Spotlight & Giveaway: Best Man by Katy Evans

Posted December 10th, 2019 by in Blog, Spotlight / 55 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Katy Evans to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Katy and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Best Man!

 

To start off, can you please tell us a little bit about this book?:

Best Man is a book about second chances, about finding that special someone that gets you – the real you, flaws and all – and treasures every part of you. It is also a book about discovery. Because sometimes, as you discover love (and who it is that you love), you discover things about yourself you’ve never really discovered before.
 

Please share your favorite lines or quote(s) from this book:

Oh, I have plenty. Among them:
“But we hate each other. We’ll probably murder each other before we get over the mountain, careen off one of the cliffsides, and the next time they find us, we’ll be nothing but a pair of skeletons with our bony hands wrapped around each other’s necks.”
“Possible. But your fiancé asked me to take care of you. I’m sure I can put aside my homicidal desires where you’re concerned for ten hours.”
“Good for you,” I mutter, spinning away from him and hoisting my purse onto my shoulder. “But I’m not sure I can.”

 

What inspired this book?

Weddings! I’ve wanted to write a wedding book for a long time now. Weddings are just magical, and they are also sometimes so chaotic that I knew it would be deliciously fun to set a romance around a wedding.

 

How did you ‘get to know’ your main characters? Did they ever surprise you?

My characters always surprise me! Miles, for example, really blew me away. He was a bit moody and grumpy at first, and I didn’t know what to think of him…until I realized WHY he was so moody and grumpy. The woman he’d loved for years, the woman of his dreams, was getting married to his best friend! Of course that has to take a toll on a guy. Plus, he is naturally broody, but I love that.

 

What was your favorite scene to write?

All the back and forth between Miles and Lia! Oh, those two have so much tension between them that it’s just FUN!

“Ugh. Miles Foster.
It’s amazing Aaron and I survived this long, considering I absolutely despise his choice of a best friend. Miles is almost a deal-breaker, he’s that bad. To think, during that first CU Boulder frat party I ever went to, I’d looked at all the fraternity brothers across the dank, hazy cellar, and zeroed in on him.
Right. So did every other girl in the basement.
Where Aaron is the all-American blond, Miles is his dark underside. He’s unbearably hot, scorching even.
But the hotness drains away whenever he opens his mouth.
Unfortunately, neither of us spoke much that first night, or maybe I’d have been warned. It was my first college party and, hyped on the feeling of freedom, I’d gone a little overboard in the drinking department. The music was too loud, and we were all too smashed.
How was I to know that one little night of fun would send such huge shockwaves through my life?
So I did what I had to do. I buried it. And so did he. Knowing him, and the way he treats me and every other woman who comes into his orbit, he probably doesn’t even remember it.
As I hurry downstairs to the spa, still shaking off the heebie-jeebies my every encounter with Miles seems to bring, I nearly laugh, thinking of what he’d said to me. Really, what kind of lame idiot guy cares about a girl’s nails? And Bridezilla? Please.”

 

What was the most difficult scene to write?

The hardest scenes to write are always the black moments for me. When everything feels hopeless. I don’t want to give too much away, but I definitely tore up inside when they say goodbye.

 

Would you say this book showcases your writing style or is it a departure for you?

I feel like every book brings out a part of me and my writing that I hadn’t explored before. Sometimes it’s just the theme in the book, the others are one of the characters that is funnier than my normal characters, etcetera. But that is fun!

 

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

That nobody is perfect, and yet you can still find and have true love. Even two imperfect souls can find their perfect couple in each other.

 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’m working on a single title that I’m obsessed with. It sort of makes me think of my Manwhore series, but in a different way. I’m excited to share more about it soon!

 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: One signed paperback of Best Man by Katy Evans

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What do you think about wedding stories? Books/movies, etc? Do you have a favorite?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Best Man:

The dress is a strapless Carolina Herrera, with layers and layers of whisper-thin organza. It blows my budget and the “less is more” mantra out of the water, but like Eva said the day we bought it in downtown Denver, when you know, you know. The locale is the sumptuous Midnight Lodge, nestled in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, every tiny detail of the place costing my father more than an entire year of his salary. The twenty-three members of the bridal party are assembled. It’s the scene of every little girl’s fairytale fantasy.
My fantasy.
At least, the one I’d been harboring up until today, when everything changed.
Eva smiles at me. “Ready to make your dreams come true?”
I stare at myself in the mirror. I look like Cinderella, if the wicked stepmother had just materialized at the castle on Cinderella’s wedding day and gunned down Prince Charming in cold blood. I’m also about three minutes away from losing the mimosa I’d polished off earlier that morning at breakneck speed. I go to chew on my nails but then I remember Eva painted them, and the last thing I want is for him to see the chips.
He notices things like that. He’s an observer.
And I want to be perfect for him.
Him.
The wrong him.
Oh, god.
I go to chew on my lip, but I can’t do that because they’ve been lacquered with bubble-gum pink gloss, and he’d probably notice if I got it on my teeth, too. All my normal ways of freaking out are off limits.
This is the day of my dreams, the day I’ve planned to the letter, just so I could avoid any potential calamities that might make me freak out.
But I am freaking out. Oh, lordy, am I ever.
I’ve been waiting my whole life for this day.
This perfect day, where the sun is shining, the snow is melting, birds are singing, and the sky is the deepest blue I’ve ever seen.
But there’s a problem.
A problem in the form of a pretentious, bearded, six-foot-three wall of hot man flesh who stalks around hating the world and thinking he’s better than everyone in it.
My fiancé’s best friend. The best man, Miles Foster.
This is all his fault.
“You okay?” Eva asks.
“I am,” I insist, pushing the infernal veil out of my face for the thousandth time. “This dress is itchy as hell.”
I stand and pluck the dress up under my armpits, hoisting it over my boobs. I try to take a step but…too much fabric, in all directions. It’s a wonder I don’t drown in this sea. In this sea, or in this mess I’ve created for myself. I sit back down on the vanity stool and pout. “I’m stuck.”
In more ways than one.
She gathers handfuls of too much organza and helps me up, depositing the pile of fabric safely in my wake. I shuffle to the full-length mirror and glance at myself. I don’t look like a bride, or even a fairytale princess. I look like a prisoner who just got her death sentence.
“It’s too loose,” I whine. I never had much of a rack, and now it’s super obvious. Why did I decide to go strapless again? “I think I must’ve lost some boobage during my diet. What if the top of my dress falls down while I’m walking up the aisle?”
Eva smirks. “I’m sure Aaron’ll love the show.”
The thought makes the mimosa turn in my stomach. I used to live for what Aaron thought. Whenever I had a choice to make on something, be it a new movie coming out, or a sweater at the mall, or a new hair style, I’d think, Would Aaron like this? But I realize, as she says his name, that it doesn’t matter to me in the slightest what Aaron thinks. The only opinion I care about now is that of the man who will be standing precisely two feet to my husband-to-be’s left.
I am such an idiot.
In less than fifteen minutes, I will be marching down the stone steps outside the Midnight Lodge to a picturesque gazebo at the foot of the hills, on the arm of my father, who has socked his entire life’s savings into making this day picture perfect for his only daughter. I will take the hand of the man I’ve been attached at the hip to for over five years, ever since I met him in a dank frat cellar when I was a wide-eyed little college freshman. I will join with this man—this man I’ve spent all of my adult life with—in holy matrimony, ’til death us do part.
I will become Mrs. Aaron Eberhart.
But I know I’ll be looking past my husband-to-be to the man who, up until twelve hours ago, I’d thought I hated. Miles Foster.
And I will be wondering What if…
I wish choosing a husband was as simple as choosing a dress.
When you know, you know.
I did know, or I thought I did. Up until twelve hours ago, I thought Aaron Eberhart was my true soul mate, the one I’d happily spend the rest of my life with. That’s when things took an unexpected turn.
Right now? I don’t even know my own name.
And I have a feeling I might be making a huge mistake.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

When the wedding of your dreams is just around the corner, everything needs to go as planned. Only problem is, the groom didn’t get the memo.

Aaron forgot the rings, and Lia is determined to make the long drive home to get them in time for their “I do’s.”
But there’s a catch. There always is with Aaron, isn’t there?
Aaron is too hungover to come, and sends a replacement.
The best man.
Miles Foster. The cocky, arrogant, sexy best man…and the last person Lia wants to be trapped in a car with for hours.
But Aaron insists, and Lia wonders if there’s another reason Aaron wants Miles tagging along–aside from sticking her with a hot, surly babysitter.
Yet how bad can it be? It’ll be over before she knows it, and she’ll never see him again. Just like in college.
But when secrets are revealed, and Lia’s whole world is turned upside down, she realizes she’s been living a lie–and so has her groom.
Miles is supposed to be the best man at her wedding.
But what if he is simply the best man she has ever known? The best man for her?

Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Katy Evans is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her debut REAL shot to the top of the bestselling lists in 2013 and since then 9 of her titles have been New York Times bestsellers. Her books have been translated into nearly a dozen languages across the world.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |

 

 

 

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55 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Best Man by Katy Evans”

  2. Mary Preston

    No favourite, but I love weddings in life, books, movies …. I well up. It’s a special time.

    • Diana Hardt

      I don’t have a favorite, but I love a good wedding story in books and movies.

  5. Karina Angeles

    I love wedding stories, especially with a slow burn. My favorite is the Princess Bride.

  8. gemiinii90

    What do you think about wedding stories? Books/movies, etc? Do you have a favorite?
    I like them at the end of my books, but I haven’t read any books that revolve around a wedding.
    So I don’t have a favorite.

    – Betul

  10. laurieg72

    I love wedding books Favorites include: Nora Robert’s Bride Quartet series and Fiona Lowe’s Wedding Fever series set in Wisconsin. I also enjoyed Susan Mallery’s Fool’s Gold series which features several weddings and Jill Shalvis’ Lucky Harbor series.

  11. Pamela Conway

    Loved Nora Roberts Bride Quartet series other than that I can’t think of any others even though I’m sure there are more books.

  13. janinecatmom

    I love weddings (real life, movies and books). I can’t really say I have a favorite because as I read or watch one, that is the one that becomes my favorite.

  18. Juli Huber Hall

    Love wedding stories. My favorites are the Bride Quartet series by Nora Roberts

  19. Sue Galuska

    I love wedding stories! I adored Nora Roberts Bride Quartet series and Christina Lauren’s The Honeymooners.

    • Lynne Brigman

      I love weddings whether it is movies, books or real. I can’t say I have a favorite because I think they are all my favorites.

  23. dbranigan

    I have no favorite, but I do enjoy reading books with wedding themes and definitely love the movies.

  24. SusieQ

    I like books with a failed wedding and then the protagonists find each other through the messy aftermath

  26. Caro

    love them, I’ve read many series surrounding this theme and love thosse movies too, but I can’t think of a favorite since they each are so different and add something new.

  30. Amy R

    I enjoy them but don’t have a favorite. I do like the trope weddings in Vegas

  32. Kathleen Bylsma

    I love them, especially those where one or the other is left standing at the altar or one or the other is running to keep from making a fatal mistake!

  34. Trudy Dowling

    I love reading a good wedding story but I only watch them if I like the actors.

  41. Nicole (Nicky) Ortiz

    I love them
    One of my favorite movies is My Big Fat Greek Wedding
    Thanks for the chance!

  42. Shannon Capelle

    I love Nora Roberts The Bride Quartet series and The Macgegor Brides series

  44. Sarah Scholz

    I really like them My favorite is “Runaway Bride” Thank you so much for the chance

  47. Jennifer Beyer

    I love wedding stories. I especially like when they are funny or have a twist.

  50. Patricia Barraclough

    I enjoy wedding stories. There is no real favorite. Each has its own little twist that makes it special. Thank you for the excerpt. I think many brides may have that last minute thought of “am I sure he is the right one?” I think they would be better off recognizing the question as early as possible and seriously consider it. Better to call off a wedding than to be visiting the divorce lawyer or living in misery for years.