It Had to Be You (Lucky Harbor Book 7) Kindle Edition

I absolutely love stories written by Jill Shalvis! Burned out police detective and down on her luck small town gal have the most adorable meet cute ever!! Luke and Ali just can’t seem to overcome the heat and passion during their time together. But can their different lives become one so that they can claim their sweet HEA? So good!!

I have read most of the Lucky Harbor series books by Ms. Shalvis and I have not had one complaint to share. Each book is truly a stand alone book after the first three.In this installment, we have Ali, a woman that believes she is cursed with the same affliction her mother suffers..... falling in love with the wrong man every time. All Ali wants is a chance to break the cycle of disappointment and decides a fresh start in another town is what is necessary. With virtually no money, but a load of talent and a generous heart... she lands in Lucky Harbor.The story begins as a disaster for Ali. She learns that the boyfriend that she has is a cheating tool that breaks up via text on the day that the lease expires for the house he has rented and that she moved in to. Furious that yet again she is hurt from another relationship, she decides to stand up for herself and ends up being accused of being a thief.Not to mention the whole premise of the story, we get to be introduced to Luke Hanover, the owner of the house Ali was residing in, detective, and all around alpha male with a feel of being a failure in caring for those he loves. He returns to Lucky Harbor as an escape to what he feels is the biggest and most troublesome failure in his career as a detective. Upon arrival to his grandmother's home, that he owns, he finds a stranger in his house. Knowing that the previous lease expired, he thought he could be alone to deal with his latest disappointment in life and career.There was an instant attraction between the two of them, but an obvious decision to avoid connecting. With Luke's generous heart, he cannot just kick out a person that obviously has been dealt a lousy hand of cards and allows her to stay. Of course, he notices her strong, yet vulnerable side and taps into a set of feelings that he has never felt before. With the threat of Ali being arrested for a crime she did not commit, he takes on helping her prove her innocence.With the character development being presented in a way that kept the story going at a decent clip, we also get to feel yet again a part of that small haven called Lucky Harbor. Between the gossip flying free via Facebook, a mystery to solve, and another happily ever after on the horizon... you will not be disappointed with this installment of the series. There are some mention of characters from the previous books, but not too much. The focus is where it needs to be considered a stand alone in a series.I did not read the additional novel that is given as a bonus just yet, but when it comes to rating It Had To Be You... it is a solid 4-star worthy book to read. Well done, Ms. Shalvis! Looking forward to more stories in the future!!

A short read. Good, not great, for me (3.5 stars). Probably a style thing as I'm into the grittier novels ofKristen Ashley and Madeline Sheehan. However, Ms Shalvis writes well and the story got better for me as it went along. I liked it well enough to read more of the Lucky Harbor series (I'd already read the first 4).Ok, one pet peeve - Ms Shalvis uses the line: "She smiled at him, the hot little minx." Who uses "minx" in today's world? Much less a straight man? Even more, a broody alpha male? It seems so out of place. Sheesh.QuotesLuke & Ali: "You're friends?" "Not the go out and share sushi kind, but yeah. It's more the 'your dress is pretty, where did you get it' sort." Luke shook his head. "Was that English?"Luke: Luke suspected he (Teddy) was exactly as he appeared - a guy for whom things either came easy or not at all because he was just on the wrong side of lazy.Luke: "Listen," Luke said, going for reasonable. His mistake, because it'd been a while, but he should have remembered that angry women were never reasonable.Luke: It was the closest thing to a religion he'd ever had. The church of wind and surf. (referring to Stand Up Paddleboarding or supping)Luke & Ali: "don't worry." Her lips were close enough to brush over his with every word. "I know what this is." Oh, thank Christ she knew. Because he sure as hell didn't.Luke & Ali: There was a bottle of Scotch at his side. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Drinking." Hmmm. She sat next to him and eyed the bottle. One-third gone. She eyed Luke. Probably also one-third gone.Bree: She was flushed and her hair was sticking to her face. "Is it hot in here? It feels hot in here. F****** hot flashes. It's the 21st century and we can't cure hot flashes."Bree: "He's like the Energizer bunny; he can keep going and going. A girl can't do that. We get bladder infections."

This was a cute, zany story. It was a little hard to get in to some of the zaniness because I never had a solid chunk of reading time. I felt like I'd always start up again right as there was some crazy situation happening that should totally have been funny but I had to remind myself what happened just before in order to get it and then it wasn't as funny anymore. I'm sure if I sat reading for a few hours, there would have been some good laughs, but in small chunks this book gave me some chuckles and some eye rolls. I was mildly shocked by some of the sexist lines in the book though. You expect an alpha hero from Jill Shalvis, but there were some odd remarks like "...he should have remembered that angry women were never reasonable." I've expected lines like that from 80's romance novels but that stereotyping is disappointing to see today. I'm sure it was meant to be funny and maybe there were some negative stereotypes for men in the book too, but it took Luke as a character down a few pegs for me when I read something like that. Ali and Luke are both strong characters who are used to helping everyone else and slogging through life however they need to in order to get what they want. They were a believable pair, in a zany sort of way. I wanted them to solve their problems and work their life out together. This is a great beach read, or anytime really that you have a day to spend with some fun characters. If I had to compare this to something, I'd say it's most like a good Meg Ryan movie. You know it's going to end well, but it's comforting to see everyone get there together and leaves a smile on your face in the end.

★Review★It has been awhile since I visited Lucky Harbour, and again an excellent addition to the series.I again loved both main characters, and love how there is not too much "angst" and relationship drama. Just two people, trying to overcome their own issues and hang ups, in a real way. Luke and Ali both find something neither even knew they were looking for.This entire series is such a comfort read for me, and I know I am going to get a sweet heart-warming story, of two extremely likeable characters.This series is set up as a bunch of "trilogies" and once out of that set of 3, you do not see much of those characters in the other "trilogies" other than the odd mention here and there. And for me, I do wish that we could get more of a little catch up with previous main characters, but that is just a personal preference.And I wish Ali's ex had had some sort of "punishment" for being such an idiot and all round general selfish knob,but hopefully that will come in another book in this set of 3.I cannot wait Jack's book.★Book Basics★Genre : - Contemporary RomanceSeries : - 7th in the series (1st in the "3rd" trilogy of the Lucky Harbour series)Love triangle? - NoCheating? - NoHEA? - YesWould I read more by this author? - YesRating - 5

Loved this lucky Harbour novel. A tad too much angst at times but overall a good romance. The slight mystery element was also good.

Another great book in lucky harbour series. Always look forward to the next one. Love Jill Shavlis books always put a smile on my face

Premesso che sono una fan della Shalvis (ho letto praticamente tutti i suoi libri) e ho amato alla follia tutta la prima e la seconda serie di Lucky harbor, ammetto di essere vagamente delusa.Abituata ai dialoghi sagaci e all'antagonismo fra i personaggi principali, questo libro mi ha lasciato un po' perplessa. La storia parte da un classico presupposto: dolce ragazza squattrinata, brutalmente scaricata dal fidanzato, perde il lavoro e conclude con una bell'accusa di furto per cui rischia il carcere. A salvarla da tutte le sue disgrazie, arriva l'eroe per definizione, affascinante poliziotto in ferie forzata egli stesso oggetto di accertamenti giudiziari. Come anticipato gli ingredienti ci sarebbero, ma il libro non decolla, l'alchimia tra i due protagonisti che tentano continuamente di non mettersi le mani addosso, proprio non funziona. I dialoghi intriganti, i ritmi serrati e le gag esilaranti di "head over heels" e "Forever and a day" sono un ricordo lontano. Cara Jill, aspettiamo di vedere il seguito perché qui non ci siamo!

Wie immer ein leicht lesbares Buch in der schönen Umgebung von Lucky Harbor. Teilweise bekannte Charaktere gut gemischt mit Neuzugängen. Ali Winters Charakter mag man einfach.Gute Entspannungslektüre mit 'großem Finale'.