A Little Ray of Sunshine is a complex look at adoption from all perspectives and how it affects each life. A heavy topic that’s handled with the seriousness it deserves but the way it’s presented is also light, joyful and beautifully written.
Harlow is working when the son she placed for adoption 18 years ago walks into her bookstore to meet her. Matthew’s family is vacationing on the cape and he wants to get to know his birth mother. Harlow is thrilled but the rest of her family never knew she had a son, and his adoptive family feels blindsided by his actions.
Higgins always creates wonderfully real people I’d love to know and be friends with. . And can I bring Grandpa home?
And as always Higgins books are a love letter to the outer cape. I loved the walk from the bookstore to Cynthia’s home that used a real route I didn’t know you could take, and I learned something new about my town.
A wonderful read I highly recommend.

This one didn't ping for me the way Kristan Higgins's books usually do, but I'm extremely confident that was a question of subject matter and not the author's ability.

This was a beautiful family story about adoption, motherhood and forgiveness. A very raw and tender story with a lovely cast of characters. Have your kleenexes ready!

I know I can count on Higgins for a good story, so I knew not to be disappointed even though this story didn't immediately grab me like hers usually do, and I'm glad I kept reading. I knew Higgins would deliver an uplifting, emotional, relatable tale with a realistically happy ending for everyone, and she did.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read a lot of books by Kristan Higgins and this one is now one of my favorites. This is a beautiful story that will tug at your heart, make you laugh, and will remind you how important a mom, or two, can be. I loved Harlow, loved her family, and loved her romance with Grady. I would highly recommend.

I don’t read the Women’s Fiction genre as a rule, but I make an exception for Kristen Higgins. I love the way she writes families and best friends. She writes the world I wish I lived in and while not shying away from deep and sometimes painful feelings, always manages to infuse a sense of humor into most scenes.

This particular book is all about adoption — exploring it from every perspective: the adopted child, adopting family, and the birth mother and father. While the main storyline concerns a woman who gave up her baby at 17 and gets a (sudden) chance to meet him 18 years later, several other characters have different adoption experiences which are shared.

Our main character (Harlow, the birth mother) is part owner of a book store on Cape Cod; her gummy imbibing grandfather is losing his marbles in a somehow adorable way (he may be the best character in the book); and both the birth and adoptive families are replete with interesting siblings, cousins, etc. A strong message of (sexual) diversity and acceptance is transmitted via the requisite lesbian couple, transsexual employee, and a pretty hysterical speed dating event with no gender boundaries.

A few parts felt a little repetitive to me (but then we do tend to let our brains perseverate over issues important and / or painful to ourselves) but overall enjoyed as much as usual with Higgins’ books.

Perfection! Kristan Higgins has a gift for writing books that make you laugh, cry and everything in between. Her vibrant characters experiencing real-life situations, and reacting in human ways, draw you in. Every time I finish I Higgins book I find myself wishing heartily that the characters were real and that I could meet them. Don't miss this beautiful story of family, both adoptive, blood, and chosen.