SOMEBODY TO LOVE brings back characters from two of Kristan Higgins' earlier books. Heiress Parker Wells, the best friend and ex-girlfriend introduced in The Next Best Thing, discovers that her father has lost the family fortune due to his insider-trading scheme. Parker, who has been rather casual towards her own money (giving away what she earned and trusting her dad with her family finances), finds herself a single-mom with no money, no income, and soon no home. Her only hope is the beach house she inherited. Parker arrives in Gideon's Cove, Maine (the setting for Catch of the Day) to discover that the house is more of a shack and definitely not a mansion. She's determined to get to work, fix up the house, and flip it for profit, even if she doesn't know what she's doing.

Lucky for her she has help. Her father's wing man, James Cahill, is watching her back. At loose ends with his only client in prison and feeling responsible for Parker's plight since he is the one who turned in her father, James follows her to Maine to check on her. Soon, he's moved in with his tool box and is doing the heavy lifting on the renovation. He's also motivated by the intense attraction he's felt for Parker since first meeting her, in spite of the fact that she acts as if she doesn't even want to know his name. The men and women of Gideon's Cove also befriend the pair, offering a hand, friendship, and guiding Parker to a new and unexpected profession.

I have spent the last couple of months catching up on Kristan Higgins' backlist. I've enjoyed reading her books; she writes great endings and complex characters. I must say, I think SOMEBODY TO LOVE is my favorite Higgins book so far. I liked Parker and James and the sparks they struck with each other. Much of the book is about them coming to know, trust, and love each other; a plot structure that contrasts to Ms. Higgins earlier books during which the characters spent a lot of time apart. I always love revisiting familiar characters from earlier books, so the updates on characters from two books are a real treat.

Book Summary

After her father loses the family fortune in an insider-trading scheme, single mom Parker Welles is faced with some hard decisions. First order of business: go to Gideon's Cove, Maine, to sell the only thing she now owns—a decrepit house in need of some serious flipping. When her father's wingman, James Cahill, asks to go with her, she's not thrilled…even if he is fairly gorgeous and knows his way around a toolbox.

Having to fend for herself financially for the first time in her life, Parker signs on as a florist's assistant and starts to find out who she really is. Maybe James isn't the glib lawyer she always thought he was. And maybe the house isn't the only thing that needs a little TLC….