Look on the Bright Side by Kristan Higgins @Kristan_Higgins @SiriouslySusan #ChristinaMoore @recordedbooks

the setup…
Larkby (Lark) Smith is a 33-year old resident in Oncology at Hyannis Hospital, her long-time dream. But she’s just blown it, her tendency to get too emotionally connected to her patients erupting for the umpteenth time and now she’s being moved to Emergency. Then she gets a summons from Dr. Lorenzo Santini (aka Dr. Satan) to meet her for dinner. Lark has her own miserable experience with the man who’s aptly earned his hospital nickname and can’t imagine why he wants to see her. See, Lorenzo’s 99-year old grandmother (Noni) is dying and he wants her to rest in peace knowing that he’s in a relationship with someone other than her to care for him. In return for her being his fake girlfriend for the summer, Lorenzo will facilitate Lark’s transfer back to Oncology. What could go wrong?

the heart of the story…
Lorenzo isn’t known as Dr. Satan for nothing and Lark has the daunting task of getting people to understand what she sees in the foul behaving man, genius and brilliance notwithstanding. When she meets his family, it’s so much easier but you can tell Lorenzo learned everything from his Noni (she’s just awful). Trouble is, Lark’s also immediately drawn to his firefighter brother Dante and the family is not in on the ruse. As things progress, Lark’s history slowly emerges and it’s heartbreaking. Meanwhile, there’s trouble brewing with Lark’s parents as Ellie discovers a betrayal and moves in with Lark’s landlady Joy.

the narration…
Lark, Ellie and Joy provide the points of view for the story and I’m so grateful there were separate performers for each of these characters. All seemed to inhabit and “get” them, making me believe in their distinctions and storytelling. They elevated an already great story.

the bottom line…
There are lots of hilarious moments to balance the deeply emotional aspects but have the tissues at the ready. One particular scene had me almost sobbing in its grace, sadness and beauty. It’s a fine piece of writing. I’m always guaranteed exceptionally layered characters and stories from Higgins and the payoff here was enormous. These are characters you become invested in quickly and have a stake in what happens. I loved every single thing about it, tears and all.

Book Info

• Release Date: May 28, 2024
• Narrators: Susan Bennett, Christina Moore & Xe Sands
• Audio Length: 12 hours, 34 minutes
• Publisher: Recorded Books

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(Thanks to NetGalley and Recorded Books for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)