Best Men
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
"Bursting with laughs and so much love, Sidney Karger's debut novel delivers a truly refreshing spin on the romantic comedy…A big-hearted, feel-good summer escape."—Anderson Cooper, #1 New York Times bestselling author and journalist
When two best men in a wedding party fall for each other, they realize love isn’t a piece of cake in this hilarious and heartfelt romantic comedy debut by screenwriter Sidney Karger.
Max Moody thought he had everything figured out. He’s trying to live his best life in New York City and has the best friend a gay guy could ask for: Paige. She and Max grew up next door to each other in the suburbs of Chicago. She can light up any party. She finishes his sentences. She’s always a reliable splunch (they don’t like to use the word brunch) partner. But then Max’s whole world is turned upside down when Paige suddenly announces some huge news: she’s engaged and wants Max to be her man of honor. Max was always the romantic one who imagined he would get married before the unpredictable Paige and is shocked to hear she’s ready to settle down. But it turns out there’s not just one new man in Paige’s life—there are two.
There's the groom, Austin, who’s a perfectly nice guy. Then there's his charming, fun and ridiculously handsome gay younger brother, Chasten, who is Austin's best man. As Paige’s wedding draws closer, Max, the introverted Midwesterner, and Chasten, the social butterfly East Coaster, realize they’re like oil and water. Yet they still have to figure out how to coexist in Paige’s life while not making her wedding festivities all about them. But can the tiny romantic spark between these two very different guys transform their best man supporting roles into the leading best men in each other’s lives?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Being gay is not really my forte" declares Max Moody in Karger's breezy rom-com debut. He's referring to his lack of interest in party planning, flower arranging, and the like, skills which are put to the test when his best friend, Paige, asks Max to be "man of honor" at her wedding. Infuriatingly, Paige's future brother-in-law, Chasten—who also happens to be Max's one-time anonymous hook-up—excels at arranging bachelorette parties and bridal showers. Max fumes as Chasten inserts himself into every aspect of wedding planning and sets out to take down his "best man rival." As they get to know each other better, however, Max starts fantasizing about his frenemy, especially after Chasten, a chocolatier, takes Max to his factory. Unfortunately, Karger shortchanges the sweet romance to focus instead on drama between Paige and Max: she's angry when he misses her dress fitting, and he resents her always calling him her "gay best friend." There's also an almost pointless subplot about layoffs at Max's job. Still, the writing is filled with fun pop culture references and Karger can turn a phrase ("I'm hit by the early evening humidity like a nonconsensual embrace"). This appealing debut tries to do too much, but it still offers plenty to enjoy.
Customer Reviews
Cute plot, insufferable protagonist
I really enjoyed the interactions between the three main characters - Max, Chasten and Paige. But, I found Max’s internal dialogue tended too self-deprecating and even whiny. It was jarring when it seemed that his thoughts mismatched with what was said to the others. I’m sure he came off cute and droll to the others, but not to me as a reader.
I appreciate the author trying to go for an atypical rather than stereotypical personality for Max, but I hope future characters like this will have a bit more depth to why they have their insecurities and how that manifests in how they relate to their friends and the meet-cute partner.
That said, getting past Max’s internal dialogue the rest of the book is a fun romance novel.