Simply The Best by Karin Kallmaker is an opposites attract, age gap romance. This book will particularly appeal to folks who are looking for something a little grittier and loads of fashion and designer goodies.
Let’s start with the main characters.
Alice Cabot loves science. A lot. She is a New York science journalist but when she finally vocalises her feelings about a politician and is caught on camera she is exiled from the science section of the paper and given a puff piece assignment. Her last chance to keep her job means travelling to Beverly Hills and writing a series of articles on Simply the Best, a company dedicated to the pursuit of Beauty for the modern woman. The thing is, though, she knows that most of what they sell is overpriced nonsense and this assignment threatens her sanity.
With no choice if she wants to keep her job, Alice packs her bags and heads for the sunshine world of money and flattery.
Pepper Addington is fantastic at her job as an intern at Simply the Best and when she saves the day with a client, Helene, the CEO, notices and promotes her to personal assistant. Pepper is thrilled that she is finally being recognised and that she is getting paid to work, finally.
One of her first assignments as assistant to Helene Jolie is to manage the schedule for the New York newspaper reporter that is coming to write a series of articles about the company. She is to act as liaison and smooth things over.
When Alice arrives a day early and does a quick stop by to introduce herself things don’t go as expected. She is not prepared for the fact that she sticks out in this world of glitz and glamour with her stained and rumpled traveling shirt, nor is she prepared for the effect that Pepper has on her. Pepper is magnetic.
As Alice embarks on the process of researching and interviewing she comes to the conclusion that Pepper is perhaps not the beach blond airhead that she thought at first. And with every encounter the pull of the other woman becomes stronger. But, she is there to do a job, not become enthralled by a woman who is more than 10 years younger than her and lives on the opposite side of the country.
Pepper finds Alice ridiculously attractive, despite her cynical world view, and is unable to stop the pull she feels. But she has a job to do and she is determined to prove to Helene that she is a professional.
Meanwhile, Helene is showing Pepper a great deal of attention and giving her expensive gifts. She also shows up at events where she knows Pepper and Alice will be together.
With their worlds being so different and their outlooks on life being polar opposite is it even possible for there to be more for Alice and Pepper?
Is there something more to Helene’s attentions and is she purposefully trying to keep Alice away from Pepper?
Read the book to find out.
Writing Style
It’s a Kallmaker novel with everything that implies: well written; great chemistry; interesting main characters; and a through line of fashion where it would typically be food or some kind of art.
Alice is probably the most cynical character Kallmaker has every written with a really dark view of the world. It’s interesting because Pepper is the exact opposite, so the characters kind of clashed in my brain if not on paper.
I was a little worried at one point that I would not be satisfied by the resolution because of their vastly different perspectives. However, I should just know by now to place my trust in Kallmaker’s capable hands. The resolution was satisfying and my already great appreciation for Kallmaker’s genius got just a little bit bigger.
Characters
Alice is a bi-racial nerdy butch and I am so here for it. Her science quips were beautiful and her ability to overcome her own struggle with alcohol combined with her endearing relationship with her mother made her accessible in a way that made me want to see a happy ending for her. On a tangential note, I loved her mother to tiny little bits. Alice’s mother plays a small part but she was a delightful character and full of personality.
Pepper is a wide eyed, ingenue in some respects. For her, the world is an exciting place filled with possibility. She is very much a grown up, though, and takes responsibility for her choices. I appreciated that. Sometimes age gap novels can feel like main characters are so far apart in age that they are living on two different planes of existence.
There are also some cool side characters and a mini romance between two of Pepper’s best friends, one of whom comes out as non-binary right at the beginning of the book.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
There was some panty-ripping chemistry in this book. You know those long looks and that fluttery feeling when you just cannot keep your eyes away from the woman you desire? That kind of chemistry.
Having said that, there are no actual graphic sex scenes and yet I didn’t miss them. I felt compelled enough by what I read that I had to go back and double check to see if there was any graphic sex when writing this review because I didn’t feel the absence.
Heads Up
Alice is a lot. Her pessimism can be a bit of a downer if you are like me and work hard to focus on positive things. She struggles with her own doubts about life and she drinks. But, she is a compelling character too. She is smart and I love how genuinely butch she is. She is nerdy in the best way and I liked how she didn’t really change so much as find a better fit for her life.
The Conclusion
If you like the idea of a nerdy pessimist falling for a younger, girl-next-door type then this is the book for you.
It’s a beautifully written piece of work and I loved how much enthusiasm there was for the fashion. Even though I don’t get fashion at all I still appreciate the time and effort Kallmaker took with building the world around it and the loving descriptions of shoes and accessories.
The characters are compelling and vastly juxtaposed from one another. The external forces that are trying to keep them apart felt viable and not forced. Which is a total bonus for folks who want something that feels realistic.
Get this book when you want to find romance in amongst the dumpster fire world in which we live.
Get this book if you want to believe that anyone can find love, even if they don’t necessarily believe in fairytales.
Get this book if you love good writing, excellent chemistry and something a little different from the main characters.
Excerpt from Simply The Best by Karin Kallmaker
Pepper Addington was exactly what Alice expected. Her blond ponytail bobbed as she talked. Her skin was exquisitely, evenly tanned to gold-bronze perfection, and as they came closer the pert nose and wide smile were all the more evident. She was willing to bet the eyes framed by dark lashes were blue—cornflower or periwinkle. An impossible color for most mere mortals, but not for the embodiment of all things surfer girl.
But she was wrong about that. The eyes that caught her gaze were bright and brown, and they stared at each other as the cart circled the fountain like a highway roundabout and chose the exit heading toward the administration building.
Alice was all at once aware of her rumpled slacks, the greasy blot of barbecue sauce on her sleeve, and her weary, bloodshot eyes. Aware too that, in all this pristine perfection, she was the odd one out.
She didn’t move until the cart was parked at the administration building and Jolie was already striding toward the door. Addington turned back to look in Alice’s direction. After a moment, she followed her boss inside.
There was nothing left to do but head to her car as a nearby church bell tolled five. A casual drop-in seemed impossible now. Maybe it was hunger or low blood sugar, but Alice felt her shoulders droop as her spirit deflated. A good night’s sleep would undoubtedly help.
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Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 9781642471502
Publisher: Bella Books
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