Bea sees Dan one day in the park and thinks he is the man she has always dreamed of. But is he?
A story of love and romance.

A predictable yet enjoyable read - easy to pick up if you're in the mood for something easy and fun.

Thanks to NetGalley, Keris Stainton and Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such a cute and omg so fun story!It was exactly what I needed!I loved the story-line I find it entertaining! I enjoyed the funny, uncomplicated story that somehow made me think a lot of our every day life and what we want and expect. The characters were interesting and sometime hilarious!If you are looking for a refreshing story this is perfect for you!

This book is super cute and I loved the author’s love of classic rom-com’s and pop culture; it came through multiple times amongst the characters dialogue. She created likeable characters that flowed well within the story. I felt like they would be really fun friends: I want to be their roommate too!

Bea has had the same dream involving the man of her dreams for as long as she can remember. Everything in Bea’s life hinges on this dream. On a chance day she believes she has finally met him, but is it really him…if I go on, I will give the story away and that would be no fun.

Quick and fun read if you are looking for something lighthearted. I enjoyed reading it.

Coming off the heels of reviewing the Music Shop by Rachel Joyce, I was in the music mood. I felt this rom-com needed to come with its own playlist, hence I created one on Spotify…enjoy! (I am someone who can listen to background music and read, I actually prefer it. What about you?)

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This was a really nice and easy read, would not set the world alight though

In this romantic comedy we are introduced to Bea. She is twenty-five and has moved to London as this is the place she believes to be full of excitement and endless possibilities; but mostly it is the place she will meet the man of her dreams. Not just in the sense of the perfect man, but more realistic, she really does dream of the man she will meet and love.

Bea is lucky, she landed a job in a bookstore when Henry interviewed her; he then offered her a room in his house where she meets her new housemates and settles in. All is just lovely. Oh except for her horrible ex-boyfriend Andrew who she still fixates about, even though he was awful to her. Then one day, she does meet the man of her dreams, Dan.

I loved the characters in this book. All the housemates were unique, fascinating and funny. Henry was just fantastic, funny, kind and adorable. Bea? Well, I don’t know sometimes she exasperated me. You will have to read it to see why. As for the paragraphs about the dreams – I know they are there because after all that is what the book is about, but I read them through gritted teeth (if that is even possible) ‘and then I woke up’.

All in all, a well written book, fairly predictable but then, isn’t that what romcom is all about? A good, easy, entertaining read.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review. Bea has a recurring dream in which she meets the man of her dreams in a park and they fall in love. One day she is walking through this park (where she always is looking for the man of her dreams) when she actually runs into him! She walks up to him and asks him out. Does this mean that she should stay with him? Is it destiny? Can you really meet the man of your dreams? This clever premis is hilariously explored in this funny novel. In addition to a fun plot, Bea has roommates you wished you lived with, and it makes you wish you could hop a plane to London!

4 Stars.

A Sweet, Endearing, Rom-Com.

Yes, that’s right, “It Had To Be You” got under my skin. It was funny, light and utterly sweet.

Bea is a dreamer. Ever since she was a little girl she has had this image in her mind. She has dreamed it actually, dreamed of the perfect guy. She saw him, sitting on a park bench, in London. The sun, streaming on his face. He turned to look at her and then she woke up and never saw his face. And this happens - every single time. And Bea knows, that someday, she will meet him. All of her friends think she is being a little silly to hold on to this “ideal” but she doesn’t care.

Bea works in a book store with her Landlord and friend, Henry. Bea and Henry get along quite famously. They also get along quite well with all of their roomies. Leave it to Bea, to shock everyone when she actually meets Dan, the man of her dreams exactly the way she imagined. Her roomies can’t believe it. Neither can she, actually. As it turns out however, dreams and reality are two entirely different things. And what Bea realizes is that sometimes the best things in life are right before her eyes.

This is a book that makes you laugh out loud. It also makes you smile, a lot. It is cute and super sweet. While there were a few “roll your eye” moments, they were few and far between. I admit that I am not a romantic movie/romantic book kind of gal, and romance is not my genre of choice, yet I found this rom-com to be charming and enchanting. The writing was flowy and the characters were well written. Keris Stainton did good, that’s all I can say.

If you are looking for a delightful, fun, romantic read, then this is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Keris Stainton for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley, Goodreads, Twitter and Instagram on 11.24.17.
*WIll be published on Amazon on 12.6.17.

At twenty five Bea seems to have gotten most of her life on track but she is still lacking that Mr. Right that she dreams of finding. Bea has been having a dream of the same man for as long as she can remember and even moved to the city and took her current job to be near the park where she sees him in her dream. She’s certain that this is her Mr. Right and she’ll find him someday.

In the meantime Bea heads to work with her good friend and roommate every day and watches rom coms on her computer while her other roommates fight then kiss and make up loudly in the other room. Bea’s patience pays off one day when she heads through the park only to see the man of her dreams sitting on the bench she knew she’d find him at. But will the romance be as good in person as it has been in her dreams now that she has met him?

It Had to Be You by Keris Stainton is a contemporary romance read with a main character that is trying to navigate her way through life and love. The story inside is one that would go along with a few sayings in life such as be careful what you wish for or the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, or quite a few other little tidbits as the character finds what she was looking for was there all along.

This one is a romantic comedy with little one liners and funny moments all throughout the book but as much as sometimes I laughed there were other times that I think Bea’s timidness and past made me a bit sad and I would feel sorry for her instead of laughing at the joke. Hard to put into words but I think there was just a thin line between being self deprecating or the joke succeeding. In the end I ended up just thinking this one to be an OK read that to pull off the humor better should have had a slightly stronger main character.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Thank you to Netgalley, the Author and the Publisher for this review copy, given in exchange for an honest review.  Also thank you to Kim from Bookouture for organising the Blog Tour!

This is my second Keris Stainton book.  I’ve read her previous book, which I really enjoyed, so was please to get this one!  We meet Bea!  She works in a bookshop, is a hopeless romantic but is single after having her heart broke before.  She keeps having a dream about meeting a man in a park and then one day – there he is!! She knows from her dreams that he’s the man for her, so she can’t let him get away…..can she?

I have to admit, I did find the story a bit slow to begin with.  There were a lot of characters initially which took a while for me to get my head around and work out who’s who!  Once the story got going, I settled into it and enjoyed it.  It turned out to be a funny, easy going story of a hopeless romantic who believes that dreams do come true.  Bea is a lovely character and I love the setting of a bookshop!  I also love the idea that dreams do come true (sometimes!) and when Bea meets Dan she honestly truly believes that he is the one!    My favourite character though has to be Henry.  His relationship with Bea at the beginning is just wonderful!

Okay, so yes, it was a bit predictable, but it was also a great, funny, feel-good read.  It showed the true meaning of friendship, love and not always believing everything you see whilst you are asleep!  Would definitely recommend this one!!

Four Stars!

I loved this book, such a wonderful easy read. Highly recommend.

Bea has had a disastrous love life and has been hanging on to her night time dream of meeting the tall dark handsome Mr Right in a park.......so when she meets Dan in the park she just knows he has to be her Mr Right!

I loved the characters in the book - Dan was lovely but was Bea just too hung up on her dream to see him as he really was and was he really right for her?

A great easy reading chick lit book - perfect if you just want to relax and lose yourself in chick lit

I really thought that this book would be good but I could not be more wrong.
When you start the book you I thought it would be really good but there is no plot to the story at all. It's very confusing you do not know who the main characters are or where the story is going.
Very confusing and not enjoyable at all. I did not finish it due to lack of interest and complete boredom, sorry.

A delightful romp. Bea has a recurring dream about her ideal man, which appears to have come true, but did it? Funny and original.

A fun-filled romantic comedy set in a bookshop. What's not to love? Bea has her heart set on the man of her dreams -- when she meets "him" in the park, she's convinced he really is the man she's dreamt about...
Surrounded by a cast of warm and realistic characters - flatmates of all types and the local cafe owners - this story is all about Bea but also about the importance of friendship and following your dreams (but being prepared if reality isn't quite as fun as the dreams)

A fun read!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Bea has had the same dream for 10 years; finding "The One" on a bench in a park. When Bea meets Dan in that park sitting on that bench, is it possible that her dream is coming true? Is Dan Mr. Right or has Mr. Right been right in front of her all along? I related to Bea so much more than I could ever express in words. This romantic comedy is the perfect light read that you will be sad when it ends and will find yourself thinking of Bea, Henry, Freya, Adam and Celine long after the last page.

This is the first book I've read by this author; I look forward to reading "If You Could See Me Now".

I zipped through this and thoroughly enjoyed it. This book tells the story of Bea and her search for love, in particular her mysterious “dream” man. In some parts it was laugh-out-loud funny and I was rooting for all of the characters throughout. The author captures the struggles of twenty-somethings as they navigate life through work, love and friendship with humour and heart and left me wanting to read more.

It Had To Be You is Keris' second novel for adults. I read and absolutely loved her first adult novel, If You Could See Me Now and had hoped she wouldn't just go back to her teen audience and leave us high and dry. If You Could See Me Now was witty, intelligently written, empowering to women and sexy, so I had no hesitation in coming back for more when this appeared on Netgalley. If anything, I love this more. Keris has a knack for creating believable, sympathetic characters who hook into your affections and stay there. I loved Bea as the main character but I think what I loved most was the strong ensemble cast around her. All the characters had something to give. I thought the main plot was nicely balanced against genuinely interesting sub plots and it was an utterly satisfying read, laugh out loud funny in places, poignant in others and really lovely. In fact, it was so satisfying that I started it last night and stayed up to finish it because I had to know what happened.

Love, love, love. Keris' romcoms are my happy place, always, and this is my favourite yet. So sweet and warm hearted, with a touch of magic. Henry is my best boy.

It had to be you by Keris Stainton a five-star read that you have to have. How have I never read this author before, she really is laugh out loud funny, I got some very strange looks reading on the train when I was reading this, so read in public at your own risk. The characters are so real and funny that sometimes you get sucked in and think your having a conversation with your mates not reading a book. Honestly there were some parts in this book that I had to stop reading for fear I may leak. The writing was fun and paced well, it did have a couple of moments where you knew what was coming but they fit in so well it was almost as if the story just completed itself in front of you rather than be predictable. Overall I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone, but only if your reading alone and not in public as you may leak also. Thank you Keris Stainton for writing such funny and amazing words.