Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - The Worst Best Man

The kidnapped groom storyline seemed a little cheesy and I wasn't sure where the story was headed. I almost dnf early in the book but I like where things ended up. The first half of the book is cheesy and feels disjointed from the second half. I liked that their age gap was reasonable and Aidens friendship with her brothers. A few parts made me laugh (the taxi driver on the island, flipping the bird at dinner).

I felt like Aiden was so sure about not doing relationships but then he wanted to be with her almost immediately. I would have liked a little more story development between them agreeing to being casual and falling in love. I didnt like the proposal she went from a distant 0 to 100 very fast.

Overall didn't love but it was a fast read for me.

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I wanted to read this book because I love Lucy’s work. I still think about the Knockemout series daily and wanted to read more of her work. This was on Kindle Unlimited and has been on my TBR for a while. This was not what I was expecting this book to be, but I fully enjoyed it.

This book has two points of view. The first is the maid of honour Franchesca and she takes her duties seriously. The groom is kidnapped? No problem, she’ll find him. Rude attendees? You just watch her handle them. So a best man with a big attitude and an even bigger checkbook? Yeah, there’s no way she’s going to let that pretentious judgemental jackhole ruin her best friend’s wedding. If it wasn’t for the bride and the groom being a doll and the perfect gentleman, she would leave. As the rest of the wedding party are the stuff of nightmares. Frankie just wants to get through this wedding and go back to her normal job with a normal life. The second point of view is Aiden Kilbourn, and he doesn’t do long-term relationships. He's busy ruling the business world and has yet to find a woman he can tolerate for longer than a month, two at the outside, anyway. Conquering the unconquerable is basically his bread and butter. And he hasn’t met a challenge that he can’t win. But Franchesca Baranski? The smart-mouthed girl from Brooklyn will be his downfall.

I loved the found family aspect from Frankie’s side of the family and how they were all willing to go to bat for her but was also willing to tell her the complete truth when she was acting silly. I loved Pru and how she was all for Frankie to be happy but also was willing to kick Aiden’s ass. I would have loved for Aiden’s brother to have got the ass whooping he deserved. This storyline jumps right into the groom’s kidnapping as soon as the wedding starts, and I was so gobsmacked. I loved the slow burn and how it slowly builds until it all came to a point.

I loved the storyline but felt like there was times where the information was just repeated and there wasn't any need for it. Like if we did a shot for how many times it got mentioned that Aiden had money and couldn’t trust his family and Frankie didn’t know whether to fall for him – I would have been drunk by 50% of this book. I usually love the long books but with the repeated information, this book could have been cut down by about 150 pages.

Overall, I loved this book, it was mysterious, adorable, hot with the found family vibes. I cannot wait to read more of Lucy’s work.

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mikaylay's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Publisher: Bloom (2024)

Genres: Romance, Fiction, and a bit of Mystery

Page count: 422

Intended age category, book format: Adult, Novel, Physical - paperback

Recommended age: 18+

Star rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Spice Level: 4/5 🌶 – Spicy - explicit/tantalizing depictions of sex and discussions of sex/dirty talk, 18+ only.

Profanity: 4/5 – 10+ instances of curse words, really one about every two sentences.

Synopsis:

The bride is stunning, and the groom is a gentleman, but the wedding party is packed with nightmares. The wedding party members are wealthy, shallow, and entitled, but Franchesca, the Maid of Honor, takes her role seriously. She deals with the kidnapped groom and the hostile guests, and she refuses to allow the arrogant, judgmental Best Man to ruin her best friend's wedding. Aiden Kilbourn, a businessman, has yet to find a lady he can bear for longer than a month. He hasn't faced a task he can't overcome, but Franchesca Baranski, a sharp-tongued girl from Brooklyn, could be his undoing.

Date Started: February 19, 2024 Date Finished: February 25, 2024

Review:

The book's premise was intriguing and engaging. The wedding and Chip, the groom's kidnapping, which took up the first 100 pages of the book, were what made it worthwhile to read. The events and process leading up to the wedding were hilarious, hectic, and exactly what I expected an island wedding would be like today. The banter between the two main characters, Aiden and Frankie, was enjoyable to read and imagine, but it became tiresome near the conclusion since it appeared to generate far too much miscommunication between the two. Chip's kidnapper was anticipated, and the consequences when he was discovered were disappointing, to say the least. Frankie was a wonderful female character who knew exactly what she wanted and was not afraid to express it. The main story was fine, but the characters could have been more fleshed out and developed, the wedding being a larger part of the book because it is the foundation, less profanity. After all, there is no need for a curse word every two sentences, and more character development would have benefitted the book. I think I would have loved the narrative better if there was less swearing and if the interaction between the two main characters was more about them getting to know each other rather than their sexual attraction to each other.

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avery_hutchinson's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Good spice, and enough happened to justify the book being 400+ pages!

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vj_thompson's review against another edition

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The book took a turn that I didn’t expect. Didn’t really know where the plot was going to go after the wedding happened. The story was very meh. I will say that Frankie was awesome and she deserves everything!!

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whatbeccareadnext's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was basically a K-Drama in novel format and I loved every single second of it.

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lololovesthings's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

3 stars.

I got through "The Worst Best Man" by Lucy Score rather quickly. I find her books are ones you don't want to put down, even if you're not totally entranced by them. This book felt similar and familiar to several of her other novels, but I understand this is a rerelease and likely came first. Still, it speaks to a bigger issue that all of her stories are... sort of similar?? This is an enemies-to-lovers story about the best man and the maid of honor at their best friends' wedding. They have always disliked each other, but slowly but surely begin falling for one another despite their very different backgrounds (he's a billionaire, she is not). Lucy Score knows how to write spice, and those scenes are very effective here. Main characters Frankie and Aiden have terrific banter and chemistry with one another. Their mutual loathing eventually turns into tender, loving, sweet moments where they understand each other on a different level. While I mostly liked this book, there's A LOT of stuff going on here. Several storylines do not need to be there and are a bit ill-fitting. This makes the narrative feel disjointed and way too long. Lucy Score's books are *always* way too long, in my opinion. This book has the potential to be VERY triggering to people with an ED/who are in recovery for ED as there is a lot of talk about weight, shaming, and even name-calling... it felt very anti-fat at times. It's also very anti-woman at times, pitting characters against one another. In fact, I am not realizing as I write this that this whole story is very, very judgy. All of the characters, all of their personalities.... very judgmental.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lucy Score, and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

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bergha1998's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I can’t help but love hate to love. Frankie and Aiden started off on such a wrong foot, but their chemistry was explosive the whole time. I wasn’t impressed with the end; it could have gone so many other more interesting ways. However, I really liked the characters and their relationships. Scenes withAiden and Frankie’s brothers were my favorite part. The middle did kind of drag a little, which caused me to lower the rating. The beginning was just so fun, I think it could have been trimmed to keep up that energy.

Billionaire Romance, Hate to Love, 3 🔥

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