The Best Worst Thing by Lauren Okie
All things considered, Nicole Speyer has a pretty amazing life. At least that’s what she tells herself. She’s got a beautiful house, a relatively successful fertility podcast, and a perfect husband, Gabe. The only thing that’s less than ideal is her years-long struggle with infertility—and how, with every passing day, she and Gabe seem to drift a little further apart.
But then, mere hours after a Hail Mary embryo transfer to her gestational carrier, Nicole discovers Gabe’s been sleeping with their dog walker, and her world turns upside down. Suddenly, a jobless, childless, and now-husbandless Nicole finds herself at the doorstep of somebody she tried to say goodbye to a long time ago.
Logan Milgram: a former colleague with serious golden retriever energy who happens to be laugh-out-loud funny, a colossal nerd, and legitimately kind of hot. When Logan opens his door that night, it’s like no time has passed. And as they fall back into each other’s lives, Nicole starts recognizing herself in the mirror again. She even begins to like what she sees. And then, like a cruel joke, she gets the news she’s spent a lifetime waiting for: her surrogate is finally pregnant.
As her relationship with Logan develops from a blast-from-the-past fling into something much deeper, Nicole struggles to balance her past, present, and future. Racing against the clock, she must learn to forgive her body for falling short and recognize that sometimes, it’s the biggest betrayals in life that set us free. With everything on the line, can Nicole accept love from the greatest man she’s ever known . . . even if it’s nothing like the story she’d written for herself?
Review: I received a free advance copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
Everyone!!!! Stop what you are doing and put this on your list immediately!!!!
There is SO much to love about this book! The banter, the yearning, the heartache, the messy but true love!
Almost every review says it, but I have to echo it because it's outstanding - Nicole walks away from a husband who lets books she gives him collect dust on his nightstand. And she walks towards a man who has been secretly pining for her for years!! All while slowly working his way through the book list she gave him back when they were still colleagues. My heart! I love a man who yearns AND reads for his lady. Love all the references to books throughout this; I just love that Nicole is a big reader.
This book is such a beautiful representation of miscarriage and infertility. I think anyone who has experienced similar heartache would appreciate reading Okie's thoughtful portrayal of it, born out of her own personal experience. But it also was deeply appreciated by me, a reader who has never gone through it. Through Nicole, I was able to step into the shoes of a woman who has struggled mightily for years, fighting against her body to try to have a baby and being crushed again and again. It was beautifully done and felt deeply true and authentic. I also really loved the relationship Nicole has with her surrogate, who is an unexpected friend and supporter. Moreover, Nicole has a lot of strong female supporters including her best friend and sister, and I love the way they show up for her.
In one day, in the space of a few hours, Nicole watches her last viable embryo transferred to her gestational carrier, learns her marriage and her husband aren't what she thought they were, and winds up on her former colleague/something more's doorstep. It is a cataclysmic shift in the life she had been working towards for years. I do think there are some readers who will take issue with how quickly Nicole shifts direction and starts seeing Logan. And normally I think this would be my reaction. But it just worked here - in the moment that she discovers her husband has been cheating, she knows she made the wrong choice, knows she gave up on a good thing years before in walking away from Logan, and resolutely never changes her mind again about her marriage.
Logan is such top tier boyfriend material. How is this man still single at 39?! He is sexy, smart, has the most perfect head of tousled hair, and is so earnestly devoted to Nicole. I was mad at Nicole multiple times for yanking this man's chain around for years, over and over!! I get she has trauma! And she thinks it's in his best interest! And I'm glad they work it out! But Logan suffers for his girl in the process. I do love their relationship. The dialogue felt like it was taken from real life - just silly conversations ranking pop tarts, walking through dusty secondhand stores, and ribbing each other while he makes her a terrible meal. They have great chemistry but are also relaxed and at ease in other's presence.
This book is giving Big Bestseller Energy. It's your favorite rom com but a lot more raw and punchier. It is sexy, it is sad, it is real. Nicole is someone who makes mistakes but learns to give herself grace and second chances. I was hooked from the first page and loved it until the very last.
Stars: 5
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