I didn't finish this book and must get back to it one day, now that I've read the second book in the series, The Perfect Match.

I went back to this before it was due back at the library. It is a typical modern romance in a typical small beach town setting.

It was heart tugging. The heroine, Colleen, is a character - a very bright, humorous, flirty woman who loses her first love, Lucas, after high school and meets him again 10 years later.

The only thing that's ever really been mine has been you, he tells her. He's a sympathetic character. A romantic.

She is the typical fearful woman - afraid to show him how she feels - and he's afraid too. But ultimately it is he who puts words to it. Despite her wits, she is not the one with the words... Realistic?! I hope not. ( )

What I adore about Kristan Higgins books is that they're more than just about romantic relationships. There's family relationships and friendships to go along with the romance. It makes for a better rounded character. My only problem with this particular book is the overuse of taking God's name in vain and calling on the saints the heroine does in highly emotional situations. It just seems so over-the-top. ( )

Waiting on You is another outrageously witty and occasionally heartbreaking romance from über talented Kristan Higgins. In this third installment of the Blue Heron series, peppy, cheerful and well-liked bar owner Colleen O'Rourke gets a second chance with the only man she has ever loved, Lucas Campbell. Will this fun-loving, flirtatious matchmaker finally find her happily ever after?

Colleen and Lucas were high school sweethearts whose long distance relationship survived the first few years of college only to crash and burn after a huge fight. Although he never quite forgot his first love, Lucas married and worked his way up the ranks to a successful career in his father-in-law's company. A few years later, his marriage ended in an amicable divorce, and just as he is wrapping up his final project before starting his own business, he returns to Manningsport for a family emergency.

Colleen loves her hometown and she co-owns a thriving bar with her twin brother Connor. She is confident, sassy and popular with a big circle of friends. Although she has a successful track record as matchmaker, she has remained single since her break up with Lucas. When her friend Paulie Petrosinsky asks Colleen to set her up with Bryce Campbell (cousin to Lucas) just around the same time Lucas is returning to town, the former lovers clash over Colleen's matchmaking efforts.

Lucas and Colleen still share an insanely powerful attraction to one another and there is hesitation on both sides to resume a relationship. With Lucas planning on leaving town when his family business is wrapped up and with Colleen's roots firmly embedded in Manningsport, there really appears to be no future for them. However they eventually pick up right where they left off, but they take things day by day, never really looking too far into the future. And when their respective pasts collide with their present, their future together becomes extremely uncertain.

Waiting on You is written from both Lucas and Colleen's perspectives and their past history is revealed through flashbacks. Lucas's background is heartbreaking and knowing about his dysfunctional family helps explain his reaction to a revelation late in the story. Colleen's family has its own brand of crazy and her relationship with her parents has its shares of ups and downs.

In Waiting on You, Kristan Higgins once again deftly blends a storyline that is full of heartache and humor into an extraordinary romance. With unforgettable, quirky characters, clever dialogue and a sweet, sexy love story, this latest addition to the Blue Heron series is a captivating novel that is guaranteed to tug on the reader's heartstrings (in between bouts of hysterical laughter :) ). ( )

I hardly ever read the blurb of books that have been recommended to me, as I don't like having crazy expectations. Though once I started reading this book and realized its a "second chance" kinda book.. I started to have doubts. I am not a big fan of these, as most of the time you miss out on that "first love" feeling.. however Higgins maneuvered the story around that problem beautifully! I felt all that first love chemistry which is one of the main reasons I read romance. Colleen and Connor have been some of my favourite characters so I am happy that one of them has a story (hoping Connor's will be coming up soon!)

Colleen is a spunky, funny woman. I love her. She's so easy going and fun. Lucas is that quite presence that always seems to balance out that loud crazy one. I think they were a wonderful match for each other. Without trying to spoil anything for anyone who reads this. There was an incident later in the story that got me a bit angry with the author.. not sure she could come back from what she'd had happen to the characters..(for me, anyway) - and it still lingers a bit in my mind.. but she did make it work better than I expected. I am still learning how this author works.. Only my 3rd book by her, however I am beginning to see that she just might be one of those authors that I can say... she'll fix this, I can trust her. :)

I am looking forward to the next book in the series... wonder who's it is! ( )

My second book by Higgins and I'm totally a happy camper for reading it!

What Worked: It's well known that Higgins' trademark is the humor liberally peppered throughout her books and this one was no exception. I loved the banter between the characters so much. The situations within had me laughing out loud often. I was grinning like a crazy lady through most of the book! When a book can make me laugh it's a good one. When a book can make me tear up also, it's even better. This book did all of that and more.

The characters were so very real to me even though there were quite a lot of them. They were funny, attractive, petty, jealous, insecure, flawed and wonderful. I couldn't have asked for more from them. Although this was Colleen and Lucas' romance there were several different stories happening too. When a book has several different storylines happening and so many characters inserted there can be a possibility of upstaging, where the H/h might get over shadowed by the backdrop. I don't think this happened at all. I was able to keep up with all that was happening and had a good time while doing so.

Also, I should mention that this is book #3 in the Blue Huron series and the only one I've read (the other book I read by Kristan was a standalone.) This book stood up by itself nicely and although many of the characters were introduced in the previous installments, Higgins did a great job of introducing them to me for the first time in this book. I don't regret reading this one first but now want to go back and read the other 2 just to see if they were just as good. Oh and I particularly liked that Higgins chose to utilize the third person narrative with this series rather than the first person narrative she uses most of the time. I thought seeing the inner thoughts of both the hero and the heroine added a depth to the story that I think 1st person narrative sometimes misses.

What Didn't Work: At times I felt that the book had been going on too long but this truly didn't take away from my enjoyment. I was happy reading page after page after page but some readers may find the opposite. Which is why I mentioned it in the "What Didn't Work" section of my review. Other than that I couldn't find fault in this story at all.

In a Nut Shell: Ultimately what Waiting On You brings is a lovely complicated love story in the middle of a bunch of complex interwoven relationships. I loved ever single minute of this book and I will go back and read the other books in the Blue Huron series without a doubt. ( )