Anything for You by Kristan Higgins (Blue Heron #5) @Kristan_Higgins #review #ARC #Giveaway #TopTastyRead #Favorite Author

ANYTHING FOR YOU
Blue Heron #5
Kristan Higgins
Releasing Dec 29th, 2015
Harlequin 
Goodreads
Amazon | B&N | iTunes
Review by Lisa

About the Book

Before you get down on bended knee… 

…you should be pretty darn sure the answer will be yes. For ten years, Connor O'Rourke has been waiting for Jessica Dunn to take their on-again, off-again relationship public, and he thinks the time has come. His restaurant is thriving, she's got her dream job at Blue Heron Vineyard—it's the perfect time to get married. 

When he pops the question, however, her answer is a fond but firm no. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Jess has her hands full with her younger brother, who's now living with her full-time, and a great career after years of waitressing. What she and Connor have is perfect: friends with an excellent benefits package. Besides, with her difficult past (and reputation), she's positive married life isn't for her. 

But this time, Connor says it's all or nothing. If she doesn't want to marry him, he'll find someone who does. Easier said than done, given that he's never loved anyone but her. And maybe Jessica isn't quite as sure as she thinks…

Kristan Higgins has the recipe to whip up the perfect romance every time!  With sparkling dialogue and heartfelt emotion, ANYTHING FOR YOU is a winner all around.

Higgins takes on Connor O'Rourke and Jess Dunn this time, and she is giving no mercy.  On again-Off again is all Connor and Jess will ever be, well, if Jess has her way. Connor has never pushed the issue because pushing might mean losing her forever, and he isn't ready for that to happen.  Until she says "No", and Connor realizes it might be time to push or move on.  

As a fan of Higgins for a long time, and a huge fan of the Blue Heron series, it was so much fun getting into the heads to two of the series most beloved secondary characters, Connor and Jess.  Jess, had a rough go, but has made the best of what she was given, worked hard and maybe, just maybe, thought she could have something special that was all her own (Connor).  And Connor, my favorite O'Rourke brother, always great for some comedic relief (The Perfect Match) and to play the loving big brother (Waiting on You).  

I think it was Connor that stole my heart from the first page of ANYTHING FOR YOU.  Not that I didn't relate and feel for Jess, but Connor, yes he could be a dolt sometimes, but he just loved her so much, and I literally was crying at the end of this book.  Higgins couldn't have written a better ending.  ANYTHING FOR YOU has humor, so much heart and a fantastic couple that you find yourself cheering for out loud!  I never want the Blue Heron series to end!

If you have never ever read a Kristan Higgins romance...where the heck have you been?...then don't just pick up ANYTHING FOR YOU, you need to pick up this one, and the first four in the Blue Heron series (cause I have seriously done a re-read like twice in the last two months), and then go back and purchase ALL the rest of her backlist (starting with JUST ONE OF THE GUYS....oh the tears), and then you can join the millions of Higgins-a-holics who wait in hope for the next release to arrive!

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Kristan Higgins is the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of more than a dozen novels and a two-time winner of the Romance Writers of America RITA Award. Her books have been translated into more than twenty languages and received numerous starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, Kirkus and Romantic Times. She is a four-time nominee for The Kirkus Prize for best work of fiction.

Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, National Public Radio, Library Journal, iBooks and Amazon have named Kristan's books to their best books of the year numerous times. The author is a popular speaker at schools, writers conferences, bookstores and book festivals.

Before she was a writer, Kristan worked in advertising and public relations. She waited tables and nannied while in high school and college, cleaned houses as a young mother, and is the proud descendant of a laundress and a butcher.

The author loves animals, children (even teenagers), the New York Yankees and dessert.

Along with her heroic and tolerant firefighter husband and two snarky and entertaining children, Kristan lives in her hometown in Connecticut.

           

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Q&A with The Always Amazing Kristan Higgins #NewRelease #Giveaway #Recipe @kristan_Higgins @sarahburningham

A Tasty Read chats with Kristan Higgins

 So, for any of my readers that have been with me from the beginning, you MUST know by now that I am a HUGE Kristan Higgins Fan...Yes, I have met her and acted like a teeny-bopper at an N'CYNC concert, but I squeeled on the inside!  And I might have asked her to adopt me a few times, but all in fun...haha!  In all seriousness, I one day hope to be as talented and as fantastic of a person as she is, and I am HONORED to have her stopping by for a little chat about her New Release, Blue Heron Book Four, IN YOUR DREAMS. (You can read my review here.)

A Tasty Read: So, since IN YOUR DREAMS is Book Four in the Blue Heron Series, which revolves around the Crazy Holland Family, I have to ask, are the Hollands based on a Family you know, or your family?

Kristan Higgins: A little bit! The grandparents, Goggy and Pops, bear some resemblance to my own maternal grandparents in the way they both bicker and love each other, and how hard they still work. There are some familiar sister dynamics between Honor and Faith that might (just might) resemble those between my sister and me. And I have a brother who’d rather drive his car into the frigid Bering Sea than hear about any feminine problems, so he and Jack have that in common.

ATR: When you first began the Blue Heron Series, did you know that you would eventually use Emmaline as a main character, or for Jack's love interest, or was that something that came to you later on?

KH: No! Em came as a surprise to me. When I first started the series, I only knew I’d write about Jack eventually. I thought about Colleen, but that seemed too easy. So when it came time to write his book, I took a look around town, so to speak, and all of a sudden, there was Emmaline, who works as a cop with Levi, Jack’s brother-in-law. And I just knew she was the one. Funny, how that happens sometimes. I didn’t know too much about her, other than she gives Levi a hard time, but the second she was in my brain, she started taking on this great personality.

ATR: Kevin...UGH...Where did his part of the storyline stem from?  Were you reading "Amazing Weight Loss" issue of People?

KH: Watching The Biggest Loser, actually! Body image is such an issue with women, but I wanted to tackle it with a male character, too. Kevin and Emmaline meet in 8^th grade, both outcasts in a tough crowd of over-indulged, wealthy kids. Em has a profound stutter; Kevin is overweight. I guess I wanted to show that men struggle with body image just as much as women. In fact, Em’s the one with healthy self-esteem, until Kevin becomes obsessed with weight and food. He was a character I loved to hate…and yet I ached for him, too. There’s a scene when he admits how much he hates being overweight, and it was heartbreaking!

I do love stories of people who’ve gone from morbidly obese to healthy and so admire what they’ve had to do to get there. But I’ve also wondered about these people who’ve hidden behind weight. What are they like without that shield? In Kevin’s case, while he became more and more attractive and fit, he also became meaner. I think he’s a great character because he’s complicated, and kind of fun to hate.

ATR: My one question that I am wondering, as I do a re-read of JUST ONE OF THE GUYS and CATCH OF THE DAY, do you ever look back and wish that you had written the heroes POV as well?

KH: Nah! I think both of those stories would’ve been weaker if we’d known what was going on in the heroes’ heads. In CATCH OF THE DAY, half of Malone’s appeal is that he’s a mystery; if we get inside his head, he’s not anymore. The same is true with Trevor. If the reader knows how he feels all along, it would certainly take a lot of bang out of certain scenes.

I love writing first person books for just that reason. In real life, we don’t get a window into someone else’s brain. Reading a first person story is incredibly intimate for that reason; it’s like we become that person. But I also love writing from the male perspective, because the dichotomy between a guy’s take on what happened vs. a woman’s take can be so funny and surprising. Jack, for example, says to Emmaline at one point: “I also like you.” A very simple statement (if you’re a guy). But when Em hears that, she has a little mental freak-out. What does that mean? He likes her, sure, but how? For how long? Why? Like as in buddy, or like-love? Like with a potential for love, or just like-lust? And there’s Jack, just cooking dinner, oblivious that “I like you” can be such a complicated statement.

ATR: Are you allowed to share what you are working on now?  Is it another Blue Heron Series Romance or a Stand Alone?

KH: I just finished a book is called IF YOU ONLY KNEW, and it’s a stand-alone women’s fiction book about two sisters. Jenny, a wedding dress designer constantly faced with happy brides, is stuck on her ex-husband, who just had a baby with his perfect and wretchedly likable new wife; Rachel, a stay-at-home mother of triplet toddlers, has just found out her husband is cheating on her. The book was incredibly fun to write and has a really lovely romance in it. It will be released as a trade paperback.

There will also be another Blue Heron book, which I’m working on right now. Connor O’Rourke shouldn’t stay single, don’t you agree?

KH: Thanks for having me, Tasty Reads! It’s been wicked fun!

ATR: Kristan, it's such a pleasure and you are welcome back ANYTIME!!

Recipe

ATR: Because this is A Tasty Read, can you share a favorite recipe, maybe one of your Grandmother's Delicious Desserts!

KH: Well, since chocolate cake plays an important role in this story, here’s Gram’s Hershey Bar Cake!

1 7-ounce Hershey bar (milk chocolate, no nuts) broken into pieces

¼ cup butter

1 ²/₃ cups boiling water

2 ¹/₃ cups unsifted flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups light brown sugar

Combine chocolate, butter and boiling water in medium bowl; stir till smooth. In large bowl, combine flour, soda and salt, Gradually add chocolate mixture, beating well. Blend in eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Beat till smooth, for about a minute. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Perfect Chocolate Frosting (Hershey’s recipe)

1 stick butter

²/₃ cup Hershey’s cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

¹/₃  cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.

Want to Win a Print copy of IN YOUR DREAMS (US ONLY)

Answer Kristan's Question and Comment with Valid Email Address

Jack and Emmaline take a midwinter trip to beautiful Malibu, California. If you could go away for a long weekend in the dead of winter, where would you go?

Places to Find Kristan:

http://www.kristanhiggins.com/

https://twitter.com/Kristan_Higgins 

https://www.facebook.com/KristanHigginsBooks 

IN YOUR DREAMS by Kristan Higgins (Blue Heron #4) #Review #Giveaway #NewRelease @Kristan_Higgins

IN YOUR DREAMS

Blue Heron #4

Kristan Higgins

Releasing September 30th, 2014

HQN

Emmaline Neal needs a date. Just a date—someone to help her get through her ex-fiancé's wedding without losing her mind. But pickings are slim in Manningsport, New York, population 715. In fact, there's really only one option: local heartthrob Jack Holland. Everyone loves Jack, and he won't get the wrong idea…. After all, Jack Holland would never actually be interested in a woman like Em. Especially not with his beautiful ex-wife creeping around, angling to reunite ever since he rescued a group of teens and became a local hero.

But when the wedding festivities take an unexpectedly passionate turn, Em figures it was just one crazy night. Jack is too gorgeous, too popular, to ever end up with her. So why is she the one he can talk to about his deep, dark feelings? If Em is going to get her dream man, she'll have to start by believing in him…

AMAZON  |  B&N  |  iTUNES  |  BAM

Ok...YES...I wanted to punch one of the secondary characters in the face repeatedly...BUT...I have to say, IN YOUR DREAMS just solidified that for me, Kristan Higgins is in a league of her own. Now, that is said not to put other amazing authors down..but it is just something about the magic of her talent, the writing, the plots, the humor, the emotion, the world building, the Special Something that is Kristan Higgins, and it just can't be duplicated.

For those who are HUGE Higgins fans like me, well, you might find that IN YOUR DREAMS has that feel of JUST ONE OF THE GUYS, which is my all-time favorite from Higgins, and maybe cause it was my first, but I just had that same little feeling when reading IN YOUR DREAMS, as I get when I pick up JUST ONE OF THE GUYS.

For those who have never read a Kristan Higgins romance, I will tell you that you are MISSING OUT on Magic! From CATCH OF THE DAY, to SOMEBODY TO LOVE, to UNTIL THERE WAS YOU to MY ONE AND ONLY...See I can't even write this without my chest squeezing in emotion...I swear I can't get through a Higgins Romance without the waterworks...they are just that "Special".

So..On to IN YOUR DREAMS...well...we meet the lovely Emmaline in THE BEST MAN (also AMAZING), who we get to know as a little snarky, no-nonsense kinda lady and that just continues through to IN YOUR DREAMS, and Jack Holland...OH MY...If you weren't already half in love with him already...well...just wait...cause Jack and Emmaline just made my heart feel so so good! Great Guy All Around Jack, and Emmaline, the Hockey Playing Cop are not to be missed. With "Crazy" Ex's (OMG...Yes...You will want to STRANGLE them both), the fun as EVER Holland Clan, and an "Underwear" scene that had me laughing almost as much as when Chaz's pup goes on a joy-run in men's tightie-whities!

I laughed, I cried, my heart squeezed, my chest clenched, and I simply ADORED, IN YOUR DREAMS!!!

(Click the Button above to Enter to Win PRINT Copy)

I started writing romance novels when my kids were little. I’d always been a writer of some type—public relations, advertising, research—but wanted to stay home with the bunnies. I’d been reading romance novels ever since I swiped Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss from my grandmother’s night table. “Higgins,” I said to myself, “I bet you could write one of these.” And so I sat down every afternoon when the kids were napping, took my lifelong love of romance novels and tried to make a career out of it. We’ve been living happily ever after since.

I live in my hometown, a small, pretty place in Connecticut where there’s a beautiful library and a wicked good ice cream stand. I’m the mom of two lovely children who have very long eyelashes and excellent vocabularies, the wife of a heroic and brave firefighter and the willing love-slave to a naughty mutt named Willow. Our cat, Huck, occasionally deigns to sit on my lap, especially when I'm typing.

I love to write books about relationships, since the search for love and security is one of the driving forces of life. My characters are regular people, folks like us, and I hope to give them a big, memorable love story rich with family, pets, food and laughter. When I’m not writing, I like to be with my kids, goof around with my husband, read, watch baseball, ride my bike and bake. I suffer from chronic bedhead and an unhealthy (and completely understandable) obsession with Derek Jeter, shortstop for the New York Yankees. We spend as much time as possible at our family home on Cape Cod, swimming in the Atlantic, shivering on the beach, swatting horseflies and watching fish evade my lure at Higgins Pond. It’s as close to heaven as it gets.

WEBSITE  |  FACEBOOK  |  TWITTER  |  GOODREADS

New Release WAITING ON YOU (Blue Heron #3) by Kristan Higgins #review #print #giveaway #NewRelease

WAITING ON YOU

Blue Heron Series #3

Kristan Higgins

Released March 25th, 2014

HQN, 464 Pages

BUY NOW

Amazon / B&N

Does being nobody's fool mean that you're nobody's love?

Colleen O'Rourke is in love with love... just not when it comes to herself. Most nights, she can be found behind the bar at the Manningsport, New York, tavern she owns with her twin brother, doling out romantic advice to the lovelorn, mixing martinis and staying more or less happily single. See, ten years ago, Lucas Campbell, her first love, broke her heart... an experience Colleen doesn't want to have again, thanks. Since then, she's been happy with a fling here and there, some elite-level flirting and playing matchmaker to her friends.

But a family emergency has brought Lucas back to town, handsome as ever and still the only man who's ever been able to crack her defenses. Seems like maybe they've got some unfinished business waiting for them—but to find out, Colleen has to let her guard down, or risk losing a second chance with the only man she's ever loved.

~~~~~

Ok....Another FABULOUS Romance by Kristan Higgins, I think next to THE BEST MAN, WAITING ON YOU has to be the funniest yet! Yet, she never loses the heart ripping emotion that you can expect with a K. Higgins romance. The ups and downs, the laughs and the tears are all a part of the journey, and I would GLADLY take it again and again.

The relationship between Colleen and Lucas is everything I love about a Great Romance.  The love between these two was REAL and neither was able to let it go after being apart for so many years.  I tell ya, Kristan Higgins knows how to make me bawl my eyes out (not as much as with MY ONE AND ONLY, cause that one just tore me apart), but she gets to the space in your heart and literally guts you, putting you in the heroine's shoes...That's talent right there.

And like I mentioned above, WAITING ON YOU might take the cake for the funniest Higgins' romance yet...I know...It might be funnier then the "Dog in Underwear" scene from JUST ONE OF THE GUYS, and I think it even might beat out THE BEST MAN (The one-liners are just unbeatable, but over-all scene, WAITING ON YOU might take the cake with the "Single Painting Class").  I literally laughed for I kid you not, half hour.  

If you haven't read the rest of the series, I recommend you start with THE BEST MAN, which I voted Best Contemporary Romance of 2013 (hands down), and then you need to read THE PERFECT MATCH (cause Tom...oh my), and then WAITING ON YOU, which will have you feeling the high's and low's and everything in between.

Loved it!!  Kristan Higgins...keep em coming...I just can't get ENOUGH!!

~~~~~

About Kristan Higgins

I started writing romance novels when my kids were little. I’d always been a writer of some type—public relations, advertising, research—but wanted to stay home with the bunnies. I’d been reading romance novels ever since I swiped Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss from my grandmother’s night table. “Higgins,” I said to myself, “I bet you could write one of these.” And so I sat down every afternoon when the kids were napping, took my lifelong love of romance novels and tried to make a career out of it. We’ve been living happily ever after since.

I live in my hometown, a small, pretty place in Connecticut where there’s a beautiful library and a wicked good ice cream stand. I’m the mom of two lovely children who have very long eyelashes and excellent vocabularies, the wife of a heroic and brave firefighter and the willing love-slave to a naughty mutt named Willow. Our cat, Huck, occasionally deigns to sit on my lap, especially when I'm typing.

I love to write books about relationships, since the search for love and security is one of the driving forces of life. My characters are regular people, folks like us, and I hope to give them a big, memorable love story rich with family, pets, food and laughter. When I’m not writing, I like to be with my kids, goof around with my husband, read, watch baseball, ride my bike and bake. I suffer from chronic bedhead and an unhealthy (and completely understandable) obsession with Derek Jeter, shortstop for the New York Yankees. We spend as much time as possible at our family home on Cape Cod, swimming in the Atlantic, shivering on the beach, swatting horseflies and watching fish evade my lure at Higgins Pond. It’s as close to heaven as it gets.

Find Her Here

http://www.kristanhiggins.com/index.html

https://www.facebook.com/KristanHigginsBooks

https://twitter.com/Kristan_Higgins

~~~~~

Want to win a Paperback Copy of 

WAITING ON YOU?

Leave a comment below sharing with me your

FAVORITE Kristan Higgins Romance and Why.

(US Resident's ONLY, Winner announced March 30th)


*Congrats to Pat. L, winner of Paperback of WAITING ON YOU*

THE BEST MAN LUCKY DAY GIVEAWAY

Happy St. Paddy's Day,

Here is a Lucky Day Giveaway

Win a copy of THE BEST MAN,

All you have to do is become a "FAN"

 

 

 

 

 



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Best Higgins Heroine YET...

The Best Man
Blue Heron #1
Kristan Higgins
Releasing Feb 26th, 2013
432 Pages
HQN Publishing
Source: NetGalley/Edelweiss

I don't know...Definitely in the running for my Favorite Higgins Romance...LOVED THIS BOOK!

Blurb

Sometimes the best man is the one you least expect...

…Faith Holland left her hometown after being jilted at the altar. Now a little older and wiser, she's ready to return to the Blue Heron Winery, her family's vineyard, to confront the ghosts of her past, and maybe enjoy a glass of red. After all, there's some great scenery there….

Like Levi Cooper, the local police chief—and best friend of her former fiancé. There's a lot about Levi that Faith never noticed, and it's not just those deep green eyes. The only catch is she's having a hard time forgetting that he helped ruin her wedding all those years ago. If she can find a minute amidst all her family drama to stop and smell the rosé, she just might find a reason to stay at Blue Heron, and finish that walk down the aisle.

And those abs...rippled and hypnotic and magically perfect.  Yes.  Levi Cooper was a sparkly unicorn of wonder.
 

No...it doesn't get any better than that...ok...actually THE BEST MAN had me cracking up four pages in...Again I say...this might just be my Favorite Higgins Romance yet!  And Faith Holland...as far as heroine's go...she ranks top on my list...She was just freakin hysterical... I loved everything about her from her snarky comebacks to her huge heart.  She just wanted to be able to show her face in town and not have everyone give her "that look"...yes that look...or one of those looks from Levi's Boredom Scale.  Levi Cooper...swoon... those arms, is it really legal to have arms like that?  haha!  The banter between these two was on the money, rolling on my ass funny with a twist of too much sexual tension...SO FREAKN FUNNY!

"You know what I wonder, Levi? Why are some people such hemorrhoids?  You ever wonder that?"

As you will get with all of Kristan Higgins' romances, we have an amazing cast of secondary characters who just MAKE THE STORY.  John, Goggy, Honor, Jack, Pru, Carl, Ned, Abby and Sarah.  The interactions between Faith and her family are sometimes laughable and sometimes they will break your heart.  Holding onto a secret for that long can be a huge strain on anyones shoulders, but poor Faith...more crap just piled on...Speaking of hiding secrets...

Oh Jeremy...what a ruckus you caused for Ms. Faith...but I forgive you...Princess Super-Cute finds her prince after all. 

Sex with a straight guy- definitely the way to go
 

But I think what might take the cake for me is the relationship between Faith's sister Pru and her husband Carl...I couldn't stop laughing every time she would mention the newest "request" from Carl...Poor Ned...There is just no un-reading a dirty text that wasn't meant for you!!

THE BEST MAN is Higgins at her BEST!!  Faith Holland absolutely steals your heart! As with every Higgins Romance, you will roll on the floor laughing, have yourself an "Ugly Cry" and then read it all over again.  I SIMPLY LOVE IT!!

If you can only purchase ONE book in 2013...this is it!! 

 

 

 

Kristan Higgins Talks Heroes and Heartache with a Tasty Giveaway

Today is BEYOND an exciting day for me...I have the AMAZINGLY TALENTED author, Kristan Higgins as my guest today and right now I am doing a bit of a HAPPY DANCE, Today is ALSO Release day of her Newest Romance, Somebody to Love.  If you have NEVER picked up a Kristan Higgins Romance then I believe we can't be friends anymore...ok...just kidding...but it is time to get started today. 

I am also hosting a GIVEAWAY for One Lucky Commenter to win SOMEBODY TO LOVE.  So PLEASE make sure to read the entire post and answer the GIVEAWAY QUESTION at the end with a Valid Email Address included.  I'll pick the winner tomorrow morning, and if you are NOT the winner, PLEASE purchase the book anyway.  Kristan is giving part of the first week proceeds to Save the Children.  So...It's for a GREAT cause!!!

A Tasty Read: Kristan, welcome to A Tasty Read...gush, gush, gush, wipe the drool, I'll contain the Fan Girl Screams in just a moment.

Kristan Higgins: Oh, let it all out! I love Fan Girl Screaming! Gush away—it never gets old.

A Tasty Read: Kristan, Firstly I just wanted to tell you that each time I have met you, you have been one of the nicest, sweetest, most gracious people I have ever met.  And so darn funny!  I know both times I met you, I was nervous and probably stuttered...A LOT.  Is it strange when fans gush over you, or when people recognize you while you are out?  Do you have any "Funny" Fan moments that come to mind?

Kristan: See, now we’re best friends, given all those nice things you’ve said. I generally am not recognized when I’m out, except at writer conferences or once in a while when I hand over my credit card, since Kristan Higgins is my real name. It’s always thrilling…the clerk might say, “Are you…a writer?” And I say, “Yes! I am! Seriously? You’ve heard of me? Kids! She’s heard of me! Mommy’s famous!”

I do have a funny fan moment—a woman came up to me at a signing once and just burst into tears, hands shaking (like me if I met Jeremy Renner), and I said, “What happened? Are you okay? Want me to call someone?” because you know, I figured her dog had died or something. But no, she was just a little overwhelmed. And being me, I said, “You’re crying because you met me? That is so great!” I still have a picture of us together.

Another time, a librarian chased me down a street at an American Library Association conference. I thought she was a mugger. That was exciting. I believe I offered her my wallet if I could keep the pictures of my kids.

A Tasty Read: Only you...I am cracking up over here.

OK...onto the important stuff...Trevor Meade...*swoon*.....Sorry....*wipes chin*. 

Since you are the Author of the book that features My Favorite Hero, (ok...he shares the spot with Luc "Lucky" Martineau from See Jane Score, but you are friends with Rachel, so I figure you won't mind) I wanted to ask you who your Favorite Hero is?

Kristan: Okay, first of all, I do mind! That Rachel! How dare she write such great books! (Luc…I love you!) Trevor…sigh! Any man who will carry you out of a burning building…so sexy.

Anyway, my favorite hero is usually the one I’m writing at the moment, the blush of first love and all that. When I was writing SOMEBODY TO LOVE, though, I got to revisit Malone from CATCH OF THE DAY—he makes an appearance—and I found him just as smokin’ delicious as ever.

A Tasty Read: Malone definitely has that...something.  Haha

Kristan, your books can have the reader cracking up laughing one minute and then bawling their eyes out a few pages later.  From Widowed Characters, to Loving from Afar, to Broken Families, Is there one particular book of yours that was the hardest to write emotionally? 

Kristan: Yes, and that’s an excellent question. The hardest book to write was, by far, THE NEXT BEST THING, because my heroine was a widow. I’d read a lot of books featuring a widow, and it seemed that the trend was to make the first husband nice, but not the love of her life…the new guy, he’s the love of her life. I wanted Lucy to lose the love of her life and try to get over that.

It was also hard because there are a lot of young widows in my family. My own mom was widowed young, and because McIrish, my sainted husband, is a firefighter, I’m always worried about losing him. One time, he came home from work half an hour later, and I was sitting there, typing and crying. He said, “What are you working on?” My answer: “Your eulogy.”

So yes, that book was hard, and it has a special place in my heart because of it. Of all my heroines, I think Lucy had the most to overcome, and that last scene, when she’s so brave…blerk! I’m tearing up just thinking about it.

A Tasty Read: Don't get me started now...I cried like a baby while reading My One and Only, and thought my heart would crush into a million pieces while reading Until There Was You.  What can I expect with your new release, Somebody to Love?  Is it true that we might see some old friends?

Kristan: So glad to have made you cry! I know, I’m cruel that way. I cry while writing these scenes, too, so it goes both ways…

SOMEBODY TO LOVE: Parker Welles is sitting pretty in life. She’s wealthy, she has her perfect son, she’s successful…and then she loses everything (except her kid). Dear old Dad gambles away her trust fund in an insider-trading scheme, and voila. Parker’s broke. No money, no job…just a decrepit little shack on the coast of Maine that’s her only hope of a nest egg. When her dad’s lawyer, whom Parker calls Thing One, shows up on the scene, she’s forced to accept his help, even though she hates that she has to. But maybe James has more going for him than being a slick lawyer, and maybe losing everything was the best thing that ever happened to Parker.

So yes, you’ll see a few familiar faces: though the book isn’t part of a series, Parker first made an appearance in THE NEXT BEST THING, and she goes to Gideon’s Cove, Maine, the setting of CATCH OF THE DAY. For readers of those books, I think it’ll be nice to see some of those characters, though the book is definitely a stand-alone.

A Tasty Read: I know they are stand-alones, but I think EVERYONE should experience The Next Best Thing and Catch of the Day ALSO...oh and Just One of the Guys, Until There Was You, My One and Only, Too Good to be True....I can go on and on....

What's next for Ms. Higgins?  Is it true that you are planning a series?

Kristan: Yes! I’m giving a series a try. McIrish and I went up to the Finger Lakes region of New York, and we fell madly in love with the area. One of the things I like best is writing the town where my books are set, and I thought it’d be nice to see a place again. SOMEBODY TO LOVE was my first attempt to revisit a place or character, and I loved doing it, so voila! A series. I’ll let you know how it goes.

A Tasty Read: I can't tell you what an HONOR it was to have you as a guest today.  You write some of the most amazing Romances and anyone who has not read your books has some major catching up to do.  I will try to contain the gushing from here.....

Kristan: Thank YOU! More gushing right back atcha.

Giveaway Question: Which Kristan Higgins Romance has made you cry like a baby??  And If you haven't read a Higgins Romance, what romance have you read that had you bawling like a baby? 

(Please include a valid email address.  U.S. Residents Only.  Giveaway will run until 7am on 4/25/12, Eastern Time)


Congratulations Candice Valdez, you have won the Somebody To Love Giveaway!!  I will be contacting you today for your information. 

A special Thank You to ALL of you who entered, I hope you will all come back to enter more Giveaway's!! 

About Kristan

I started writing romance novels when my kids were little. I’d always been a writer of some type—public relations, advertising, research—but wanted to stay home with the bunnies. I’d been reading romance novels ever since I swiped Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss from my grandmother’s night table. “Higgins,” I said to myself, “I bet you could write one of these.” And so I sat down every afternoon when the kids were napping, took my lifelong love of romance novels and tried to make a career out of it. We’ve been living happily ever after since.

A Book to LOVE

Somebody to Love
Kristan Higgins
Released April 24th, 2012
425 Pages
HQN Books
Source: NetGalley


I am going to put it out there up front and tell you that I AM A HUGE KRISTAN HIGGINS FAN, but I am using an unbiased opinion on this review.  It just so happens that I completely Fell In Love with Somebody To Love. 

I will disclose now that I think the ending of this book will go right up there with Just One of the Guys as one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE endings!!

Ok...now that we have that out of the way, let's move on to the review.  Not only was this book SO MUCH FUN because we get Parker, from The Next Best Thing, as our heroine, and who didn't LOVE her in that great read!  This time we get Parker, Ethan, Lucy and the crew, and we get our friends over in Gideons Cove, where we first met Maddie and Malone from, Catch of the Day.  I couldn't have had more fun seeing old friends again, and getting to know new ones...particularly our Hero, James Frances Xavier Cahill...I know....what a name!!

As in all of Kristan's books, we get a cast of CHARACTERS....they are funny, and loving, and kinda nutty, but the book just wouldn't be the same without them, and this book is NO DIFFERENT!!  I enjoyed every minute of Somebody to Love.  I loved the budding relationship between Parker and James, the hysterical commentary from the Holy Rollers and Spike..I mean, so funny!  And Beauty....OMG....had me bawling only 31% through the book....but that is to be expected when reading a Higgins Novel.

I completely adored Somebody to Love.  Kristan brings out the guns blazing on this one!  It was like attending a reunion with so many old friends....like coming home!  It was such a delight!  I would recommend Somebody to Love to EVERYONE, as I do with all of Kristan's books, but also because I just plain LOVED IT!!  Parker and James are a pair, it just takes them a little longer to figure it out!!

Please stop back tomorrow where Kristan will be stopping by to answer a few questions about her new release and some very special characters.

Blurb:

After her father loses the family fortune in an insider-trading scheme, single mom Parker Welles is faced with some hard decisions. First order of business: go to Gideon's Cove, Maine, to sell the only thing she now owns—a decrepit house in need of some serious flipping. When her father's wingman, James Cahill, asks to go with her, she's not thrilled -- …even if he is fairly gorgeous and knows his way around a toolbox.

Having to fend for herself financially for the first time in her life, Parker signs on as a florist's assistant and starts to find out who she really is. Maybe James isn't the glib lawyer she always thought he was. And maybe the house isn't the only thing that needs a little TLC….

Kristan is also donating parts of the proceeds of the FIRST WEEK of sales to Save the Children, so if you were planning on purchasing this book, Please do it now!!

http://www.amazon.com/Somebody-To-Love-Kristan-Higgins/dp/0373776586/ref=sr_1_1?
ie=UTF8&qid=1335181660&sr=8-1

 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/somebody-to-love-kristan-higgins/1106936650?ean=9780373776580