A review by readingwithjessica_w
Simply the Best by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Some books peak early, but Simply the Best was a book that got better and better the more I read. As a writer, Susan Elizabeth Phillips excels at her craft. She chooses the perfect words for her dialogue and her characters’ thoughts and it’s so lovely reading a novel with that amount of attention to language. 
This book opened with a one-night stand and quickly devolved into an enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity story where Rory, sister to a famous Chicago footballer, and Brett, his agent, unwillingly team up when they encounter an unfortunate murder. To be honest this really threw me. I was not expecting a heavy dose of who-dunnit in my romance and was initially worried. The murder didn’t in my mind seem to do much to evolve the romance except that it did force some characters to interact in ways they never would have otherwise. But I found myself really loving the family dynamics and forced proximity between Kristen and Rory, and Rory and Brett. 
This was where SEP hit her sweet spot (pun intended), using the differences between the characters to draw them even closer to one another. Rory’s failure as a sweet shop owner is likened to Kristen’s failure as a stepmom and Brett’s failure to be anything other than a workaholic. I think the family dynamic was my favorite aspect of the book, surprisingly even more so than the romance. Although this definitely does has elements of a romance (a HEA, character conflict), I think this book might fit more squarely into women’s fiction—nothing wrong with that, but the romance aspect was just one part of the overall storytelling. As I mentioned, the story just got better and better the more I read. I found myself appreciating characters who initially I didn’t like or who gave a bad first impression and I loved the banter between Rory and Brett, especially the texts towards the end of the book (so simple and yet so funny). And the descriptions of chocolate? I could just imagine Rory’s truck and her bonbons—the descriptions made me salivate. This is book 10 in the Chicago Stars series but can easily be read as a standalone. I’d love to go back and read some of the earlier books because the world these characters emerged from is such an interesting one. I received an advanced copy from Avon and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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