MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL

British author Koomson’s U.S. debut, a U.K. bestseller, about a woman who reluctantly adopts her one-time best friend’s child.

Kamryn, a down-to-earth career woman with a tough exterior, and Adele, an overeager, spirited type, were best friends until Adele slept with Kamryn’s fiancé, Nate. Betrayed, Kamryn refused to speak to either of them. Things change two years later when Kamryn is called to Adele’s deathbed. There, Kamryn is pressured into promising Adele that she will adopt five-year-old Tegan, the result of Adele and Nate’s affair. Tegan is a little too cute, and the transition to her new life is unrealistically seamless, but the characters themselves are amiable. Navigating a new work-life balance, Kamryn is passed over for a promotion, which she holds against her new boss, Luke. Luke, who, of course, is stunningly handsome, is rough with Kamryn, but falls in love with the precocious Tegan. While Luke and Kamryn do a terrible job of pretending to hate each other, he develops a fatherly relationship with Tegan and starts spending all his free time with her. This unlikely setup is so unprofessional and unrealistic that it makes for uncomfortable reading. The bizarreness of the situation is somewhat allayed when (no surprise) Kamryn and Luke fall in love. The three quickly settle into a picture-perfect family, but things are complicated by Nate’s reappearance. Nate, who, of course, is stunningly handsome, is desperate to win Kamryn back, leaving our heroine to choose between two practically perfect men.

The scenes often read like something from a screenplay, and it’s easy to picture this story as a film.