Best Men

By: Sidney Karger

Narrated by: Curtis Michael Holland

Length: 10 hrs

Publisher's summary

"Bursting with laughs and so much love, Sidney Karger's debut novel delivers a truly refreshing spin on the romantic comedy…A big-hearted, feel-good summer escape."—Anderson Cooper, #1 New York Times bestselling author and journalist

When two best men in a wedding party fall for each other, they realize love isn’t a piece of cake in this hilarious and heartfelt romantic comedy debut by screenwriter Sidney Karger.

Max Moody thought he had everything figured out. He’s trying to live his best life in New York City and has the best friend a gay guy could ask for: Paige. She and Max grew up next door to each other in the suburbs of Chicago. She can light up any party. She finishes his sentences. She’s always a reliable splunch (they don’t like to use the word brunch) partner. But then Max’s whole world is turned upside down when Paige suddenly announces some huge news: she’s engaged and wants Max to be her man of honor. Max was always the romantic one who imagined he would get married before the unpredictable Paige and is shocked to hear she’s ready to settle down. But it turns out there’s not just one new man in Paige’s life—there are two.

There's the groom, Austin, who’s a perfectly nice guy. Then there's his charming, fun and ridiculously handsome gay younger brother, Chasten, who is Austin's best man. As Paige’s wedding draws closer, Max, the introverted Midwesterner, and Chasten, the social butterfly East Coaster, realize they’re like oil and water. Yet they still have to figure out how to coexist in Paige’s life while not making her wedding festivities all about them. But can the tiny romantic spark between these two very different guys transform their best man supporting roles into the leading best men in each other’s lives?

©2023 Sidney Karger (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Bursting with laughs and so much love, Sidney Karger's debut novel delivers a truly refreshing spin on the romantic comedy. It's full of funny, flawed and poignant characters, set in the dreamy, sharply-observed New York City that we love. Best Men is a big-hearted, feel-good summer escape."—Anderson Cooper, #1 New York Times bestselling author and journalist

“Sid’s debut novel made me laugh out loud and feel alive."—Amy Schumer, #1 New York Times bestselling author, comedian, and actress

"There's so much to love about Sid's brilliantly hilarious debut book. With sharp-witted dialogue, charming, smart characters and tons of heart, Best Men is such a funny, clever, fresh take on modern romance. From start to finish, you won't stop laughing! I just loved it!!!!"—Molly Shannon, New York Times bestselling author, comedian, and actress

fun read

It was current and entertaining . great to travel to! Not to heavy and right on the cultural pulse!

A wonderfully funny and delightful rom-com!

! I loved everything about this book and I think it would be absolutely perfect to be made into a film! And this totally makes sense since this is the debut novel of an award-winning screenwriter.
There are a lot of hilarious moments, both between the two MCs, Max and Chasten, and especially between Max and his best friend, soon-to-be-bride Paige. But the book also has a lot of deeper undergoing themes: Max especially has a ton of issues to work through and sometimes you can’t really tell if he’s clueless, an insensitive jerk or just insecure.
What makes the book even better, in the opinion of a total music nerd, is the soundtrack. There are so many conversations revolving around music, karaoke outings and the likes, and Max’s love for The Smiths? Yeah, I’m there with you, buddy!
Though Max and Chasten have a terrible hook-up at the very beginning of the book, when they do not even know each other, the book is actually quite a slow burn, as in nothing physical happens between them until the end, though they get closer and closer throughout it, and it’s clear their connection goes beyond physical pretty soon.

WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER...

This story would have been better without the first person narration. We see everything from Max's point of view, and there was only one reference that Max was handsome. He had to have something going on since near perfect Chasten was clearly interested in him. It would have been nice to have Chasten's view of Max... his perspective on things.

The back and forth between Max and Paige did get a little old, however, it was a pleasant read and an interesting snapshot into planning a contemporary wedding.

Mixed reaction

If you like endless references to pop music of the last fifty years, you will enjoy this book. Many lines made me laugh, but the story lazed along, making me hope something exciting might happen. I was rarely satisfied. The love story between the two male leads was the only thing that kept me going.

Okay story overall bland

I really am just not a fan of the narrator. I feel like the overall romance was forced just to have the story. Too much time was spent talking about his job and really added nothing to the plot.

Classic rom com style

Book has all the key moments of a classic romcom of enemies to lovers plot devices. The performance is what made it for me. Hearing it turns the classic predictable plot into something worth continuing to listen/read too.

A Sweet Gay Romance...

Ok, first off- this is not high art. If you're expecting that, move on. It is a story about a midwestern gay boy in NYC. He's got a soul-sucking job. -" I would've liked that thread fleshed out a bit more". A gal-pal that can't make up her mind about anything and expects her friends to do it for her. She expects her "gay best friend" to be the kind of "Gay" that can help her plan her wedding. He's not up to the task that at all. He has a old boyfriend relationship that ended years ago that he's still hanging on to. It stops him from finding a real relationship.
Also, the groom's younger brother is just about everything this guy could want- he might be a little too perfect.
Everybody in the story has their good and bad points. The love between the friends is truly solid. Even if they are a bit crazy. In the end, love finds a way. There are a lot of pop-culture references, you might want to brush up. I liked this story. It would make a fun read at the beach this summer. Light, cheery and sweet.

Awesome Story of stranger, to best men & and to lovers.

cool romance story just was a little disappointed that it took so long to get to the union of the 2 best men

Fun and light listen

I really enjoyed this book and the character development. Sometimes it was tough to really root for the main character, you wanted to slap him for not being a better friend or making the right decisions. I agree with other reviewers that having Chasten's point of view in the story would have given more credence to their relationship, because Chasten seemed too perfect and at times I wondered why he would actually like the main character. But love does find a way and it all does come together. I recommend giving it a listen and would be interested to read more from this author.

Fun premise

There’s enough fun in this story to keep me hooked even though the use of standard rom-com tropes makes for predictability. While enjoying the listen, I also got an impression that either the author was very green or he was pitching the story to gen y readers. Also, is it just me or would the listening experience be improved by a more nuanced narrator? I quickly grew weary of the dominant sing-song, downward-sinking cadence and the lack of clarity when switching from internal commentary to spoken dialogue. I’d be interested in hearing the book read by someone else and reading the author’s next novel if he chooses to write another.