The Best of All

The Best Men, Book 2

By: Karla Sorensen

Narrated by: Samantha Brentmoor, Shane East

He’s commitment phobic. She believes in happy endings. The twist of fate that binds them is a surprise they never saw coming in a bittersweet romance about instant family—and not-so-instant love.

A decade-old animosity is the only thing Liam Davies and Zoe Valentine have in common. Until their mutual best friends pass away and they’re appointed co-guardians of the trusting couple’s precocious toddler, Mira.

Liam is committed only to professional football. Relationship-wise, he’s even better at defense. Still wrestling with a tough childhood, he’s not cut out to be a father. Why his late best buddy believed in him, Liam has no idea.

An optimistic romantic, Zoe has always dreamed of a fairy-tale life. But even though Liam’s biceps make her dizzy and she can’t stop thinking about his lips on hers, he’s not exactly Prince Charming. With or without that brooding Brit, she is determined to make good on her friends’ last wish.

Forced into a predicament they never expected, Zoe and Liam are discovering things about each other that could scorch through boundaries, warm hearts, and change minds. And best of all, with their shared love for a pint-size surprise like Mira, they might just turn a house into a home.

©2024 by Dutch Girl Publishing, LLC. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Loved!

What a beautiful story. I didn’t expect to love Liam as much as I did after the first book. 😍🥰

Sweet and emotional story

This author really captures the emotional elements and the narrators are wonderful. Sweet story and strong characters.

Liam & Zoe

If Karla Sorensen writes it, I will read it. The Best of All is an emotional roller coaster, and I loved every moment of it. Liam is a grumpy professional football player with no plans of ever starting a family. Zoe is pure sunshine and approaches life with optimism. When tragedy strikes, they are thrown together into the co-guardianship of their late friends' daughter, Mira. Zoe is ready to take on the responsibility; however, Liam is reluctant to be involved. Liam and Zoe don't get along, but Zoe is determined to do what's best for Mira, even if Liam refuses to be there to help.

The Best of All is a beautifully written story. Karla Sorensen created two characters who are believable, relatable, and full of depth. Not only must Liam and Zoe grapple with the loss of their friends, but they must also navigate providing the best care for Mira while dealing with their own personal struggles and trauma. They are also forced to really get to know each other and face hidden feelings. I loved everything about Liam and Zoe together. Their chemistry was amazing, and I loved the push and pull of their relationship. This story broke my heart, but I enjoyed witnessing their journey of healing and growth. Little Mira was adorable. The development of Liam's relationship with Mira was super sweet. This story is a super slow-burn romance with lots of tension and all the feels. I highly recommend this book!

NARRATION:
Samantha Brentmoor and Shane East are phenomenal narrators. Their performance of this story is absolute perfection. I loved Shane's accent and portrayal of grumpy British Liam. Samantha provided the perfect voice for the responsible ball of sunshine, Zoe. Samantha and Shane did a wonderful job taking me on this emotional journey of Zoe and Liam learning to be parents and trust each other. They brought the characters to life, making it easy for me to listen to this story in one sitting.

Awesome Narrators

Samantha Brentmoor and Shane East are perfect in these roles! That British accent 😍 There were some very emotional scenes that Shane absolutely crushed!

I enjoyed the overall story very much and the narration only added to it.

More emotional than I thought

I loved these two. Liam was gone for Zoey the moment he met her and I am a complete sucker for a broody hero that falls first and doesn’t know what to do with his emotions. I loved the banter and how hard he fell for little Mira too. It had me tearing up at times.

Bloody Perfection!!

I’m obsessed with these two Karla, and the scarred but tender heart of Liam! Their love developed in such an honest way with no games, it had me smiling throughout. Thank you for such a wonderful work! I laughed, sighed and had all the feels!

Slow Burn

A good heartfelt story with amazing slow burn and banter. The narrator’s were perfect for this book.

loved it

I really enjoyed reading this author.  I look forward to reading more books by this author in the near future.

Tender and Heartfelt

Really sweet romance between two people who face a tragedy together. The “enemies” aspect didn’t totally work for me (their past & initial interactions felt more like annoyance), but the forced proximity and friends/co-parents to lovers completely did. This is a sloooow burn between Liam and Zoe, but there’s never a doubt that these two are it for each other. It was adorable seeing them come together as a family and that locker room scene with Liam and his teammates discussing Disney princesses almost made my heart explode.

Read if you like:
- forced proximity
- slow burn
- it’s always been you
- he falls first
- enemies-ish to friends to lovers
- found family
- sports romance
- no third act break up

The audio was narrated wonderfully by Samantha Brentmoor and Shane East. I was very impressed by Samantha Brentmoor’s British male accent! Loved that this was read and listen free with kindle unlimited.

Audiobook Review
Overall 4.5 stars
Performance 5 stars
Story 4 stars

CW: death of loved ones, grief, mentions of an abusive parent, past domestic violence, and escaping from an abusive parent

I don't have the words to express how much I love

Watching Liam and Zoe navigate raising their best friends child will pull at your heart strings. Every moment Mira is on page, I couldn't help the smile on my face.

My favorite part is hearing Liam call her "Duck", and all the shenanigans they get up to revolving around that animal.

This is definitely one audio that I'll be listening to again in the future and it has the slowest burn, but it was so worth the wait knowing that he fell first.

** Enemies to Lovers
** Forced Proximity
** Grumpy x Sunshine
** He Falls First
** Slow Burn

The audio is available for free in Kindle Unlimited, so I highly recommend going that route if possible. Shane East brings Liam to life with his accent and I was drawn into the story immediately.