On Second Thought

Kristan Higgins's On Second Thought is a standalone novel about two half-sisters and the summer that forces them together. Kate O'Leary is a successful photographer, newly married to Nathan and settling into life in suburban Cambry-on-Hudson, New York. When Nathan dies suddenly in an accident, she is widowed only months into the marriage.

Ainsley, Kate's ever-cheerful half-sister, has spent years supporting her boyfriend Eric — through cancer, and in the expectation of a proposal. Instead, shortly after she finds a ring, he breaks up with her publicly on his blog.

Ainsley moves in with Kate, and over one summer the two grieve, argue, uncover family secrets and — for the first time — become genuine sisters. There is romance here, but the spine of the book is the relationship between the two women.