Look on the Bright Side

Everything about this book was so real, so fantastic and so wonderful!! It made me laugh, cry, laugh again, ugly-cry, get mad, laugh yet again and finally cry happy tears. I could relate to lark about being a weeper, because I cry at mushy commercials. The dynamic of the families were described so sensationally, and everything about the different personalities, from love, betrayal, insecurity, and loyalty, and the way that no matter what, they love each other and include everyone. Thank you Kristan Higgins for another incredible story that made me stay up way too late two nights in a row. If you keep writing, I will keep reading!

This was a good summer read suggested by my local library. I liked all of the characters and the storyline was good. I wish the author would have gone into more detail about the past life of the Surgeon in the story. I thought that might have been important. It was an easy read

4.5 ⭐️ One thing you can guarantee, if Kristin Higgins writes it, you will be taken on an emotional ride reading it! It’s one of the things I love about her as an author, and Look on the Bright Side was no exception. Lark Smith is in an oncology rotation when she is sent to rotate through the ER instead because she gets too emotional with her patients. All Lark wants is to become an oncologist, so when Dr. Lorenzo "Satan" Santini offers her an exchange she decides to accept it. Dr. Satan needs a date for the next three months to convince his dying grandmother that he is not alone. If Lark says yes, he will call his connections to get her closer to another oncology position. The last thing Lark was expecting was to fall for his adorable family and for his fire-fighter brother, Dante. At the same time, Lark’s mother, Ellie, is going through a rough patch in life and in her marriage to Lark’s father. She moves into the large house of Lark’s landlord, Joy, to get some perspective and space from her husband. Joy, who has suffered her own devastating loss, is grateful to have some company in her lonely life. As the three women navigate through the various stages in their lives, there are tears, laughter and learning for them all. This story is told from three POVs (Lark, Ellie and Joy), each character is facing their own hardships or loss, and are all on a journey to find joy and peace. This is not your typical, light-hearted, fake-dating trope romance. This story has such emotional depth. Look on the Bright Side is beautiful and gut wrenching and hilarious all in one. If you love a story that envelopes you and characters that leave a lasting impression, then I can’t recommend it enough!

I have read all of KH's books and loved them all. Even when I think I know where the story is going to go, she always surprises me - and always in a good way. I love the way her characters develop, I love the way their pets and family members are just as important as the romance at the center of the story. There are funny scenes and scenes that make you cry. Unlike some stories where the children are precocious and not at all realistic, the children in her books are sometimes lovable and sometimes obnoxious - realistic without being insufferable. And as for Connor - he made me want to run out to an animal shelter and add another dog to our menagerie. This is another book for my keeper shelf!

Kristin Higgins just keeps getting better and better. I loved her earlier work, her light, usually hilarious, romances, but her recent work is even better. The wit and the happy endings are still there, but there's a richness, too, a recognition of the hard parts of life, like terminal cancer, grief, loss, and figuring out how to live in the face of those. I don't know how she could write these parts without some personal experience, so I'm sorry if she has had to travel this road. I certainly have and her depiction was spot on, yet not gratuitously so. Necessary for the story and, for me, even a bit validating, as if someone were saying, "I see you. I'm with you." LOVED this book! Laughed literally out loud and didn't mind drying a few tears. In fact I may go back to the beginning and read it all over again.

Loved the characters. I felt as though I could run into any one of them on a normal basis. There were some parts that were cringy- but very few. Overall, good book!

Kristan Higgins is a master of emotions. Her characters are 3 dimensional, her storylines richly laced with laughter and tears. This book reintroduces a delightful family. This is the story of Larkby Christina Smith. Her fierce love, her compassion, her sense of humor. As other members of her family are woven into her story, you see exactly where those traits were borne from. This book is at times gut wrenching. It is also witty, funny and real. The only issue I have with this book is the fact that once you pick it up you’ll become reluctant to put it down. Kristan Higgins has a knack of writing stories that you wish went on forever. Treat yourself to a journey of emotion, the stunning beauty of Cape Cod and a family you wish you were of a member of!

It was a good book - she is one of my favorite authors. I didn’t feel like the some of the characters were as developed as they could be.

Great Book

I like it that we get to read about Lark this time and how the family dynamic has a different view in this new book. It's amazing how the characters are discribed. I felt sorry for the doctor.

Kristin Higgins is the one author I always pre-order and wait for her new releases with great anticipation. I love her humour, her realistic characters, her heart-felt, moving story situations. BUT—THIS ONE IS HANDS DOWN MY VERY FAVOURITE KRISTIN HIGGINS TITLE (at least so far). I laughed, I cried, and I sighed, and I cheered for the unexpected romantic twist to the story. Fantastic book!