By Kristan Higgins

The key, she had learned, was to live in the here and now. Not the back then or the what-if, but right now. Not to worry about the shadows or the times of sorrow and darkness. They would come, of course. No one was immune. The trick was to carry hope and determination like a torch into the dark times. The way Justin had in his last few months. The way she would now. The trick, Lark now knew, was to look on the bright side.

This is the third in a row of Kristan’s books set in Wellfleet, Massachusetts on Cape Cod and so far, it is my favorite. To me, it had a great mix of hilarity, heart-rending emotion, character portrayal and growth, and romance. Not to mention one of Kristan’s signature laugh-till-you-cry extended comic situations where she pulls out all the stops. The one in this reminded me of a scene in a little-known movie from the 90s starring Billy Crystal and Debra Winger titled Forget Paris. The movie was not all that good, but there was one scene where Debra Winger gets a pigeon stuck in her hair which is an absolute scream. Anyway, when you get to the Renaissance Fair part make sure you are alone or with non-judgemental loved ones unless you don’t mind making a public spectacle of yourself.

We met Lark first in Little Ray of Sunshine, the previous Wellfleet book. She is the unpleasant Abigail’s twin sister and we don’t see much of her because she is a busy doctor. But we know she is really nice. In Look on the Bright Side, we learn that she has been reassigned from her specialty, Oncology, to work in the Emergency Room. She has been committed to working with cancer patients because the love of her life, Justin, died from leukemia 7 years prior. Desperate to get back, she enters into an agreement with a brilliant surgeon, Dr. Lorenzo Santini, who works at the same hospital. If she will pretend to be his girlfriend at family events leading up to his sister’s wedding, he will use his considerable influence to see that she gets back to Oncology. Okay, Great, I thought, fake boy/girlfriend is one of my favorite tropes. Sign me up. And I was intrigued by “Dr. Satan” as he is called. I also love the grumpy/sunshine opposites attract trope. And Dr. Satan is very grumpy indeed. There is a reason why he needs to hire a girlfriend. He could not be any more different than Lark who is tender-hearted, sweet, and very very empathetic. These traits, in fact, are the reason why she was reassigned from Oncology. She is “a weeper”, taking too much to heart and in danger of losing her objectivity when it comes to her patients. She was sent to Emergency to toughen up. We love Lark for her tender heart but also because she is extremely intelligent, funny, and spirited. She doesn’t take any guff from Dr. Satan either. He terrifies everyone in his path, but not Lark.

But then Kristan does the unexpected and turns the grumpy/sunshine fake dating tropes on their head. See, Lorenzo Santini is not difficult in an intriguing more -there-than-on-the-surface-will-be- redeemed-by-love way, but in a truly hateful way. No, he is not evil, but is the typical stereotype of the egomaniac surgeon with a god complex. Also he is a snob and a braggart.
It probably took me a tad too long to give up on one of my favorite tropes and realize that Dr. Satan was not salvageable and Lark would have her happy ending with someone else entirely. In fairness though, KH was tricky and kept me guessing by hinting that maybe he wasn’t as black as he seemed. I kept hoping. What made it easier for me to let hope for Dr. Satan go was that her real love interest was so obviously perfect for her and very very attractive and likable.

So the love story was great. If it had only been about that, the book would have been wonderful. But this is Kristan Higgins, and there was so very much more. Lark’s parents have a crisis in their “perfect” marriage. We meet tacky botoxed fabulously wealthy but unfulfilled Joy who becomes a great friend to both Lark and her mother. And Joy, in turn, has her life changed for the better by them. We get to know Dr. Santini’s large Italian family who are as warm and ebullient (with one exception) as Dr. Santini is the opposite. Kristan brings on the tears and emotion with a deep dive into Lark’s beautiful but tragic romance with Justin. Every character, no matter how small is exquisitely drawn. And let’s not forget Lark’s adventures in the emergency room!

As much as I loved the last 6 or 7 of Kristan’s books, I had my quibbles with them even though many were 5 stars for me. But this one? No quibbles whatsoever. The story is topped by a rousing and fingernail-biting scene in which our heroine becomes a heroine for real. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending. There is even a whiff of hope for Dr. Satan at the end.