For as long as she can remember, Honor has been in love with her best friend and sometimes sex buddy, Brogan. She finally decides to take charge and confront Brogan only to be rejected. To top things off not long after he rejects Honor, he falls head over heels in love with her best gal pal, Dana.

Englishman, Tom Barlow, lost his fiancé to a tragic accident. Having no parental rights over her teenage son, Charlie, he has been forced to take a few hours here and there when his grandparents want to get rid of him as the boy no longer seems to love him like he used to. When his work visa isnt going to be renewed he decides to meet Honor in the hopes that she will be his bride so he can stay near his stepson.

I am really on the fence about this book. There are things I loved, and things I hated. First, Tom. I alternated between loving his character one moment to finding him stab-worthy. He could be so kind, his devotion to his stepson alone won my heart but then the way he treated Honor and some of the things he did and said made me want to stab him in his wishy washy heart!

There were too many characters that I couldnt stand; Dana, Brogan, Charlies real dad and the creepy Grandma. And in the instance with the creepy Grandma, it just didnt need to be. I kept thinking somehow her creepy habit was going to be tied in with Charlies moodiness, but it wasnt. I would have enjoyed less annoyances and more funnies and loveable characters.

The book has the crazy laugh out loud antics from the Holland family I love them. Prudence and her over the top sexcapades with her husband crack me up. Her knack for over sharing and horrifying her siblings and children is hilarious.

While this certainly hasnt been my favorite Kristan Higgins reads I still enjoyed it. I just had more personal issues with this one than usual. I cant wait to read the next book and find out whats happening with everyone.

Cherise Everhard, October 2013
Book provided by and reviewed for the Amazon Vine Program

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I devoured this in one day, laughed out loud, wept, enjoyed spending time with old familiar characters and meeting new ones. Maybe it helps if you like something wild to happen to a sensible heroine and to be patient while the hero works his way toward perfect.

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Ok, I never finished this book because it was so boring...and I just didn't care about Honor or Tom. I normally rush out to get Kristin Higgins books but this one was a total loser... There was no chemistry, contrary to the writer's comments in the book and even though I was more than halfway through, I never connected and didn't care. Plus I have too many other books to read to finish this one.

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Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings

Honor is in the middle of the family and has always been the core of the family. She has always taken on the brunt of the family by doing a lot of work at the vineyard and for the family, but her personal life may have taken a hit due to all of the things she took on.

I think I liked this one even more than the first. I knew the characters and was able to get into the story from the first page. Honor had more ups and downs and her story felt so real - trying to balance her full time professional life and large extended family while also making time to find love. I loved that Honor had a love story that started out like her, very business, but eventually she found the heart in it.

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So Kristan Higgins... Mostly I like her stuff, but sometimes there's enough that I dislike to color how much I enjoy the parts I do like, I think. Like, in the first Blue Heron book, I was super turned off by the whole thing with Mr. Holland's transgender date, and the author's treatment of the situation. In this book, it was definitely Honor's use of slutty for pretty much everything - it came across as pretty judgmental. I also just plain didn't care for Honor all that much. She felt pretty much just like every other Higgins heroine (she should totally try writing a female main character who hasn't had the worst relationship luck ever in the universe, and maybe has had at least one normal relationship in her past. They start to blend together after awhile). Tom was mostly ok, when he wasn't being an asshole, or trying to drink his problems away. So it's kind of difficult to like a romance novel all that much when you don't really care about the main characters.

I did like some of the secondary characters and subplots though. I really liked everything with Charlie. It was really heartbreaking, and I loved that Tom stepped in and tried to be a good influence for him. I like Goggy and Pops a lot - they remind me of my Nana and Papa. I like the setting (the winery, more than the town. I thought the little bits about wine and wine making were interesting). I thought Mr. Holland's romance was sweet, and I liked that he found someone.

Despite my issues with this book, I'll most likely read the next one (it looks like it's about Colleen, one of the secondary characters that I like a lot)

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