Georgia Clark has become one of my favorite authors over the past few years and I was thrilled to receive an ARC of It Had to Be You. There were six main characters in this novel, but Clark weaves them together with ease. Liv and Eliot have run a successful New York wedding planning business until one disaster of a wedding happens, on the same day Eliot is found dead of a heart attack on a business trip. If his sudden passing wasn’t surprising enough, Liv discovers that Eliot’s been unfaithful and has left his half of their business to his mistress. Savannah is young, from Tennessee and has no experience in wedding planning. She moves to New York and is determined to forge a friendship with Liz and discover who the true Savannah really is. While the book focuses less on Liv’s best friend, Gorman, and his partner, Henry, they do get several chapters. I am hopeful that It Had to Be You gets picked up and produced as a movie, perfect for Valentine’s Day or the holidays, as it’s filled with friendship, family, love and hope. I sometimes struggle with books with many main characters, but felt a pull towards them all in It Had to Be You. Clark delivered characters filled with emotion and I found their New York stories so fun and enjoyable.

A sincere thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book definitely gives Love Actually vibes, but the mutli POV was confusing to me. I think that played a big factor in why I wasn't more invested in the characters, but this book sadly just wasn't for me.

This book started out with a great premise. A wife thrown into a tailspin due to the death of her husband then finding out that her husband left his share of the business to his lover. Now the two women need to work together in the business. There were so many characters in this book it is very hard to keep track of them all. I only really wanted to pay attention to two of them. The 12 extra characters were excessive. The secondary characters are all linked to the business, the florists, the band, the people getting married but there were so many of them. I lost interest in a few. Who is in a fake relationship? Who is looking for more in their relationship? And who are those guys? This story started out promising but then fizzled out for me.

"It Had To Be You" starts out centering around a wedding that is going nightmarishly wrong that wedding planner & owners of In Love In New York - Liv & Eliot Goldenhorn - are in charge of. Liv is running around like wildfire wondering where her husband is, when she receives the call that changes her world. It is his mistress, Savannah, letting Liv know that he has died. Liv then comes to find out that her husband had altered his will to leave half of their wedding planning business to Savannah - who wouldn't want to work with their late husband's girlfriend?

I am someone who loves reading about the logistics and glam that goes into wedding planning - especially in New York City, so the opening premise had me excited to see what came next.

The story then jumps around between five interconnecting couples and romance stories that are also intertwined. I found the various story lines a little disconnected & at times I felt like the original storyline (Liv & Savannah) was lost, when I really wanted more of it. Overall, I appreciated the diversity of characters that Georgia Clark has created - she makes you fall in love with five different couples. I almost wished that there were five individual books for each couple because they were all so unique - Georgia Clark gives you just enough on each of them, but I felt myself craving more.

I thought this book was super sweet, I had "all the feels" at the end, it gave me "Love Actually" vibes & had many tropes that I think readers will love. Tropes include: strangers to lovers, friends to lovers, second chances, multiple POV, LGBTQ themes, and more. I highly recommend to anyone who is a lover of romance, diversity, and intersecting storylines!


A huge thank you to Georgia Clark, NetGalley, and Atria Books for providing me with a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I really like this book- it was an above-average thriller- 4 stars. The reader knows early on that Kristen is bad news, but we watch as Emily slowing catches up. But, the last line throughs into question all that you thought you knew! I thought this was a fun and quick read, and I think most mystery/thriller fans will really like this one.

This was as if you were watching one of those romance movies with about 4 different couples each with their own storyline, yet all interconnected. The story revolves around Liv, who just found out her husband has died and gave half of his and her business to the girl he was cheating on her with, the kick? Said girl wants to continue the business with Liv. Savannah wants to move to New York, work in the wedding planning business, and maybe find love, too bad she has to convince the guy she was dating’s wife to let her in. Then theres sophisticated Darleene and playboy Zach, who are bandmates, and Zach convinces Darleene to fake date him in front of his family so he can get his trust money from them and he would pay her $25,000, but suddenly they’re both falling for each other. The next couple is Henry and Gorman, Henry just wants to marry Gorman, but Gorman has suddenly found himself crushing on the lead actor of his play, and wanting to not get married. Then theres, Sam and Liv, Sam is a cook Liv hired for her wedding planning events, but both find that they’re what the other needs. Finally, there is Sav and Honey, Sav is just trying to figure herself out and Honey is the cute bartender she meets. So ensues, various relationship drama and complications that all work out in the end.

*Thanks Netgalley and Atria Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A quick, fun read which didn't distract from its rather predictability. A nice palate cleanser from the mysteries/thrillers I've been entrenched in as of late. If you're a romance fan, you'll love this one.

Note: I got this book as an advance e-gallery copy in exchange for my honest review.
This was a great book to finish reading on Valentine’s Day of all days! I enjoyed reading this book. I consider myself a rom com aficionado, and it didn’t disappoint!
The book starts out with Liv, an almost 50 year old woman who finds out her husband was having an affair with a younger woman Savannah. Then her husband unexpectedly dies. He leaves her to run their wedding planning company with Savannah. There are more diverse couples that get intertwined throughout the story. My favorite couple was reading about was Clay a movie star, and Zia who he meets catering a wedding he attends. Their relationship was really interesting and swoonworthy at the same time. The ending was really good! I was happy to see an epilogue a few years later to see how all the couples progressed. Would recommend to all those looking for a fun, light and romantic read!

I'd like to thank the author and publisher and Net Galley for the free e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This sort of book really isn't my usual thing, but some reviewers I trust raved about the book, and it sounded cute, so I decided to give it a try. It just really wasn't for me. I hadn't realized it was told in multiple POV's, and that is something I just don't care for.

Overall, I don't feel that the summary blurb reflects the story. After reading a few chapters - all told in a different POV & very confusing therefore - I just couldn't get into the story at all. I tried skimming ahead a few chapters to see if that helped, but it really didn't. I ended up not finishing it.

But, maybe it's just me.

It Had to Be You is a witty and catchy novel. The variety of characters with their quirks and of their stories makes the novel fun yet deep when necessary. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As half-owner of In Love In New York, a wedding planning business, Liv Goldenhorn is busy putting out fires at a wedding gone horribly wrong when she gets the phone call that forever changes her life. Her husband Eliot, who should be there helping her with the wedding, has been found dead in a motel room in Kentucky . . . with his ridiculously young and blonde mistress Savannah. What?! To add insult to injury, the same naive blonde bombshell comes calling on Liv later to announce Eliot's half of the business has been left to her - and no, she won't sell. She wants to partner up with Liv - her dead lover's wife - and restore the fading business to its former glory days. Liv is in shock. Surely she jests.

And so begins It Had To Be You! Talk about starting with a bang, this emotional rom-com hits the ground running and never lets up. As the story unfolds, readers are introduced to numerous couples whose stories are all woven in and around Liv and Savannah's stories. Clark expertly entertains readers with five diverse romances playing out at the same time, including two inter-racial, and one gay, second chance and adultery. While It Had To Be You is decidedly a rom-com, there's a sweet, heartwarming undertone carried throughout as readers bounce back and forth between couples while trying to keep up with who's loving and/or hurting who. Although the alternating points of view were a wee bit distracting at first, I quickly settled in and soon felt like I was catching up with old friends and couldn't wait to get back to each couple's story of finding and accepting their perfect soul mate. It Had To Be You is a sexy, fun, diverse modern romance with a surprisingly emotional depth and sweet happy-ever-after ending/s. Highly recommended to fans of romance, diversity and rom-coms.

Thank you to NetGalley, Georgia Clark and Atria books for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This one is my first novel by Clark and I was pleasantly surprised by how delightful this novel was! I have to go back and read her previous novels because this one was so good. I loved all the characters and how their relationships build throughout the novel and yet they learn a lot about themselves. I was worried I would get all the characters mixed up because there is quite a few, but they are all so different but tied together in the most fun ways. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who loves a romantic comedy. This one is the perfect mix of fun and sad, but that's what life is all about.

I really loved the interwoven storylines of Clark's novel. I find that it can be difficult at times for a story to hook a reader's attention when the chapters rotate from character to character, but Clark was able to create engaging and complex people that made this book such a great read. I would definitely recommend this to people who love the NYC charm of Nora Ephron movies, as I can just picture this book being produced into a film so well.

This was a dnf for me. I just couldn’t get in to the characters, and was mixing up the different perspectives early on in the book. I haven’t read any wedding planning centered books until now, and they’re just not for me. But if it sounds like something you would like, you should give it a try!

I loved how the many stores in this novel wound together and tightened up throughout the course of the book. I also loved/hated the cliffhangers at the end of the chapters because they were really well done but then it would always morph into a different story and I would have to wait to see what happened! Fun, creative, interesting, romantic. Great book!

As a reader, it was wonderful to be so fully immersed in wedding season in this book. To feel the angst and stress of what it meant to plan someone else's Big Day.

"It had To Be You" itself kicks off with a Bridezilla disaster turned tragedy. Liv Goldenhorn, co-owner of In Love In New York, a successful wedding planning business, learns in the middle of a work crisis that her husband, Eliot, has not only died but has left his half of the business to his twenty-something mistress, Savannah, who had no clue the man she'd been seeing was married. Even though Liv is initially appalled by the idea, Savannah insists they work together. Run the business as equal partners.

Since one is young, eager, and sweet, while the other is middle-aged, reluctant, and sharp, the two could not be more different in personality let alone in life experience. Yet still they manage to come to a tenuous work agreement. They also learn to lean on as well as confide in each other over time. It's beautiful!

From there, the focus widens to introduce other characters who are either connected to the wedding circuit or to Liv and Savannah in some way. Gorman and Henry are the florists. Sam is the chef. Honey is the Kentucky-to-NY, fried-chicken-loving transplant. Zia is the in-between-non-profit-jobs waitress, Clay the famous actor. And Darlene and Zach are the musicians.

Usually I'm not a fan of crowds - whether that be in real life, or in books where tons of POV's are swirling about in constant rotation - but I didn't mind them here. In fact, I rather liked all the bumping shoulders, all the intertwining stories. I had fun skipping about from trope to trope. I enjoyed perusing relationships from a variety of ages or genders, sexualities or experiences; from vantage points I hadn't considered.

The narrative winds its way in and out of all the characters' lives, peeling back the layers of their separate journeys. What readers are gifted as a result is five different couple vignettes. Five separate romances. And they feature hetero, LGBT, and interracial relationships alike.

What I liked about that, aside from the diversity that was depicted in or around the couples themselves, was how love was shown not to be one size fits all. Where convention worked for some, it was restrictive, undesirable, to others. Where a few knew what they wanted from the beginning, a bunch didn't. Mistakes were made, promises were broken. Forgiveness had to be earned. Second chances could happen out of nowhere. Happiness wasn't guaranteed; it was work, it was a choice the couples had to find a way to forge together. The point is love in this book was a unique experience for everyone, and I appreciated the message of that.

3.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

Liv and Eliot Goldenhorn own a highly successful wedding planning company, In Love in New York. While Liv is working at a wedding, she gets a call from his mistress that Eliot has died suddenly. The mistress travels to NY to let Liv know Eliot left her half of their business. But no one knows why.

Through the wedding vendors, we meet several other couples and the chapters alternate between their love stories. Gorman and Henry, a gay couple who own a florist shop; Darlene and Zach, the wedding singer and DJ; Zia, the catering waitress who spills wine on a wedding famous guest; and Savannah, the mistress who finds her own love.

I enjoyed the different aspects of each of the couples joys and tribulations. There is a storyline everyone can connect to in this book!

Thank you to Atria Books via NetGalley for a digital ARC to read and review.

I really had high hopes for this one. I heard some many great things. All in all, the story was cute but it was a bit busy for me. Too many stories going on at once and I had a hard time keeping the characters straight.

It Had to Be You is a rom-com featuring interconnected characters and love stories. Identified as a modern "Love Actually", it also gave me "Valentine's Day" movie feels.

Every character is going through similar trials of trying to find themselves. Each character, has their own voice but a common thread is friends turning into lovers. The writing was good, the interwoven storyline was enjoyable. I thought this was a cute rom-com.

My favorite story followed Darlene and Zach, I wish I had gotten to know more about them. Savannah's story was a close second. It Had to Be You features a whole slew of dating tropes, from fake relationships to a widow and a divorcee. I found myself enjoying the differences in the stories and how diverse they ended up being. I think that Georgia Clark handled discussions on sexuality and race with empathy and kindness.

I do think this was somewhat predictable and some of the relationships lacked the depth I look for.

If you're looking for a diverse romance that reminds you of "Love Actually", It Had to Be You is for you!

CW: intimate partner violence,

The first chapter of this book really sent me for a loop. I was totally put off by the premise, and I wasn't sure I wanted to continue, but I'm sure glad I did. If you are a fan of interwoven love stories like Love Actually and Valentine's Day, you'll love this book. You'll be rooting for everyone to find their happily ever afters, and you will delight in their ups and downs along the way. (Plus, these days I love any story that reminds me of all New York has to offer in non-Covid times.) I love Georgia Clark, and I can't wait to see what she does next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.