Review – It Had To Be You by Ellie Adams

This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.

I love discovering new authors. It’s one of life’s little joys … picking up a book for the first time and falling into it. But when an author you already adore decides to take a different direction … that can be a little scary. You start questioning whether or not you’ll like this new direction and, if you don’t, what will you read? Will they bring back the old writing style and characters that you love next year? What if it’s gone forever? See, so many worries.

All of these thoughts went through my head when I discovered Jo Carnegie, author of the immensely popular Churchminster and Beaversham series, was trying something new – a stand-alone novel with new characters. This year saw her stepping away from both series and starting something fresh under the pseudonym Ellie Adams. I absolutely loved Jo’s previous books so I was nervous, but what a joy It Had To Be You was! The characters are loveable and funny and the book has the unique humorous wit that Jo does so well weaved throughout the story. I was rolling around laughing within the first few pages.

Lizzy has been dumped at a party on a boat while wearing a Henry VII costume, by a man she didn’t even like that much. To top it off, someone filmed it on their phone and now it has gone viral. Brilliant. Now not only is Lizzy back in the dating pool, but the water seems more contaminated than ever. With best friends Poppet and Nice by her side, Lizzy slowly begins to tackle single girl life as “Headbutt Girl” (you’ll understand why soon enough, don’t worry) until the most ignorant, rude and infuriating man she’s ever met comes into her life and she sets out on a new mission – to prove him wrong.

If you like laughing when you read a book then It Had To Be You is perfect. At one point I had to put it down because I was giggling so much I needed to catch my breath before I could continue. The chemistry between the main characters, especially the friendship between Lizzy, Nic and Poppet, is brilliant and each scene feels unique. Sometimes romantic fiction novels can feel predictable, but even though this novel follows the same style of plot that we know and love, it doesn’t feel tired. It feels fresh and funny.

Lizzy is hilarious and the situations she finds herself in have you hoping that you’ll never be in them yourself. Every time something happened to her I could picture her facial expressions and reactions exactly. Elliott, the love interest, is both handsome and infuriatingly uptight and provides a nice contrast to Lizzy’s personality. Poppet and Nic are equally as funny and the friendship between the three of them in incredibly endearing. The secondary characters such as Antonia (Lizzy’s boss) and Lizzy’s parents add to the story and provide moments that you can relate to as a reader. In fact, they are just as well written as the main characters.

This book is full of shenanigans, which will have you turning pages as quickly as you can and begging for alone time just so that you can keep reading. Funny, light-hearted and simply a joy to read, fans of Jo Carnegie will be 100% satisfied.

9/10

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