January 1, 2021

In this new addition to the Regency-set "Westcott" series, recently widowed Lydia Tavernor wants Someone To Cherish but would rather have a lover than a husband after the numbing servitude of marriage to Rev. Isaiah Tavernor. In Brenner's Blush, college senior Sadie Bailey discovers that straitlaced Grandma Vivian once ran a book club devoted to scandalous women's fiction. To find respite from griefover her grandfather's death, Marisa Rosso travels to a seaside Cornish village, where she helps locals save their beloved bakery (well known to Colgan's fans) in Sunrise by the Sea (100,000-copy paperback and 30,000-copy hardcover first printing). On the Terminal Ward at the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital, life-hungry 17-year-old Lenni joins forces with 83-year-old rebel Margot in debuter Cronin's The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot (150,000-copy paperback and 25,000-copy hardcover first printing). With The Paper Palace, Heller, HBO head of drama, turns in a first novel about a woman who makes a momentous and long-overdue decision one bright Cape Cod morning. Diagnosed with a terminal illness, newly married Lauren decides to leave her husband 12 letters to guide him through the first year without her in Higgins's Pack Up the Moon. Killed in a hit-and-run in Nantucket, novelist Vivi is given heavenly permission to spend a year watching over her children, her best friend, and her ex-husband in Hilderbrand's Golden Girl (750,000-copy first printing). In Phillips's When Stars Collide, opera diva Olivia Shore and Thaddeus Walker Bowman Owens, backup quarterback for the Chicago Stars, are paired on a nationwide tour promoting a luxury watch brand with tumultuous results (150,000-copy first printing). Debuter Ray's The Missing Treasures of Amy Ashton features a once-aspiring artist now running from a tragedy in her life by simply collecting beautiful objects--until the collection-conscious little boy whose family moves in next door makes her rethink things (100,000-copy first printing).

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Starred review from April 26, 2021
Higgins (Good Luck with That) delivers an outstanding romantic weeper with this tale of young newlyweds facing a terminal illness. Lauren Park is dying from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis—“twelve syllables of doom”—but she’s determined to leave a little bit of herself in her husband Josh’s life after she’s gone. She does so by writing letters to Josh and leaving them with her best friend to dole out month by month after her death. The letters are structured as to-do lists, ranging from basic tasks to ensure Josh takes care of himself (“Go to the grocery store and stop eating food from cartons over the sink. Don’t be a loser!”) to encouragement to start new relationships. After Lauren dies, Josh’s raw grief is palpable, as is Lauren’s reluctance to leave the love of her life, which comes through in her letters. Delightful supporting characters add to the charm, such as a Banana Republic salesman who comforts Josh after he has a breakdown while trying to fulfill one of Lauren’s tasks. Perfect pacing and plotting lift Higgins’s masterly latest. This is going to break (and restore) plenty of hearts.

Starred review from April 15, 2021
Lauren Park and her husband, Josh, have a romance for the ages. Her sunny disposition brings Josh, who is on the autism spectrum, out of his shell, and Josh's passionate love for Lauren makes her feel special. But Lauren is terminally ill with a rare lung disease. To help Josh cope with her death, Lauren writes him twelve letters, one for each month of the first year she's gone, with a heartfelt message and an assignment for Josh to complete. While the tasks seem simple at first, there's an intention behind them--Lauren doesn't want Josh to merely survive, she wants him to thrive. Lauren's point of view anchors the alternating chapters, which tell the story of her relationship with Josh in reverse chronological order, from her last days to the first time they met. Higgins (Always the Last to Know) is a master of snappy dialogue, and her characters are authentic and relatable--a must for this type of novel. The heart of the story is tragic, but just like real life, there's humor hidden in the darkest moments. This warm, bighearted story about grief, family, and the redemptive power of love will appeal to fans of Katherine Center and Jennifer Weiner.

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Starred review from May 1, 2021
A young widower begrudgingly attempts to move on when he receives assignments from his beloved late wife. Joshua Park has never had an easy time getting close to people. He's brilliant, with a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and a job as a medical device engineer, but as someone on the autism spectrum, he often doesn't pick up on social cues. But none of that is an issue with his wife, Lauren, a public space designer. The two of them are madly in love with one another--and then Lauren is diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a disease in which fibers grow in her lungs and make breathing difficult (and, eventually, impossible). Her terminal diagnosis means that their marriage will be briefer than they ever imagined...but, unbeknownst to Josh, Lauren has a plan to take care of him when she's gone. After Lauren's death, Josh doesn't know how he'll get through the day, let alone the rest of his life. But then the first letter comes. Before her death, Lauren wrote him a letter for each month of his first year without her, each one containing a task that will help him keep going. They start out relatively easy (going to the grocery store) but gradually require him to open himself up more. Lauren's instructions initially annoy Josh, but eventually he begins to connect with new people--and the people who were already there for him. Higgins deftly navigates a premise that could've been sappy and instead turns it into something poignant, realistic, and occasionally even funny. Josh and Lauren never seem like caricatures of a grieving widower or a selfless, angelic dead wife. Instead, they are fully rounded characters with flaws and eccentricities. The story alternates between Josh's present-day attempts to live his new life and Lauren's point of view in the past, making her feel like a real person instead of just a saintly presence. The amount of detail around Lauren's disease is both impressive and heartbreaking to read. The characters surrounding Josh and Lauren are all complex and quirky, and seeing Josh accept love from the people in his life, both from new friends and old family members, is just as sob-inducing as reading about how he loses Lauren. A moving and life-affirming portrait of grief that's sure to bring the tears.

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June 1, 2021

Grieving widower Joshua reads letters left to him by his late wife. He's a medical device engineer who feels guilty that he couldn't save his 28-year-old wife Lauren from her terminal illness. Flashbacks from Lauren's point of view, as she tries to make each day count and grapples with her mortality, along with Joshua's memories of their happiness, attempt to show life's polarity, its terror and bliss. But it doesn't strike the right balance of happy and sad; the narrative skews heavily toward sorrow. Higgins (Always the Last To Know) turns away from her books' usual story lines (independent women and their relationships) and instead focuses on Joshua as he tries to survive grief and finds direction and strength in Lauren's letters. Higgins writes that Joshua has autism spectrum disorder, a fact that doesn't much enter into his characterization in this novel. VERDICT The emotion is heavy in this tearjerker. Reading its dramatic and moving exploration of loss is like being lost on a cold, gray day, with no way home. Higgins's easy-to-read prose and romanticizing tone make this a good match for fans of Nicholas Sparks.--Sonia Reppe, Stickney-Forest View P.L., IL

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