First of all, if you are on the fence about whether or not to read this book because it is giving you that "chick-lit" vibe, you can climb down now sista and start reading ...this one is all about the romance.

My One and Only is Harper Evan's story, a 33-year-old divorce (and divorced) lawyer living year-round on Martha's Vineyard with her Toto-lookalike dog. She is attractive, successful...but OMG what a force to be reckoned with!. She is cynical, she is sarcastic and she has extreme OCD issues. Having as much to do with her personality as with her profession, she "gives advice" (think "forcing it down one's throat") to family, friends, strangers...wherever she (and only she) thinks it is needed.

Early on, Harper is telling Dennis, her hunky fireman BF of 2 years, that it's time to get married...reading him a list of changes he needs to make before they do the deed, and then whips out the engagement ring she bought for herself! I don't like doormat heroines, but would I enjoy an opposite to the extreme? Fortunately, we learn early on why Harper is so controlling, why she refuses to leave anything to fate, and why she is in the business of breaking up marriages, although to Harper's credit her clients come to her when their marriages are already in trouble, and she simply counsels them with her motto "accept in your heart what your head already knows". (Having been through a divorce, I might have spared myself the unnecessary grief and wasted time spent trying to make the marriage work if someone would have counseled me with that advice.)

Under Harper's many layers of self-imposed protective armor, we find there is a frightened and vulnerable girl beneath who has had her heart broken twice...by the two people she loved the most. Nick Lowery, Harper's ex-husband and the love of her life, is one of those two people. Now Harper is on her way to Montana to serve as maid-of-honor for her sister, Willa, who is marrying Chris Lowery, Nick's brother. Harper and Nick haven't seen each other for 12 years...

This is the first book I've read by Kristan Higgins and I was totally blown away by how talented she is. I admire authors in general simply because they have the ability to come up with an idea that they can stretch over several hundred pages. Then there is that select group of authors who are, to me, what movie stars are to my mother. I want to see them in person...be the first in line to buy their latest books...talk about them, talk with them...be eternally infatuated with each and every one of them because they provide my entertainment, and, therefore, are responsible for a big chunk of my happiness. In short, they are my auto-buys. With one book, Ms. Higgins is in. She is a fantastic storyteller and funnier than hell...which, IMO, is no small feat. I make an effort to avoid authors that try to be funny because it rarely works for me in a romance novel. But KH has that great talent of being subtly funny - kind of in the dry humor family - and I was LOL throughout the entire book! Not a big deal, you say? A common mechanism used by writers? Then let me rephrase that: KH (love the initials) has the unique ability to make you laugh out loud on one page and have you sobbing miserably on the next. No kidding! It happens so many times you are emotionally spent (but in a good way) by the end of the book.

My One and Only is also a great character study. Whether it be the wise-cracking priest, Father Bruce, Harper's Tammy Faye Baker-like stepmother BeverLee, or Nick's half-brother Jason (I wannabe Tom) Cruise, everyone who has a speaking part in this book is a lifelike, 3-dimensional character. Assessing these people through Harper's eyes is a delight, and for the first time I truly enjoyed a book written in first person. Harper is the "smart-ass extraordinaire" and so downright candid that it is a little shocking at first but wicked cool once you get used to it. In fact, I think I was suffering from a little 'heroine worship' there for awhile as she acted out in situations the majority of us would never have the nerve to attempt.

At that moment, Jodi Pickering, Dennis' high school girlfriend and a waitress here, shoved the prow of her bosom in Den's jaw. "Are you all set here, Denny?" she asked, ignoring me and giving my soon-to-be fiance a docile, cowlike gaze.
"Hey, Jodi. What's up?" Dennis said, grinning past her 36-Ds to her face. "How's the little guy?"
"Oh, he's great, Denny. It was so nice that you stopped by the game the other night. He just loves you! And you know, without a father in the picture, I think T.J. really needs ---"
"Okay, we get it, Jodi-with-an-i," I said, smiling pleasantly up at her. "You have an adorable son and are still quite available. Dennis, however, is with me. If you would just take your boobs out of my boyfriend's face, I would deeply appreciate it."

LOL

Even Harper's dog, Coco, a tiny Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix, had a personality (albeit that of a drama queen).

Though I'd checked on Coco numerous times throughout the day and Dennis had taken her on a few walks, she was in full Chihuahua orphan mode, huge eyes, still body, not raising her head from her tragic little paws, looking at me as if I'd just locked her in Michael Vick's basement...

I realize I'm putting emphasis on the book's humor but overall the storyline is very serious and quite heart-wrenching. This is Harper and Nick's very precious but very sad love story...two people who had found that true, once-in-a-lifetime love together but were unable to hold on. Their siblings' wedding will bring them back together for the first time in 12 years. Will they at least be able to get the closure they both need so desperately?

My throat tightened, and the nearness of him, the only man who ever made me feel cherished...it just sucker-punched my heart.
"Sleep tight," I whispered.
"You, too."
God, I'd missed him.
Nick was quiet, his skin as warm as I was cold. We lay like that for a long time, not talking, not moving. The wind blew, Coco adjusted herself and gave a little doggy snore. Nick's breathing was slow and even, and this...the two of us lying together, was as comforting and wonderful as anything I'd ever felt. And horrible, because it brought such a pain to my heart. We'd had something special and rare, Nick and I. There had been more to our marriage than loneliness and tunnel vision and wretched communication skills. There'd been times like this, lying in the dark...together.
When I was sure he was asleep, I touched his hand. Just a little, just a little brush of my fingertips against the back of his lovely, wonderful hand.
"You asked why I couldn't forgive you," Nick said, very quietly, and I jumped a little. "It was because you were the love of my life, Harper. And you didn't want to be. That's hard to let go."

*sigh* Such a good book.
many, many stars ********