Karin Kallmaker has been writing romance novels for thirty years or so and she knows how to bend the rules just enough to keep things exciting. I didn't read the blurb, because it's Kallmaker and I knew the story would interest me. I wasn't sure for a long time which characters would get romantically involved. Suspense isn't often an ingredient in romance and I enjoyed it. As usual, Karin Kallmaker writes excellent characters. First impressions turn out to be mostly wrong and the characters' true personalities are unveiled as the story unfolds. Chemistry in this book goes three ways, not all heartwarming and sexy. Sparks fly at first sight and do their best to hold on despite characters being deliciously obtuse and fighting the inevitable.

Verbal sparring and powerplay between uneasy enemies bring a different kind of chemistry in the arena, with awe and admiration completing the triangle. One of the things I love in Karin Kallmaker's books is the way she sets the scene. Her characters have real jobs, not just titles mentioned here and there. It's part of who they are, part of the story, almost akin to world-building in sci-fi or fantasy. Neither fluffy nor too heavy, Simply The Best hits the right balance, incorporating current news and societal themes in what remains, fundamentally, a romance novel.- Rainbow Literary Society.