Liv and Eliot Goldenhorn have run a successful wedding planning company in Brooklyn for the last two decades. They have a sweet son Ben and cool brownstone, the envy of many. Eliot is off on a business trip when Liv gets the call. Eliot had a fatal heart attack. Devastated beyond belief, Liv spirals into deep depression. Barely getting out of her bathrobe she neglects her home and her appearance but the icing on the cake is when the young beautiful Savannah shows up at her doorstep. Not only was she having an affair with Eliot but he has left her his half of the business. Neither woman can understand “why” but if there is any chance of saving this sinking ship they must find a way to do it together. Romance weaves its way through the story; Henry the florist is dying to get engaged to his boyfriend, Sam the caterer can’t keep his eyes off of Liv, the musicians have become so much more than friends and even Savannah begins exploring possibilities of romance she never imagined. Although enjoyable, all these cute, funny characters along with the very brash Liv had me a little confused at times. Very different than originally described - it’s more like a bunch of short romances very loosely strung together. Entertaining but in the end I would have preferred to connect more with Liv - less is definitely more.

I’m a huge sucker for any book with a fun cover, weddings, an ensemble cast and bonus points if it’s set in NY. So basically what I’m saying is that this one might as well have AMY written all over it. You get to follow five different couples who are all intertwined, think Love Actually but this was even better.

Liv’s husband dies suddenly and when his will is read she finds out he left their wedding planning business to her and his mistress, Savannah. Then there’s Zia, who is a waitress, Darlene and Zach who sing at the weddings and also Henry and Gorman who own a flower shop. With this many characters and storylines things could get confusing, but that didn’t happen for me here. Having various love stories developing allowed basically every single trope to be included and there was so much explored here. It tackled sexuality, family dynamics, death, and much more making it easily relatable on many levels. I just adored this one and was so invested in all of these peoples lives! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was absolutely adorable. I'm a sucker for multiple characters and stories somehow all interrelated and connected, and this book had it! Clark writes characters with big personalities, real qualities and feelings, and includes relevant issues present in our world today. All of our characters went experienced growth in their lives and learned about themselves. Definitely a feel good, rom com that will leave you smiling and rooting for all the couples in love!

It Had to be You has a lot going on - at least five couples by my count. Based on the prologue, I thought this would only be about one couple. I was a bit disappointed as I read on and realized that much of the book was equally spread across five couples; it felt like the author was trying to do a lot at once. However, by the end, I was close to tears, listening to It Had to be You by Frank Sinatra, and realized that it didn’t matter if I saw some loop holes and couldn’t totally commit to some of the details of the book - the emotion was so well-played that I did not care.

I really believe that this book has something for everyone, and even though I didn’t like every single character at first, I found myself looking forward to chapters with different couples, and never wanting to focus on just one.

Any book that makes me want to watch When Harry Met Sally (one of my favorites of all time) is great and deserves my wholehearted recommendation - which is what I am giving to It Had to be You by Georgia Clarke.

Sorry, but my head is spinning. I can't keep up with all these characters and storylines. I was just starting to settle in to Liv and Savannah's story, when suddenly new characters were introduced. It was like starting another book before the previous one had finished. DNF at 15%.

A romance is supposed to have a central love story, and this book doesn't. This is women's fiction. I like fast-paced commercial fiction, and this book requires a reader who's willing to spend time getting to know all the characters at a leisurely pace. I'm sure there are readers out there who would love it, but it's not for me.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of It Had to Be You.

This book had so many things I love, but I just couldn't get into it. I love weddding planning and Love Actually but there were just too many characters and side plots and so much going on in this book.

I liked the idea of Savannah and Liv building up the wedding planning business back to it's former glory, but unfortunately the execution of this book fell flat for me.

Also, I want to know where struggling Savannah is waking into a NYC bar and ordering Pappy... I love that Kentucky bourbon is part of her life, but at at least make it more realistic. A 15 year Pappy goes for at least $100 an ounce in most bars.

Wow. This definitely took me by surprise. The initial storyline was quite clever. Liz not only loses her husband of twenty plus years, she finds out he left half of their wedding planning business to his mistress. As a woman, I immediately cringed on her behalf. I'm not sure how you're supposed to deal with that kind of a bombshell. That said, it was wonderful to see how Liz and Savannah's working relationship and friendship evolved. It demonstrates just how resilient and strong women can be.

In addition to their story, there are many more wonderful subplots blended into this novel. I really enjoyed each one. We get to see Liz meet and pursue another relationship. We also are able to follow Savannah along in her own journey of self-discovery. It was like watching a movie where there were multiple story lines playing out at once. It was well-done and engaging. Even though Ms. Clark was balancing multiple relationships and their stories, I thought she did a lovely job. It didn't feel forced. It actually felt like everything flowed along with the main storyline. The added relationships were those of secondary characters that I found myself really drawn to already. This made it even more enjoyable to me.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

This was such a fun story and my first book by Georgia Clark! People described this book as being similar to Love Actually and wow yes, such a good comparison! I loved bouncing between all the different love stories and how all the characters and stories were intertwined! I enjoy stories with lots of characters, and thought this book was very easy to follow. I enjoyed all the characters and love a good happily ever after story, which this one delivered! I also really enjoyed the friendship that blossomed between Liv and Savannah. It was a fun surprise for me in this story and I enjoyed that this story seemed to dive into lots of different themes and stories! It was also fun that all the characters were involved with wedding planning, and I honestly haven't read a story like this before! I would highly recommend this one if you love stories with lots of characters, love a good rom com with a happily ever after, and love stories of starting over/forgiveness/grief/love! I cannot wait for this book to be released in the world in another week!

This was a very enjoyable book about quite a few couples, and how they all learn to love or love again. I was really enjoying the story until the author chose to shove her political beliefs into the book - with name dropping- for no reason. Politics has no place in romance.
For me, that brought this book down from a 5 star to a 3.

Liv and Eliot have a well-known and respected wedding planning business, In Love In New York, that they have run for most of their marriage. But when Eliot has a sudden and fatal heart attack, Liv is left unmoored – focusing on her grief, her young son and little else. A knock on the door after the will was read brings her back to earth quickly – the woman Eliot was with when he died is there – and she has his half of the business.

Savannah moved to New York from Kentucky to grab at this opportunity – and now must find a way to manage the changes her life has brought, an understandably recalcitrant partner in Liv and just finding her way. Fortunately, she finds a friend, and this opens all sorts of questions – not the least of which is what she truly wants, feels and who she is attracted to.

Through the story we meet Liv’s friends Gorman and Henry a couple with their own issues around marriage (Henry wants it, Gorman doesn’t), Zia and Darlene and their own trials with boyfriends (or not) and of course we meet Sam, in to interview as caterer for a wedding that Savannah has promised, gratis, in return for Social Media exposure.

The multiple perspectives, storylines and the growth that EVERY character achieved throughout the story was wonderful, even if, at times, it felt as if you were getting into one person’s head and suddenly were ripped away to start with another. Feeling much like an ensemble piece, the constant touchstone of the story is weddings and the planning business – and all the bits, pieces and struggles to deal with dates, scheduling, brides, grooms and the never-ending wafts of hope – hope for a happily ever after that comes with each new couple. From Liv discovering her own heart again to Savannah learning that what makes her happiest isn’t what her parents would have wished for her initially, to the inclusion of Liv’s son and his dealing with his father’s death, the ramifications and questions that surrounded everyone were nuanced and felt plausible. While many of the resolutions seemed to appear quickly – there was truly an arc to each couple / relationship / person, and all tied together to make this a lovely read.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aTO /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

I LOVED THIS BOOK.

It is a lovely ‘Love Actually’ styled book following different characters and their love lives. I really enjoyed how Georgia Clark incorporated a variety of people and relationships. She also does so without making any of them feel tokenized.

This book has a little of everything - funny scenes, happy scenes, and heartbreaking scenes.

Definitely recommend.

If Love, Actually was set in NYC and Hugh Grant was a fabulous wedding planner rather than a politician, you’d have this modern romance.
There’s enough diversity with these interconnected love stories sprinkled throughout the vibrant city that most readers can find a character who speaks their love language. The love stories pivot around Liv, a successful wedding planner who learns of her husband’s infidelity upon his recent death. As Liv struggles to recover from this blow and to understand why her husband left his share of the business to his mistress, we meet other couples connected to their wedding planning business: think caterers, servers, clients and entertainers. Clark’s characters are well-developed, overcoming hardship, struggling with identity and looking for love or the chance to love again.

[all opinions are my own] "It Had to Be You" was a fun book to read in timing with spring blooming. While it took me a few chapters to really get on board with the characters and their stories, it became a delightful read that I had a hard time putting down.

This is very Valentine's Day with a big ensemble cast, and lots of couples stories. There were so many characters to follow that I didn't feel totally invested in any of them, but I also love a cute rom com, so I'd still recommend this if you want something that's mostly light and cutesy!

This is a sweet rom-com in the style of Love Actually. There's a large cast of characters, each with their own journey. I liked the second half much more than the first, once all the stories started to connect it picked up the pace (and the feels.)

The cast of characters is refreshingly diverse, although a couple of them felt a bit based on stereotypes. I enjoyed seeing different types of relationships, but I would have preferred fewer characters to give more time to each couple. The dialogue felt forced at times, and it seemed each relationship had to speed ahead to get resolved in time.

Overall, I enjoyed this read. It had me laughing at times and feeling heartbroken at others. The premise is unique and I enjoyed watching Liv and Savannah's transformations the most.

I recommend this one for readers of romance.

5 darling + genuine + fresh + heartfelt stars to this beyond precious novel. You ever find a book so dear that you just want to hug it? That was me when I finished.

This love story is actually FIVE love stories wrapped into one...it follows Liv, a recently widowed wedding planner on her journey through grief and reestablishing her once thriving business; Savannah, Liz’s youthful, new and unanticipated business partner who moved to NYC fresh from Kentucky; Gorman, a florist/aspiring playwright who is scared to commit to his boyfriend of several years; Zia, a cater waitress with a big heart whose struggling between duty to her family and following her own dreams; and Darlene, a talented singer whose fighting attraction for her bandmate, Zach. Each character is experiencing messy, big feelings through life transitions and this book is interwoven with stories from each of their perspectives.

I thought the creative plot, unique structure/storytelling and the gorgeous writing were just BRILLIANT. To me, I just kept thinking how authentic these stories felt. I was so fortunate to read with the lovely lovearctually book club and even more fortunate to join in on an author chat! It was fascinating to learn how her research, writing process and personal experiences shaped this book.

Be sure to grab a copy! Pub day is May 4th. Thank you so much to Atria and Netgalley for this ARC.

I received an ARC digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Release date: May 4th 2021

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Steam: 🌶🌶/5 (some steamy descriptions but mostly fade to black)

No Spoiler Review!

I just finished this book. My heart feels so happy and full.

This book has a love actually/Valentine’s day type story telling. Stories about different people that all come together and intertwine throughout. The background is a wedding planning business. Which I absolutely love! This book was hilarious, cute and a perfect RomCom. The prologue right off the bat grips you right in. This book also dealt with a lot of emotional subjects for the characters ie infertility, death of a spouse, abuse, cheating, sexual awakening, grief and more in such a sensitive way. Overall a very well rounded book.

It had excellent LGBT Rep as well as age rep, One of the main characters is 49 which I feel like we hardly see in romcoms so I loved it! The writing style was great and really kept me interested throughout! Such a diverse cast of characters! Different races, ages, identities just perfect. It is like nothing I’ve read in romance before and I AM HERE FOR IT. I cared for each and every character and their story. It was funny, heartwarming, thoughtful and so cute. I smiled so much through this book. I highly recommend picking this one up!

Thanks to NetGalley, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, Simon & Schuster Canada
for the digital kindle ARC copy. All reviews are my honest opinions.

This is such a cute story about second chances that you will not want to miss. When the book opens we meet wedding planner Liv. She is middle of a hellish wedding and waiting for their husband/partner to get there to help. She gets a phone call that her husband is dead, everything for her changes. Savannah moves to New York after her boyfriend, also Liv’s husband, leaves half their wedding planning business to her.

The setup for this book is so unbelievable, yet it totally works. Told in multiple points of views from Liv, Savannah and their friends who also help with the weddings, Georgia Clark, writes a light breezy novel about friends, relationships, and the coming together of the two women in an unexpected partnership that is just simply delightful, with plenty of laugh out loud moment.

This is a perfect book to read on the beach with a nice cool beverage. It goes down super smooth and sweet.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an adorable rom com that was perfect for the spring. I could not put it down and I need more. This is a wonderful second chances story for the beach.

The premise of It Had to Be You really grabbed me - Liv and Eliot, married wedding planners for 20 years are a power couple... sure after 20 years things get a bit stale, but is was a huge shock when Eliot dies suddenly. In bed. With another woman. HALF HIS AGE.

I'm shook. I don't know what I'd do! But the kicker? He leaves his half of the wedding planning business to that other woman. How will Liv handle this sudden twist of fate and what on Earth was Eliot thinking?!

I wasn't expecting the other relationships in this one - as it explored several couples of all stages - totally some fun 'Love, Actually' vibes (much better than the movie IMO!) And although I enjoyed some of their journeys to seeking 'Happily Ever After' over others, they all came together into a really endearing, well-crafted cast of characters at the end - all of whom I enthusiastically rooted out loud for!

The wedding drama is super satisfying, the romance tropes cover all the bases, and it will warm your heart in the most unexpected of ways.