Kristan Higgins

Corn oil and mixer beaters. Yep. If you don’t read this book for any other reason, read it to find out how corn oil and mixer beaters could possibly fit in to the story. And nope, no spoilers.

I had just started reading Life and Other Inconveniences when I had to stop and take a breath. Whoa, I thought. This is one intense book. I thought Kristan Higgins’ last book, the marvelous Good Luck with That, was hard hitting, but every character I met in Life and Other Inconveniences went show more straight to my heart. And if there was any question just how much Emma had been hurt by Genevieve, Emma’s comment, “Have a nice death.” sure answered that question.

Life and Other Inconveniences is brilliantly crafted, with a cast of unforgettable characters weaving in and out of Emma’s and Genevieve’s lives. And so many of them are truly awful people. Even if they do something redeeming later, what they have already done remains pretty unforgivable. So many lives affected, changed, stunted by past events and the actions of these terrible people. Sure, there may have been reasons, but still.

Emma, Genevieve Riley, Clark, Paul, Jason, Hope, Miller, Tess, Donelle, Helga, Jamilah– all of the characters, these named and many more, including Sheppard, the lost boy, are vividly portrayed and captivating. Emma’s life reads like a disaster checklist. Genevieve turned to ice when she couldn’t get past her grief. Miller had the fairy tale love story but now life seems like a soap opera tragedy. It goes on and on, everybody has a story and everything seems to be connected somehow. Some are survivors, some give up, some are lazy, some are just mean. But each and every one is fascinating with a story to tell. The setting and atmosphere are like additional characters. Genevieve’s house (house nothing, mansion!) called Sheerwater in Stoningham, Connecticut came to life.

Life and Other Inconveniences is fabulous, charming but tough, heartbreaking and uplifting. Excellent plot, great characters, satisfying ending. And as always when you are reading Kristan Higgins, have plenty of tissues handy. Some for wiping your eyes when you can’t stop laughing, and some for mopping your face when you can’t stop crying. Serious issues are addressed, but there’s a lot of joy and lots and lots and lots of love. Love all around.

You know when you are reading a book and you never want it to end? You realize there's a plot and a point to the story but it’s become a bit secondary in your mind because you don’t want to leave, you just want to spend forever with these people, walk through life with them? Well, welcome to Life and Other Inconveniences and the world of Kristan Higgins. Thanks to Goodreads for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review and thanks to KW for writing another winner. Remember Whoa when I started reading? At the end I took another and thought Double Whoa. I loved this book and recommend it without hesitation. show less

Three women. All at different stages in their lives, but all at the same point of finding themselves again.

Lark lost the love of her life at a young age. Ever since, she's dedicated her time, whether consciously or not, to honoring his memory. When her plans don't come to fruition and she's forced to pivot, she begins to find the possibility of something new exciting. And when a colleague asks Lark to pose as his girlfriend for an upcoming family wedding, Lark begins to think maybe it's show more time to start living her life again.

Joy has recently lost her brother. With years of struggling with her looks and worth, he was the only family she would claim. He was her best friend. Without him she's lost.

Ellie has seemingly lived the most perfect life with the perfect family, but a terrible secret threatens everyone and everything she's put her faith in over the years and makes her reassess her future.

I was a little surprised that Kristan Higgins was revisiting the Smith family after A Little Ray of Sunshine. I shouldn't have been since there are enough siblings to go around, but I certainly wasn't expecting it. Suffice it to say, it was a nice surprise to begin reading Look on the Bright Side when the realization hit that we were going to get Lark's story this time.

Lest you fear, Lark is the main focus of the book which I rather liked because, looking back, I felt like she was the most on-the-periphery Smith sibling. Seeing her front and center was a good change.

With that being said, however, I don't know that I felt like Joy and Ellie's sections were as fleshed out as Lark's. I think their journeys are completely valid and worthwhile, but I don't think they got the full attention they too deserved.

Regardless, I did really enjoy this read. I think what I liked the most is that the story took a few unexpected turns which kept me very engaged. There were moments where I thought I could guess where Kristan Higgins was headed, but then she would change things around and we would head in a different direction. I appreciated this more than I think I can articulate. It felt a lot like subverting the regular tropes we're all on the lookout for in our romances and utilizing them for a more contemporary story over romance.

For me, it wasn't readily apparent how much Lark had closed herself off until she begins "dating" Dr. Lorenzo Santini because she's sparring with him right out of the gate. I like the contrast between Lark and Lorenzo. For all that he was a very difficult person to deal with. He ended up bringing out this side of her that she hadn't maybe ever shown anyone or at least not for a long time. But also on the reverse of that you can see that he is lonely and he doesn't seem like a terrible person. He cares. He wants to do a good job. Yes, he's arrogant and he likes to flaunt his arrogancy and his achievements but he's not a bad person. As with many Kristan Higgins books, we get further context in the form of flashback chapters. It's there that we see everything Lark has been through and how she's built her life up to this point. I don't want to say too much because I really like the turn things take, but I appreciated that even though Lark has been grieving she still hasn't lost her spark.

And let me say, it would have been very easy for that spark to go out completely. This book, more than any others of Kristan Higgins' recent ones I'd say, was very heavy and heartbreaking. I was brought to tears a few times. It makes the idea of looking on the bright side more poignant I think. You can still grieve and wish things had turned out differently, but you can also keep moving forward.

Overall, like all of Kristan Higgins books, it was a very heartening read. One that I connected with emotionally and I appreciated the care she showed her characters. I hope there's room for another book in the Smith family as I'd be very interested in the other siblings getting their own stories told. show less

I’m sitting here at 3:57 am with tears running down my face trying to figure out what to put in my review to convey my feelings. For me, if a writer can bring me to true tears, it’s a sign of a fantastic book. I loved this book! It takes the reader through every gamut of emotion. I felt sympathy for the young girl (Emma) who lost her mother & then was dumped on a stern grandmother by her immature father. I admired the mother Emma became for for sticking to her principles instead of doing show more the “easy” thing. Genevieve is the one I couldn’t put a lock on. I admired her courage in going on after losing one son & her husband. I sympathized with her grief but yet was appalled by her treatment of Clark & Emma. These characters were all so well developed, it felt like I was living their story along with them. The descriptions & dialogue bring you right into the scenes with them. I had planned to start reading this book as soon as I received it but decided to hold off until the weekend. I wanted to be able to lose myself in it. Once I opened the cover, I didn’t put the book down until I was finished. I’ve read everything Ms. Higgins has published & this isn’t one of her typical romances but it’s so much more! I don’t feel that I’ve done this book justice but suffice it to say, I loved it & in a week or two will be rereading it to capture anything I missed the first time. show less

From the flap copy, I was a bit worried that this novel would read like stereotypical chick lit and be all fluff with no substance ... I'm so glad to have been so wrong! I loved this book. Told from different perspectives, the story came alive through well-crafted, distinct character voices. Higgins did a masterful job capturing the frustrations, neuroses, and niggling inner voices of real people -- I laughed out loud in multiple places, and felt my own anger and frustration mounting in show more others. Though a few plot 'twists' were a bit predictable, I was so engaged in the story that I didn't mind at all. Definitely a great summer read -- 4 stars. show less