The Best Man

Faith Holland comes from the beautiful wine country of Manningsport, California. Her family own the famous Blue Heron Winery, and two great big farm houses where their great-greats all grew up too. But Faith moved to San Francisco three years ago, after a left-at-the-altar, broken-hearted incident and now she rarely ever goes home. But when her older sister, Honor, tells her to come home and help their father before he marries a gold-digging harlot, Faith is on the next flight home and intending to stay for an unspecified time.Despite reservations at bumping into her old fiancée Jeremy - high school sweetheart and the man who broke her heart (and seemingly ruined her for all other men, since he's still the last one she's ever been with) - Faith is drawn home by her own guilt. When she was just a little girl she was in the car with her mother when a speeding motorist slammed into them, killing her. Faith feels a great deal of guilt because she told everyone she was having an epileptic fit which distracted her mother, and Faith has been trying to make amends ever since.Once home, Faith is tip-toeing around Jeremy, putting up with everyone's sympathetic eyes and trying to pry the claws off dad's unintentional girlfriend . . . but the real thorn in her side turns out to be one Levi Cooper. Once town bad boy, Jeremy's best friend and the "best man" who decided her wedding ceremony was the perfect time for Jeremy to come out of the closet. Levi went and joined the army fresh out of high school, but now he's home in Manningsport and police chief - caring for his teenage sister after their mother died, and still seems to have a deep hatred for Faith - who he snidely nicknamed Princess Super-Cute in high school. Never mind that Faith and Levi have another side to their past that both of them are reluctant to delve into . . . even when sparks begin to fly again.`The Best Man' is the first book in the new contemporary romance `Blue Heron' series from Kristan Higgins.Insane, I know, but I'd never read a Kristan Higgins book until `The Best Man'. Of course, I'd seen her on many a bookshelf and recommended-reading list . . . but her covers always seemed too cutesy to me, suggesting her romance stories might be all sugar, no spice. But after reading everyone rave about her new `Blue Heron' series, I decided to put my assumptions aside . . . and now I'm eating my words.Faith Holland is a hopeless underdog if ever there was one. She's had a three-year drought since being left at the altar by her closeted fiancée, who she'd loved since high school and already had baby-naming plans with. Since Jeremy, Faith has had a succession of dating disasters - and when we first meet her, she's right smack in the middle of another one. Though hilarious, it's also quickly apparent that Faith is desperately lonely and still scarred by her failed relationship (which, really, had been doomed from the beginning - so Faith has never actually had a proper relationship in her whole life).Upon returning to Manningsport to help out her family (save her dad, and also redesign the old barn into an ideal wedding and special occasions venue) Faith is forced to re-open old wounds. Everyone in this little town still has deep sympathy for the girl who was left behind. Never mind that Jeremy is the local doctor and universally beloved by all, that just makes everyone pity Faith all the more.The one person who isn't buying into the whole "woe is Faith" thing is Levi Cooper - Jeremy's best friend, dreadful best man and perhaps the one person in Manningsport who never bought into Faith's goody-two-shoes act. As such, Faith feels Levi's contempt for her radiating off him every time they bump into each other (like when her dog, Blue, winds up under a neighbours' house or Faith is found dangling from a bathroom window - long story).`The Best Man' has quite a lot of stories and histories to set up in order to fully understand (and sympathise) with certain characters. In the beginning we get Faith's perspective on her high school romance with Jeremy, and the fateful day it all fell apart. From Levi we get the beginnings of his high school friendship with Jeremy and events leading up to the wedding that would have never worked. And from both Faith and Levi we get a little extra history about a brief moment in high school when the two of them entertained the thought that maybe they had a little chemistry themselves. . . all of these interwoven with Faith's return to Manningsport and those same sparks flying again between her and Levi.Higgins beautifully sets up this little Manningsport town and all the old histories and personal ties within the community. I actually really liked the backwards-and-forwards narration, even when reflections of the past seemed to keep repeatedly hitting Faith like an anvil. I was very wrong to assume that because Higgins has a tendency to feature cute and fuzzy animals on her covers, that her stories would be sickeningly sweet and easy - far from it! Both Faith and Levi have a lot to overcome within themselves and their histories to be together, and Higgins has indeed (though not unbelievably) piled on the dilemmas, for Faith especially.But I loved Faith, maybe all the more for her hard lot in life. She's still a laugh-out-loud riot and quick wit. Though Levi's memories of teenage Faith are of a sugar-coated suck-up, in reality Faith has a thorny side that she doesn't mind subjecting Levi to - and that just made me love her all the more.I really liked that Faith and Levi had an antagonistic history that seemed built on false assumptions and damning secrets. It meant they were far from a `love at first sight' cliché, and much closer to a `Pride and Prejudice' slow-burn.This was such a fun, easy read that alternately had me laughing-out-loud and lip-quivering in some parts (and, okay, swooning in others) I can't wait to read the next `Blue Heron' instalment.

Just a sweet and sassy love story that literally had me busting out laughing. I made 3 people read that part when I texted it to them in pieces. It will fill your heart and put a spring in your step just to read it.

Great romance story. I loved Faith and Levi’s characters. Cried for Faith as she dealt with heartbreak, rejoicing as she grew up a little and faced her fears. Levi was a perfect person for her, with his own insecurities. Awesome story. Thank you!

It was romantic, heartfelt and very real! Tragedies happen and we all learn differently on how to love and move on. I lost my mom at age 11 and seeing Levi and the Holland kids feel all the emotions is something I could so relate to. Thank you for your words and your views on loss and finding love Kristan!

This book is awesome!! I finished it a few days ago, after reading it start to finish until 5am in the morning, because nothing could make me put it down, and I've been thinking about it since!!! As always, Kristan Higgins makes you laugh and cry and become emotionally invested in the loves and lives of not only her main characters, but their friends and family as well.Faith is coming home three years after being left at the altar of what was supposed to be the most perfect wedding day her small town had ever seen. And what happens when she crosses the town line? She gets pulled over by the sexy-manly man-war hero Levi, the Chief of police, for speeding. Oh, and he also just happens to be the man who destroyed her wedding. Not the groom mind you, but the best man, and the (still) best friend of the groom Jeremy. So as you can imagine sparks and insults start to fly, but you can see from this first meeting that this book is going to be fabulous!! (In fact I think I giggled and sunk deeper into my reading spot on the couch, already knowing that I wasn't going anywhere for the next few hours!!!)Faith and Levi continue on through the story as adorably hilarious characters who seem to not like each other, but also seem oddly drawn to one another. But as we know ladies, men who so often annoy us, often times adore us!!Faith is the baby of her founding family, the "princess" with a bubbly sweet personality, but who has a deep secret that haunts her. Her mother died when she was a kid, and her family has never fully recovered. Each of her siblings works for the family vineyard in some way, except her. But she's coming home to put her stamp on the business and create something beautiful with her landscaping design. Jeremy was, and is, the only love of her life but she knows she needs to move on.Levi on the other hand, was the poor kid from the wrong side of the trailer park whose dad left, only to move 20 miles away, but still can't be bothered to be a father to Levi and his sister. So as a lot of boys do who have no where to go after high school, Levi joins The Army and enlists in three tours in Afghanistan. Then his mom takes ill and passes away and he's left taking care of his little sister and making sure she graduates high school and makes it through college. He also takes on the Chief of police role to a town full of utterly (but hilariously) incompetent people who need his help rescuing chicken from under porches and other high stress situations.Faith, Levi, and Jeremy have been "friends" since high school, and the author does a great job bringing the reader up-to-date with flashbacks into their combined and separate pasts. I think having them interwoven into the story makes the story way more interesting, because its like the author is slowly filling in puzzle pieces that continually make you fall more in love with Faith and Levi as a couple.That's all I really want to write about the plot, because I want you to read and discover all the wonderful and silly and awww moments for yourself. But this book is truly wonderful and is a touching story about family, old and new love, and forgiveness. You will not be disappointed!!!

I had really high hopes for this book. Have listened to the third book in this series on the Libby app and totally loved it, so when I discovered it was part of a series I thought to listen to them too, but this first book in the series is just awful. There is just no chemistry between Faith and Levi. I have read plenty books of enemies to lovers which were off the charts hot, this one is not it, it's not even a slow burn its just slow!! And Levi, he is just an ass most of the time, described as looking at Faith with boredom, so what's the point!?? Faith though is a great character, which past some point I felt sorry for and thought she'd be better off with someone else.I don't think I'll try the rest of the books in this series, sadly not for me.

Kristan Higgins has been on my radar for ages, and every time I read a good review of one of her books I find myself sucked in by the intriguing synopsis--and then stop and remind myself that I already have way too many books waiting to be read! But this book was £0.59 on Kindle and that seemed far too good to pass up, right? I read the sample chapter and immediately had to purchase this book. And I'm so glad that I did.It's been a really long time since a book has made me sway from being in fits of giggles to crying at several points throughout the story. Some of the humour may be a little over-the-top and verging on slapstick at times, but I loved reading about Faith's ridiculous escapades and her crazy family. Not only that, but this book was so touching. I know I'm a little bit emotional in general right now, but I really felt for Faith and all the tough things she'd been through--from being broken up with on her wedding day to witnessing her mother's death and believing it was her fault. She was a flawed character in the best sense, whether she was trying to climb out of the bathroom of a bar to avoid seeing her ex, or trying to fix her father up with a date because she was worried he was lonely without her mom. I can see from other reviews that some people struggled to relate to Faith, but I loved her.Levi was a fabulously flawed hero as well. I loved the relationship between him and his teenage sister--plenty of romance novels feature single dads, but not so many have heroes who have to look after their younger siblings. It took me a while to warm up to Levi to begin with, until I understood the weird dynamic between Levi, Faith, and Faith's ex-fiancé. He really won me over towards the end of the story when he and Faith talked about her mother's death. Even if they did have some silly communication issues, they worked them out quickly, which I was pleased about as I am not a fan of Big Misunderstandings.I loved the town that this book was set in, and will definitely be hunting down the later books in the series. There were plenty of fantastic characters--from the Bible study ladies who picked bizarre passages to analyse, to Levi's colleagues on the police force to Faith's amusing gaggle of siblings.Honestly, I don't have any major complaints about this book. It really touched me and got me to care about these characters as if they were my own friends. If there was anything I didn't like, it was some of the terminology--if Levi used the word "rack" one more time to describe Faith's chest, I would have wanted to punch him! But really, that's the extent of my gripes with this book. I am definitely a fan of Kristan Higgins now. And this book was more than worth the £0.59 I spent on it!A note on the cover: I love Kristan's US covers, and I don't understand why her UK publisher insists on these cheesy, cartoony ones? Ick. For years I've been bemoaning the sad state of romance/chick-lit covers over here, and it's yet to change.

Kristan Higgins style of writing took some getting used to at first, and I wasn't too sure about the main characters either - too sullen and combative. But I stuck with it and as the story developed (and I gained more insight into the characters) I was hooked and rooting for them all. There were some incredibly lovely moments with Faith and Levi, which had me re-reading some chapters several times. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the rest in the series.

I am not very good at writing reviews, so I do it only on rare occasions. I also very rarely read a book more than once. Well, I have read The Best Man twice already and I am contemplating reading it again. There is just something about the characters and the story that really draws me in, and makes me want to get lost in this book over and over again.

Right from the start the book was intriguing, and the characters were well thought through and beleivable....and I fell in love with Levi Cooper...and I'm sure most girls who read it will too. Have read this book a gazillion times and still don't get sick of it. Its funny, light hearted and warm. The jumping back and forth in the timelines was a bit dizziying but I guess it was an itegral part of the plot.