Kristan Higgins books are always a win. The characters feel like real people with real problems, who make hard choices in believable ways. This was so moving.

Filled with heart!

Kristan Higgins books are written with so much compassion for the characters she creates. Always the Last to Know is about family, forgiveness, love, and heart. Exploring the complexity that comes with families, the book centers around the Frosts.

Barb and John have been married nearly 50 years and their marriage has seen its fair share of ups and downs. Lately it has been more downs than ups, but Barb has been staying busy. When Barb gets a call that her husband John has been rushed to the hospital, she learns that he has had a stroke.

Their daughters Juliet and Sadie couldn’t be more different. Responsible, level-headed Juliet is her mother’s daughter, while free-spirited Sadie is her father’s girl. Still, both daughters want to be there for their parents during this trying time.

When Barb accidentally uncovers a secret on John’s phone, her whole life is called into question. This family has their fair share of secrets and dysfunction, but beneath it all they are still a family.

Filled with complex relationships, Always the Last to Know delivers on many levels. From the pain that comes with the secrets in Barb and John’s marriage to the romance between Sadie and the man she left behind when she left home after high school—there is a lot to discover about this family.

But truly, the most rewarding story for me was the one about Barb and her daughters. This family is imperfect (what family isn’t?) but the bonds of a family are also hard to break. Beautiful!

What can I say about this title? it was so so so good. I love all of Ms.Higgins books. I have read every single one of her titles and follow her podcast religiously. The way she intertwines all characters and tugs at my heart strings. I staff pick all her titles

This book is about family, forgiveness, love, and heart. Exploring the complexity that comes with families, the book centers around the Frosts. The Frosts felt like such an authentic family and their ups and downs were so relatable. Higgins always does such a fantastic job of emotionally pulling you in to the story and I really enjoyed this one.

This was an interesting family drama. However, I found myself struggling to relate and like the characters, especially Sadie.

When I started reading the book, I thought it was going to be another one of those "girl desparate to get married, searches for love" stories, but it quickly morphed into a family-centric story of love, loyalty, and finding one's true joy. We not only see the story from the point of view of Sadie, a art teacher in NYC who moves home to Connecticut after her father suffers a stroke to help care for him, but also her sister, Juliet, her mother, Barb, and her father, John. Each person has secrets and issues they are hiding below the surface, and readers are treated to the evolution of each characted as they resolve their issues and find their true joy.

Barb and John have been married for nearly 50 years. When John has a stroke, the couple's two daughters, Juliet (Mama's girl) and Sadie (Daddy's girl) return home to care for their dad and help mom. To sum it up, many secrets are reveal throughout this process and, as predicted, not all is as happy as it seems. But love is a powerful thing - and while things may not always be "perfect", hope is not always lost. This family has to face their reality and it makes for a great novel. Great story with great characters and I loved the multiple POVs.
Thanks to Kristan Higgins, Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC.

This one was just kind of okay for me. It was nothing special. I enjoyed it for part of it. but quickly lost interest. I know that some people would really enjoy this read, but it just was not for me.

I wish this were 3 different books instead of one, because all those POVS should be told separately. But I still loved KH’s way of story telling.

I am not even a tiny bit surprised that I absolutely loved this book from Kristan Higgins! She is my ride or die author. I have read everything she has ever written and will continue to do so for as long as she keeps giving me books to read! She is constantly bringing me stories that I love, with characters that I enjoy rooting for.

In Always the Last to Know, we meet a flawed yet very realistic family as they all struggle in their own ways with life after their husband/father suffers from a stroke. I felt what these characters were going through and I liked that they weren't perfect. It was heart breaking at times but so well written and just so good. I loved the little bit of second chance romance thrown in.

Thank you Kristan for delivering another amazing read! I look forward to your next great book!

I love a book with multiple POV’s and Higgins seamlessly changes voices with every chapter.
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John and Barb have been married for almost fifty years with two grown girls. Sadie, John’s favorite and Juliet, Barb’s favorite. They all got along, life was pleasant-ish and then John had a stroke and the life they knew came tumbling down.
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The girls came home to help care for their dad and they each are facing their own ghosts. The life they thought they knew and the life they project to the world is not a true picture.
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This is a story of finding peace with oneself, their relationships and how you are supposed to feel and how you actually feel. It tells the story of joy, happiness and forgiveness. It tells the story of love and not just romantic love. As Higgins wrote, “Love didn’t have to be romantic to encircle you in its arms.” There is all sorts of love. The love for a parent, sibling, child, step child, grandparent, cousin and friend. Higgins puts this familiar love on display.
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Thank you to #NetGalley and #Berkleypub for an arc in exchange for an honest review

Kristan Higgins books are long time favorites. I can always count on her for stories rich with family, friendship, and connection. Always The Last To Know delivers with compelling family drama with characters that were messy, complicated, and very realistic.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2021 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2021/02/2021-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

This one made my heart hurt in places, and made me cry. An emotional story of family and the mixed and messy emotions they evoke. I couldn't even hate (view spoiler) I loved Barb, but I feel like better communication might have helped. Who knows? She definitely deserved better. Maybe they could've (view spoiler)

Out of Sadie and Juliet, I liked Juliet more. I wasn't thrilled with how Sadie treated her mom through the years, and how John undermined Barb's authority, making John and Sadie a sort of team against mean-ole-mom. Poor Barb. I was rooting for Sadie's romance, but more for Noah than for her. (view spoiler)

For a Kristan Higgins book, this one was awfully tough to love...I had a hard time connecting to the female MCs; they all improved by the end (and I do mean the end--nearly the last minute for two of them), but it was a close thing. Honestly, with 20 minutes left in the audio book, I was seriously concerned that the ending would at least be happy-ish for all 3 of them (and in spite of everything, I really did want HEAs).

John's chapters were especially heartbreaking to read. My dad's last days were spent in a similar state--though he didn't live as long with it as John, and definitely didn't improve as much as he did--which made reading them twice as tough at times. He wasn't the focus here, but still.

I do wish Ms Higgins would veer more toward romance again and less toward women's fiction, though. I really do need the guarantee of a true HEA along with my quirky characters and interesting family dynamics.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars / C+

Life changed for the Frost women the day that John Frost had a near-fatal stroke. For his daughter, Juliet, it was just one more thing to add to her plate. As a successful architect with two young daughters of her own Juliet is drowning under her responsibilities. For Sadie, the daddy's girl, it was devastating to think that her father was a mere mortal. She dropped everything from her life in New York City to return home to help her mother care for him. She never thought that she would return home, yet here she is, and she is surprised to find out that it isn't nearly as bad as she thought it would be. For Barb, it was a shock to hear that her husband's life was in peril. Their marriage hasn't been the best in recent years, but after fifty years of marriage, there are bound to be ups and downs. But when Barb unlocks John's phone, she realizes that he has been keeping secrets from her. Will John survive the stroke and if he does, will their marriage survive his secrets?

Always the Last to Know is the tale of three women and the relationships in their lives, as well as with each other. Barb is the matriarch of the Frost family and she has made it her life's work to care for her husband, their children, and their home. Juliet and Sadie were two very different women. Sadie was a bit of a free spirit and Juliet was the responsible one who took her responsibilities very seriously. I liked all three women, but could clearly see their flaws where they could not. The book is narrated from all three women and at times Barb's narration was from the past, so you could see how her marriage to John ended up the way it did. What is clear is that every relationship has it's ups and downs and can be very complicated. Of course, everything everybody got a happy ending, but that doesn't mean what you think it does. - CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS.

Bottom Line - Kristan Higgins has made it to my "Favorite Author's" list over the last few years. While Always the Last to Know was not my favorite, it was still really good. With great characters and a theme that can resonate with any woman, no matter what stage of life they are in right now.

Details:
Always the Last to Know by Kristan Higgins
On Instagram
Pages: 400
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: 6/8/2020
Buy it Here!
Thank you to NetGalley for the free book in exchange for an honest review.

I've enjoyed Kristan's books in the past, but this one just didn't get off the ground to me. I tried to read it but the characters didn't speak to me, so I'm going to decline reviewing this one here because I hate to give her a bad review. So sorry!

It often takes a tragic situation for some families to reconnect — or even connect — with one another.
Barb and John Frost have been married for almost half a century. Truthfully, even though it hasn’t been said, they are bored with each other. They have two daughters. Juliet is the “perfect” one and her mother’s favorite, while Sadie is more free-spirited and the apple of her father’s eye.
When John has a stroke, Sadie, who is single, puts her life in New York on hold to come home to help take care of him.
Juliet is dealing with panic attacks, although her parents and sister don’t know. The idea of trying to be perfect all the time is weighing on her.
Before it’s all over, secrets come out, and the family changes for good.
I always enjoy Higgins’ books, and since she is a NYT best-selling author, others must as well.

Always the Last to Know is a family drama about the Frost family- John, Barb, and their daughters Sadie and Juliet. Juliet has always been Barb’s favorite, Sadie was John’s favorite. When John has a stroke Sadie moves back home from NYC to Connecticut to help with his recovery.
For me, this book was just okay. It was slow paced and I really did not like Barb. (I got so tired of her saying Gosh!) I did like Sadie and Noah’s relationship and Barb’s friend Caro.
I liked the multiple POVs, but the storyline and characters were rather depressing. An acceptable read, just not a favorite.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
I wanted to like this. I really gave it my all, but in the end I couldn't get through the sadness and weighted melancholy of each character.