ARC Review: Always the Last to Know by Kristan Higgins

From the blurb:

The Frosts are a typical American family. Barb and John, married almost fifty years, are testy and bored with each other...who could blame them after all this time? At least they have their daughters-- Barb's favorite, the perfect, brilliant Juliet; and John's darling, the free-spirited Sadie. The girls themselves couldn't be more different, but at least they got along, more or less. It was fine. It was enough.

Until the day John had a stroke, and their house of cards came tumbling down.

Now Sadie has to put her career as a teacher and struggling artist in New York on hold to come back and care for her beloved dad--and face the love of her life, whose heart she broke, and who broke hers. Now Juliet has to wonder if people will notice that despite her perfect career as a successful architect, her perfect marriage to a charming Brit, and her two perfect daughters, she's spending an increasing amount of time in the closet having panic attacks.

And now Barb and John will finally have to face what's been going on in their marriage all along.

Heather's rating:





I'm a huge Kristan Higgins fan, and so I jumped at the chance to read Always the Last to Know. Though I've enjoyed other recent books from her more, I found Always the Last to Know extremely hard to put down.

What Kristan Higgins always does so well is make multi-faceted characters who are not simply likable/unlikable. I had mixed emotions about each character, and I found that the author treated each one with empathy and realism. I was riveted by the story, honestly, and found that it got better and better as it went along. It started off a bit slowly, but it picked up towards the end and became extremely engaging.



My one real sticking point is that I didn't like the switch from 1st to 3rd person between chapters. I found it to be pretty jarring, though I think the author did it to differentiate between the voices. Still, an odd choice. I also found the chapters from the father's perspective to be a bit too sentimental.

Overall, just as tight, well-edited, and interesting as I was expecting. Kristan Higgins is a pro and continues to show us why with each book.

Buy this book:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo

Enjoy, my friends!