REVIEW: The Best Worst Thing by Lauren Okie

In The Best Worst Thing by Lauren Okie, Who knew that after several years of fertility treatments and failures that Nicole Speyer’s marriage would be what knocks the wind out of her sails completely. Already feeling down and out, when she realizes that her husband Gabe is cheating on her that’s it. That’s the final straw. Nicole spirals after that. She doesn’t record her successful fertility podcast; she doesn’t answer Gabe’s texts or calls. And of course, that’s when the universe finally agrees that she should be a mom. Nicole gets the news that her ‘gestational carrier’ Valerie is pregnant. Suddenly facing down parenting on her own with no full-time job or a house that’s in her own name, she knows things are about to get even more complicated.

“How could you?” Her word–low, quiet, cracked–hung in the air for an eternity. Gabe’s hands were in his pockets. His eyes were on the ground. He knew. She knew. The show was over.
“I’m so sorry,” he said.

Nicole probably shouldn’t have let her best friend Mari talk her into visiting their former coworker–and Nicole’s former work bestie–Logan when she was in such a weird place emotionally. Granted, he’s the nicest, most carefree guy on the planet so he takes everything in stride when Nicole explains what’s happened since they last spoke a few years ago. What started as a rekindled friendship to take her mind off her problems turns into a chance to explore what has always been a strong connection between them. Not great timing, she knows. But their timing has always been off. Nicole doesn’t want Logan to feel obligated to stick around just to make sure she’s okay. She wants him to be there because he can’t imagine being anywhere else. And little does she know that it’s exactly how he feels. If they can just get through all the other complications, maybe they’ll find a way to get that happy future they’ve both been chasing for far too long.

“It was always you. I just didn’t know it yet.”

A highly emotional debut from Lauren Okie, THE BEST WORST THING will have readers reeling from the deception and heartbreaking losses only to then giggle and sigh happily at the sweet and tender scenes. In other words, this will be a novel to savor.

‘She had never, ever meant to fall in love with Logan Milgram. Which she had. Quite desperately. In a way she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to shake.’

CW: View Spoiler »Infidelity, fertility issues including pregnancy loss, drug use, morally grey love triangle « Hide Spoiler

What a debut Lauren Okie gifted us in THE BEST WORST THING. I will note right away that for readers who are sensitive to fertility issues (which were detailed) and cheating, this book might be tough to get through in places. But I do think Okie handled these subjects carefully and very thoughtfully. And the intensity with all of the emotions our heroine Nicole went through during one crisis after another was breathtaking. It was oh so easy to get caught up in each scene and feel it on a visceral level–particularly those about Nicole and her former coworker Logan being star-crossed, never finding the right time to explore their close bond.

Nicole’s relationship with Logan was complicated. As work besties they both knew there was something more between them but given that they worked together and that Nicole was married to Gabe–the no-good cheater–she would never have acted on her attraction to Logan. I really did enjoy their friendship, though. He gave off golden retriever energy and loved it when Nicole gave him a hard time, teased him about being foolish or scatterbrained. And Logan helped get her out of her head by chatting nonstop when her fertility issues were out of control or when she was stressed. They complemented each other quite well. It was everything else going on in their lives that made the situation seem like they’d never get their chance.

I also loved the close friendships Nicole had in her life, the awesome women who bolstered her through Gabe’s cheating, the infertility issues, but who also called her out when she was too much in her head or not thinking things through clearly. From Nicole’s surrogate, Valerie (loved her!), to her bestie Mari, and Nicole’s sister Paige, they did everything they could to support her. Of course, ultimately it was up to her to figure it all out and take the scary steps to start over. But I think readers will adore how everything came together in the end and will want to revisit these characters again in the future.

QOTD: Nicole created a podcast to help her sort through her infertility issues. Do you listen to any podcasts to help you with personal matters? Feel free to share your favorites.
 

Book Info:

Publication: Published: October 14th, 2025 | Avon |

From a stunning new voice in romance, Lauren Okie’s The Best Worst Thing is an intimate story about starting over, second chances, and two people who cannot help falling into each other’s orbit once again.

All things considered, Nicole Speyer has a pretty amazing life. At least that’s what she tells herself. She’s got a beautiful house, a relatively successful fertility podcast, and a perfect husband, Gabe. The only thing that’s less than ideal is her years-long struggle with infertility—and how, with every passing day, she and Gabe seem to drift a little further apart.

But then, mere hours after a Hail Mary embryo transfer to her gestational carrier, Nicole discovers Gabe’s been sleeping with their dog walker, and her world turns upside down. Suddenly, a jobless, childless, and now-husbandless Nicole finds herself at the doorstep of somebody she tried to say goodbye to a long time ago.

Logan a former colleague with serious golden retriever energy who happens to be laugh-out-loud funny, a colossal nerd, and legitimately kind of hot. When Logan opens his door that night, it’s like no time has passed. And as they fall back into each other’s lives, Nicole starts recognizing herself in the mirror again. She even begins to like what she sees. And then, like a cruel joke, she gets the news she’s spent a lifetime waiting her surrogate is finally pregnant.

As her relationship with Logan develops from a blast-from-the-past fling into something much deeper, Nicole struggles to balance her past, present, and future. Racing against the clock, she must learn to forgive her body for falling short and recognize that sometimes, it’s the biggest betrayals in life that set us free. With everything on the line, can Nicole accept love from the greatest man she’s ever known . . . even if it’s nothing like the story she’d written for herself?