Thanks to Berkley for an advanced copy of It Had to Be You by Elize Jane Braizer.

This was such a unique and fun premise. I don't know if this is a thriller or a romance but it was a enjoyable book about two contract killers who meet on a train and then later find out they have a hit on each other and their adventures around Europe to find out who it behind what they do.

This was such a fast book to read. I loved the short chapters - this had such a fun writing style and I was hooked from the beginning. While the premise is highly improbable it didn't take away from my enjoyment.

If you're looking for a fun fast paced book you'll enjoy this!

It Had to Be You is a wild unrealistic assassin thriller-romance and I was totally along for the ride. It was fun, unique and fast paced.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for the electronic copy.

Thanks #partner @berkleypub for my #gifted ebook and physical copies! #berkleypartner #berkleyig #penguinrandomhousepartner

It Had to Be You
Eliza Jane Brazier

It Had to Be You is a riot! Here's the gist: two assassins meet on a train and hit it off. Soon after, they learn they've both been contracted to take the other out. What transpires is an action-packed, super steamy, wild ride of a story! It's hard to categorize, because while it's not a romance novel, there is a love story at the center. Maybe I'd call it a blend of contemporary fiction, romance, action, and thriller.

It has major Mr and Mrs Smith vibes, with a dash of Dexter and Ava. TBH, I wasn't sure about it at first ... my concern was the romanticizing of m*rder. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. Despite being a rip-roaring good time, there's a surprising amount of depth here, especially as it pertains to the main characters' back stories and how they've dealt with (or not dealt with) their individual flavors of childhood trauma. It really touches on why bad people do bad things, and that most aren't irredeemable.

My only real critique is that it was a tad long, and could have been condensed by 50 pages or so. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

📌 Available now!

Brazier is a must read author after GOOD RICH PEOPLE and GIRLS AND THEIR HORSES. I blew book this so quickly because I could not put it down. This was a charming, exhilarating and silly read. I absolutely adored Eva and Jonathan and their perfect brand of weirdness. I am 100% going to need a movie/series soon. I’ve read the audiobook is amazing as it has January DeVoy and Will Damron narrating.

𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒕. 𝑭𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝑰 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔.

I knew going in that this book was going to be a wild ride, and it was everything I had hoped for and more.

Two contract killers, Eva and Jonathan, meet on a sleeper train headed to France. The attraction between the two is so heated, sparks fly, and not from a weapon. Blissfully ignorant of each other's line of work, they share a steamy hook-up and part ways. Surprisingly, they meet again six months later in Versailles, and circumstances have changed as Eve has been hired to kill Jonathan.

Told from alternating points of view, this was a darkly comedic tale with whip smart dialogue, perfectly flawed characters, and a dazzling European setting. The perfect summer read!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the free copy. This title publishes July 16, 2024.

🎧New Audiobook Review🎧

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
It Had to Be You by Eliza Brazier
Publishing Date: July 16, 2024
Pages: 384 pages
Audio: 9 hrs 44 min

🤺 Mr. & Mrs. Smith vibes
🤺 Contract killers
🤺 Wry & sarcastic humor

I really enjoyed Brazier’s novel A Girl and Her Horses that was released last year. It felt like a fresh read and not something I necessarily expected. I had hoped for more of that with her new release.

It Had to Be You was an enjoyable read. The story wasn’t necessarily a surprising one, but I did enjoy it. Brazier’s writing style is awesome - fast-paced, engaging, and comical in its own respect. Some pieces felt a bit expected and some elements were far out there, but hello… they’re contract killers.

🎧 Narrated by January LaVoy and Will Damron, both of which were involved with Listen for the Lie which many loved. With It Had to Be You, they felt and sounded like the perfect cast here. Damron captured Jonathan’s pretentiousness and LaVoy captured Eva’s confidence. Hope they do more work together, great pairing.

Thank you #NetGalley for an arc of #ItHadtoBeYou in exchange for an honest review.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
It Had to Be You by Eliza Jane Brazier
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 383 / Genre: Romantic Thriller

Two assassins hook up on a train only to be reunited six months later when one has been hired to kill the other. But their initial attraction is still hot and heavy as they chase each other through Europe.

I’m a sucker for assassin thrillers, witty romcoms, and a European setting—and this book has it all. I loved it!

Thank you, @NetGalley, @BerkleyPub, and @ElizaJaneBrazier for my gifted copy!

Eliza Jane Brazier, welcome to my auto-read list.

I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Brazier, and this was probably my favorite to date. Those she has a signature style, I’m impressed by how many different types of stories Brazier can tell without ever appearing to be out of her element.

Like Good Rich People and Girls and their Horses, this has a lot of atmosphere and excellent pacing. This one is funniest of the three by far, though all have a good sense of humor.

This one feels more like an adventure, and I loved that about its plot. I’m a sucker for anti-hero assassins as well as for European train travel, and this book put the two together in this genre-busting book that is part action thriller, part comedy, part travelogue, and part love story.

I could have done without all the cringey and repetitive open door romance stuff, but other than that, no complaints. I can’t wait to see what Brazier does next.

What a fabulous book. This was my first book by the author, and I immediately went and downloaded her last one, too! Eva and Jonathon are two assassins who just happen to end up on a train together. They get hot and heavy fast, then assume they will never see one another again--but boy, are they wrong! From falling in lust to love, to attempting to end each other's lives, this is a fun, twisty book that has the best character development I think I've ever seen. I wish there were a sequel!

I picked this book up because while they are rare, I absolutely love spy romances.

This one hit it out of the park! I started this book and the next thing I know I can't put it down and I was 50% of the way through this book. It reads with ease, the story will draw you in and the characters will not let you go. I loved that you get both Eva and Jonathan's POV throughout the story, and I feel that is what draws you into so much because you can see what's going through both of their minds. A++ out of the park hit for me on this one.

It Had To Be you is a fast paced bingeable read, it has love, suspense, mystery, drama and humour. I mean what more could you possibly ask for in a book? To say it immediately hooked me is an understatement. In the novel we follow two contract killers who meet on a train and both feel a connection to one another, things happen and they go their separate ways. Until they meet again as they discover they were ordered to kill eachother! It is told in a dual narrative, so we get each contract killers perspective as they live out their fate! This one has been all over the gram lately and I can see why, this is definitely one to add to your tbr!

It Had To Be You by Eliza Jane Brazier is so different from the other books I’ve read by her and I loved it. It’s a fun book that’s being compared to Mr and Mrs Smith (except actually good) (I’m still bitter about Brad Pitt leaving Jen Aniston). I feel like this should be categorized as a romantic suspense and when I say romance, I mean SPICE. All the spice, so much spice. Eva is a kick ass character and her determination and strength made her someone I won’t soon forget. Suspending disbelief has never been so easy as it is with this book!

It Had to Be You by Eliza Jane Brazier is about two contract killers who meet by chance on a train ride from Florence to Paris. This book travels all around Europe in a fast paced and fun plot as these two killers discover more about each other. This is the first Eliza Jane Brazier book I have read and I definitely enjoyed it! Spies and some romance make for a fun, fast read!

3.5 *

I love when a book promises that the characters will be insane, and then they actually are. Eva and Jonathan were absolutely out of their minds, which I feel like tracks for contract killers. Their mad dash around Europe trying to find each other after a chance meeting, and then trying to kill each other, and then trying to kill the people trying to kill them was super fun.

However, this book did a lot of telling and not a lot of showing. It kept repeating how much they were enamored with each other, or telling why these two were so broken and damaged and traumatized and how they couldn't feel love and all that jazz, but there was... no emotion behind it? I mean, I guess I'll believe you, but if you're telling this tragic backstory and neither of the characters are showing any emotion, how am I supposed to feel for them?

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for this arc!

Mr. and Mrs. Smith but make it sexier and more dysfunctional? That's exactly what Brazier elicits from It Had to Be You - Eva and Jonathan both put the fun in dysfunctional and I couldn't stop turning the pages.

3.25 rounded down

Two killers for hire get on a train… sounds like the beginning to an interesting story. That is how this one starts, it feels like an open door Mr and Mrs Smith. This was a fun story to follow, the banter and chaos that seemed to follow them kept me invested. Finding the mysterious “Administrator” was an adventure. You will enjoy it if you like trains, travel, Paris/Europe, action/adventure, romance, spicy scenes, banter, dry humor, and girl power. It was a fun and quick read.

Thrillers are my first love, but assassins who fall in love is my kind of romance. Eva and Jonathan meet on the sleeper train from Florence to Paris, and their chemistry is electric! (Cue in the sexy scene at the luggage rack! 🥵) Little do they know, they are both assassins. Because of their occupation, they expect never to see each other again. But, six months later, Eva is assigned to kill Jonathan.

This romance-turned-cat-and-mouse thriller is told through a dual POV, which sets up nicely for dual narrators. January LaVoy plays Eva, and Will Damron plays Jonathan. Both perform stellar narration, adding to the heat, dark comedic banter, and often hilarious monologues. I highly recommend this format!

Other Highlights:
✨Bingeable short chapters
✨Mr. And Mrs. Smith vibes
✨Dark humor
✨Open door spiciness
✨Traversing across Europe

It Had To Be You is a fast-paced mixed genre summer read - romance/thriller. Bottom line: clever romance and intriguing mystery that maybe leaves the door open for a sequel?!? If so, sign me up!

I loved Eliza Jane Brazier's GIRLS AND THEIR HORSES, so I knew I needed to check this one out! I didn't have "romantic thrillers" on my 2024 bingo card, but somehow I've read a handful of them this year! Eva and Jonathan have a steamy encounter before realizing that they are both contract killers. They meet again when Eva is hired to kill Jonathan. The short chapters make this cat and mouse thriller move quickly. I had to suspend disbelief a little because it's a bit out there, but it was a fun ride!

Two contract killers meet on a train, have an undeniable connection... only now they both have hits out on each other and the line between falling in love and murdering each other is beginning to blur. Eva and Jonathan hook up on a sleeper train from Florence to Paris, both assuming it's a one time event and that they'll never meet each other again. Yet that one time was enough for both of them to think that they've finally met someone who gets them. Yet six months later they run into each other again in Versailles... except this time it's not a coincidence and rather because Eva was hired to kill Jonathan. Neither Jonathan nor Eva knew that they were both contract killers... yet when they both get hired to kill each other things begin to take a game of seduction and murder begins. Neither can trust each other... yet they can't help falling for each other. But with hits out on them both and everyone out to get them... will they be able to make it out alive and trust one another enough to work together? If you like Mr. and Mrs. Smith, then this book is for you. It's such a fun story and the dynamic between Eva and Jonathan was really fun, It's a cute hitman romance and I enjoyed the back and forth between Eva and Jonathan as they both work through their feelings and trying to earn each other's trust.

Release Date: July 16, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Man this was a fun read! Two assassins out for each other. It was a steamy one as well which I wasn't expecting.
But if you want a fun, fast paced and witty read about two assassin's...and alot of killing then this is the book for you!
I had a great time with it!