November 11th, 2024
Home | Log in!

Fresh Pick
A VERY BAD THING
A VERY BAD THING

New Books This Week

Reader Games

Video Book Club

Fresh Fiction Box


Best November Reads

Slideshow image


Since your web browser does not support JavaScript, here is a non-JavaScript version of the image slideshow:

slideshow image
A Sweet Diverse Reads Holiday Novella


slideshow image
Earth�s Door is a brilliant blend of fantasy and sci-fi with masterful world-building and rich character development that will leave readers tearing through the pages. Breakout author PJ Dudek has written a captivating story that fans of Stranger Things, Terry Brooks, James Islington, and Brandon Sanderson are sure to love!


slideshow image
A gripping time-travel tale set on a pirate ship in 1727 and in the gaslit streets of the Prohibition.


slideshow image
A demon seeks to destroy all. Can she stop him?


slideshow image
Two restless souls, one wild Christmas on the ranch�where sparks fly, and dreams ride free.


slideshow image
From jilted bride to fake-fianc�e: falling for the bad boy was not part of the plan!


The Next Best Thing

The Next Best Thing, February 2010
Gideon's Cove #2
by Kristan Higgins

HQN Books
Featuring: Ethan Mirabelli; Lucy Lang
400 pages
ISBN: 0373774389
EAN: 9780373774388
Kindle: B00C84GDKM
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Add to Wish List


Purchase



"Will Lucy ever be able to decide which man is the next best thing for her?"

Fresh Fiction Review

The Next Best Thing
Kristan Higgins

Reviewed by Viki Ferrell
Posted January 16, 2010

Romance Contemporary

Lucy Mirabelli is a card-carrying member of the Black Widows. There are only four members in the group: her mother, two aunts and Lucy. "Black" is the maiden name of her mom and two aunts, and all of them were widowed long before they should have been. Lucy was only 24 when Jimmy was killed. They had only been married a very short time. It's been five years now, and Lucy feels she is ready to date again, marry, have a family and settle into a nice normal life. However, there are not too many prospects in Mackerly, Rhode Island. And there is one order of business she must attend to first. Jimmy's brother, Ethan, is Lucy's best friend "with privileges." If Lucy is to move on, she must terminate Ethan's "privileges." Ethan gives Lucy her space and she muddles through several unsuccessful dates. Deciding she really misses her friend, she wants things to be like they were before with Ethan. He cautiously re-enters her life, but seeks to discover what Lucy really wants. Lucy isn't sure she even knows. Ethan asks Lucy to give the two of them a chance at a relationship. With reservations, she agrees. Meanwhile, Lucy, who is the bread baker at the family bakery, receives an offer for her bread to be distributed by a national company. Enter Matt DeSalvo, the representative for the company and a dead-ringer for Lucy's dead husband. She can't get over the likeness and finds herself falling for Matt. Exit Ethan Mirabelli, one more time. Will Ethan be "the next best thing" or will it be Matt? This charming story is a fun read. You'll love the antics of the Black Widows. Warning: do not read this book while you are hungry. The description of the Italian dishes and desserts will have you salivating over the pages. Enjoy!

Learn more about The Next Best Thing

SUMMARY

Lucy Lang isn't looking for fireworks...

She's looking for a nice, decent man. Someone who'll mow the lawn, flip chicken on the barbeque, teach their future children to play soccer. But most important... someone who won't inspire the slightest stirring in her heart...or anywhere else. A young widow, Lucy can't risk that kind of loss again. But sharing her life with a cat named Fat Mikey and the Black Widows at the family bakery isn't enough either. So it's goodbye to Ethan, her hot but entirely inappropriate "friend with privileges" and hello to a man she can marry.

Too bad Ethan Mirabelli isn't going anywhere. As far as he's concerned, what she needs might be right under her nose. But can he convince her that the next best thing can really be forever?

Excerpt

Around nine that night, I’m playing a lively game of Scrabble with my computer, seventeen pounds of purring pet on my lap —my cat, Fat Mikey. A knock sounds on the door.

“Come on in,” I call, knowing who it is.

“Hey, Lucy,” Ethan says.

“Hi, Eth. How’s it going?” I tear myself away from the computer…I was just about to play zenith, which would totally slay Maven, my arch enemy computer foe, but humans come first. Or they should. I play the word discreetly, then close the lid of my computer. Take that, Maven!

“Everything’s great.”

My late husband’s brother, who has logged many hours in my apartment over the past five years, makes himself at home by opening the fridge.

“Can I have one of these?” he calls.

I swallow. “Sure. I made them for you.”

Earlier in the evening, I did what I often do — created a fabulous dessert. Inside the fridge are six ramekins of pineapple mango mousse, each one topped with a raspberry glaze. I figured Ethan will eat at least three, and I need to be on his good side.

“You want one?” he calls.

I can tell he’s already eating.

“No, thanks. They’re all yours.”

I don’t eat my own desserts. Haven’t in years.

“This is fantastic,” he says, coming into the living room.

“Glad you like it,” I say, not meeting his eyes.

“Hey, thanks for e-mailing those pictures of Nick,” he says, already scraping the ramekin clean.

“Oh, you’re welcome. He sure looked cute.”

Ethan and I grin at each other in a moment of mutual Nick adoration. On Wednesday, the nursery school put on a play about the life cycle of the butterfly. Nicky was a milkweed seed. It’s become my habit to photograph Nicky and e-mail pictures to Ethan while he’s traveling, since Parker, Nick’s mother, never seems to remember her camera.

“Um, listen, Ethan, we need to talk,” I say, cringing a little.

“Sure. Let me grab another one of these. They’re incredible.”

He goes back into the kitchen, and I hear the fridge open again.

“Actually, I have something to tell you, too.”

He returns to the living room “But ladies first.”

Sitting in the easy chair, he smiles at me. Ethan looks nothing like his brother, which is both a comfort and a sorrow. Unlike Jimmy, Ethan is a bit…well, average. Nice-looking, but kind of unremarkable. Medium brown eyes, somewhat disheveled brown hair, average height, average weight. Kind of a vanilla type of guy. He has a neat little beard, the kind so many baseball players favor — three days of stubble, basically, which gives him an attractive edginess, but he’s…well, he’s Ethan. He looks a bit like an elf in some ways — not the squeaky North Pole elves, but like a cool elf, a Tolkien elf, mischievous eyebrows and sly grin. He regards me patiently.

I swallow. Swallow again.

It’s a nervous habit of mine. Fat Mikey jumps into Ethan’s lap and head butts him until Ethan obliges the bossy animal by scratching his chin. Ethan rescued him from the pound a few years back, saying no one would take the ugly beast, and gave him to me. Fat Mikey has never forgotten just who sprung him from prison, and now favors Ethan with a rusty purr.

I clear my throat. “Well, listen. You know, ever since Jimmy died, you’ve been, just…well. Incredible. Such a good friend, Ethan.”

It’s true. I don’t have the words to voice my gratitude.

His mouth pulls up on one side. “Well. You’ve been great, too.”

I force a smile.

“Right. Um…well, here’s the thing, Ethan. You know that Corinne had a baby, of course. And it got me thinking that, well…” I clear my throat. “Well, I’d like to have a baby, too.”

Gah! This isn’t coming out the way I want it to.

His right eyebrow raises. “Really.”

“Yeah. I always wanted kids. You know. So, um…”

Why am I so nervous? It’s just Ethan. He’ll understand. “So I guess I’m ready to…start dating. I want to get married again. Have a family.”

Ethan leans forward, causing Fat Mikey to jump off his lap. “I see,” he says. I look at the floor for a second.

“Right.”

Risking a peek at Ethan, I add, “So we should probably stop sleeping together.”


What do you think about this review?

Comments

No comments posted.

Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!

 

 

 

© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net  all rights reserved Privacy Policy