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super_doxie15's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
smackey2012's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
kltmm's review
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Very very funny and very very infuriating
ticha_bugalho's review
4.0
'Out of the Clear Blue Sky' delves into the complexities of marriage, divorce, and new beginnings. With relatable characters and deep emotions, Higgins crafts a story that resonates with laughter, tears, and heartfelt moments. Through the journey of two women, the wife – soon-to-be ex-wife, and the mistress - soon-to-be wife, the novel navigates the highs and lows of mid-life crises, portraying raw truths with empathy and humor. I also loved all the highlights on Lillie's Portuguese ancestry, adding a special personal dimension to the narrative.
emilymcavoy's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jackiehorne's review against another edition
3.0
This one was a very weird read for me. Higgins' story focuses largely on the first person POV of Cape Cod midwife Lillie, who is bent on (laugh-out-loud) revenge on her gaslighting psychiatrist ex-husband, who recently left her for a younger, hotter, richer woman. And every now and then, Higgins throws in a chapter in the third person from the POV of Melissa, the lying, scheming, self-absorbed other woman, showing how and why she came to steal away Lillie's man.
We're clearly meant to be rooting for Lillie: she's a doting mother to only-child Dylan, who is on the cusp of leaving for college; she's a take-care-of-everyone homemaker; she's an encouraging, progressive midwife (in comparison to the old-fashioned intervene all the way femaleOB/GYN who also works at the hospital); and she's put up with her husband's weaknesses without complaint. And she has two major traumatic backstory issues which tug on reader sympathy, both of which are clearly influencing her uncharacteristically towering rage towards her cheating abandoning husband. But I found Lillie's sentimental/clingy attitude towards motherhood (it's the most important thing of all! Oh, we can't tell the poor boy about the divorce right before he leaves for college, he'll be upset, so let's lie until he's gone! I feel so abandoned by Dylan when he leaves for college! Why doesn't he call more often? Why did he go so far away, where I can't even visit???) offputting. Even more troubling for me was her continual putting her best face forward and lying rather than being honest with her family about her own issues and needs. I wondered if perhaps Higgins was setting her up as a woman in need of learning to share one's deepest self with honesty and intimacy, a message I would have found very welcome. But instead the message here is more about not letting the bad guys (ie, one's equally surface ex-husband, and his once welcoming but now abandon-you-immediately parents) get you down. Even at story's end, when she begins a new romantic relationship with an old high school acquaintance, Lillie decides not to tell him that out of worry that he will feel bad. Keeping secrets to protect others' feelings may feel right to some readers, but to me, the sacrifice of honesty only suggests that Lillie's future relationships will lack the same intimacy and understanding of the other that her past ones did.
I was also really puzzled by the Melissa chapters; what are their purpose? How does Higgins wish her reader to feel about her? They are in the third, rather than the first, person, a distancing that suggests that we should not care for her as much as we do for Lillie. In fact, for much of the book, Melissa is presented as stunted, almost sociopathic, in her selfish striving to make a better life for herself. Weirdly, though, she and Lillie both come from working class backgrounds (although apparently Cape Cod fisherman working class is much better than Appalachia layabout and smoke and drink and do drugs working class). Lillie married into money by chance, while Melissa schemed and lied to win her first husband, and continues to scheme and lie to win Lillie's. But by book's end, Melissa is presented more sympathetically; are we meant to like her? Not as much as Lillie, of course, but perhaps just a little? I was never quite sure...
We're clearly meant to be rooting for Lillie: she's a doting mother to only-child Dylan, who is on the cusp of leaving for college; she's a take-care-of-everyone homemaker; she's an encouraging, progressive midwife (in comparison to the old-fashioned intervene all the way femaleOB/GYN who also works at the hospital); and she's put up with her husband's weaknesses without complaint. And she has two major traumatic backstory issues which tug on reader sympathy, both of which are clearly influencing her uncharacteristically towering rage towards her cheating abandoning husband. But I found Lillie's sentimental/clingy attitude towards motherhood (it's the most important thing of all! Oh, we can't tell the poor boy about the divorce right before he leaves for college, he'll be upset, so let's lie until he's gone! I feel so abandoned by Dylan when he leaves for college! Why doesn't he call more often? Why did he go so far away, where I can't even visit???) offputting. Even more troubling for me was her continual putting her best face forward and lying rather than being honest with her family about her own issues and needs. I wondered if perhaps Higgins was setting her up as a woman in need of learning to share one's deepest self with honesty and intimacy, a message I would have found very welcome. But instead the message here is more about not letting the bad guys (ie, one's equally surface ex-husband, and his once welcoming but now abandon-you-immediately parents) get you down. Even at story's end, when she begins a new romantic relationship with an old high school acquaintance, Lillie decides not to tell him that
Spoiler
he was responsible for the loss of her second child, born stillborn mid-term due to an injury to her uterus she suffered as a teenager, an injury caused by said acquaintance's reckless drivingI was also really puzzled by the Melissa chapters; what are their purpose? How does Higgins wish her reader to feel about her? They are in the third, rather than the first, person, a distancing that suggests that we should not care for her as much as we do for Lillie. In fact, for much of the book, Melissa is presented as stunted, almost sociopathic, in her selfish striving to make a better life for herself. Weirdly, though, she and Lillie both come from working class backgrounds (although apparently Cape Cod fisherman working class is much better than Appalachia layabout and smoke and drink and do drugs working class). Lillie married into money by chance, while Melissa schemed and lied to win her first husband, and continues to scheme and lie to win Lillie's. But by book's end, Melissa is presented more sympathetically; are we meant to like her? Not as much as Lillie, of course, but perhaps just a little? I was never quite sure...
tequilamcknbrd's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was such a cute and funny story about what happens when things fall apart, the (sometimes dangerous) lies we tell ourselves and second chances.
While not in my usual wheelhouse of what I typically read, I did enjoy this book and am glad it found its way to me courtesy of our traveling book club.
Much like life, some chapters were hits, some were misses and some were comedy acts of pure gold. All I can say is that I hope I love sex and toys as much as Karen Henderson does when I’m in my 50s. That woman seems to have her shit together (see ch 12).
thepagelady's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great read! It's about marriage, divorce and when the kids are all out of the house. I found it quite easy to relate to as a mother. It wasn't a fast read not with 500 pages but it was an emotional and Intriguing story. Lille was an amazing character I would love to read more about her. I laughed, I cried and felt a few more emotions along the way! It was an emotional roller-coaster but worth every minute I spent with my nose buried in the pages!