By Kristan Higgins
After re-reading this first book in the Blue Heron series, it still earns 4 stars from me. The love story between “Princess Super-Cute” and Levi, the taciturn law-man, still charmed me. I had forgotten that Faith was not always the people-pleasing little sweetie-pie that she is throughout the book, and that she harbored a dark (in her mind) secret involving her mother’s death that changed her. I had also forgotten that Levi, the chief of police had some demons to slay as well. The confrontation scene that accomplishes that is so very satisfying. No one brings the chuckles and the tears better than MS Higgins! The scene where the gardener, Jane, seeming a lovely woman reveals her true colors is so funny! She seems a perfect match for their father, whom they are trying to lure away from the totally inappropriate Lorena (she redoes her roots with a sharpie). Kristan sets it up perfectly. Jane turns out not to be just a vegetarian, but a “rawist”. (She doesn’t eat anything that has been cooked.)
The veggie platter was supposed to serve twenty but at the rate Jane was going, she’d polish that off then start on the table, which was hopefully gluten-free…she picked up another handful of carrots and started chainsawing through them, little flecks of orange flying from her lips. ‘You should try it. I have literally no mucus issues anymore. And I’m never constipated.’
I think it’s safe to say that Kristan Higgins does not hold with eccentric dietary requirements.**4 stars out of 5**
**Re-read 03/2026 on Audible**
Once again, I find myself upping a Kristan book from 4 stars to 5. Nicely performed by Amy Rubinate. She managed to convey emotional journey of Levi Cooper, the hero, by softening his voice as his story went on.
Yes, there were problems with the words and phrases that Kristan used that made me a bit uncomfortable. But this was written over 10 years ago and there has been a lot of progression over the years. So I do not judge based on the way things are now. Just like I do not judge books written 50 or 100 years ago either. Of course there is her humor which really clicks with me. It is not often I find myself laughing out loud at what is happening or said in a book even though I am often easily amused.
Faith and Levi’s younger days and how they resolve their issues hold some genuine touching and eye-watering moments as well. These are two very fully realized characters whose layers are revealed gradually throughout the story. It is the first of the Blue Heron series, all of which I have read several times. A lot of characters are introduced and are so intriguingly drawn, that it is no wonder I just gobbled them up when I first discovered this author. The romance is built brick by brick, slowly and gradually. It built the tension brilliantly and had me wondering and anticipating how she was going to bring these two, who are so far apart, together at last (even though this is probably the 4th time I’ve read it!) It had been awhile, and I had forgotten a few things happened in the story. I think it is one of her best books from the romance standpoint alone.
It is very romance forward. Her more recent books are more “women’s fiction” with the romance part taking more of a back seat. These days, I do prefer that. Even back when I first read this, a romance had to bring much more to the table then just the relationship building between the two protagonists By that I mean, more than just working towards the big pay-off scene. Kristan has always delivered this for me. She may have her oft-repeated little scenes and quirks, but they still entertain, and her overall plots and characters are always fresh.
April 30, 2017