Now That You Mention It

By: Kristan Higgins

Narrated by: Xe Sands

Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

Following the success of If You Only Knew and On Second Thought comes the highly anticipated new novel by New York Times best-selling author Higgins - a funny and bittersweet story of a woman who returns to her hometown after a decade's absence hoping to resuscitate her relationship with her family, only to discover that her homecoming is not as welcome as she had imagined.

It's been over a decade since Nora left her hometown of Scupper Island, Maine, and very seldom looked back. She's carved out a successful life in Boston, where no one knows her as the awkward girl with the delinquent sister and the dad who left, but a not-as-dramatic-as-it-sounds brush with death has her taking stock of her life. Inspired to reconnect with her prickly mother and snarky teenage niece, Nora returns home for the summer, where she's forced to face the people she's spent the last ten years trying to avoid and where some revelations about her family could either heal her or send her scrambling back to Boston on the next ferry.

©2017 Kristan Higgins (P)2017 Recorded Books

Critic Reviews

"The first-person point of view, coupled with a skilled narration by Xe Sands, immediately draws the listener into Nora Stuart's story.... Sands smartly voices the Maine accent of Nora's mother and other islanders. Sands has the listener laughing as she brings the comedic elements alive and pulls their heartstrings at the sad moments, both of which give the story rich dimension." (AudioFile)  

Spoiler alert

This book has a detailed rape scene - I stopped listening. I bought this expecting another typical Higgins romantic comedy, but this was not it.

10 million stars!

Kristan Higgins has already written some of my favorite novels and they are divine. But they keep getting better. It’s mind boggling. Maybe it’s that they are dealing with deeper subjects. This is the first that made me cry. Plus no one delivers better comedic narration than Xe Sands.

Disappointing

I have loved all of Kristan Higgins’ books and have anxiously awaited each new one. That being said, this one was a disappointment. While it was well written and very professionally read, the story was overly sad and drawn out. Midway thru, I couldn’t stand the drama any more and skipped ahead to the last few chapters to see how it turned out. I so hope that her future books are a bit more fun and less heartache.

Trigger warning needed

I am not generally supportive of the idea of trigger warnings for a book, but I think this one actually merits one. When you pick up a romance novel--especially one by an author who generally writes light hearted, humorous romances--you don't expect to get a long, detailed, step-by-step description of a physical assault, but that's exactly what she does here. She does a good job of getting inside the head of someone undergoing such an attack, and I think it's quite well-written, but it just is not what most people would expect from the Kristan Higgins brand and I can imagine it really affecting someone badly.

As for the rest of the book, I generally really like the Kristan Higgins formula, which this book follows (open with heroine facing some disaster, insert a lovable dog, odd family dynamics and secrets and several quirky friends, add a somewhat mysterious hero and voila--you have a KH romance). However, this time it just didn't work for me. I'm not quite sure of what didn't ring true, but something was off. I think I never really believed in any of the characters, except possibly the teenage girls. The hero, in particular, was a real cipher. We just don't get enough of him to really know him at all, and they hardly spend any time together. In fact, the book may actually have been better without that romance. It could have worked just as well if they formed a supportive friendship instead of going for the HEA. It's really more a story of the heroine coming to terms with her past and for that the romance was unnecessary. In addition, there was some really superfluous violence at the end that seemed out of character and unnecessary. Just not one of her best.

As for the narration, Xe Sands has a very particular style that I thought was fine for the first few books of KH's that I listened to, but it's a style that I have gotten very tired of.

Totally enjoyable

Now That You Mention It by Kristan Higgins is my 1st book by this author. I am not sure what has gotten me in this mode of reading books about these dysfunctional and wounded but wonderful characters but this is one of several books this year that fall in this type of genre. I guess I find it fascinating to read about their messed up lives and how they over come all the heartaches and mistakes to find a beautiful and fulfilling life.

Nora Stuart has been bullied all her life .. she has been called a troll, fat, she has been pushed, shoved, and knocked down, she has been threaten by her fellow classmate and even her little sister Lily. It all started when Nora at the age of 12 had a life changing event happens to both her and her little sister Lily, their Dad suddenly leaves with not a word as to why and where he has gone. At the age of 18 Nora see a chance to change her life and sets out with grit, resolve and determination to win the a full Tufts Scholarship bestowed on a local senior. Upon winning the scholarship Nora leaves the a small island Scupper Island off the coast of Maine, heads to off to Boston where she is transformed; she loses weight, goes off to medical and becomes a very successful specialist to be hired at prestigious Boston Gastroenterology office. Life events interfere in Nora’s life once again; she is almost raped and murdered, a year later gets hit by a van, sustaining severe injuries to only wake up to find he boyfriend hitting on another woman. All of this leads Nora into taking a leave of absence and return to after 17 years to Scupper Island. Back to a mother that is distant, cold, uncaring and just not happy to see her back, back to a home town that blames her winning a scholarship that causes the local hero, Luke's downfall. Back to find her surly 15-year-old niece, Poe is living with Nora’s mother while sister Lily is incarcerated in Seattle.

Now That You Mention It is Nora’s heartbreaking, emotional and finally joyful journey of finding her confidence and accepting herself; along this journey she discovers family secrets and love once more. I highly recommend this book and have added several other Kristan Higgins books to my TBR list.

This book was narrated by Xe Sands. I almost returned the book because of the narration but in the end so glad I did not, total enjoyable.

Excellent Story!

Another excellent book by Kristan Higgins! Expertly crafted story of Dr. Nora Stuart, who returns to her childhood home of Scupper Island, Maine, to heal, after being struck by a pest control van. Don’t listen to the reviews that say this is not a love story, like Ms. Higgins’ other books. There is plenty of romance in this book in the form of Sully Fletcher, Nora’s old classmate and brother of her high school crush. I only have one tiny criticism. In a lot of Ms. Higgins’ novels, the main character tries to set up her single parent with a mate and she does the same in this book. It’s a cute plot scene but it’s getting a little old. I have to admit, I’m a sucker for a story about life on an island so that is another aspect that made me enjoy this book even more. Hurry and write Another book Ms . Higgins! I can’t wait!!

Loved It

Took a chance on this contemporary book because I love, love, love Xe Sands. Glad I did, it was really good. I have a friend who is an Audible addict like me and we were just saying how there are so many awful books out there with great reviews. Not sure why this one got some bad reviews as it really flows well and was a breath of fresh air. Full of drama, sure, but isn't that why we listen to books?

Lovely semi romantic novel

I listened to this audible on a 7hr drive and didn’t actually feel like it was that long. Xe Sands is great at her accents and narrates this book great. The book was a romance to me, but I loved it. A little predictable in terms of ending, but great nonetheless.

✫✫ 4 Stars ✫✫

I really enjoyed this story. The characters were all so different, troubled and maybe a little lost. Listening to the story of how they find their way made my heart melt. I loved the setting too, Kristan Higgins really made me envision the island and the people. I've read a few others by this author and have loved them all. I might need add her to my binge list! Xe Sands was perfect! Loved the Boston accent for some of the characters too!

Love, love Love

This book had me crying, terrified, and laughing out loud! Beautifully written. Narration was phenomenal!!!