WAITING ON YOU by Kristan Higgins

Publisher:  Mira
Published:   March 25, 2014
ISBN:  978-0373778584
Genre:   Women’s Ficiton
Book format:  Ebook
Obtained via:  Publicist

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Gina@loveromancesandmorereviews.com




For Colleen O’Rourke there has only been one man.  Never mind she fell for Lucas Campbell back in high school.  One cannot dictate who will capture another’s heart.  But along the way Lucas left, moved to Chicago and did the unthinkable…he met and married another woman, Ellen.  It wasn’t that he fell in love with her.  Not even close.  What he did do was come together with her in a one night stand that resulted in a pregnancy.  Sadly the pregnancy ended with the marriage soon to follow.  But Lucas remained in Chicago, building his career.

Colleen went on with her life, and along with her twin brother, Connor, owns O’Rourke’s, the local Manningsport gathering place for a cold brew.  She also found her own niche of a sorts in life—matchmaking.  All told she’s brought 15 happy couples together and is about to embark on number 16—Paulina “Paulie” Petrosinsky has her heart set on one Bryce Campbell…Lucas’s cousin. 

But Bryce has his own worries and concerns, not the least of which is finding a job.  Even more heart wrenching is that his father, Joe, is dying.  It is Joe’s illness that brings Lucas home and all it takes is one look for Colleen’s heart to remember who makes her complete.  While Colleen knows Lucas’s transgressions she holds secrets he never knew, one that could tear the newly rejoined couple apart.  Does the heart truly know who it needs most?

I had high expectations for Kristan Hannah’s latest, WAITING ON YOU.  I found myself confused and disappointed.   In the earlier books in this series I thought Colleen was a fantastic character and I enjoyed the dynamic between her and her twin, Connor. That dynamic is still there but the chemistry I saw between her and the other characters just wasn’t.  The writing did not seem consistent to me.  Sometimes it was an emotional adult women’s fiction and at others it was like a juvenile was doing the writing.  There were the kind of emotional outbursts you’d expect from a pre-teen or young teen, not a mature adult and business owner.

Rather than endearing in his ineptness Bryce was at times annoying because he seemed lazy rather than bungling and at others he seemed like he was emotionally delayed.  Aside from the fact that he was a hottie I really didn’t see what an accomplished woman like Paulie would see in him. 

The first half of the book is pretty much Colleen and Lucas’s back-story and despite there being dialogue was really a lot of telling.  Had the book been written in two parts – with part one their teenaged years where Colleen and Lucas first fell in love and then part 2 with their reunion in the present day it would have been a more interesting read.  If I hadn’t picked this book up for review I would have put it down during the first 50 pages and put it on the “do not finish” pile. 

There were other issues that turned me off on the story – there were far too many depressed people and incidents that, while they resolved, were overshadowed by yet another depressing event. 

I expected more for Colleen’s story.  She was just such a great character and pining away for Lucas just didn’t seem like the character I’d come to know in earlier books.  I’m not sure if I’ll go on to read Connor’s story although I expect with his the series will come full circle with a disclosure similar to another character’s in book 1.

Fans of Kristan Hannah will either love or hate this one.  For readers new to her, if you read this one first, don’t give up on her because her earlier books are dynamite.

This is an objective review.