Best,

by Dave Dobson, Anonymous Ph.D.

A slow burn wasn’t on the agenda…

Flora and Mark are both professors, both mid-career, and both unlucky in love. As the new year starts, they're assigned to serve on the dreaded Budget committee at Astor College, the small liberal arts school where they both teach. The catch? In the decade they've worked together, their animosity has only deepened. Flora thinks Mark is a performative tryhard, while Mark sees Flora as the frontwoman for a snotty Mean Girls clique on campus.

A mystery soon falls into their laps, foisted on them by an anonymous informant. As they investigate possible wrongdoing, they end up having to work together, and despite some undisguised derision, some woefully awful dates with other people, and unknown forces threatening their careers, they pick apart the web of mystery surrounding Astor. In the process, they start to see the good in each other. Or, at least, they each start to find each other slightly less annoying. Most of the time.

Best, is a romantic comedy with a mystery at its heart. Deeply tongue-in-cheek, the book is full of the quirky, rewarding, and deplorable aspects of academic life.

Content warnings: clean romance but with a ton of coarse language

Genres: Romance, Amazon, Contemporary, Mystery

355 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 30, 2026

About the author

A native of Ames, Iowa, Dave loves writing, reading, boardgames, computer games, improv comedy, pizza, barbarian movies, and the cheaper end of the Taco Bell menu. Also, his wife and kids.

Dave is the author of Snood, Snoodoku, Snood Towers, and other computer games. Dave first published Snood in 1996, and it became one of the most popular shareware games of the early Internet. His most recent game is Scryptix, a word game for cell phones.

Dave taught geology, environmental studies, and computer programming at Guilford College for 24 years before stepping away to write full time. He does improv comedy every week at the Idiot Box in Greensboro, North Carolina. He’s also played the world’s largest tuba in concert. Not that that is relevant, but it’s still kinda cool.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estoy sorprendida porque este libro me apareció de la nada y no pude dejar de leerlo. Si te gusta un Slow burn te puede llegar a gustar! Le resto media estrella porque hubo varias peleas innecesarias y quizá la intriga del fraude académico se me hizo un poco larga y compleja. Pero ame a nuestros protagonistas, cada momento que compartían me encantó.

[Claire Stefanac · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fun read and I genuinely enjoyed and appreciated the character development (:





I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book. My only complaint is that it energized me instead of helping me wind down and fall asleep!

As an academic, there were a million satirical moments that rang true and made me laugh… the antics at committee and faculty meetings, budget cuts, students, technology usage, and so much more. The main characters were so believable in their different responses to this environment: one who talks in faculty meetings because he cares, and one who wants the meetings to end on time. It’s also not so common to have a romcom about characters who are around 40 years old.

The enemies-to-lovers romance was much more realistic than a lot of stories with that trope, because the amount of dislike the characters hold for each other makes sense for the past interactions they’ve had. The authors do a fantastic job of showing a developing connection between them and a number of setbacks, while avoiding the predictability of a lot of romance novels. It really helps that the mystery is the main focus of the plot, bringing them together and driving them apart in a way that is not contrived. It is definitely a slow burn, and ultimately very satisfying.

I haven’t read a book like this before, and I’m grateful to the authors for bringing it to life!

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to BookSirens for an ARC of Best, by Dave Dobson and Anonymous, PhD. I received this copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a cute HEA romcom set on a college campus. Mark and Flora, professors, have grown into a hate-hate relationship over the years they've both been teaching at Astor College. Mark thinks Flora is a Mean Girl and Flora thinks Mark is just a show-off. When they both have to be part of the Budget committee, they slowly start to uncover some unexpected things in the budget, as well as unexpected feelings for one another.

It's a lot of financial college related mumbo jumbo. I had hoped for a few more sparks between Mark and Flora.

Cute story, just needs a bit more spice.

[Sandy T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this book. It did start off a little slow for me and I had a difficult time getting in to both of the main characters. However, once I understood their personalities, I really started to enjoy the story. I liked how their different personalities and perspectives molded their reactions and emotions toward each other. I am not very familiar with the intricacies of the college teaching staff other than the tenure status so there was a learning curve to understand and appreciate the nuances of that profession. The mystery of the funds was laid out well as was the romance development.

I received a free advance copy of this book via BookSirens and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Dobson’s work, and this was an entertaining, fast read. It just wasn’t more than that. The characters are a bit flat and generic, the plot was a little unexciting, centering largely around a spreadsheet (and I’m an auditor, I think spreadsheets are super interesting—but maybe not very romantic). If he (and Anonymous, I don’t want to leave her out!) did another romance, though, I’d give it a try.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

These two teachers are about to be made to serve on a committee but there is a mystery they will be pulled into. Follow them as everything seems determined to bring them together as a couple with a mystery thrown in just for dessert. A wonderful and funny read which you will be pulled into so see where it will all end
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and a wonderful read

[Phil Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I worked as an administrator in higher education for over thirty years, so I really enjoyed this book. Having two authors write alternating chapters from the viewpoint of the two main characters was a nice touch.

[Francesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance and department budgets

[David Crowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining, fast-paced book. Good vacation reading!

[Pamela Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

complicated

I enjoyed the last of the story more than the first-and I realize the first was needed. It’s just some academic details were boring.