Oh my gosh, I have already found my second favorite book for 2017, and it's not even February yet! I am in love with this book. I want to read it again right now, though I know it still won't be enough to satisfy my craving for more of Emma and Oliver.

Emma Wyatt has had it up to here with Oliver Kyle. Childhood friends until Oliver called it quits to begin his new profession as a lady magnet, they maintain their distance even while Oliver attempts to close the gap. When Emma's friend buys Oliver for her at a charity bachelor auction, Emma is resolved to pay him back by making him her slave in her new bakery. However, her best laid plans go awry when the return of her ex and Oliver's protective instincts lead to the whole town thinking they're a couple. Now Oliver and Emma must decide if what started out as pretend should become reality.

Both Emma and Oliver captured my heart from the start of the book. Emma is friendly, confident, and doesn't take crap off of anyone, including the oh-so-charming and hunky Chief of Police, Oliver. His mindset on relationships seemed a bit farfetched to me - he wouldn't commit to one woman because his father was a cheater, and he thinks his genetics will predispose him to being one too - but he had a heart of gold and truly cared about Emma. Their struggles throughout the book were endearing, and I cheered for them both every step of the way. Truly a wonderful couple!

This was my first book by Melissa Kate, but it certainly won't be the last! I absolutely love it and am proud to place it on my shelf as a Favorite Book of 2017.

This book was a great quick read. It has the premise of an enemies to lovers romance which is what drew it to me in the first place!
I did like the characters but some parts of the story were a little unbelieveable and made it difficult for me to LOVE this book.

This is the first book that I have read from this author. I received an ARC from netgalley.com. It appears to be the second in a series, but it works as a stand alone.

Despite Oliver being two years older, he and Emma were best friends until shortly before her thirteenth birthday, Oliver pulled away and suddenly became another person. Emma was hurt and never knew why. Oliver has been keeping a secret from her ever since. Now grown up, Oliver is the police chief and Emma owns a confectionary shop. Their mutual best friends, Adam and Audrey are engaged (book 1?). The book starts with a bachelor benefit auction, where Audrey, using Emma waging paddle, wins Oliver. Instead of a date, Emma puts Oliver to work on her store's expansion, when her contractor injures himself and can't do the work on time. As they spend more time together, Emma finds that she still cares for Oliver and Oliver realizes that he is not his father and he can love Emma back.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The story flowed nicely with humor, conflict and romance. Most of the characters are people you would like to spend time with, except for the villain, of course.

I love "relationship of convenience" type stories. I do feel like there were added details that weren't necessary in moving the story along. Otherwise, I thought it was a cute story that I would gladly read again! I'd love to follow their story into the future.

Emma and Oliver were best friends growing up. All that changed one day when they were teenagers; Oliver no longer wanted to hang out with Emma. This left her hurt and confused. So they became enemies of sorts.

Years later, they find themselves at an auction. She wants to bid on the hunky firefighter, Mike, but her friend, Audrey, has other plans. As Oliver and Emma begin to spend time together, they may find that some things aren't what they seem.

It Had to Be You by Melissa Kate is a cute romance and a quick read. Emma has a confectionary shop in town and Oliver is the Chief (I wasn't clear on this - he's a small-town Intelligence chief on the police department who gets called into the big city for special cases. It didn't make sense to me, and unfortunately, his job is a big part of the story). Emma and Oliver were best friends until high school when Oliver suddenly pulls away and becomes a lothario and confirmed bachelor. They are brought back together after an auction when Emma "bids" on Oliver and wins him to make renovations at her shop.
I like second-chance romances, but this was all over the map with extra storylines and padding that seemed to be thrown in. For example, there's a domestic disturbance call that results in a father being called in for a drunk-and-disorderly after embarrassing his young son. This was supposed to be funny (it wasn't), and I kept waiting for the son to show up again in the story. Maybe Oliver would befriend him? But nope, didn't happen. The same went for the prankster storyline (if Oliver is such a highly trained officer that he gets called in for kidnapping and serial murder cases, why is he also chasing pranksters or teaching a senior defense class?) It was too much of a mess for me to enjoy this the way I wanted to. I would have preferred that the romance be developed more. It's not a horrible book, but I wish more of the potential had been developed. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC.