kristan higgins

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.

What she and Connor have is perfect: friends with an excellent benefits package. So when he pops the question, 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 and finally a great career doing something other than waitressing. Besides, with her difficult past (and questionable reputation), she knows she's not wife material.

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 Jess, who's always seemed so sure of herself, has a few things left to learn of her own.

Millie Barnes is this close to finally achieving her perfect life…

Rewarding job as a local doctor on Cape Cod? Check. Cute cottage of her very own? Check. Adorable dog suitable for walks past attractive locals? Check! All she needs is for golden boy and former crush Joe Carpenter to notice her, and Millie will be set.

But perfection isn't as easy as it looks–especially when Sam Nickerson, a local policeman, is so distracting. He is definitely not part of her master plan. But maybe it's time for Millie to start a new list.

The drama, hilarity and tears of sisterhood are at the heart of the thoroughly captivating new novel by New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins — a funny, frank and bittersweet look at marriage, forgiveness and moving on.

Letting go of her ex-husband is harder than wedding-dress designer Jenny Tate expected…especially since his new wife wants to be Jenny's new best friend. Sensing this isn't exactly helping her achieve closure, Jenny trades the Manhattan skyline for her hometown up the Hudson, where she'll start her own business and bask in her sister Rachel's picture-perfect family life…and maybe even find a little romance of her own with Leo, her downstairs neighbour, a guy who's utterly irresistible and annoyingly distant at the same time.

Rachel's idyllic marriage, however, is imploding after she discovers her husband sexting with a colleague. She always thought she'd walk away in this situation, but her triplet daughters have her reconsidering her stance on adultery, much to Jenny's surprise. Rachel points to their parents' perfect marriage as a shining example of patience and forgiveness; but to protect her sister, Jenny may have to tarnish that memory — and their relationship — and reveal a family secret she's been keeping since childhood.
Both Rachel and Jenny will have to come to terms with the past and the present, and find a way to get what they want most of all.

A funny, frank and bittersweet look at what we think we know, what we think we want and what we
truly deserve.

"Romance superstar Kristan Higgins makes a brilliant crossover into women's fiction. The kind of book I enjoy the most—sparkling characters, fast-moving plot and laugh-out-loud dialogue. A winner!"  — Susan Elizabeth Phillips, New York Times bestselling author

“This emotional journey of two sisters is filled with drama, laughter and tears and squeezes the heart. It should be on every bedside table in the country!”  — Robyn Carr, No.1 New York Times bestselling author

Romance star Higgins shifts smoothly and poignantly into women's fiction with this emotionally compelling story, and she brings her ability to create affecting heroines to this new genre. With a secondary cast of characters who buoy an already perceptive study of love, marriage, sisterhood, and loyalty, Higgins delivers. A powerful, emotionally textured winner. — Kirkus Review

Everyone loves Jack Holland, but Emmaline Neal needs him.

Her ex-fiancé is getting married in Malibu and, obviously, she can't go to the wedding alone. In Manningsport, New York, tall, blond and gorgeous Jack Holland is practically a cottage industry when it comes to rescuing desperate women. He knows the drill, Em figures, so he won't get the wrong idea. 

What Jack needs is an excuse to leave town. Ever since rescuing four teenagers from a car wreck, he's been hailed as a hero and the attention is making him itchy, especially since his too-pretty ex-wife is back, angling for a reunion. He's always liked Emmaline. She needs a weekend date? No problem. 

So when they wind up in bed together, Em chalks it up to red wine and chocolate cake, just one impulsive night not to be repeated. But Jack's pushing for more, and if she lets down her guard, either she'll get her heart crushed again, or discover that Jack's worth more than just dreaming about.

"[Higgins] only gets better with each book." — New York Times Book Review

"Romance star Higgins continues the Blue Heron series with her signature combination of wit, humour and soul-jarring emotional depth." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Being one of the guys isn't all it's cracked up to be...So when journalist Chastity O'Neill returns to her hometown, she decides it's time to start working on some of those feminine wiles. Two tiny problems: #1--she's five feet eleven inches of rock-solid girl power, and #2--she's cursed with four alpha male older brothers.

While doing a story on local heroes, she meets a hunky doctor and things start to look up. Now there's only one problem: Trevor Meade, her first love and the one man she's never quite gotten over--although he seems to have gotten over her just fine.

Yet the more time she spends with Dr. Perfect, the better Trevor looks. But even with the in-your-face competition, the irresistible Trevor just can't seem to see Chastity as anything more than just one of the guys....

From the hilarious and heartwarming New York Times bestselling author of If You Only Knew, On Second Thought and Now That You Mention It comes a story about that moment when you realise you actually don't have life and love all figured out...

Divorce attorney Harper James can't catch a break. It's bad enough that she runs into her ex-husband 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 new 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 only they can get it right this time, forever might be waiting – just around the bend.

New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins welcomes you home in a funny, emotionally charged must–read novel about the complications of life, love and family. 

One step forward. Two steps back. The Tufts scholarship that put Nora Stuart on the path to becoming a Boston medical specialist was a step forward. Being hit by a car and then overhearing her boyfriend hit on another doctor when she thought she was dying? Two major steps back.

Injured in more ways than one, Nora feels her carefully built life cracking at the edges. There's only one place to land: home. But the tiny Maine community she left fifteen years ago doesn't necessarily want her. At every turn, someone holds the prodigal daughter of Scupper Island responsible for small–town drama and big–time disappointments.

With a tough islander mother who's always been distant and a wild–child sister in jail, unable to raise her daughter – a withdrawn teen as eager to ditch the island as Nora once was – Nora has her work cut out for her if she's going to take what might be her last chance to mend the family.

But as some relationships crumble around her, others unexpectedly strengthen. Balancing loss and opportunity, a dark event from her past with hope for the future, Nora will discover that tackling old pain makes room for promise…and the chance to begin again.

Following in the footsteps of her critically acclaimed novel, If You Only Knew, multi–bestselling author Kristan Higgins returns with a pitch–perfect look at the affection–and the acrimony–that binds sisters together.

Ainsley O'Leary is so ready to get married–she's even found the engagement ring her boyfriend has stashed away. What she doesn't anticipate is for Eric to blindside her with a tactless break–up he chronicles in a blog…which (of course) goes viral. Devastated and humiliated, Ainsley turns to her half–sister, Kate, who's already struggling after the sudden loss of her new husband.

Kate has always been so poised, so self–assured, but Nathan's death shatters everything she thought she knew–including her husband–and that sometimes the people who step up aren't the ones you expect. With seven years and a murky blended family dynamic between them, Ainsley and Kate have never been overly close, but their shared sorrow dovetails their faltering worlds into one.

Despite the lifetime of history between them, the sisters must learn to put their differences aside, open their hearts to the inevitable imperfection of family–and the possibility of one day finding love again.

Lucy Lang isn't looking for fireworks...

She's looking for a nice, decent man. Someone who'll mow the lawn, flip chicken on the barbecue, 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?

Posey Osterhagen can't complain. She owns a successful architectural salvaging company, she's surrounded by her lovable, 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?

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, NY, 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 experience again, thanks. Since then, she's been happy with a fling here and there, some Olympic–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 defences. 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.

"Higgins [offers] strong storytelling and a refreshing, sarcastic edge...thoroughly entertaining." – People magazine