Title: Now That You Mention It
Author: Kristan Higgins
Narrator: Xe Sands
Published: December 2017, Recorded Books / HQN
Length: 11 hours 6 minutes / 384 pages
Source: Audio – Personal copy via Audible / Print – ARC Paperback via Publisher
Summary:
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jail, unable to raise her daughter–a withdrawn teen as eager to ditch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.
My thoughts: I adore Kristan Higgins and her books and so it’s a no-brainer when I was approached to review this book for my blog. Of course I said yes. Kristan has this unique way of blending a good story with her trademark humor…there’s the serious side and there’s there’s good old funny, too!
I think what I love most about Kristan Higgins’ books are that she creates the most endearing characters. In this case, I loved Nora. Right from the start, I was enamored with her – how could you not be? A quirky doctor who loved Harry Potter, what’s not to love? She has lived a life that would make anyone else want to stay in bed with the covers pulled over their heads, but not Nora…she always seems to find the positive in everything. And she doesn’t give up on anyone…even if others seem to have given up on her. She keeps trying until she finally breaks down those walls.
But it’s not only Nora that I loved. The secondary characters are also endearing in their own way. They each have their own quirks and charms that make them just as lovable and relatable as Nora. They all seem to jump off the page – that’s how well-developed and real they are. And let’s not forget Kristan’s trademark – the pets. I loved the dog of all dogs, Boomer. A dog person myself, this dog seems like the best dog in the world, not that I am at all surprised when it comes to Kristan’s imagination! And then there’s Tweety, the bird. Oh Tweety, how he did provide some comic relief!
This book has all the feels. It will make you undoubtedly laugh – there are so many laugh out loud moments! – but, it will also have you reaching for a tissue a time or two. It is so well-balanced that you are never feeling one emotion for too long without it being lead to the other end. That is what I love about these books – the easy way that Kristan has of keeping it from getting too heavy or too light-hearted.
I know when I pick up a Kristan Higgins book, I am going to get a good story. I am going to be entertained, I am going to laugh and I might even shed a tear or two – and that’s a good thing.
Audio thoughts: There are just some things that go together and one of those things is definitely a Kristan Higgins book and Xe Sands narrating it – she just gets her books…the characters and the story line and all the nuances that go along with it. Xe has this way with her voice that you can feel the emotion just dripping off it, the laughter and the sadness, the comedy and the drama. It’s the perfect combination and so I just knew when I saw that Xe was narrating this book that I had to listen to it and what a treat it was – this was such a fun book to listen to – the characters came alive and the story was all the more vivid for it.
Giveaway:
HQN Books is giving away a prize pack! Enter below…Giveaway ends February 9, 2018.
Thank you for hosting this terrific giveaway, Kristin! I will add it to my blog's sidebar. It sounds like you relished this audio book.