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A review by jackiehorne
Waiting on You by Kristan Higgins
2.0
Is it just me, or are Kristan Higgins' heroines growing more and more abject as time goes on? Colleen O'Rourke is the town "glue" girl of Manningsport, NY, the one who knows everyone, is friends with everyone, and spends much of her time matchmaking while she works in the restaurant/bar she co-owns with her twin brother. Ten years ago, her boyfriend of four years abruptly told her he was marrying another woman, and she's never had a serious relationship since. Of course, when now-divorced Lucas comes back to town to help out his dying uncle, the sparks fly again.
I really, really dislike stories where the protagonist protests and protests and protests to the person she's attracted to, while simultaneously caving to said attraction. And I really dislike scenes (like the one where culinarily-challenged Colleen is attempting to create a meal for Lucas before they have sex again for the first time) that feel more like an episode of I LOVE LUCY or LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY, scenes that set us up to laugh AT our protagonist for how stupid/foolish/incompetent she is rather than laugh WITH her. Throw in some "girls are this way, men are that way" sexist lines, some borderline culturally insensitive cuteness (Colleen's nickname for the half Puerto-Rican Lucas is "Spaniard"), not one but TWO stereotypically horrific gold-digging secondary female characters, and a frustratingly annoying black moment (where Lucas ends up judging Colleen for a one-night stand she had while he was MARRIED TO ANOTHER WOMAN!), and you have a book that I'm really regretting I bought.
Makes me wonder if Higgins's success has made her feel like she has to belittle herself (via her female characters) in order to have people keep liking her :-(
Want to go back now and re-read ONE OF THE BOYS or THE NEXT BEST THING, to get the bad taste of this one out of my head...
I really, really dislike stories where the protagonist protests and protests and protests to the person she's attracted to, while simultaneously caving to said attraction. And I really dislike scenes (like the one where culinarily-challenged Colleen is attempting to create a meal for Lucas before they have sex again for the first time) that feel more like an episode of I LOVE LUCY or LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY, scenes that set us up to laugh AT our protagonist for how stupid/foolish/incompetent she is rather than laugh WITH her. Throw in some "girls are this way, men are that way" sexist lines, some borderline culturally insensitive cuteness (Colleen's nickname for the half Puerto-Rican Lucas is "Spaniard"), not one but TWO stereotypically horrific gold-digging secondary female characters, and a frustratingly annoying black moment (where Lucas ends up judging Colleen for a one-night stand she had while he was MARRIED TO ANOTHER WOMAN!), and you have a book that I'm really regretting I bought.
Makes me wonder if Higgins's success has made her feel like she has to belittle herself (via her female characters) in order to have people keep liking her :-(
Want to go back now and re-read ONE OF THE BOYS or THE NEXT BEST THING, to get the bad taste of this one out of my head...