Too Good to Be True

In Too Good to Be True (2009), a contemporary romance novel by Kristan Higgins, a young woman comes to terms with her ex-fiancé dating her younger sister by pretending she has a new boyfriend; somehow, she must keep her family from discovering the truth. The book won the RITA Award for the Best Contemporary Single Title Romance in 2010. A New York Times and internationally bestselling author, Higgins graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a BA in English; she worked in advertising, marketing, and public relations before turning to full-time writing.

Too Good to Be True takes place in Peterson, Connecticut. Protagonist Grace Emerson is an English teacher at a private high school. Although she loves her job, she is dissatisfied with her life. Her ex-fiancé, Andrew, recently started dating her younger sister, Natalie, and now everyone feels sorry for her. She doesn’t want their pity; it makes her feel pathetic.

One day, Grace attends yet another miserable family dinner. She sits between Andrew and Natalie; it’s obvious Andrew and Natalie love each other. Grace’s mother and father pretend nothing is wrong because they don’t want their daughters to fight over Andrew, but the atmosphere is embarrassing and awkward for everyone. What is worse, Natalie is a great sister, and Grace hates herself for resenting what Natalie has with Andrew.



Finally deciding she’s had enough of the sympathetic glances and well wishes, Grace pretends that she is dating a new man, Wyatt. She claims he is a high-flying pediatric surgeon with a great house, a fancy car, and smoldering good looks. Unfortunately—now, everyone wants to meet him. And he doesn’t exist.

When Natalie asks her to bring him round for the next family dinner, Grace makes excuses, claiming that he’s so busy with work and medical research that he doesn’t have time for family get-togethers. Knowing that she can only stall her family for so long, Grace hopes to meet someone real in the meantime. Her parents are happy that she has moved on, so Andrew and Natalie can act normally around her.

To make matters worse, Andrew and Natalie aren’t just dating: They’re falling in love. It’s obvious they have something special. They do all they can to spare Grace’s feelings. One day, Andrew proposes to Natalie, and they quickly set a wedding date. Now, if Grace doesn’t find a real boyfriend soon, she won’t have anyone to attend the wedding with her.



Desperate, Grace checks out the dating scene. She flirts with some guys, but it doesn’t go anywhere. In the meantime, Natalie asks Grace if she is bringing Wyatt to the wedding; Grace pretends he is so busy with work that he probably won’t make it. Grace suspects that Natalie knows there is something wrong, but she doesn’t press the issue.

Meanwhile, Grace meets her new neighbor, Callahan. An ex-con recently released from prison, he hopes to start a new life in a good neighborhood. Grace’s family disapproves of Callahan, assuming that he is a criminal masquerading as a good citizen. Grace agrees. Just because he is gorgeous and charming doesn’t mean he’s a good option for her—at least, that’s what she thinks at first.

Grace tells Callahan about Wyatt; she can tell that he is jealous. Grace feels bad, but she thinks she has no other choice. She can’t possibly date Callahan, and she isn’t ready to pretend she has broken up with Wyatt. In the meantime, however, Grace and Callahan become great friends, and she wishes she could invite him to the wedding.



Once they have started to become close, Callahan tells Grace about his time in prison. He was locked up for two years for a crime he didn’t commit; he took the blame for an embezzlement charge to protect his brother. Now he barely sees his family. Callahan still loves his brother, but he resents how he has been treated by him. For the first time, Grace feels that someone else understands what it’s like to love and hate a sibling at the same time.

Just when Grace starts falling for Callahan, he finds out that Wyatt doesn’t exist. He confronts Grace over her lies, and she apologizes for lying to him. He walks out, telling her he never wants to see her again. Heartbroken, Grace understands Callahan’s pain and regrets treating him so poorly.

Meanwhile, Natalie’s big day arrives, and Andrew cancels the wedding. He claims that he doesn’t love her, and so he can’t marry her. Grace punches him and consoles Natalie. Finally, Callahan comes back and apologizes to Grace for running out on her. Grace tells Natalie the truth about Wyatt.