REVIEW: The Best I Never Had by Amy Buchanan

In The Best I Never Had by Amy Buchanan, Thea Pappas and her younger sister Addy were a team through every hardship, foster care move, and issue that came their way through their entire childhood. That’s why it shocks Thea when Addy shows up wearing an engagement ring, explaining her wedding is only a month away up in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. So what if Thea hasn’t met Addy’s fiancé Harrison. Yet. It’s the similarities in the venue and a few other details that have her worried he’s related to Owen Hayes, a friend of a friend who needed a date to a family wedding three years ago. Even though it was a time when Thea was down on her luck financially, she truly had one of the most memorable weekends of her life with Owen and his wonderful family. When she shows up in North Carolina and finds out that Owen is her soon-to-be brother-in-law’s older brother? Thea freaks out. She can’t ruin Addy’s wedding. Whatever it takes–even fake dating Owen again–she’ll do anything to keep the peace and give her sister the day of her dreams.

‘No matter how hard I try, I always end up blowing up my happiness, and nine times out of ten, the blast goes wide enough to hit Addy, too. I refuse to let it happen again.’

Owen has held onto the memories of his weekend with Thea for three years. They’ve kept him smiling when his career or his family gets to be too much. And they’ve turned into fantasies he wishes they’d had a chance to indulge in before Thea left. So, imagine Owen’s surprise when she walks into his younger brother Harrison’s wedding celebration. He never would have imagined getting more time with spunky Thea, or that people-pleaser Addy is her younger sister. Things get complicated fast when his family realizes Owen’s “one who got away” is back. It puts even more strain on a week fraught with his mother’s impending meltdowns, his cousins’ antics, and his grandmother’s all too knowing looks. There’s no way they can fool everyone. And Owen hates lying. But what else can they do–aside from coming clean about their fake relationship which will blow everything up? Especially when the attraction between them is stronger than ever.

“Look, you don’t want this week ruined for Addy, right? And I don’t want this week ruined for Harrison. Keeping up the lie is the best way to ensure they make it down the aisle without drama.”

A fake dating romance that had me howling with laughter one minute and then pulling at my heartstrings the next, THE BEST I NEVER HAD was memorable in all the best ways. Author Amy Buchanan created a no-win situation for Owen and Thea. There were too many obstacles between them. But as two people who put everyone else first, they truly *saw* each other and realized the connection they had was exactly what they each needed in their life. That it was something worth fighting for–even when some people around them were actively trying to keep them apart, while others were conniving to pair them up. Talk about complicated!

“I don’t want to be something you regret, Thea. I *can’t* be something you regret.”
“There isn’t a moment with you I’ve ever regretted,” I whisper across his lips.

Everyone needs a guy like Owen in their lives. Seriously. He was selfless, loyal (to a fault), smart, sexy, and just *steady*. The kind of person you can count on without giving it a second thought. It was something Thea had never had in her life before. Someone who not only saw the sacrifices she had willingly made for her younger sister Addy–because he had done the same for his younger brother Harrison–but who also knew what to do when she was being “too much”. Owen wasn’t scared off when Thea got in her feelings. He didn’t dismiss her either. And I loved that they both felt seen when they were together. It added a sense of contentment and even wonder to their interactions while getting to really know each other the second time around.

TROPES/VIBES:
💘 Fake Dating… Twice!
🥐 A Sexy Hero Who Bakes
🐢 Slow-Burn Romance
💥 An Outspoken Heroine
🍿 Family Drama Galore
🎤🔥 A Steamy Karaoke Scene

CW: View Spoiler »Foster care, drug abuse (historical), parent death (historical), misogyny, depression « Hide Spoiler

Owen’s meddling family was both a source of hilarity and frustration. His cousins were ridiculously entertaining. And the way they and Owen’s grandmother all circled around Thea, bringing her into their midst, was wonderful. But I’ll admit I wasn’t sold on Owen’s mom or Thea’s sister Addy until later in the book. It felt like there was a thread of selfishness on both their parts that made things so much more difficult than it had to be–particularly for Thea and Owen–that wasn’t necessarily outwardly apparent to everyone else. Emotions ran high as you can imagine. But Buchanan kept things realistically messy until all parties involved could settle into the changes that had taken place and have the HEA(s) of their dreams.

QOTD: Do you have a go-to karaoke song either to sing solo or with family/friends?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: August 18th, 2026 |  St. Martin’s Griffin |

They staged a romance, faked a breakup, and this time around, anything can happen—even something real.

Thea Pappas has always been the storm in her own life—fiery and unpredictable—traits that led her and her younger sister, Addy, through a series of foster homes. But with Addy’s whirlwind engagement, Thea is determined to be the perfect maid of honor, even if she finds it odd that she hadn’t heard of the fiancé until the ring was on Addy’s finger. She believes she can survive a week in the Blue Ridge Mountains with a group of strangers without causing any trouble.

But upon arrival, Thea realizes these aren’t strangers. Among the familiar faces is Owen Hayes—the man who, three years ago, paid her to pretend to be his girlfriend at a family wedding. Now, he’s looking at her with the same panicked expression.

Owen’s life has always been about control—managing his mother’s matchmaking schemes, his family’s expectations, and the career path he never truly chose. Thea was his one rebellion, a beautiful lie that ended with a “heart-destroying” fake breakup. Now, with his younger brother’s wedding underway and his mother on the prowl, Owen begs Thea to reprise their roles. One week. Same fake breakup. No feelings.

But as old sparks reignite and the lines between pretense and reality blur, Thea and Owen will have to carry on their greatest performance yet or admit the truth—that it was never fake at all.