Order of Kristan Higgins Books

Kristan Higgins was born on July 15, 1965, in Durham, Connecticut, where she grew up in a quirky, close-knit family that would later become the model for the humorous, heartfelt clans in her books. Raised in the kind of town where everyone knew your secrets before you did, Higgins soaked up the nuances of human behavior, the warmth of familial bonds, and the delicious awkwardness of love—and turned them into literary gold.

Higgins is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she studied English. But don't mistake her for the stereotypical nose-in-a-book academic. This future novelist once dreamed of becoming a firefighter and even briefly considered the convent. Lucky for us, she chose storytelling instead. Before she began writing full-time, she worked in advertising and public relations—crafting clever copy by day and dreaming of imperfect heroes and love-hardened heroines by night.

Her debut novel, Fools Rush In (2006), launched a wildly successful career built on the twin pillars of emotional honesty and laugh-out-loud humor. Since then, Higgins has authored over 20 bestselling books, winning readers with her trademark mix of small-town settings, complex family dynamics, and love stories that hurt before they heal. Her writing walks the tightrope between heartache and hilarity—just like real life.

While she’s known for her rom-com flair in her early works, Higgins made a bold and brilliant transition into deeper, more emotionally rich women's fiction with titles like If You Only Knew and Life and Other Inconveniences. These later works dig into themes like grief, motherhood, estrangement, and forgiveness—all without ever losing her signature warmth and wit.

She has received multiple accolades, including the Romance Writers of America RITA Award and starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. Her novels have been translated into over two dozen languages and have landed on The New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. That’s no small feat for someone whose books regularly tackle messy breakups, imperfect parents, and the agony of dating after divorce.

Despite her massive success, Kristan Higgins remains hilariously self-deprecating and refreshingly candid. She lives in Connecticut with her firefighter husband (yes, really), two kids, and an excessively photogenic dog named Luther. Her love of pie, wine, and "terrible TV" are as legendary as her plot twists.

And no—she’s not dead. Higgins is very much alive, still writing, still making us cry-laugh, and still reminding us that love stories don't end at "I do"... and sometimes don’t begin there either.

Her books aren’t just stories—they’re catharsis. They’re for anyone who’s ever been dumped, disappointed, or disillusioned, yet still believes in second chances. And in true Higgins style, the best stories are always the messy ones. The ones where the heroine falls flat on her face—literally or figuratively—and somehow manages to get back up, lipstick smudged, dignity barely intact, and ready to love again.

So go ahead—dive into a Kristan Higgins novel. Just make sure you have tissues... and maybe a pie.