The Best Worst Thing by Lauren Okie (Oct 14, 2025) A huge thank you to @avonbooks and @harperaudio for the free digital and audio copies of this debut that is now part of my DNA. If yearning is your thing, you are going to want to grab this one immediately!
On paper, Nicole Speyer and her husband Gabe have everything — successful careers, a beautiful home, a sweet dog, and the financial means to pursue parenthood through IVF and gestational surrogacy. Nicole even hosts a podcast chronicling their journey. But everything unravels when she returns home from Virginia, fresh from her surrogate’s final embryo transfer, only to find her husband has been sleeping with the dog walker.
Now, Nicole’s life is in pieces: her marriage, her podcast, her carefully constructed world. And in her dazed, alcohol-fueled grief, she shows up at the doorstep of Logan Milgram – her old coworker, the man with “hot Eagle Scout” energy and a wicked sense of humor. What should have been a one-night distraction turns into something much deeper and more life-altering.
No review of this book is going to do it justice. The banter and charm between Nicole and Logan is off the charts and readers will sense their undeniable connection immediately. We also deeply feel the emotions of Nicole’s infertility journey. This isn’t a flashy love story, it is built in subtle moments – the touch of feet under a blanket, freezer-burned ice cream, dog-eared books, a shared piece of cake, strong feelings about blueberry bagels. Nicole is deeply relatable in her emotional turmoil, Logan is easily one of my favorite male man characters I’ve read, and even Gabe has an evolution you can appreciate.
🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: Kristen Sieh does an absolutely fabulous job here – nailing the back and forth banter and emotions here. The way she voices Logan is wonderful, you just get the subtle complexity and deep humor of his emotions. (11h 13m)
What was your last 5-star read?
Book: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🎧 Audio performance: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🔥 Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Book Smart Kate 