Kristan Higgins--The Next Best Thing

Publication Date: February 1, 2010
Pages: 392
My Rating:




Book Summary from Goodreads:
She's looking for a nice, decent man. Someone who'll mow the lawn, flip chicken on the barbeque, teach their future children to play soccer. But most important... someone who won't inspire the slightest stirring in her heart...or anywhere else. A young widow, Lucy can't risk that kind of loss again. But sharing her life with a cat named Fat Mikey and the Black Widows at the family bakery isn't enough either. So it's goodbye to Ethan, her hot but entirely inappropriate "friend with privileges" and hello to a man she can marry. 
Too bad Ethan Mirabelli isn't going anywhere. As far as he's concerned, what she needs might be right under her nose. But can he convince her that the next best thing can really be forever?

My Thoughts:
I may have just had a hard time reading this book due to the fact the hunky male characters name was Ethan, and my 6 year old sons name is Ethan. I didn't feel the chemistry between the two characters, which could be simply because of the name. Who knows.

I loved the little group of ladies called the Black Widows. They were a kooky bunch of women who I would love to visit and be highly entertained by. I had a hard time with this book relating to Lucy. I had a hard time believing that six years after her husbands death, she would still need to watch her wedding video every night. She was a big whiner. She was very emotional which made it hard to read and relate to her.  Her sister Corrine made me want to bop her over the head and I was kind of glad that near the end of the book, that character did not appear quite as much.

Over all, it was a very cute love story. Kristan Higgins always puts a funny story line that usually someone involves a sister marring her sisters ex, or in this case, being in love with your brother in law.  Her scenarios are always something you think would never happen in a million years. However in a Kristan Higgins book, they always happen.

If you are a fan of hers, I recommend it as a read. If its going to be your first book by her, I would say skip it. Look for Too Good To Be True for a first book by her.