May 18th, 2025
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BITTER GREENS
BITTER GREENS

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The books of May are here—fresh, fierce, and full of feels.

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Wedding season includes searching for a missing bride�and a killer . . .


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Sometimes the path forward begins with a step back.


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One island. Three generations. A summer that changes everything.


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A snapshot made them legends. What it didn�t show could tear them apart.


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This life coach will give you a lift!


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A twisty, "addictive," mystery about jealousy and bad intentions


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Trapped by magic, haunted by muses�she must master the cards before they�re lost to darkness.


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Masquerades, secrets, and a forbidden romance stitched into every seam.


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A vanished manuscript. A murdered expert. A castle full of secrets�and one sharp-witted sleuth.


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Two warrior angels. First friends, now lovers. Their future? A WILD UNKNOWN.


Look on the Bright Side

Look on the Bright Side, June 2024
by Kristan Higgins

Berkley
432 pages
ISBN: 0593547659
EAN: 9780593547656
Kindle: B0CHDL4LS7
Trade Paperback / e-Book
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Fresh Fiction Review

Look on the Bright Side
Kristan Higgins

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel
Posted June 1, 2024

Women's Fiction

Lark’s having a hard time at work this summer. She’s been demoted from the oncology department to the ER because she’s too emotional. Lark’s distraught at the possibility of never working in oncology; she’s determined to toughen up and win her spot back.

So when Dr. Lorenzo Santiti (nicknamed Dr. Satan) makes her an offer, she can’t refuse. If she agrees to fake date him while his sister gets married, he will put in a good word for her professionally. Lorenzo wants his dying grandmother to know that he’s not alone in the world. She helped raise him; he lived at her house while he attended a school for gifted children.

As a result, he’s always felt like an outsider in his own family. It doesn’t help that he’s constantly throwing his wealth in their faces or that he’s tactless. Lark isn’t sure about the arrangement but at the first event, she falls in love with his family. Everyone loves Lark, except Lorenzo’s grandmother. Dr. Satan seems happy enough with their interactions with his family. Can Lark recover her dream job and find peace this summer?

The family’s story continues from A Little Ray of Sunshine, but you can read LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE as a stand-alone. Lark has a hard time believing that she deserves happiness and love after a tragic past. She’s not looking for love, which is why the fake dating arrangement seems perfect. But of course, as it’s a Kristan Higgins novel, you will go on the traditional emotional roller coaster of heartbreak, tears, and then laughter. I hope there are more books about this family because I want to visit them again and again. 

Learn more about Look on the Bright Side

SUMMARY

From the author of Pack Up the Moon comes a funny, romantic, and deeply moving novel about the unexpected rewards that come from life’s detours.

Lark Smith has always had a plan for her life: find a fantastic guy, create a marriage as blissful as her parents’, pop out a couple of kids and build a rewarding career as an oncologist.

Things aren’t going so well.

For one, the guy didn’t work out. Theoretically, she’d love to find someone else, but it hasn’t happened. Two, she’s just been transferred out of oncology for being too emotional. (Is it her fault she’s a weeper?) Three, her parents just split up.

Deviating from the plan was…well, not in the plan. A potential solution comes from the foul-tempered and renowned surgeon Lorenzo Santini (aka Dr. Satan). He needs a date this summer for his sister’s wedding. His ancient Noni wants to see him settled. In exchange, he could make a few introductions and maybe get Lark back into the field of her choice.

As a sucker for old people and fake relationships, Lark agrees. Teeny problem—she instantly falls for his big, warm family. Especially his estranged brother.

Meanwhile, Lark’s mom has moved in with Lark’s colorful landlady, Joy, and an unlikely friendship blossoms. The three women have a long summer and a big beautiful house on the ocean to figure out what’s next…and quite possibly learn that the best things in life aren’t planned at all.


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