Lucy’s family is cursed. The men who marry into the family find themselves in an early grave. Lucy is no exception. Lucy has been widowed for five and a half years now. When her husband Jimmy died, Lucy’s world fell apart. They barely had any time together before it was over. The birth of Lucy’s niece rocks her world. It brings Lucy’s situation bluntly and forcefully to her attention. She only has a few years left before it becomes difficult to have her own family and she wants that.

Ethan is Lucy’s brother-in-law. He introduced Lucy to Jimmy. Ethan was her rock during that dark black period of time after Jimmy’s death. They met in college and have remained friends ever since. A few years later their relationship turns carnal, that is until Lucy decides she wants to start dating again. At that point Lucy decides that she and Ethan should return to a platonic relationship while she hunts for a husband and family.

This may sound like a book that could easily be a wreck but Higgins pulls it off. I had some doubts going into the book because I can’t put myself in that situation. It’s just not an everyday situation. Higgins sprinkles The Next Best Thing with some excellent secondary characters. You have The Black Widows; Lucy’s mother and two aunts (they run the bakery that Lucy works at and owns a small percentage of), Ethan’s son Nick and his mother Parker, and a smattering of citizens of Mackerly, Rhode Island.

OH. MY. GOD. I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed this book! Kristan Higgins is an incredible author and I can’t wait to get through the rest of her backlist. (This is my second Higgins book.) She is great at making me giggle throughout the entire book and her endings are the stuff that romance is made of.

The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins is a fun, light read that also brings an emotional punch with it. I loved it and if you haven’t tried a Higgins contemporary romance, I can’t suggest her enough. It’s like curling up on the couch with a blanket and hot cocoa in the middle of winter. It’s bliss and you’ll savor every moment. 🙂