Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

Kristan Higgins is a relatively new author to me. I have read, at this time, only one other book written by her and quite enjoyed it. But nothing like how much I have enjoyed (really…loved) this newest title – A Little Ray of Sunshine. Ms. Higgins storytelling is wonderful and so much so that I was totally engaged throughout the entire story.

The story encompasses the tale of an adopted boy (Matthew) orchestrating his family’s yearly vacation to Cape Cod so that he can meet his birth mother (Harlow), unbeknownst to his mother (Monica), father and little sister as well as Harlow herself. Harlow, along with her grandfather, own and run a bookstore (Open Book) in Wellfleet MA, on Cape Cod. When Harlow was younger, she went to university on the west coast. What her immediate family does not know is that she got pregnant at 18 and gave the baby up for adoption.

As I was guided through the ups and downs of Harlow meeting her biological son and Monica having to deal with this situation, I was empathetic to both of these women. I can’t even imagine being on either side of this! Both women having to deal with their emotions and at the same time, be strong for their own family members as well as Matthew. I found that Ms. Higgins dealt with the issue of adoption and all its ramifications in a sensitive manner – taking into account all sides.

Matthew has a mind of his own and as we traverse this journey with him (meeting his biological mother) we see a young man at crossroads. He loves his family but feels betrayed by Harlow. He wonders “How could a mother give away her child?”. As understanding is gained, he then has to deal with how he has inadvertently hurt Monica, his mother. I must say, some of the family gathering where Matthew learns more about his relatives are both wildly entertaining and heartfelt.

Many secondary characters added a bit of relief from the heaviness of the main storyline. I got a chuckle out of Harlow’s grandfather. And Cynthia – well – she was definitely a curmudgeonly character who eventually softened a bit (that was good to see). Her side story was entertaining and for the longest while I thought, why is she so involved in the story. It was all crystal clear by the end of the story 🙂

And lest we forget, there is a wee bit of a romance going on between Harlow and Grady Byrne, an old friend who has recently moved back to town with his three-year-old daughter (and no wife in tow). I quite enjoyed this element as it was subtle and understated, not overpowering the main storyline.

My favourite quote:

“Being a mother wasn’t one thing. It was an indefinable, eternal state of love and acceptance, sacrifice and forgiveness. And hope. Because being a mother was nothing if not hope.”

Kristan Higgins has written a powerful and engaging story which kept my interest throughout. I can truly say – I am a fan and will continue to seek out other titles by her. I highly recommend A Little Ray of Sunshine for your future reading endeavor.

This was a thoughtful exploration of motherhood and adoption told from three perspectives. It raises the question: What truly makes someone a mother? I enjoyed seeing the story unfold through each woman's point of view. While some of their decisions were frustrating at times, they were handled with depth, and the characters showed significant growth throughout the book. Kristan Higgins consistently delivers heartfelt and insightful stories, and this one is no exception.

Short Synopsis: When a young man walks into her bookstore, the last thing Harlow expects is that he is the son she gave up for adoption 18 years prior.

My thoughts: This is my first book by Kristan Higgins, Based on the cover alone I expected more of a light hearted beach read, but this was so much more, I didn't realize the emotion and depth this story would include. You can definitely still read this at the beach, just be sure to have some tissues handy when reading this story!

I was immediately drawn to this story, I loved the perspectives of both mothers and how they each viewed the things happening in the story. I feel like the author did an amazing job at portraying such a difficult topic, she spoke of it with such grace from all perspectives of the story.

Read if you love:
- Books that make you feel
- Cape cod setting
- Stories of motherhood
- Stories of adoption

I love this author! The story was very interesting. I liked seeing of the different points of view. The author always has fantastic characters. Highly recommended!

Kirstan Higgins knows how to pull on the emotions. This book was. full of hope, bad and good decisions, and what comes from being a woman. I enjoyed it.

I am so glad that I got to read this book! What an emotional yet beautiful story of an adopted boy and the people in his life. The story grips you right away, the writing is beautiful. The emotions that you go through with these characters, especially Monica. Getting to see both POV from Harlow and Monica was very moving and really tugged at my heart strings. I highly recommend this beautiful story!

Kristan Higgins somehow must know me, at least she knows how to write perfectly for me. Her books are so refreshing to me because they just hit all the right spots that entertain me as they reach into my soul.
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Her latest release, out today, is A Little Ray of Sunshine, a perfect summer read! It is also so appropriate that I read it just after Mother’s Day because motherhood is central to the plot of this new novel. Adoption is the other theme and I am so impressed by the way Higgins was sure to give a very honest look at adoption from multiple angles. It tugged at my heart and was just beautiful.
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Great characters fill the book, a bookstore on Cape Cod that I would love to visit, and a lovable dog that I am already in love with, plus so much heart, humor, and healing that this book filled me up. I can’t help but smile as I write this and tell you to add it to your summer reading list.

I will read anything Higgins writes!! This one was a beautiful journey of a family dealing with the repercussions of decisions they made years ago. Shows the true definition of a family! Thank you for the opportunity to read this one.

I am a big Kristan Higgins fan. If she writes a book, I am going to read it. With her newest book, A Little Ray of Sunshine, she takes readers on a journey into a life of a family dealing with the repercussions of the decisions made years ago and the definition of family.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: A Little Ray of Sunshine

Author: Kristan Higgins

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 1.5/5

Diversity: FF side characters, Indian side characters, Bisexual character, Queer character, Adopted person characters.

Recommended For...: contemporary readers, romance readers, chick literature readers, adoption story readers

Publication Date: June 6, 2023

Genre: Contemporary Chick Lit

Age Relevance: 17+ (3 HP mentions, language, sexual content mentioned, slight racism, comments on infertility, comments on adoption, comments against adoption, Depression, Christianity, Parentification, Death mentioned, Alcoholism mentioned, PTSD, Suicide mentioned, Cancer mentioned, Drug Use mentioned)

Explanation of Above: There are 3 HP mentions in the book. There is some cursing throughout the book. There is some sexual content in the book, but no sex scenes. There is some slight racism in one part of the book. There are comments on infertility, adoption, and against adoption made by various characters. Depression and PTSD is shown. Christianity is shown throughout the book. There are mentions and scenes of Parentification. Death is mentioned a couple of times, along with Cancer and Alcoholism. There are also one time mentions of Suicide and Drug Use.

Publisher: Berkley Books

Pages: 496

Synopsis: A kid walks into your bookstore and... guess what? He's your son. The one you put up for adoption eighteen years ago. The one you never told anyone about. Surprise!
And a huge surprise it is.
It's a huge surprise to his adoptive mother, Monica, who thought she had a close relationship with Matthew, her nearly adult son. Until he secretly arranged a vacation to Cape Cod so he could meet his birth mother... without a word to her.
It's also a surprise to Harlow, the woman who secretly placed him for adoption so many years ago. She has built a quiet life, running a bookstore with her grandfather, and is happily single... though she can't help gravitating toward Grady Byrne, an old friend who has moved back to town, three-year-old daughter in tow, and no wife in the picture.
When Matthew walks into Harlow's store, she faints. Monica panics. And all their assumptions about what being a parent really means explode...
This summer will be full of more surprises as both their families are redefined...and as both women learn that for them, there's no limit to a mother's love.

Review: This book was a whirlwind and not in a good manner. Some of the good parts were that I liked the use of the Multi-POV to progress the story but tell it from multiple points. I also liked how the author managed to hit a lot of the highlights and issues that adopted persons face.

However, I absolutely hated this book. There was an immediate switch at the beginning of the book from being a child-free friendly character to over the moon about her son and wanting to be a mother, which was confusing and concerning in its implications on child-free persons. I didn’t like how the author kept implementing problematic books into this book, which a bookish person and book seller should know about as a character. It was kinda telling that the only two main books mentioned in this book were both problematic. It really said something to me about the author’s views and standpoints. There were a lot of stuff in this book about pushing the main character into being a mother and considering she was all child-free in the beginning I didn’t like it. I thought it was a bit problematic and, as a child-free person myself, it came off as “once you have a child your whole world changes for the better and you immediately want and regret not having or raising a child once you have that opportunity again”. The book also started to really discredit the voice of adoptees, especially in the last parts of the book. It kinda gave off this impression that the main adopted person in this book made a mistake finding their mom and that they should have just kept to their adopted family and while that might be some adopted persons stories, it’s a really hard subject to appropriately tackle that I didn’t feel like the author hit exactly right. This coupled with the other adopted person’s story about how they also made mistakes and stuff really kinda gave off this negative impression. Personally, I’m not an adopted person and I will always tell you to default to their voice on this book in particular. This is just the impression I got as a reader.

Verdict: I hated this book, but you might love it! Give it a shot if this sounds like something you’d like.

As a huge Kristan Higgins fan, I knew I had to read A Little Ray of Sunshine.

This novel deals with adoption and all the feelings surrounding it from the mom who gives her child to strangers, to the parents who get the new baby, to the child wanting to know more about his birth parents.

Harlow lives in Cape Cod with her family. She is a part owner of a bookstore in conjunction with her grandfather and her distant cousin, Cynthia.

Harlow receives the shock of her life when the child she gave away when she was seventeen walks into her bookstore. Of course, she was not ready, and proceeded to faint. When she comes back, she realizes her son Matthew is truly there with his adoptive father. Harlow couldn't be happier that Matthew came looking for her but how is she going to explain it to her family who have no clue she did this in college? The only person who knows of her devastation and sorrow was her roommate at that time.

Monica Patel works hard to make sure her family has what they need. She is always providing for them and her children's future. Since the moment she got Matthew in her arms, Monica has dedicated herself to be the best mom she could be.

As part of the summer, the Patels have always taken a vacation together, and this year the place her son picked was Cape Cod. When she finds out that he did it because of Harlow, she can't believe how sneaky he has become. She is so mad that he blindsided them and Harlow.

Cynthia Millstone is part owner of the bookstore too. Her personality is off-putting. She believes she is above others and more refined than the Smiths but her marriage fails and without any money, the only choice she had was to move to Cap Cod. The only person from that family she likes is Grandpop.

Pretty interesting and well-developed characters in this book. I do have favorites. I love Grandpop, Oliver Twist (the dog), and Grady Byrne.

I was able to see both sides of the coin in regard to Harlow and Monica. Felt super bad for Monica and all the sacrifices she had to make to give her family what they needed.

I'm not going to lie, I do miss some of Kristan's earlier books when the romance was forefront but I will read anything she writes.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Berkley Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

For some reason despite knowing I really enjoy this author, I wasn't feeling super inclined to pick this one up. What a mistake! By the end of the first chapter, I was fully hooked on this bittersweet family story when the son Harlow placed for adoption 18 years earlier appears in her life- the son she's never told a single family member about until that day. There's so much in this book about love and the bonds of family made and found. Possibly one of the author's best to date, though at almost 500 pages it's a little too long.

Higgins’s stories continue to celebrate relationships that buoy women emotionally without breaking their spirit, and I’m all here for it.

A Little Ray of Sunshine by Kristan Higgins was a highly anticipated book for me. I love the way she writes with deep emotion. This one focuses on adoption and the aftershocks that can sometimes occur. Told from three POVs that show multi-dimensional feelings and reactions. Love the Massachusetts locale. Author got all the details right.

“You couldn’t swing a cat on Cape Cod without hitting an author. I joined the Independent Booksellers Association and yearned to have events the way RJ Julia in Connecticut did . . . they had just about every single big-name author and celebrity in America at their store for a new release. But…the Cape was out of the way, and our traffic was notorious.” Yesss RJ Julia’s is amazing!! 👏🏻 And yes, Cape traffic is the absolute worst 😑

Right off the bat this book has all my favorite things in it, as if it was written just for me. 1. The Cape. 2. An indie bookstore. 3. Dogs. I’m not picky, that’s just about all I need.

But unfortunately this was a DNF at 65%. Ugh I hate that I had to do that but I not only didn’t want to pick this back up, it actually made me not want to read. That doesn’t happen for me often and I LOVE this author! I gave the last book I read by her 5 stars!

Told from multiple POV this was a story about family, healing, and adoption but it was too long and nothingggg was happening. I will definitely read more by this author, though. I’m hoping it’s just this one that was a dud for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Berkley Publishing, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

A Little Ray of Sunshine introduces Harlow, the witty bookshop owner whose life is upended by a visit from the son she hasn't seen since she gave him to the Patels, the couple she picked to raise him. The young man’s search for answers leads to an unraveling for Harlow and his adopted parents, forcing each of them to revisit past decisions and create fresh paths forward.

Higgins’ latest novel delivers qualities her fans have come to know and love—the Cape Cod setting, compelling main characters surrounded by a lively chorus of friends and family, and a satisfying balance of heartbreak and humor. A Little Ray of Sunshine showcases the power of a mother’s love in its many forms and will leave readers feeling like they’ve received a warm hug at the end of a long day.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

This wasn't my usual kristan Higgans' read that I look forward to every year. It felt very different right from the start. For the first time one of her books failed to captivate me. I failed to make a connection to the storyline or the characters. I set this one aside multiple times and finally skimmed my way through to the end.

Hoping this is just a one off for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books

A Little Ray of Sunshine by Kristan Higgins

It took me a lot longer than normal to finish this story. The issues associated with adoption are interesting although I really got more drama concerning adoption than I wanted to read about or was expecting. Then there are all the other problems in the book and I felt overwhelmed by this story that also felt way too long. My favorite characters were grandpa, Grady, and the dog. Other than those three, there were so many characters and what seemed like so many boxes checked off when it comes to social issues that I was ready to be done. As much as I didn't care for the main character, I wanted to jump to her defense when her parents, especially her mother, tore her to pieces for a decision she made when she was seventeen years old. Overall, my feelings about the story may be a case of me being the wrong fit for this book but I'm glad I'm finished with it and can move on to other stories.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.

Really enjoyed this one. It was a little longer than I would have liked but I still really enjoyed it.