It Had to Be You

Score: 4/5 Bookmarks

Thank you to Atria for gifting me a review copy of It Had to Be You by Georgia Clark. This was my first Georgia Clark book, and definitely won’t be my last.

Liv is a wedding planner in Brooklyn, running her company ‘In Love in New York’ with her husband. When he dies unexpectedly her world is turned upside down in more ways than one—especially when his young, blonde girlfriend shows up holding Elliot’s will, which proclaims she (Savannah) owns half of In Love in New York! We mainly follow Liv and Savannah’s stories, but interwoven are wonderful stories about people in their orbit.

At first, I kept getting a little confused because there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but once you get to know them you feel like you’ve been friends for years. I was trying to decide which character’s story I enjoyed the most but I couldn’t pick just one. I loved them all for very different reasons, and the Love Actually style interconnectivity made it all the sweeter in my mind. There are laughs, and a lot of tender moments of self-discovery as well. Quite a few heavy topics are touched on in this book, but it’s done with a light hand.

We got to chat with Georgia at the end of our buddy read with the LoveARCtually Book Club and it was so fun hearing about her writing process and the research she did for this book. Plus, talking to another Aussie made me homesick (in the best possible way).

This is the perfect read this summer, and you can grab your own copy via the button below.

Synopsis:

The author of the novel The Bucket List returns with a witty and heartfelt romantic comedy featuring a wedding planner, her unexpected business partner, and their coworkers in a series of linked love stories—perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Casey McQuiston.

For the past twenty years, Liv and Eliot Goldenhorn have run In Love in New York, Brooklyn’s beloved wedding-planning business. When Eliot dies unexpectedly, he even more unexpectedly leaves half of the business to his younger, blonder girlfriend, Savannah. Liv and Savannah are not a match made in heaven, to say the least. But what starts as a personal and professional nightmare transforms into something even savvy, cynical Liv Goldenhorn couldn’t begin to imagine.

It Had to Be You cleverly unites Liv, Savannah, and couples as diverse and unique as New York City itself, in a joyous Love-Actually-style braided narrative. The result is a smart, modern love story that truly speaks to our times. Second chances, secret romance, and steamy soul mates are front and center in this sexy, tender, and utterly charming rom-com.