Just One of the Guys

by Kristan Higgins

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter



By now I'm sure you're all aware that I am a Kristan Higgins fan girl. I have some of her back list to get through yet. I read her novels differently though I hoard them and don't read them. I save them for when I need a case of the warm fuzzies. I know that one of her books is going to make me laugh and get teary-eyed; often at the same time.

Chastity O'Neil isn't your average romance novel heroine. She's tall. She's built. She's awkward. And she was raised with four brothers so she doesn't really dig the girly scene. Chastity is a really sweet woman and a nerd. That made her instantly likeable for me. She is also a journalist and extremely queasy. I felt like we could be friends in real life.

Trevor has been an adopted part of Chastity's family for most of her life. His own family fell apart and the O'Neils were there to catch him. He is also Chastity's life crush. Her crust on Trevor started in their childhood but cemented as they grew. He is kind, courteous, and thoughtful. It probably goes without saying that he's a looker too.

The thing about a book by Higgins is that you get that awesome family/small town vibe without the downsides. Just One of the Guys hit particularly close to home. Chastity's parents are divorced, recently, but it's not your average divorce. On the upside it's amicable and they're able to spend time with the family together. On the downside almost everyone in the family considers it a ploy for Chastity's mother to get her ex-husband to retire. My parents divorced almost three years ago. I knew it was coming. I thought because I didn't live at home it would be easy. I was wrong.

I'm sure because of that personal experience I related more to Chastity. There's a certain joy in finding yourself in the pages of a book. Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins and Chastity did that for me.