An endearing tale of childhood friends who reconcile after years of animosity. This book is brimming with charming banter and moments of laugh-out-loud comedy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the advance copy of this book.

This story helped me get out of my head, examining what a disaster the day had been. It was sweet, lovely, and romantic. And, for the time it took me to read the whole story, it made me forget about the frustration of all the little things that started to go wrong and mess up my day. And that is why I love reading, and the people who have the talent to write, so much.
I received an e-copy of this story for my honest review.

I loved the relationship in this. The book was a cute, quick read that got me out of a slump and I appreciate it for that. I loved the chemistry between the characters. The writing wasn't great, definitely not my favorite, but the story was enjoyable nonetheless.
If you're looking for a nice, fast-paced read, I recommend you try this book.

My first and definitely not my last book that I will be reading from Melissa Kate! From the first page to the last, I was hooked in!

This was a cute romance that I wish I had read sooner rather than later. I waited to read this until the last possible minute and I wish I hadn't because it was super cute. It had hardly any drama and angst and that's the way I like them. I'd definitely read anything from this author again!!

I enjoyed this cute novel. There were a ton of editing errors. After so many, it was tough to get through. It was in 3rd person with dual POV. I liked the dual POV, but the 3rd person made it a little confusing when each character had their own thoughts in each other's part.

I liked the characters. Emma and Oliver were hysterical! They kept me laughing. Emma was darn cute and I yearned to read more from her POV. While I liked the characters, I felt like so much was missing from the story. It went in a bunch of different directions and nothing captured my attention.

It's definitely a light-hearted read; however, I just had so many issues with it. It was hard to get passed them.

This was sweet and very relaxing read. Enjoyed it. Nice touches of humor here and there.

This was one of those books that I saw it was available as 'read now' and thought, "Why not?" I'm so glad I did! A fun story, great characters. I'd absolutely read future books from this author!

I absolutely loved this book. I felt the hero and heroine were perfect for one another as this story had passion, love, friendship and fantastic banter. Full Review to follow shortly!

Emma & Oliver were friends growing up despite their two year age difference. When Emma turned 13, Oliver distanced himself from Emma which ended their friendship. This hurt Emma because she didn't understand what happened or why

Years later when a local charity throws a bachelor auction, Emma ends up being the winning bet on Oliver due to her friend. Oliver never thought it would be Emma who won and now he is in a situation where he is protective or her but being near her is hard when he has a secret that could destroy her, its his reason for staying away.

I really liked this story. It cute and flirty in some areas and serious in others parts. I really like Oliver and Emma together if they can stop and relax around each other. Emma is hurt so she is keeping her guard up and Oliver is horrible that being close to her will be too much with the secret is holds. He is a mess because secrets do that to you. But who wants to tell someone something that will destroy them?

Great book, I wished it flowed better because it is a fasted past book and it left me wanting to skim read. Good read though and I would recommend it to a friend,

I adored It Had To Be You from beginning to end. What a pleasure it was to read Melissa Kate, a new-to-me author. The story was bright, funny, infuriating and just plain entertaining. As the book begins, you know that you are in for a fun and wild ride with Emma and Oliver. When you add in Audrey and the Geriatric Crew, it became laugh-out-loud funny.

Emma and Oliver have a past. One that was once light-hearted and fun that turned into teasing and detestation. The past held more bad memories for Oliver than good and had him convinced that he was his father’s son and not worthy of a friendship with Emma. Emma just knew that one day Oliver was her best friend and the next he wouldn’t even talk to her and became a manwhore. But, Oliver had his reasons and knew, if he ever told her, he would ruin the one good memory that he had from his childhood – his time with Emma. But, all it took was a conniving friend, $5000, an ex-boyfriend, a fall into the water, a moonlit night and a raid gone wrong that had Emma knowing that her heart always was and would always be with Oliver. Once the truth about the past comes out, Oliver knows that he may have lost the one good thing in his life and his heart with her.

Emma and Oliver were wonderful. Funny, sarcastic and caring, they were both the whole package and Melissa Kate did a fantastic job getting that across to the reader. She is a fresh, bright author that really knows how to show us that the line between love and hate is really thin. I loved the witty comebacks and the sexual banter between Oliver and Emma. Audrey and Adam were an added bonus. And, Oliver’s family and Margaret and her geriatric friends doing the Nae Nae made the circle complete. She moved the story along, gave us characters that you could love and cheer on, and built a story that had everything that you could hope for in a romantic comedy.

This is a refreshing romantic comedy. The story seems like a simple hate turns to love story, but there are additional complicated layers in the story and the characters that make the entire book feel more substantial yet still a quick and easy read. Emma and Ollie are strong characters and what I love about Ollie is that he is a strong alpha male without being dominating. The dynamic between the two feels real and helps the overall flow of the book. I look forward to reading more from the author.

3.5 stars

It Had To Be You was a sweet, fun and entertaining read.
Oliver & Emma were likable and endearing characters and I enjoyed watching their relationship unfold.
Overall a lovely Sunday afternoon read.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the advance copy.

Two things, it seems, are what I can never get tired of. Small towns and men in uniform. And men in uniform who live in small towns and charm the socks off all ladies? Yes, please times twenty.

I realize lately I keep breaking my own rule of reading series in order. IT HAD TO BE YOU was the second book in Crystal Valley series, and it tells the story of two childhood friends who drifted apart but found their way back to each other through one simple lie to save face that turned out to be what the whole town-and they themselves- had been waiting for.

Did I ever tell how much I love friends to lovers stories? Yeah. Even though the beginning of the story suggests irritation between Emma and Oliver, things are much hotter and buried a bit deeper than they appear. Two characters I liked immediately, in situations I laughed out loud, having to put up with annoying but adorable family members i.e grown up children cousins, I enjoyed Emma and Oliver’s story immensely.

I’d love to be back to Crystal Valley for sure. I’ll be looking forward to the next story because I think the bachelors of Crystal Valley are not extinct yet, but in any case I know I’ll be back to read the previous book.

I’m adding four spoonfuls of this lovely and sexy story into my hodgepodge, and making plans on how to snag myself a man in uniform without all the hassle of getting arrested for real. Handcuffs are always welcome though.

Emma and Oliver have a complicated relationship. Fast paced, lots of humor, and a well-developed plot line made this a fun book to read. I really enjoyed watching the evolution of Emma and Oliver's relationship. The supporting cast was also quite well written, and lending themselves well to set up the next book in this loosely related series.

This is a cute friends-to-lovers story, if not one with the kitchen sink thrown in. As this author is new to me, I still noticed multiple signs that Emma and Oliver were part of a larger fictional universe, and part of interconnected books. I was surprised that there had only been one previous book, because the plot laid out characters like it was book four, story least. Not everything stood alone. Additionally, there were a lot of plot elements introduced here, most of which had no resolution. There were a lot of spelling/grammar errors.

Outside that, Crystal Valley seems like a bit of a hoot of a town, with quirky characters roaming around to lovingly meddle, and while the storytelling is loose, Emma and Oliver are characters you want to see get a happy ending.

Enemies to a fake second chance romance

It might sound like a lot to fit into one story but it works. This is a fast-paced, fun read. Sometimes it seems as if the entire cast are trying to get the main characters together which is very entertaining. Some of the dramas that Oliver goes through seemed a bit improbable but if you can suspend your disbelief it'll go down just fine.

Unfortunately, the book could definitely have done with more editing. While the spelling and grammar were fine, multiple phrases were used incorrectly and one character was called by the wrong name (made especially jarring by the right name being used three sentences later).

I enjoyed this book and it had all sorts of catnip for me, but the mistakes detracted from the final experience.

This was a cute book. Emma and Oliver were best friends growing up, until there teenage years, and then Oliver pulls back from Emma and becomes a playboy. Emma did not know what happened that Oliver stopped being her friend, and then she hates him. During an Auction her friend bids on Oliver for Emma, and Emma was not happy but decides to use him as her slave. Her cheating ex-boyfriend and his fiance come to Emma's bakery to use her service for there wedding, and Lucas the cheating boyfriend is looking down at her, and Oliver comes to rescue by saying that they are seeing each other. Then of course it gets out of hand, because everybody feels that they truly belong together. Then the truth comes out, the reason why Oliver pulled back, and Emma is hurt, and they breakup. Of course everything gets resolved and they get there HEA.

This book was a light read. I wasn't particularly feeling this one. I was simply waiting and waiting for the story to develop and it just never did. There was so much going on but nothing really indepth. The characters we're kind of boring. I didn't really like Emma, she was kind of annoying. Oliver wasn't bad, he has some sweet moments. I didn't think there was any real chemistry between the two MC's. Yes they had a previous friendship but we didn't get any real genuine conversations, everything was rushed. I was intrigued by the cover and the synopsis but it just didn't hold up.

I thought this book sounded cute on NetGalley and would provide a light hearted read. I liked the cover and I liked the blurb-friends to lovers is something I always enjoy. The book is billed as standalone but is part of a series. I have to say that this book wasn't quite what I was looking for.

The book opens with a bachelor auction-always fun, right? Our heroine loses out on who she wants and her friend bids on someone else for her-Oliver, also known as Emma's ex best friend. I thought the set up angle was a nice touch and was ready to dive in to get more of their story-except I never really felt like I did.

I wanted to like the characters but I never really was fully invested in them. There were so many little plots going on that I don't think the characters had time to grow. We had the bachelor auction, an ex showing up causing the hero/heroine to pretend to be in a fake relationship, the womanizing backstory of Oliver's dad. There was just so much going on that none of it was fully fleshed out to me.

I did finish the book-because I was hoping for more development to some of the story line between Oliver and Emma. However, I didn't really get it. What I did get was a rushed ending that left me feeling a little disappointed.