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IT HAD TO BE YOU
Beth Moran
Boldwood Books
Publication Date: June 10th, 2024
393 Pages
Goodreads | Amazon
Genres: Women’s Fiction | Romance
I have loved every book I’ve read by this author. Let It Snow, Take Me Home and Because You Loved Me were all four-star reads for me and I am happy to report that It Had to Be You did not disappoint. Moran’s books are always realistic and detail-oriented.
In this one, we have Libby who is a single mother with a life in chaos. She has a messy house, runs a charity and is very work-oriented. I could relate…even though my boys are now 35 and 40 I remember those days and though I remember them with fondness they were also really hard.
This is a second-chance romance with now and then chapters. I enjoyed getting the backstory of the characters to see what they were like growing up. I am not a big romance fan but Beth Moran always adds something to her stories where the romance is secondary. Even though this is a romance it is in no way a fluffy read. Moran tackles some tough topics like mental health, parental abandonment, drugs, teenage pregnancy, divorce and extramarital affairs. I love that she writes about these issues in such a realistic way while being sensitive at the same time.
I loved the foster care angle, it was so refreshing to see a positive spin on it. I’ve read lots of thrillers with foster parents and they were always negative. Some of the stories in this book were so heartbreaking and I appreciated that the author showed a single teenage dad stepping up and taking responsibility, these are few and far between. I loved the side character, Nicky the most, she reminded me of my own sister in the way that she’s always there for her sis no matter what. All in all a wonderful book on second chances, what it means to be a success and learning to love yourself.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
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