Having recently finished the previously published ‘Life and Other Inconveniences’ by Kristan Higgins, I am happy to have had the chance for the Advanced Reader’s Edition e-copy; thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group!

I was not expecting the chuckles and smiles mixed among the moments of deep loss and heart-ache in this story. It was a welcome relief as the tragic moments were intense. I appreciate the ability of Ms. Higgins to be able to trigger my emotions on all levels, and write in a way for me to "hear and feel" these characters. And... I’ll never look at a bottle of corn oil, or metal beaters in quite the same way!

Higgins once again delivers with this multi-generational tale about three women and an unconventional family..This story was so heartwarming and filled with themes of love, heartbreak, and hope. I really enjoyed the diverse set of characters and the complex real-life issues that she weaved into the plot line.

Kristan Higgins can write a death scene that just kills you. Like, unable to get oxygen into lungs convulsing from sobs, dead.

Kristan Higgins is one of my favorite authors, this book was a wonderful read, well developed and easily read. Loved it. Highly recommend

I enjoyed this book. The author has a wonderful style and creates beautiful voices for all of her characters, which translates into great dialogue and growth. I felt like the subplots all wove together well. This book was definitely a tear-jerker, and I appreciated that Higgins didn't shy away from difficult topics like mental illness and grief.

This is my first book by Kristan Higgins that I've read. Honestly, it was a little dark, but her writing style and ability to tell a story from multiple angles and perspectives kept me going with the page-turning.

What I like best about this book is the consistency and various voices of the characters. Emma's character was consistent all the way through. Genevieve, through growth, introspection and finally, her medical circumstances, evolves. But a last-minute revelation truly shows her nature and reinforces her manipulative behavior. And just like in real life, we see people giving the seemingly rich a pass for this kind of behavior in exchange for empty promises and to surround themselves with the finer things in life.

What I didn't like where a couple of things. Maybe this is an east-coast thing, but the college tuition payments seemed a bit entitled, demanding secondary education expenses all of a sudden without planning for it first. Secondly, many students, myself included, had to put themselves through college through loans and working three jobs over the summer, as early as 1997. So it interested me that Riley's character wasn't working hard at a job, bearing that responsibility as it would be her choice to pursue college, and not to anyone else's benefit. It seems odd that Emma wouldn't have something planned or had that talk with Emma like "hey, I don't have much, so you're going to have to get a job". The writing on this just seemed last-minute to add a conflict that wasn't supported with what is reality for many: getting a job and getting loans. Because a lot of times, parents are zero help (I'm now 42 and have finally paid off my student loans with zero help from my parents).

The second thing I didn't like was Miller's character. I didn't find him appealing as many other readers did. I viewed him as a failing parent with an insufferable toddler with zero manners. It just amazes me the lack of parenting skills some of these characters have, and it almost gets to a point where it's just not natural, and it almost impacts the quality of the book. Miller's daughter was a thorn for me and took away from the book rather than added to it.

Overall, it's a gripping story, and one that I could recommend to others for reading. I give this one 4 stars because I love the consistency element, the scene setup, and the dynamics at play regarding life choices.

The main character,Emma, has had a rough life.Her mother committed suicide when she was eight years old, her father abandoned her to be cared for by his wealthy mother ,Genevieve ,who threw Emma out at 18 when she became pregnant. Emma has since become an accomplished therapist .The grandmother calls Emma after seventeen years of silence and requests a meeting as she is dying. A great story of love, betrayal ,mystery and romance.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m going to cut to the chase with this review. I’ve read quite a lot of Kristan Higgins books both in Romance and Women’s Fiction and for me, I feel like her books are hit and miss for me. I’m always looking for an enjoyable read and although Higgins’ writing style typically stays bright despite some of the darker or taboo topics she may write about, I just found that this book fell flat for me.

Right from the beginning, I started to wonder if this book was going to be for me. The humor is the biggest thing for me because I feel like Higgins has a very different sense of humor to mine. I really can’t relate and find a lot of what her characters say to be weird. I don’t know. I’m not sure if it’s the case of her humor just not meshing well with mine or I just don’t think the jokes are funny. But either way, I didn’t enjoy it.

I also didn’t really like the premise of this book. It just didn’t capture my attention or make me feel anything for the characters. So as a result, I found myself putting this book down several times. It’s a shame because there have been some Romance books of hers that I really loved. But unfortunately, after too many misses in a row, I doubt I will try more of her books in the future.

A wonderful all around good read. This book had a lot of great elements to it. Good character development, romance and moments of seriousness.

Emma is happy with her life in Chicago. Mostly. She has started a successful career as a therapist, is raising a smart and funny teenage daughter, Riley, and has stuck to her decision to never speak to her grandmother again after she was kicked out of the house for getting pregnant at 18.

But when Genevieve calls and tells her she’s dying of a brain tumor and wants to meet Riley, Emma agrees to return to the Connecticut mansion of her childhood.

The story has multiple narrators but the other main one is Gen, who is still grieving the loss of her golden child, who disappeared without a trace during a father-son trip to the lake over 50 years earlier, and her husband who died shortly after. She’s also experiencing memory lapses, and working out the best way to end her life before she loses who she is.

Additional characters include Miller, whose wife died in childbirth and can’t handle his out-of-control toddler; Riley, happy to be away from her former friends who’ve turned on her like only teenage girls can; Jason, Riley’s father who is estranged from his current wife; and Paul, the grandfather who took Emma in when Gen threw her out.

Life and Other Inconveniences is a novel of forgiveness, as Emma works to forgive Gen and let go of Jason, Miller realizes he needs to stop blaming his daughter for his wife’s death, and Gen learns to forgive herself. The story is both heartwarming and funny, with surprises along the way as what really happened to Sheppard is revealed.

I’m going to cut to the chase with this review. I’ve read quite a lot of Kristan Higgins books both in Romance and Women’s Fiction and for me, I feel like her books are hit and miss for me. I’m always looking for an enjoyable read and although Higgins’ writing style typically stays bright despite some of the darker or taboo topics she may write about, I just found that this book fell flat for me.

Right from the beginning, I started to wonder if this book was going to be for me. The humor is the biggest thing for me because I feel like Higgins has a very different sense of humor to mine. I really can’t relate and find a lot of what her characters say to be weird. I don’t know. I’m not sure if it’s the case of her humor just not meshing well with mine or I just don’t think the jokes are funny. But either way, I didn’t enjoy it.

I also didn’t really like the premise of this book. It just didn’t capture my attention or make me feel anything for the characters. So as a result, I found myself putting this book down several times. It’s a shame because there have been some Romance books of hers that I really loved. But unfortunately, after too many misses in a row, I doubt I will try more of her books in the future.

This book was such a powerful read. It was a captivating story that kept my attention to the very end. It was a great quarantine read! Even told from multiple POVs it was easy to keep up with, and the characters were 100% relatable. I really enjoyed this one!

It took me loooong looooong time to get into this book, more than halfway I think, but it paid off in the end.
The multiple povs was one of the biggest reason I couldn’t find myself invested in the story in the beginning but I kept pushing myself because Kristan Higgins has always been a favourite of mine and I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed in the end and somewhere along the way I started to get attached to all the characters and after the halfway mark was fully invested in the story.
Rating : 3.5 stars

I don't know why I saw this cover with a dog and thought that Kristan Higgins wouldn't completely gut me, but I did. AND SHE DID. I ugly cried so many times through this book, just like every other one of her novels. I loved it. I laughed, I cried, I was emotionally wrecked from her writing. I wouldn't change a thing about it. I just wish I hadn't taken so long to read it. I love how personal she gets with very difficult issues. I love that she has the ability to reach into my heart and yank it out. I loved this book. Never stop publishing her books, and I'll never stop reading them.

I will eventually feature this on my IG and blog. I've been on a break from posting because of the racial tension in the US. I feel at this point it's more important for POC and BIPOC authors to have the spotlight than it is for my own content.

An easy, lighthearted, quick read for times like these when you may find it hard to focus on heavier topics. I think every woman reading this book will see themselves in one of the characters.

Emma London would have never categorized her relationship with her grandmother - the famous designer Genevieve London - as loving. After losing her mother at eight years old, and when her father proved a less than willing caregiver, Emma was sent to live with her grandmother. Genevieve coming from an old-school blue-blood time, and suffering her own familial loss, she doesn't know really how to relate to Emma, but she make sure Emma is clothed, fed, schooled, and generally looked after. When Emma gets pregnant right after graduating high school, and wants to keep and raise the baby, Genevieve cannot believe Emma would throw all of her potential away like that. So she kicks her out and lets her make her own way.

Fast forward about seventeen years and Emma is now a, mostly, single mother to Riley. She worked hard to get her degree and works as a counselor. She hasn't spoken to Genevieve in all this time. That is, until Genevieve calls informing Emma that she's dying and she would like to meet Riley. Dangling a huge inheritance - enough to cover Riley's schooling - helps make up Emma's mind and soon they're off back to Connecticut for the summer. But all is not exactly how Genevieve has made it seem. Emma and Genevieve will have to reconcile a lot with the past if they want to make the most of the time they have left.

It took me a while to read and get into this book. Kristan Higgins is typically a read upon release author for me, but something about the tone of Life & Other Inconveniences had me hesitating at first. It's not an easy read for sure. It tackles issues such as death, suicide, child neglect and abandonment, missing children, bullying. It runs the gambit. It's also very generational. There's a lot of backstory that has to be incorporated because it influences where our characters are in the present, where they came from, and in a way, where they need to go. I liked filling in all the pieces and seeing how everything fit together. Seeing the layers pulled back on each character to see what, thus far, has informed their life. Why does Genevieve hold back her affections from Emma? Why is Emma a hypochondriac?

I really thought that the stories Kristan Higgins gave each character were fitting. I liked each time I had formed an opinion about a character just to have it turned around by some new revelation. And the revelations themselves were well done. Slowly unfolding in an organic way to the overall story, never seeming to come out of left field.

The relationship between the three female characters Genevieve, Emma, and Riley was my favorite part of the book. I loved seeing the progression of Genevieve and Emma's relationship contrasted with Emma and Riley's and then Riley and Genevieve's relationship. Then bringing it back around again to healing the fissure between Genevieve and Emma. I also loved seeing a story with a teenage girl and her mother where there wasn't any teenage animosity going on. I know that it's a real thing that sometimes happens in mother-daughter relationships, but it's not always the case, and I liked seeing the closeness of Riley and Emma without so much drama between them. It's also plays a huge contrast to how things stand between Genevieve and Emma.

Overall, it's a more somber read than what I'm used to with Kristan Higgins. I liked what the story says about the circumstances that change our lives and how we deal with them. It's at times hopeful and heartbreaking, but it definitely leaves you with a sense of lightness at the end.

Life and Other Inconveniences by Kristan Higgins is a great beach read. Light airy and easy to pick back up after not reading for a few days. You will find Emma and the other characters relatable and enjoyable. A great book to pick up now! Happy reading!

First, let me thank netgalley and the publishers for approving my request for an early release of this book. All reviews of my netgalley books can be found on goodreads and youtube. Please be sure to check out the links attached.

Another winner from Higgins, we get to know the characters and come to love them. Three generations of women that anyone can relate to and enjoy.

Family and forgiveness take the lead in this novel that is both entertaining and serious. Tackling topics like mental illness, aging relatives and difficulties in parenting, Higgins lovingly helps us understand the various perspectives of her characters. Flawed and familiar, Emma, Genevieve and Miller have a lot to deal with emotionally, but there are plenty of lighter moments in the book as well. Emma's return to her childhood home is an unexpected but important journey, a journey that is worth taking with her.