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Title and Author: Waiting On You by Kristan Higgins
No. of Pages: 464
Series: Blue Heron #3
Publication date: Harlequin HQN (25 March 2014)
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Language: English
Book Review:
Waiting On You by Kristan Higgins is the story of Colleen O’Rourke who, although working as a bartender in her own tavern that she owns with her twin brother, is a love expert. She has successfully matched numerous couples in her town but despite this love of the concept of “happily-ever-after love”, Colleen is still single with no plans of ever getting serious with anyone because even after a decade she is still hung over her first true love who left her heart broken and her dream life altered forever!
Except now that first love is back. Will Colleen give love a second chance?
The first thing that attracted me towards this book was the cover. It is beautiful and eye catching with a romantic feel to it. The title, blurb and ofcourse, the author whose books I enjoy, all had me picking up Colleen’s story to read.
Set in a small town of Manningsport, the book instantly transported me to a cozy town with familiar faces and a general warmth of living in small towns where everyone knows everyone, where gossip runs high but still the support and love of people for each other is also very noticeable.
Kristan manages to engage the interest of the readers right from the start and kept me glued to my seat right till the end. Her writing is fluid, expressive and very heartfelt. I could visualize each and every scenario, feel the emotional upheaval felt by the protagonists and the thrill of wanting to know what happened next!
The characters are well sketched and developed. The author gives the readers an insight into each and every character so we are able to know why they became like this and what motivated their past and present actions. She does not side with any one character and was able to give a fair hearing to even the most hated characters in the book.
I loved Colleen’s spunk, independent and rebellious streak. Her ideal family was cruelly broken by her cheating father who then took steps further to hurt her but despite all this and the fact that her first true love also shattered her heart, she didn’t break down but decided to live her life on her own terms. She is helpful, faithful and loving which is shown by her deep love for her half sister. Her passion and feelings for Lucas, the man who left her hurting are intense and even after a decade had the potency of making me feel all angry with Lucas on her behalf.
I loved how Kristan managed to give us an insight into both Lucas and Colleen’s actions and leave the judging to the readers. Initially, I almost hated Lucas for hurting Colleen but then as the story progressed I understood why he did what he did and came to really care about him. Made for each other, his love for Colleen won my heart and inspite of all my anger with him, I rooted for a happily-ever-after for these two.
Another lovely character in this book is Colleen’s twin, Connor. He is dependable. Loves his sister and is ready to brave the world to protect the people he cares about. His secret romance had my interest peeked and I can’t wait to read his story too.
The other characters like Colleen’s friends, Lucas’ family etc. are also given a fair share of spotlight in the book and I am now eager to read their own stories.
This book is part of a series but can be read as a standalone novel. I haven’t read any other books in this series so far but now will be checking them out soon.
All in all, Waiting On You is a very entertaining romance with a strong plot, heartfelt emotions that made me cry, laugh and then fall in love with the characters and the town plus also has some very humourous scenes that had me laughing. A lovely happily-ever-after story that re-enforces our belief in true love and its power to conquer all hurdles to lead to lasting happiness, I give Waiting On You 4.5 stars out of 5 and strongly recommend it to everyone.
I received the book from Netgalley and I am very thankful to the author and the publishers. The above review is my honest and unbiased opinion and in no way influenced.
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