**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley for consideration. All thoughts are 100% my own.
How can you choose what is right for you when your decision will break the heart of someone you love?
Having abandoned her childhood dream years ago, Johanna Thatcher knows what she wants from life. Discovering that her fiancé was cheating on her only convinces Johanna it’s best to maintain control and protect her heart.
Despite years of distance and friction, Johanna and her sisters, Jillian and Payton, have moved from a truce toward a fragile friendship. But then Johanna reveals she has the one thing Jillian wants most and may never have―and Johanna doesn’t want it. As Johanna wrestles with a choice that will change her life and her relationships with her sisters forever, the cracks in Jillian’s marriage and faith deepen. Through it all, the Thatcher sisters must decide once and for all what it means to be family.
Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Now Beth believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” As a contemporary romance novelist, Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2015 RITA® Finalist and a three-time ACFW Carol Award finalist. Her 2014 novel, Somebody Like You, was one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2014. In 2015, Beth introduced her destination wedding series with both an e-novella, Can’t Buy Me Love, and a novel, Crazy Little Thing Called Love. She continues the series in 2016 with the e-novella You Can’t Hurry Love (May) and the novel Almost Like Being in Love(June). A November Bride, was part of the Year of Wedding Series by Zondervan. Beth enjoys writing contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. Find out more about her books at bethvogt.com. An established magazine writer and former editor of Connections, the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth is also part of the leadership team for My Book Therapy, the writing community founded by best-selling author Susan May Warren. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people, and their youngest daughter, Christa, who loves to play volleyball and enjoys writing her own stories.
Connect with Beth on her website (bethvogt.com) and her blog on quotes, In Others' Words, or on any of these social media platforms:
Facebook.com/AuthorBethKVogt
Twitter.com/bethvogt
Instagram.com/bethkvogt
The Best We've Been is the third and final book in Beth K. Vogt's Thatcher Sisters series. While you will certainly get more backstory about the other sisters and their relationship by reading the previous book, this can be read as a standalone as well. This is personally the first I had read, and I found enough was given that I did not feel lost (though I do look forward to going back and reading the previous books as well).
Reading reviews from others that have read the rest of the series, Johanna- the lead character in this book- is the least likable of the sisters. Perhaps you've read the others and feel the same. To be honest, when the story started I really didn't care for her too much either. However, the more I read and the more I got to understand why she acted the way she did... the more I found myself relating very much to her character. Johanna is a control freak. She likes things to go her way and as such doesn't ask or want help from anyone. While my personality is overall quite different from Johanna, that need to have control... oh, that I very much understand! And sometimes the only way that us in control people can let others in to help is to have something thrown at us that leaves us no option. That is just what Johanna faces in this book... and I loved watching her grow throughout it.
This particular book reads different than many in the Christian fiction genre in that the lead character is not a Christian. We do see perspectives from the other two sisters who are new believers so there certainly is some Christian content, but is definitely unique in that way. I did hope to see Johanna move toward a relationship with God in the story, but I felt that it actually felt very authentic in the way it was written. These sisters were not perfect, their faith was not perfect... but that is so often the case in real life too.
Overall, it was a great read and one that fans of both Christian fiction and more mainstream fiction could likewise enjoy.
While I do not generally like to give any information about books aside from what is given on the back cover info, I do feel like I want to offer a little warning that I personally wish I had been given as this book does deal with a subject that might be sensitive to some readers. If you do not want spoilers, stop reading now.
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This book deals with pregnancy and a rather complicated pregnancy at that. While things end well, there is talk of spotting and bleeding during pregnancy (as well as mentions of Jillian's inability to have children). Having dealt with recurrent miscarriages and currently still healing emotionally from the most recent, I had to step away from this book a few times myself. I still liked the book overall and am glad that I read it, however, had I realized this would have been a topic I would have certainly preferred to have waited to start reading until I was more emotionally prepared to do so. If this is a topic that might be difficult for you, this is definitely something to keep in mind.
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