it was sassy and felt real. (Don’t get me wrong. I love those fictional places and characters I read in other books too.) I was rooting for Lina in different ways throughout the novel. Also, this book is based in DC where my sis lives, so I had a vague sense of many places that were mentioned. And the same sis took capoeira classes for a long time here in Chicago and that, too, was mentioned throughout the book. And Lina’s love of chocolate. And so many other funny coincidences.
But the main thing that got me hooked? How multicultural this book was. Hallelujah! The food references, the characters, the Portuguese dialogue. More of this, please! I loved Max when he said:
Shit. I’m a White man, and I’m embarrassed to realize that none of this would have occurred to me if Lina hadn’t forced me to see it. It’s a privilege I take for granted – the ability to be who I want and say what I want no matter the space I’m in.
The Best Worst Man; Mia Sosa, 195
The author includes this (below) and I wanted to high five every female I know!
Thing is…there’s no single way to be a badass. Your mother and aunts coming here and making new lives for themselves? Badass. My mother running her own firm even after she and my father divorced? Badass. You facing obstacles in your path and reinventing yourself in the process? Badass. There’s room for different kinds of greatness. Even if you cry doing it. Hell, especially if you cry doing it.
The Best Worst Man; Mia Sosa, 287
I mean, tell me that isn’t the freaking TRUTH!?!
Grab The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa for some laughs and a love story that isn’t your run of the mill rom com. I’ll definitely be looking for more books from Mia Sosa.