🎧 ARC Review: The Next Worst Thing by Sara Jane Woodley

Genre ~ contemporary romance

Featuring ~ brother’s best friend, best friend’s sister, wedding planning, supportive family, family Inn, enemies to lovers, slow burn, sweet, cute, clean romance, small town, high ponytails

Series ~ Love in Mirror Valley ~ book 1

Kindle release date ~ April 11, 2022

Audio release date ~ October 4, 2022

POV ~ dual ~ 1st person

Page count ~ 336

Audio length ~ 10 hours 15 minutes

My rating ~ 4.5⭐

My review:

Ivy & James
James is back in town for his best friend, Luke’s, wedding. He’s involved right along with Ivy, Luke’s sister, in planning the wedding. Ivy isn’t too thrilled about seeing James again because of some toolish thing he did in the past. But as they start spending more and more time together they realize that maybe they don’t hate each other.

These two were super cute! It wasn’t overly enemies to lovers, more like banter nitpickiness to lovers.
Ivy and Luke lost their parents when they were young, so they are really close ~ I really liked their relationship. Most characters were really likable and relatable, but Cam and Lenore leave a little to be desired.
I’d be thrilled to read more from this author in the future and I think I know who book 2 will be about and yay!!

Narrated by Justis Bolding and Oliver Hunt (ello, he’s British) for 10 hours and 15 minutes, easy to follow at 2x. It was almost a little too slow and I would have liked an 2.25x option. While overall I was pleased with their narration I could have used more emotion in their voices at times.

*Thanks to Dreamscape Media, Sara Jane Woodley and NetGalley for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

⬇Purchase links⬇

Book blurb:

I’m just trying to get through this week alive.

I didn’t ask to organize this wedding. And I certainly didn’t ask for the world’s worst best man as an assistant.

But my brother is marrying the love of his life, and I’ll stop at nothing to give him a perfect wedding day–and get our family’s Inn some much-needed publicity in the process.

Which means playing nice with James Weston.

My brother’s best friend and I have been feuding for as long as I can remember. We don’t like each other, plain and simple.

Or is it?

Is it possible that James isn’t the monster I’ve always thought him to be? And why does he keep showing up to save me right when I need him? (Not that I’d EVER admit it).

Falling for James is not on my carefully color-coordinated agenda.

Too bad nothing seems to go according to plan when James Weston is around…

The Next Worst Thing is a sweet romcom with swoony kisses and chemistry, a hilarious cast of quirky small-town characters, and a heartwarming HEA that’s sure to give you all the feels.

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