Look on the Bright side, written by Kristen Higgins and narrated by 3 difference voices to reflect the three female POVs, was a fantastic audiobook. I wound up puttering around the house-cleaning & laundry & whatnot-for hours longer than I'd planned just so I could keep listening! Lark, Ellie, & Joy are all so vibrant, they feel completely real! Definitely have tissue handy! And I can't stop thinking about Dr. Satan!!! I hope the author's next book will be his story! Highly recommend!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Another brilliant book by Higgins. Loved the narration and the writing. This is a great listen and would also make the perfect beach read or listen as well. Once I started this one I finished it the same day.
Amazing book by a phenomenal author.

This was very different than most of Higgans novels that I’ve read before. Deeper, more impactful, less light. I enjoyed this, nonetheless.

There was a lot of grief packed into this, that was so beautifully delivered. I will admit that I don’t do well with that, so there were a few chapters I skipped a bit of because they tugged at my heart strings a little too much.

3 main characters, with attention grabbing stories. I think if I didn’t love her writing as much as I do, I would ditch out of some of her reads early, because I find that some chapters can get long and make you wonder where this is going, or how this is going to all tie together at the end. I am always very sure of a win with KH, and she has really never disappointed. And although some of these chapters were loooong, they still held my attention throughout.


Thanks to RB Media & Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to and rate this ARC! I was very excited to get my hands on a KH novel - she’s one of my faves!

Once again Higgins creates characters that are easy to enjoy. While Lark, an aspiring oncologist moved to the ER because she’s a crier, is the main focus, her mother Ellie’s and her landlady Joy’s stories are also intertwined. All three deal with expectations - those of others, but also those we put on ourselves. “Dr. Satan’s” self-absorbed responses are snort-laugh inducing and the Ren Faire scene with Noni is not to be missed. The realities of dealing with death of loved ones hit close and brought tears. The three narrators keep the women’s story threads distinct and flowing. Recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance review audiobook. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was cute! Definitely more women’s fiction than romance.

Look on the Bright Side follows the journeys of three women as they navigate love, loss, change and self-discovery. Loved the Cape Cod setting.

I expected the three narratives to come together a bit more toward the end with some sort of aha moment. Instead the ending felt a bit disjointed. Other than that, no complaints. A quick, easy, feel-good beach read.

3.7 rounded up to 4.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Kristan Higgins does it again! She manages to write the most amazing, addicting, heartwarming, tissue needing, funny stories. This book follows Lark, a medical resident who gets kicked out of the oncology department for crying too much, her landlord Joy with too much money and no direction in life and Lark's mother, Ellie, who is having marriage difficulties. These three women all have their own journeys that intertwine together. Lark is from a big, fun family. A prestigious surgeon, Lorenzo, asks her to date him until his sister's wedding to show his dying grandmother that he is happy. Through Lorenzo, Lark meets Dante, his brother. Lark is still trying to move past losing someone in her past. I listened to this book on audio. There are three different narrators and they are all amazing. This book held me hostage in the best way from start to finish. I cried. I laughed. I had all the feels. This is my favorite book of the year so far. Grab this book and head to the beach or the pool this summer! Huge thanks to RB Media for allowing me to listen and review this audiobook!!

This book has good depths. It starts with a fake romance and end with letting go and true love. There is so much in between. Enjoy the journey.

LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE captured me from the beginning. It was very relatable. Each one of these ladies were struggling but clearly Lark's story touched me the most. Higgins really knows how to pull your heart strings. I was both sad and happy at the same time. I'd recommend grabbing a cozy blanket because once you start this book you won't want to stop.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for my gifted copy.

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) shortly.

Thank you NetGalley for theARC. This story deals with grief, forgiveness, and second chances.It follows three women at crossroads in their lives. Kinda like the movie the Proposal, Lark goes to a wedding with a Dr pretending to be his gf to get her old job back., There she falls in love with his whole family including his brother. This is a cute beach read.

Kristan Higgins writes books that consistently give me all the feels. Once again she comes through with a story that is at once heartbreaking and heartwarming, celebrating humanity and family and love and connection while acknowledging the very real truth that by opening ourselves up to loving and connecting, we necessarily make ourselves vulnerable to the potential for total devastation.

Lark Smith has just lost her oncology residency because she can’t stop crying about families losing their loved ones to cancer. If you guessed she’s emotional because she lost someone she loved dearly to cancer, you are correct. She’s reassigned to the ER and gets a highly unusual proposal from a surgeon alternately known as God and Dr. Satan — his beloved grandmother is dying and would really like to see him settle down. He will pay Lark to fake date him for the summer, through his sister‘s wedding. She’s offended by the offer of money, but not so much by his offer to make the appropriate connections to get her back into oncology. The fake dating is a go.

Meanwhile, Lark’s mother discovers a secret on her husband’s iPad that changes what she thought was her happy marriage and moves in temporarily with Lark’s eccentric landlord, whose story we also get to hear. The way the women interconnect and bring something unexpected to one another’s lives is fun, and I loved seeing the landlord, Joy, find a purpose and second act in her senior years. If you read Higgins’ Little Ray of Sunshine, it’s also a treat that these characters are from the same family as Harlow, the main character in that book.

Another winner from this author with some thoughtful insights on living forward after loss, being present in the moment and, yes, looking on the bright side. Thanks so much #NetGalley, #RBMedia and #KristanHiggins for this much appreciated early listen!

I really enjoyed listening to Look on the Bright Side by Kristan Higgins. The narrators did a great job of making the 3 main characters come alive. The story was so good and I was hooked by the second chapter. It dealt with loneliness, forgiveness, friendship, healing, and loss in such a way that it moved me to tears, multiple times. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to RB Media, NetGalley, and Kristan Higgins for the complimentary audio. All opinions expressed above are my own.

The blurb made the premise of this book sound like a rom-com, but it was definitely more of a chick lit/romance, and I was not disappointed. The story follows Lark, who is an absolute gem of a human, as she struggles to find her path in life, love, and her career. She has gone through extremely difficult circumstances, and still faces life with positivity, yet it doesn’t feel at all corny or forced. The emotions that this book pulled out of me were insane, literal tears rolling down my cheeks, but still left me feeling hopeful and happy. How is that possible?! All the stars for this one, and it won’t be my last book from this author! Also, as an audiobook this was even better, because the narration was perfect, from three different viewpoints. Thanks so much to NetGalley and RB Media for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

It’s not often that a book makes me cry and laugh and surge with emotions, but this one did.

Lark, Ellie, and Joy all connected, all finding themselves after loss in one form or another, helped drive their connection closer.

The thing I loved most about this, is that the characters talked when an issue arose. Which made it way more realistic to what happens in real life.

My ONLY complaint is the way the narrator said wicked without a true Boston accent for a story based solely in Boston and on the Cape.

A story of 3 intertwined characters, who have all been let down in one way or another by life, or someone they love. Lark is the youngest- an aspiring oncologist who feels her patients’ tragedies deeply, and it is affecting her career. Ellie is her mother, who finds that maybe her marriage isn’t what she had believed it to be. Joy is her landlady, who is still struggling to find herself.

I loved seeing the growth of the characters, especially Lark. I was so vested in their stories, I didn’t want to see it end!

The narrators were great, and I would listen to anything Xe Sands narrates- she is an amazing narrator!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley; all opinions are my own.

This is a very emotional book. There are a few laughs, a lot of tears, and some empathizing. Lark has loved one boy and then she loved the man that he became. They saw a bright future filled with love and babies. But it wasn't to be.

Lark is now a resident doctor, determined to specialize in oncology but her supervising physician thinks she is better suited to be an Emergency Physician. She encounters Dr. Santini, a world renowned surgeon and extremely successful entrepreneur. He's called Dr. Satan by the staff in the hospital because he is insufferable. But he needs Lark and she agrees to help him. As much as she doesn't like him, she loves his family.

This is also the story of three women who have lived and loved in very different kinds of relationships. Each has encountered a shake up to the lives that they foresaw. This book takes them through the worst of it.

The story takes place on Cape Cod and in Boston.

Excellent story that explores relationships, successful women, and how we all muddle through, somehow.

I listened to the audio version. All three of the narrators are excellent.

I was not expecting to need tissues while listening to this…multiple times! Tugs at the heart strings in just the right way.
Would have enjoyed a little more with Joy & Ellie’s stories. Loved that there were 3 different narrators for the three main women.
This was my first Kristan Higgins novel but it will not be my last!

"LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE" spotlights the daunting challenges of three women:
* Lark, an oncology resident who cries too much and gets transferred to the ER due to her failure to control her emotions.
* Ellie, the mother of Lark.
* Joy, an eccentric neighbor dealing with family grief.

I listened to the audiobook read by Xe Sands, Susan Bennett, and Christina Moore.

Xe Sands was the dominant narrator and her narration was NOT GOOD.

Throughout her entire narration, Xe Sands (Lark) was mumbling and very difficult to understand. (Possible sound engineer problem?)

Other times her narration was monotone and lacked affect.

In addition to the poor quality of the Xe Sands narration, I had issues with the book's slow pacing.

LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE #1:
This Bostonian loved the Cape Code setting

LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE #2:
Narrators Susan Bennett and Christina Moore did a superb job with their narrations.

I am a huge fan of Kristan Higgens so perhaps my expectations were too high.

A narrator can make or break an audiobook book and the Xe Sands narration negatively impacted my reading/listening; resulting in a 2-star rating for this book.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars:! I haven't read a Kristan Higgins book in a long time, and this one turned out to be heavier than I anticipated! This book explored themes of loss, forgiveness, and new beginnings. I LOVED the setting of Cape Cod. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up ⭐️

This is a heartwrenching book about loss, second chances and most of all hope. It delves into family, friendships and the different crossroads of life. The long chapters and number of characters were the reason I didn’t rate this higher, but this book did keep me engaged and it was a very enjoyable read.

This book turned out to be more emotional than I anticipated, but it was still a pleasant summer read. The story touches on themes of grief, forgiveness, and second chances. After losing a patient and becoming too emotional, Lark is transferred out of the oncology department. Dr. Santini, also known as Dr. Satan, offers to help her get back into oncology if she pretends to be his girlfriend for his sister's summer wedding, as his grandmother, who is in hospice, wishes to see him settled down. Lark agrees and finds herself drawn to his loving family…and his brother. The subplot involving Lark's recently separated parents and her mother's new friendship with Lark's landlady adds another layer to the story.

Overall, it's a nice book to toss in your beach bag, offering plenty of summer vibes.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.