The Very Best Man

by Laura Stapleton

Jane Lawson is getting married, so of course her sister Susan will be her maid-of-honor. But when sis skips out on planning the wedding, Jane finds a surprising stand-in… the best man!

Dr. David Wells is more than willing to taste wedding cakes, sample reception menus, and even help the bride in and out of wedding dresses, if it means spending time with her. Soon enough, she’ll be his best friend Alan’s wife… and thus off limits forever.

But when the groom says 'I don't', and runs off with the maid-of-honor, his best man is left to pick up the pieces of the bride's heart. David is more than willing, and as Jane turns to him for support, their friendship blossoms into something much more.

Until Jane's old fears get in the way, and David realizes that to keep her, he must fight not only her hostile family, but ghosts from her past.

Genres: Contemporary Romance

301 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 4, 2013

Reviews

[Candy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was pretty bad. The "hero" was okay as far as it goes, but the "heroine", if she could be called that, was so gratingly awful, I don't know how the hero ever fell for her. She was spineless and annoying and I found myself wishing for the book to end just so I wouldn't have to read her whining anymore. Her family treated her terribly but instead of developing a backbone like just about any self-respecting human, she allowed it and felt sorry for herself. The character just disgusted me, and I couldn't sympathize with her at all.
This is probably a pretty harsh review, but I felt that annoyed after reading the book.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

While I liked the story and romance between David and Jane, I feel cheated out of a proper ending. Not only did I find the ending to be disappointing, it was lacking a proper one. There was no real closure with respect to Jane's family and their endless emotional and verbal attacks on her. David telling Jane she's going to be his wife and that her family doesn't talk to her without him present is the way it ends. First, let me say, "WTF?!" second, "Give me a break!" and third, - cue several eye-rolls. Seriously, I feel that the entire ending was a cop-out which is too bad as it could have been a more enjoyable read.

[Margaret Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read the Oregon Trail series, I was curious to see where a more contemporary romance would go. An interesting facet brought out by Ms Stapleton's book is the effect of the cycle of abuse on a person. The consistent breakdown and denigrating of a person's personality has severe long term consequences. In this Cinderella-type romance, Jane had the family from hell, but she has never had the strength to stand up to them. When her sister, pregnant with the groom's child, effectively stole him from Jane at the altar, one would think that she would have thrown the temper tantrum she was entitled to. However, Jane swallowed it and let them take everything from her. The best man David stepped into the breach and took Jane under his wing, giving her shelter and helping her to get her life together again. However, Jane's family weren't finished with her and the results were devastating. David had the patience of Job as he kept trying to reel Jane in and show her that there was another way of handling her family. He was attracted to Jane from their first meeting, but because he was the best man, he refrained from hitting on her. However, when Alan jilted Jane at the altar, all bets were off. The book is sad in many ways, because Jane's reaction to her family's abuse is not a rare occurrence, and every time her mother and sister went on the attack, Jane was rubber-banded back into her youth. Although this book is part of a series it is nevertheless a stand-alone and has a positive ending. The book is well written and keeps the reader engrossed, even when you want to stop reading because of the nastiness of the individuals. Ultimately, this is a very enjoyable book.

[Laura Stapleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it, of course. I mean, if you don't fall in love with any hero you've created, how can you expect anyone else to do so?

[CARLA]

http://celebrityreaders.com/2018/01/0...

This story was too dry and linear. I couldn’t connect with either character because they were…. quite frankly boring. Jane was too much of a pushover and David appeared selfish and acted just plain weird to me. I couldn’t understand either of the POV’s. Why were they acting this way? We didn’t really get to know them deeply enough before the story progressed. It was too much craziness with very little reacting. It was like the crazy was normal and I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I don’t even know how else to explain it.

The beginning scene at the wedding was just handled so terribly that I honestly didn’t want to know how the rest of the story unraveled. This book was just not for me.

[Sue Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love books by Laura Stapleton. She writes such interesting stories -- that really catch your interest and keep it to the end!!!

When I started this book, I originally thought "OH BOY -- another amazing love story" (I love love stories). And then -- when the monkey wrench (or twists) was thrown into the story, I was not gonna stop reading until I found out exactly where Laura was taking this story!!! and OMG OMG OMG -- it was no where close to what I thought was gonna happen. I don't write spoilers -- but, I so wanted to slap Susan senseless!!! This is definitely one of those stories that once you start, you will want to read until the end. AND THEN - you want the next book in the series -- but it isn't out yet.

Awesome book with surprising twists.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really hit home for me. If you have never been the victim of emotional abuse by family members or suffer from low self esteem you can't fully understand where Jane's mind set is.

David falls for her and is patient with her. That is what true love is all about. Love is not always rainbow and butterflies. We have hurt, drama, and are not always capable of seeing what is right in front of us.

I wanted to jump into the book a few times and slap her sister a few times. It's no wonder Jane feels/acts the way she does. Her sister is a bully!

I loved this book and wanted to do nothing but read it to see how it ends.

I received this book for free in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions in this review are 100% my own.

[Cynthia L. Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Backbone

Jane finally grew a backbone! David and Jane made such a lovely couple. So glad David stepped up and became the man for Jane. Jane's family is oh boy what a family. An interesting plot and great character development. A good read.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't believe I finished this book! I really wanted to like it :-( it was really hard to get through, Jane was spineless and annoying. sadly 1 star might be too much.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

David is such a patient man! This one is a story of a young woman suffering from extreme emotional and verbal abuse from her family. Jane is twin to a very self-absorbed Susan and daughter to a horrid woman. On Jane's wedding day, her intended says "I don't" in front of the entire church. He promptly says "I do" to a very pregnant sister Susan. And, to put the cherry on top, Jane's sister and mother expect her to smile and act as if nothing is out of the ordinary. Just Wow!

David is the best man in every sense of the word. Patient, supportive, encouraging, and loving, he takes Jane in after the disaster of a wedding. He tries to help Jane see her own worth, which is quite the daunting task after the years with her family.

I did feel a little cheated that there wasn't more of a comeuppance for Susan and her mother. And maybe a little more misery for the lowlife Alan would have been extremely satisfying!

Overall, it was written well with few editing mishaps.

[Jamie Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

This was a well written story. It had interesting characters. I really wish someone would have slapped Susan and Alan. Hard.

[Angela Swanger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story!

This is a great story of friends to lovers! I loved how the story kept you guessing what was going to happen next.

[Lately25 · Rating 1 out of 5]

OMG I Just....

Hated this book! It had such a great premise, but the execution was just awful! The heroine, and I dread calling her that, had to be the weakest person that ever lived! It's a wonder how she survived the accident after losing most of her spleen, with her already not having a backbone in her body!

Merged review:

OMG I Just....
Hated this book! It had such a great premise, but the execution was just awful! The heroine, and I dread calling her that, had to be the weakest person that ever lived! It's a wonder how she survived the accident after losing most of her spleen, with her already not having a backbone in her body!

[Jane Romasco jobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

No spoilers, but totally did not see the plot twist coming! You'll love a character and loathe another (or two!) And the love scenes are spicy, steamy but not at all raunchy. A refreshing take, keeping the heat high but not tasteless. A fine balance and she struck it right!

[Arlene Downey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining. The book starts off with a wedding with a huge twist. I didn't believe the bride's family, they were really unusual. It was amazing she turned out so well.

Loved the ending!

[Gretchen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book broke left me heartbroken far after I finished reading it. I do not recommend it unless you want to rage and feel sad.