Book Review: Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry

At First Sight: Violet Sutcliffe has never liked Martin St. Clair but for the last six years she has put up with him since he's her best friend Elizabeth's fiancé; and she knows the feeling is mutual. They might not like the influence the other has over Elizabeth, but they are fully prepared to put up with each other in order to remain in Elizabeth's life. 

To Violet, Martin is stuffy, way too concerned about appearances and just plain boring. To Martin, Violet is a loud and strident party girl, and they really wouldn't even cross paths ever if it weren't because they both love Elizabeth. 

But when Elizabeth suddenly calls off the wedding and jets off to Australia on a private quest, Violet - while happy that Elizabeth is taking control of her own life - feels lonely and suddenly she finds herself thinking about Martin and wondering how he's coping it all.

Then, on a completely crazy impulse, Violet visits him at his job, and changes things between them forever.  

Second Glance: I was so surprised with Her Best Worst Mistake. It's a rather short book - around 170 pages - but it packs quite a punch. Sarah Mayberry very quickly establishes who Elizabeth, Violet and Martin are, and why they behave the way they do. And I loved seeing how Martin and Violet's relationship completely changed once Elizabeth was no longer in the picture. 

But it doesn't change in a way that they change who they are, they just start to understand each other better, and they also realize that a lot of the antagonism they felt toward each other came from sexual awareness and attraction. Not that either of them would have ever acted on it had Elizabeth not called off the wedding. 

An interesting thing, at least to me, is that Violet and Martin aren't attracted to each other because they are damaged people, but they understand each other because of the things they have gone through; yet those same things take a toll on their relationship and they have to work to get past them.

Bottom Line: With a handful of characters and a low page count, Her Best Worst Mistake became one of my favorite reads of the year so far. I enjoyed the contemporary setting, I enjoyed getting to know Violet and Martin and that the story very much focuses on them so even if the book is short, it didn't feel rushed. 

Favorite Quote: "I want you to be happy. I need you to be safe." - Martin

1/2