Review: Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins

Until There Was You
~Kristan Higgins

Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: HQN Books 
Publish Date: October 25, 2011
ISBN-10: 037377611X
ISBN-13: 978-0373776115
ASIN: B005JSRAO2

From the author's website:
Posey Osterhagen can't complain. She owns a successful architectural salvaging company, she's surrounded by her loveable, if off-center, family and she has a boyfriend—sort of. Still, something's missing. Something tall, brooding and criminally good-looking...something like Liam Murphy.

When Posey was sixteen, the bad boy of Bellsford, New Hampshire, broke her heart. But now he's back, sending Posey's traitorous schoolgirl heart into overdrive once again. She should be giving him a wide berth, but it seems fate has other ideas...

Cordelia "Posey" Osterhagen is not looking her best when she runs into the former (unrequited) love of her life: She's helping out in her parent's restaurant, sporting a traditional German waitress outfit (which she does not fill out, at all) and a mouth full of potato dumpling when Liam Murphy walks in to their kitchen, looking even better than he did when they were kids. He's just as disdainful of her as she remembers.  She's sorry to hear his wife died; Posey remembers her as a genuinely nice girl. Posey has decided that Liam's decision to back to Bellsford is not going to affect her one bit; there's no reason for her to interact with Liam now that they're adults and their lives have gone in different directions. Although he doesn't know it, Liam broke her heart and she's never forgiven him. Now all she has to do is convince her heart...

Liam Murphy is bringing his 15-year-old daughter Nicole back to the town he feels closest to and is opening a custom motorcycle shop. He moved to Bellsford when he was 15, after some unfortunate youthful choices landed him in juvie for car theft. He met his late wife Emma in Bellsford, so it's as close to home as it gets for him. Plus, Emma's parents live nearby, and although they're not his favorite people, they do love Nicole and deserve to spend time with her. And even though he knows that by moving back as a widower he'll be like a minnow in a shark tank, he's determined to concentrate on raising Nicole and has no plans for anything even resembling dating. But he keeps running into Posey, and suddenly she's not just that skinny kid who crushed on him in high school...

My thoughts: 
I have a checklist that must be complete before I even think about opening a Kristan Higgins book: Favorite comfy chair? check. Pajamas on? check. Giant glass of diet coke? check. Tissues (for laughing and crying)? check. Kids asleep or out of the house (so as not to disturb Mommy while she's reading)? check. Then, and only then, I can settle in and enjoy reading.

Until There Was You is classic Kristan Higgins, but with a twist - we get not only the heroine's POV, but the hero's POV as well. Posey is cute - she's got an interesting career as a salvage artist; she rescues architecturally interesting things from homes and buildings and resells them. It sounds like a dream job (sweaty but fun). She's a people pleaser, especially as it pertains to her family. Example: She's seeing the owner of another restaurant in town and keeps it secret from her parents because it will upset them. Posey is adopted, but has never felt like her parents didn't love her or didn't consider her their own child. She's also petite and has a crazy-fast metabolism - she ate all the time, this book made me so hungry, lol.

Around the same time Liam comes back to town, Posey's cousin Gretchen shows up. Gretchen is a self-obsessed TV cooking show hostess, "The Barefoot Fraulein", who's quietly been fired from the network and comes home to Bellsford to "revamp the family restaurant". Her parents love Gretchen and don't realize that Gretchen and Posey don't get along. When Gretchen sort of moves in with Posey, then starts dating Posey's ex - the restaurateur - things just get more uncomfortable for everyone involved.

Meanwhile, Liam is trying valiantly to navigate the waters of being father to a 15-year-old girl and all her hormones. The scenes between Liam and Nicole are so funny - he was the "bad boy" in high school, so he knows what the boys in Nicole's school have on their mind:

"Look," Liam whispered, and against her will, Posey's entire side tingled.  "She's fifteen years old.  Bozo there's a senior.  Do the math."
 "What Math?" Posey asked.
 "The sex math."
 "You're an idiot," she muttered, shoving another fistful of popcorn into her mouth.
~ebook at 41%

I love that we get Liam's POV. He's a little young to be so curmudgeonly, but we see how the past affected his attitude present-day and the reasons he's so protective of Nicole. The differing POVs from Posey and Liam regarding the incident that broke Posey's heart so many years ago was an eye-opener. I will admit that even seeing Liam's mindset, I was frustrated with the way he treated Posey present-day; she deserved better. If they had just talked to each other, it would have been so much easier for everyone. I wasn't just mad at Liam though, I was mad at Posey for letting him treat her that way.

With a charming cast of secondary characters that enhance the main characters, I found myself falling in love with the town of Bellsford and it's inhabitants. In addition to Posey's parents, who only want Posey to be happy but are completely oblivious to her feelings, we are treated to Posey's (also adopted) brother Henry and his long-term partner, Jon, who is also Posey's best friend. Henry and Jon are great together - Henry is a surgeon and is almost comically obsessed with amputations, Jon is a popular high school teacher and he absolutely loves Posey to death (Big love for Jon from this reader, he's awesome!). There are also some deliciously awful characters who made Posey's life miserable as a teen and continue being horrible right into adulthood.

Until There Was You is both comical and compassionate. There's a movie theater scene that will make you laugh out loud and a prom horror story that will break your heart. Until There Was You touches on several difficult topics: adoption, homosexuality, family, death, and self respect, and gives the reader hope where a different author might make you feel only despair.

Kristan Higgins can put another notch on her bookshelf - Until There Was You is fabulous: I laughed and cried and was ready to pack up the family and move to Bellsford by the time I was done!

My Rating:

Book recieved from the Publisher via NetGalley.

Review: My One and Only by Kristan Higgins

My One and Only
~Kristan Higgins

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: HQN Books
Publish Date: March 29, 2011
ISBN-10: 0373775571
ISBN-13: 978-0373775576

From Goodreads:
Divorce attorney Harper James can't catch a break. Bad enough that she runs into her ex-hubby, Nick, at her sister's destination wedding, but now, by a cruel twist of fate, she's being forced to make a cross-country road trip with him. And her almost-fiance back at home is not likely to be sympathetic. Harper can't help that Nick has come blazing back into her life in all of his frustratingly appealing, gorgeous architect glory. But in Nick's eyes, Harper's always been the one. If they can only get it right this time, forever might be waiting -- just around the bend.

Harper James is a 30-something divorce attorney on Martha's Vineyard. She's very good at what she does and half the divorcees in Martha's Vineyard hate her (that would be the half whose exes hired her, lol). She's got a realistic view of love and marriage (she thinks) and has been dating Dennis for 2 1/2 years; she's tired of waiting and is going to propose. Her plan is to present the facts and convince him it's time. Romantic, she's not. Right in the middle of her proposal, her sister Willa calls to tell her she's getting married...for the third time...to a man she's only known a few weeks...and also happens to be Harper's ex-husband's brother.

Nick Lowe married the love of his life 12 years ago, and lost her less than a year later. He's never forgotten Harper, and never gotten over her. He's moved on, but he knows she was his One Great Love.

Harper is the Maid of Honor and Nick is the Best Man at their siblings' wedding. They get through the wedding festivities and Harper thinks she's home free and can get away from Nick (and her memories)...but her flight gets canceled. Nick offers to drive her to the next big airport to get her a flight back home. During the drive, they talk a little, reminisce a little, and fight a little. And Harper realizes she's never gotten over Nick either. But neither can get over the past enough to look towards the future.

My Thoughts: Kristan Higgins writes the kind of books I love to read, and My One and Only is no exception. When the story opened, I found Harper to be a bit abrasive; BUT, as the story moved and we see more of her history with Nick and learn how her mother left her on her 13th birthday, I started to really like her. Nick was a sightly tortured hero, he had his own issues to deal with, and I loved him. He was patient and sweet, and he was there when Harper needed him. My only complaint was that to me he seemed a bit insensitive and expected Harper to change her life/location to be with him, in the past and the present. They tried to hide their rekindled attraction to each other and it was quite comical to see them put up a front:

"I don't think Bob's up for running," I said.
"Then you'll take my horse."
"What about you?"
"I'll stay here and whittle a sword and kill the bear or, if that doesn't work, I'll just be eaten alive, happily sacrificing my life for yours." He gave me a look. "Or I'll just stay on the horse and you can sit behind me. Satan can hold two, I'm sure."
"Oh, so you're a cowboy now? I wasn't aware that architects were also masters of horseflesh. You and Satan BFF's now? Practiced your stunt-riding this morning?"
"My dad gave me a few lessons."
"When? When you were six?"
"Well, you know, Harper, maybe we should just stay here and bicker until the bear can't stand it anymore and kills us both. Would that make you happy?"
~My One and Only, pg. 114

My One and Only made me laugh - from Harper's boyfriend Dennis, the hunky firefighter who still wears a rat-tail *yikes!*, to her step-mother BeverLee, a caricature of the big-boobed, bouffant haired Southerner (who I ended up loving as well), and it made me cry - Harper's memories about her mother and memories of her own broken marriage to Nick broke the surface and she was able to view her past from an adult point of view. The writing was fabulous and I fell right into the story - first with Harper and Dennis, then I couldn't wait to see where things were going with Nick, both on the road and in her heart. Throughout it all, I loved seeing Harper learn to let herself love and be loved in return.

My Rating:

This book was received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins, now with bonus TMI!!

This book falls into my Contemporary Reading Challenge.

Okay, I think you all know I'm a Kristan Higgins fangirl. Out of the five books she's written, only one was disappointing to me and one is on my keeper shelf. I was really looking forward to The Next Best Thing, and I loved it!

Lucy Lang became a widow at the young age of 25 after less than a year of marriage. She's been a widow for almost five years, working at the family bakery with her mother and aunts. Who all became widows at a young age. It seems to run in the family, whose maiden name is Fekete, which is Hungarian for Black - they're known as the Black Widows.

As the story opens, Lucy is at the hospital where her younger sister has just given birth. Lucy decides this is what she really wants, and thinks maybe it's time to start dating again. Which will require that she end her "friends with benefits" arrangement she's had going with Ethan. Ethan has spent his life living in the shadow of his older brother, Jimmy. He's also in love with Lucy, although she doesn't know it. When she breaks off their arrangement, he agrees, but he's not too happy about it, because he loves her.

There is so much going on in this book - there's no way I can even begin to explain how good it was. I laughed a bit and I cried a bit. I'm not going to say I laughed out loud, more like a chuckle here and there, but here's where the TMI comes in: Occasionally, depending on where I am in my, uh....cycle...I might cry a bit while reading something sad. I'm nowhere near that hormonal hell right now, but there were several scenes in this book where tears just poured out of my eyes; times when Lucy missed her husband, or wondered if she was doing the right thing. Ms. Higgins just wrote those scenes so, so sweetly. And when the gypsy gave Lucy the message...Oh! It took me a few pages but once I figured it out I wanted to reach into the book and make her see!!! This book took a few turns but I enjoyed reading it and the characters kept my interest; I read this book in a day.

The Next Best Thing was a great read! I really enjoyed it and give it 4.5 stars out of 5.

Fools Rush In by Kristan Higgins

After reading Too Good To Be True and Just One of the Guys, I was sooo ready to settle in for a good time with this book. Mmmm...Not so much.

This is the story of Millie Barnes, a new doctor who moves back to her hometown to live and work. Her plan is to snag the guy of her dreams - Joe Carpenter. She's crushed on him since 9th grade. In a stalker way. I will admit I was warned, the first words in the book are: "I'm a stalker. The good kind." (Is there a good kind of stalker? Really?)

While the writing was good and I liked the characters, I couldn't get past Millie's stalking. She knew when he went to the post office, she knew where he'd be working, she went to his house at 5am to be sure of what time he left for work so she could jog by when he'd be leaving. She got a dog so their dogs could play together. If this was a guy doing this to a girl it would not be okay. And her friends enabled her!

Eventually she did catch Joe's eye, and surprise, surprise, he wasn't what she thought he'd be. Gorgeous? Yes. But Joe the Person was nothing like Joe the Fantasy. I actually felt bad for Joe.

Millie's older sister, Trish, was just evil. I did like her brother-in-law (Trish's ex husband) Sam, and Trish and Sam's son, Danny. Eventually, as Millie realizes Joe's not what she thought, she realizes Sam is everything she thought Joe was. But she knows she can't fall for her sister's ex-husband, can she? Oh yeah - it's possible - and I will say the way Trish found out was totally unexpected!

I think I would have liked this story without the stalker bit. I liked Millie's friends, even if they did enable her weird obsession with Joe, and they were there for her when she really needed them. Just because I didn't care for this particular book won't stop me from reading more of Ms. Higgins' books - her writing is just that good.

Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins

This was the second book I've read by Ms. Higgins and I loved it! Chastity O'Neill (Chas) is a journalist who returns to her hometown to work at the local paper. She's got four older brothers and her dad who all work at the Fire Department. Then there's Trevor - her family "adopted" him after the death of his sister and his parent's subsequent failure to be there for him. Trevor is her brother's best friend and idolizes her father. Chas loves Trevor but can't do anything about it.

While doing a story on local heroes, she meets a doctor, Ryan. The way they meet - oh, man, I was wincing and laughing at the same time! They end up dating, and things move pretty fast. Meanwhile, Trevor's old flame, Hayden (Chas calls her Perfect Hayden) is coming back into the picture. Chas knows she needs to move on and get over Trevor and thinks even if Ryan isn't the man of her dreams at least he's there and he wants her.

While I loved Chas' story, there was a lot going on to love with the secondary characters too- her brother Mark and his wife (Chas' best friend) are separated and there's a lot going on there, her parents are divorced and her mother starts dating but her father is still in denial, someone is targeting Chas in weird ways (sabotoging the online paper, moving things on her desk).

I was rooting for Chas to have a HEA, and Ms. Higgins did not disappoint. Her internal monologues had me snickering all through the book, as well as her aversion to blood (she ends up taking an EMT class to try to get over it with mixed results). This one's a keeper for when I need a pick-me-up read!

Too Good to be True by Kristan Higgins

Awhile back I asked for contemporary recommendations. I got some great recommendations - this book was one of them, sort of. Christine recommended "anything by Kristan Higgins" and when I went to the bookstore this was the only title of hers they had. All I can say is...Wow!

This book was bittersweet but full of laugh out loud moments. I think the best way to tell you about this book is to give you a run-down of the main characters:

Grace Emerson - Cute, young history teacher, likes to perform at Civil War reinactments, teaches Dancing to the Oldies at the local old folks' home, spends time reading to the elderly who don't get visitors. Loves Project Runway. Is dating Wyatt Dunn, a pediatric surgeon she made up so her family wouldn't feel sorry for her because her sister is engaged to her ex-fiance.

Wyatt Dunn - Imaginary pediatric surgeon who rescues cats in his spare time; currently dating Grace Emerson.

Callahan O'Shea- Ex-con, moved into the house next door to Grace. When he couldn't find the keys to his house the night he went in, he went over to her house to ask to use the phone and she mistook him for a burgeler, slamming him in the head with a hockey stick. Seems to be a pretty decent guy, prison record notwithstanding. Grace and Callahan exchange some pretty fun dialogue about his past.

Julian - Grace's best friend; he's gay. Together they commiserate about the difficulties of finding a good man. Occasionally helps her fend off her overbearing family and watches Project Runway with Grace.

Natalie Emerson - Grace's younger sister. Grace and Natalie have always been close, more so since Natalie almost died while she was in college. Fell in love at first sight with Andrew, Grace's then-fiance but tried to ignore her feelings for Andrew. Has lots of guilt about it.

Andrew Carson - Grace's ex-fiance, currently engaged to Natalie.

Margaret Emerson (forget her married name)- Grace's older sister. Dry, biting wit. Is a lawyer, married to Stuart who teaches at the same school as Grace. Margaret is looking for some excitement in her marriage but doesn't think Stuart is up to it.

Meme- Grace's grandmother. Seriously mean old biddy. Delivers some pretty good lines. She has a scene with Callahan that had me laughing so hard people turned around to see what I was laughing at!

Angus McFangus - the cutest dog in a story ever! He was adorable!

I really liked this book. I felt like I was there with the characters and was disappointed when I got to the last page and there was no more book to read. There were several laugh-out-loud moments in this book, I will definitely be searching out more of Ms. Higgins' books. Thanks Christine!