title: The Best I Never Had
author: Amy Buchanan
publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
publication date: August 18, 2026
pages: 336
peppers: 3 (on this scale)
warnings:
- pregnancy and vomit
- maternal meanness
summary: When Thea's sister Addy says she's marrying Harrison, Thea is completely surprised to discover that Harrison's brother is Owen, a man Thea pretended to date several years earlier as part of a deal she used to make money for college payments. Ever since, Owen has been both pretending to pine for Thea (to keep his family off his back about not dating) and actually pining for Thea (why did she delete her number from his contacts?!) ever since. Now, while they all spend a week together before the wedding, his family is trying to get them back together while her sister has asked her to stay away from him.
tropes:
- second chance
- fake dating
- secret dating
- sister's/brother's wedding
- best man-woman of honor
- forced proximity
- big family-no family
what I liked:
- humorous moments and dialogue
- big family antics
- sister love
what I didn’t like:
- both MCs believe and listen to other people more than they should
- the characters keep lots of secrets and don't say anything real until crisis; then, they share everything clearly and completely
- treating therapy like a last resort
overall rating: 3 (of 5 stars)
As always, you can click on the photo above if you want to buy the book.