If You Only Knew
By Kristan Higgins
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Eighteen months after her divorce from Dr. Owen Takahashi, a
plastic surgeon with a social conscience, Jenny Tate is leaving Manhattan where
she has enjoyed considerable success as a designer of wedding dresses to return
to her hometown, Cambry-on-Hudson. If she had any doubts that her decision to
open her own shop where she planned to sell custom-designed wedding gowns was
the right choice, they are erased when a baby shower for Owen’s new wife ends
with Jenny helping to deliver their baby in the apartment that Jenny once
shared with Owen. She needs some distance from the Takahashi family and her
role as best friend to her ex and Ana-Sofia, his perfect Peruvian mate. Her
shop, Bliss, a great new apartment, and the presence of her sister and nieces
in Cambry-on-Hudson are reasons enough to be excited about the move.
Unlike her sister, Rachel Carver’s ambitions never centered
on her career, although she enjoyed her work as a graphic designer at a company
that made computer games for kids. But Rachel’s dream was always to have a
husband, a home, and children. It took some time and in vitro fertilization
before the babies came, but now Adam and Rachel have triplet daughters whom
they both adore. But life with three preschoolers is demanding and exhausting,
so exhausting that Rachel even fell asleep once during sex. Still, she is happy
with her life and in love with her husband. When she discovers a sexually
explicit photo on her husband’s phone, she buries her questions and accepts his
explanation. When she learns later that Adam is engaged in an affair with a
colleague, she is hurt and angry.
When a penitent Adam begs for a second chance, Rachel, after
considering their years together and Adam’s strengths as a father and provider,
agrees to reconcile. But trust once broken is not so easily restored, and
Adam’s promises prove to have little substance. While Rachel is examining her
choices, uncertain about what is best for her and her children, Jenny is
finding joy in a relationship with her sometimes surly, always studly, and
definitely mysterious landlord, Leo Killian. But Leo has a full load of
baggage, and he is far from ready for the kind of commitment Jenny wants. As
both sisters deal with the emotional stress of conflicted relationships and weigh
the costs of their choices, they offer one another love and support, emotional
and practical.
In this book, Higgins departs from her usual contemporary
romances to give her readers a women’s fiction tale that is as much about the
personal journeys of Jenny and Rachel and the bond of sisterhood that unites
them as it is about their relationships with the men in their lives. The change
in genres does not mean that the qualities Higgins fans love in her books are
missing. There is humor here, some great dialog, mother issues and family
secrets, and, of course, a loveable dog, but there is also heartbreak, anxiety,
and real poignancy.
Quirky Jenny is the kind of character I expect a Higgins
heroine to be, and I liked her from the beginning, even when her behavior made me
shake my head. I found Rachel less likeable, but to be honest, this may well
have been because her story was too close to some family matters about which I
have strong opinions. Leo is wounded and in hiding from himself and from life.
I found him sympathetic and interesting. Even Adam is more than a
one-dimensional jerk, and several other secondary characters add texture and
complexity to the story.
If you like Kristan Higgins and women’s fiction, I think you
will find this novel well worth reading. Higgins provides a layered treatment
of marriage, infidelity, and divorce that includes a look, sometimes probing
and sometimes glancing, at half a dozen different relationships. Do be warned,
however, that the ending is not the rosy-epilogue, fairy tale finish that some
romance readers demand. I won’t be
surprised if Higgins joins authors like Robyn Carr and Susan Mallery in
producing a women’s fiction novel periodically along with her contemporary
romances. She has proven she has the skills to do it. With that said, I admit that I will never be
as excited about a woman’s fiction novel as I am about the next Blue Heron book
that will be published in January 2016. (Connor’s story—yay!)
I am anxiously awaiting my pre-ordered copy which is supposed to come tomorrow. I agree with your observations completely. I think KH definitely has the skill to add women's fiction into the mix. And yes, there will be people who will miss the HEA. I would have, if I didn't know not to expect it. I, too, love a good romance. Thanks for the review, Janga.
ReplyDeleteLove this author; looking f'd to this book.
ReplyDeleteladbookfan
can't wait to read
ReplyDeleteYou can never go wrong with her stories - thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review, Janga! I saw this pop up in my email and was wondering if it was connected to the Blue Heron books. I didn't realize it was Women's Fiction. Thanks for the clarification. It sounds good, though. I'll put it on my TBR pile.
ReplyDeleteLOL! I agree that it's impossible to look forward to women's fiction as it is to the next in a beloved series!!! I have it pre-ordered and it's coming, but the warning is good. I don't want to get all jazzed up hoping for roses and get thorns instead.
ReplyDeleteI want it!! I am on the list at the library but am #5 and they only have one copy..... might get it on audible ...
ReplyDeleteI don't read a lot of "women's fiction" generally. But I received an ARC of this book and I LOVED IT. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDelete