It Had To Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips is a great example why the classics always work

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It Had To Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

It Had To Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Chicago Stars #1
May 14, 2013

Read this if you want:

  • Romantic Comedy
  • Fake Dating
  • Opposites Attract 

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This book has been on my TBR for years.  It is only thanks to #RollBackWeek as well as our Pick It For Me Challenge that I actually managed to finally read it.  And now I’m kicking myself in the ass for waiting this long.  This is a great example why the classics always work.  Many authors may try to reinvent the wheel but it’s great to see that these stories, written so many years ago, can still manage to steal my heart.

This is a classic sports romance where the experienced coach falls for the rich new team owner.  Phoebe is in a lot of ways misunderstood.  Everyone sees her as the crazy daughter of a millionaire owner of the Stars team, who only ever worried about the next party and is more concerned with her looks and fashion than doing something important with her life.  But that is just what she lets people believe.  There is a lot under the surface with Phoebe, and at the core there is a broken woman who needs love, family and acceptance.

Dan Calebow is a lot like Phoebe.  He’s had a track record with women where they always come to him to get a rough tumble with a wild guy.  But no one sees him as the type they can settle down with and have kids.  And he’s at a stage in his life where all he wants is to find a quiet and respectable women to have kids with.

When Phoebe’s father dies and leaves her the team on a temporary arrangement and with conditions she needs to meet, she’s forced to step up and show everyone a different side of herself by making the Stars a successful team that season.  And in the process, she quickly falls for the hot coach.

You know those sweet, feel good stories?  It Had To Be You is one of those.  There’s not a lot of crazy antics, it’s just straight forward good story about two great characters.  And a great group of side characters!  There’s a sense of friendship as always with sports teams, and then there’s also the family unity following along with Phoebe’s sister.

I will be reading the rest of this series for sure, and it won’t take me this long to do it!

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I'm a sun-loving Floridian in my forties, but my favorite season is Fall—perfect for reading under a blanket in a comfy sweater on a rainy day. I run Inkspire (https://www.goinkspire.com), a blogger support business where I teach web design, SEO, organization and how to turn blogging into a business. I have a special fondness for elephants. My favorite genres are historical and paranormal romance, plus urban fantasy, though I often find myself reading a lot of contemporary romance. To keep my reading fresh, I switch genres to avoid book slumps and love authors who can rip my heart out and make me ugly cry.

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6 Comments

  5. I am an SEP fan that hasn’t gotten to this book or most of this series yet! I actually just read Natural Born Charmer & loved it! Thanks for the review!

    Reply

  6. Best series ever!!! For me, though, it’s also all about the narrator, and (the late) Anna Fields was the best of all the readers that I’ve ever experienced.

    Reply