Mini-review: Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry

Publisher: Small Cow Productions 

Release Date: May 5th, 2012 

Source: Bought from Amazon 

Synopsis: She thinks he's stuffy. He thinks she's spoilt. Then the gloves come off and so do their clothes!

For six years Violet Sutcliffe has known that Martin St Clair is the wrong man for her best friend. He's stuffy, old before his time, conservative. He drives Violet nuts - and the feeling is entirely mutual. Then, out of nowhere, her friend walks out just weeks before her wedding to Martin, flying to Australia on a mission of self-discovery. Back in London, Violet finds herself feeling sorry for suddenly-single Martin. At least, she tells herself it's pity she feels. Then he comes calling one dark, stormy night and they discover that beneath their mutual dislike there lies a fiery sexual chemistry.

It's crazy and all-consuming - and utterly wrong. Because not only are they chalk and cheese, oil and water, but Martin once belonged to her best friend. A friend Violet is terrified of losing. What future can there be for a relationship with so many strikes against it?

Review: Words. I'm going to try to come up with a string of coherent words to write this review. 

Because you guys I SERIOUSLY LOVED THIS STORY. I have been bored lately with reading and I needed something to pick me up and I've been so curious about this particular novella since both blogging buddies Angie and Alex had good things to say about HER BEST WORST MISTAKE. Dude, they were right. >_< 

The story doesn't take long to begin. After Elizabeth (Violet's best friend and sister for life!) dumps Martin, Violet feels an inexplicable pang of...sympathy...? and offers him a gift/peace offering in the form of peach schnapps. After that, things head in an entirely new direction when both Violet and Martin realize that they've never hated each other's guts...instead they've had this insane attraction to one another that they could never act on. 

And once they do....oh lordie. This novella has so many steamy moments. I'm not complaining fyi.

Dat mango scene though. *THUD*

What's great about HBWM is that Mayberry knows how to write hot sex scenes but she's just as adept at writing those heart-melting scenes too. My heart seriously burst whenever Martin or Violet said the cutest things to each other or did these small gestures that spoke volumes of their mutual respect for each other. UGH. So much adorbs along with the steam. 

Violet's friendship with Elizabeth is another constant thread throughout the story. Violet did take too long to admit what was happening but what Mayberry did with these two ladies made me appreciate the story even more. There is no bad blood between them, no harsh judgments or resentment. Their friendship is just as important as the romance--if not a tad more. I'm happy to see that Mayberry didn't vilify any character in this story; they were all grown-ups who faced the truth and dealt with the consequences.

Final Verdict: Honestly my only negative comment is that I wish this were a book and not a short, one-shot e-novella. I would love to revisit Martin and Violet. They're polar opposites at first, but like Darcy and Elizabeth, they can be very similar emotionally. HER BEST WORST MISTAKE gets an A+ for plot and steam, hehe. Definitely worth buying from Amazon or wherever else it may be sold. 

So in conclusion... 

The end. 

For more coherent and well-written reviews, check out these two ladies: 

Alex's review

Angie's review

Note: These GIFs were found via a Bing search. They do not belong to me.