got to about 40% before starting to skim. there were big thoughts and feelings but everything kept falling flat. daisy is not a good person/character.

For some reason, I have been avoiding contemporary romances. But when NetGalley sent me the widget for It Must Be True Then, I decided to end my dry spell. Now that I have read the book (and enjoyed it), I want to say that I can’t wait to read more books by the author. From the prologue to the end, I laughed at Daisy’s antics or cried with her.

It Must Be True Then’s storyline centers around Daisy. In a matter of a few days, Daisy lost her boyfriend, job and stopped speaking to her younger sister. Giving herself a couple of weeks to mourn the loss of her job (where she worked for 13 years) and to plan on getting her boyfriend back, Daisy decides to look for a job that can tide her over until she gets one in her field (statistics). The job she gets is a nanny to two adorable children. As Daisy settles into nannying, she grows closer to the children and their father. But she has plans, including getting a new job, getting back her ex, and making up with her sister. But things don’t always go as planned.

The author had an interesting way of writing the past year of Daisy’s life. In between the chaos that was currently happening, the author snuck in chapters that detailed how she met Jackson and what their relationship was like (hint: it wasn’t much), what happened to cause her to lose her job, and the reason she wasn’t speaking to her sister. I thought it was brilliant because it allowed me to compare that Daisy to the Daisy presented throughout the book.

Daisy was tough to like. From the beginning, she was selfish and self-centered. The author made it very clear that this was the type of person she was and was very unapologetic about it. But as the book went on and her backstory took shape, I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. Not that it made me like her anymore, but I did pity her.

I wouldn’t say I liked Daisy’s relationship with Archie for the above reasons. It was all take and no give on her side. But, to be honest with you guys and me, she was actively trying to get her ex back, so how she acted made sense. I did find her speech about not wanting children, any children, very distasteful since Archie had two. I also felt her relationship with Archie was a little forced and held no sparks.

As I said above, the secondary characters made the book. I loved Archie, his girls, and his relationship with them. I liked Daisy’s best friend, who wasn’t afraid to call Daisy out on her BS but was also very supportive. I even liked Daisy’s younger sister once she realized her way of life wasn’t working. They made the book for me.

A very important secondary storyline is also centered on Daisy and her mother. I won’t get into it, but I felt bad for Daisy’s mother. Mistakes happen, and she paid dearly for them.

Despite everything I wrote in this review, I did like the book. Daisy’s character progression was terrific to read (she matured throughout the book). There were several laugh-out-loud parts (the Instagram pictures had me dying laughing). But the one that stood out the most to me was why she lost her job. It was a well-written chapter highlighting everything wrong with today’s society, and Daisy was correct with everything she said.

The end of It Must Be True Then was sweet, and I loved that Daisy had found peace with herself. The HEA with her and Archie wasn’t forever. It was more of a right now HEA (if that makes sense).

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Luci Adams for allowing me to read and review this ARC of It Must Be True Then. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It Must Be True Then is a good romance novel that is very entertaining and keeps you reading for more. It’s a page turner and definitely a book I’d recommended to all romance novel lovers!

Daisy Peterson is a data analyst for a company, Branded, where she’s worked for thirteen years but she just got fired. Not only did she lose her job, she also was dumped by her boyfriend, Jackson Oakley. To top it off she hasn’t spoke to her sister, Mia, in weeks due to a fight they had. During Daisy’s mope period she makes multiple trips to Sainsbury’s where she meets two little girls, Bailey & Cara, who seem to be by themselves. Daisy shows up to the girls house for the nanny job she saw posted and met their dad, Archie.

Cara is a fan of Emmy Pea on Instagram and encourages Daisy to “go big or go home” and to “be your authentic self”. So Daisy goes on an adventure to do exactly that. Daisy is met with decisions when she returns home, which is say she does a pretty great job of making.

I want to thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press & Luci Adams for the digital ARC of It Must Be True Then.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was witty and well written. I liked Daisy and her sense of humour immediately. It takes a while to understand the author's writing pace, but once you're used to it, the book moves along fluidly.

I have completed this book but as it is published by an imprint of St. Martin's Press I will be withholding my thoughts until they respond to the boycott.

The premise of this novel really grabbed my attention. Such an engaging and immersive read. Great characters, chemistry, tension. A delicious slow burn. Overall a solid read

Daisy thought she had it all. But when a series of events leaves her feeling like she’s hit rock bottom, she needs to find a way to surface to the top. After loosing her job, being dumped by her boyfriend and estranged from her only sister, Daisy stops by her local grocer for some well deserved comfort food. While there, she meets two precocious little girls. As her job search efforts appear to be futile, Daisy applies for a job as a nanny to the girls she met a few weeks prior. While getting to know the girls and their handsome father, Daisy hopes that by displaying a rosy view of her life in social media, it will show her friends, family and future employers that she has it all. This novel was sweet, funny and heart warming. You’ll want to add Luci Adams’ latest novel to your TBR!

I felt like this one had so much potential but I I didn't feel any connection to Daisy. I felt terrible when she was fired and dumped on the same day. That must be horrible experience for anyone. But as smart as she is, it's as though she doesn't get it. I really struggled reading through the book. I found myself skimming at times. I did enjoy Cara and feel like she saved the book. Archie is amazing and great boyfriend.

Thank you to Luci Adams, St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am not sure about how I feel about this book. I felt like the pacing was off, it was all over the place. I couldn't connect to Daisy. She was stubborn and I found it rather annoying,

I did like Archie, Cara, and Bailey so that is a plus.

Even though it took me a long time to read, I enjoyed this one! I liked Luci’s first book so was excited to read this one. Loved all the characters (even though it’s a zero hot pepper emoji kind of book). It’s a yes from me!

3.5 rounded up.

I admit this one took me awhile to get into but once I did I was rooting for Daisy to reconcile with her sister and find her people. Part women's fiction, part romance, this was a feel-good, heartwarming story that gave me Bridget Jones vibes. Good on audio too but not quite as good as her last book (in my opinion). Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Steam level: kissing only

Daisy's lost her job and her boyfriend and she's fighting with her sister. But somehow she ends up snagging a nanny job to two adorable kids. It's this job that will change her life, if she can get out of her head, open herself up feelings.

So this story had 3, good things:
1) Cara and Bailey are absolutely adorable, with different enough perspectives and personalities that they are easily able to stand on their own.
2) Archie is simply the best kind of bbf - sweet, patient and loving, not to mention, he's pretty darn cute.
3) The writing and the storyline are great.

Unfortunately, the 1 bad thing, was bad enough to bring down my rating a star. Daisy. Sigh...she is definitely the worst part, the only bad part, of this story. She's judgmental and rigid, and being in her sort of frantic head the whole way through is exhausting! I dislike her so much that it dulled my enjoyment of the rest of the story and characters. But, even though I can't stand Daisy, I like everything else. The other characters, the growth and heart, and the fun storyline. The romance itself is slow burn as Archie and Daisy take time developing a solid friendship first. And the rest of the relationships stand out too.

This was a really fun and romantic novel. The daughters were so unique and special. I got a little impatient with Daisy’s obsession with her ex, it was so obvious she was wasting her time. But I loved her visit with her friends in Alaska and the slow sweet way her relationship with Archie (Scottish accent!) developed.

I liked the idea of this story, but it lacked in execution for me.

There were many parts that felt drawn out and could have been paired down with the same effect. There was so much focus on her old love interest, that it took away from the new relationship that was developing.

The character felt a little bit conceited and that made her difficult for me to like, no matter how I tried.

I have read another of her books, and I think I would read move. It wasn’t a total loss for me. It just missed a little bit.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, so many mixed feelings about this book that I'll get into, but overall, it was nice and relaxing to read.

- I loved how Daisy stood up for herself in her job and left no crumbs expressing her opinions. I, however, wished that this scene didn't come so late in the book as it did. I mean, there was a lot of back & and forth, and it sometimes became difficult to keep track.

I absolutely loved Archie & his girls, especially Cava. The hilarious meet-cutes Daisy had with each of them were iconic. Daisy & Archie's relationship was soft, comforting, & felt like a safety net. I appreciated how both were friends first and then lovers. This Daisy saw how her ex treated her & what a red flag he was (I mean seriously how could she not see that?).

The pacing and tone of the book felt kinda uneven for me, but as I said earlier, it was very soothing to read.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

It Must Be True Then is absolutely wonderful. I was expecting a single father meets and falls in love with the nanny rom-com, but this book is much more complex and completely heartwarming. I fell in absolute love with Bailey and Cara as well as their father, Archie. The girls and their father captured my heart, and Luci Adams made me laugh and cry with them as their friendship with Daisy grows.

Daisy's growth over the course of the novel was my favorite aspect of the story. From a shallow, career-obsessed woman with an equally shallow boyfriend, Daisy learns the importance of honesty and trust in relationships and presenting 'your authentic self' to the world. She learns the importance of family, and that sometimes the assumptions we have about what we see in other people is not the whole story.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the digital ARC of It Must Be True Then by Luci Adams. The opinions in this review are my own.

This is a difficult book to review as I am not really the demographic for this book.
What I liked: our protagonist, Daisy was a data analyst, the job my daughter is getting a masters in.
The love interest is Scottish and a really kind, funny guy.
The 2 different sister relationships.
The 5 year old was adorable, but I never met such a well spoken 5 year old.
I did like the ending.
I enjoyed the London scenery.
What I didn't like: Daisy was a hot mess.
I am not a fan of Instagram, thus my demographic comment.
This is a contemporary romance, with a lot of flashbacks that were a little confusing. Daisy's story from her childhood to her job was told in italic clumps, and I admit I skimmed some of the clumps.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the EARC. this is my honest review.

Daisy thought she had the perfect life with a demanding but exciting career and a slot in the calendar of the hottest man she'd ever seen. But one (justified) blowup with a client and her 13 years of dedication mean nothing as she's fired at a 6:30 am meeting and her 'boyfriend' breaks up with her over text. Add in being in a fight with her little sister and her best friend moving to Alaska and Daisy is having a very bad time. Until the day she meets two little girls alone in Sainsbury's and then meeting their dad make Daisy start questioning if everything she thought to be true about her life truly is as she'd always thought it.

It's a very sweet rom-com that focuses on Daisy finding herself and being true to what she really wants instead of what her fears have made her think she wants. It's lovely to follow along as she strengthens old relationships and opens herself up to new ones while realizing that she's more than enough and she can fight for what she really wants.

I'm usually against kids in rom-coms, but there's something about the way the girls are with Daisy and how they show a wonderful side to Archie that makes them integral to the story without making it awkward.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Martin's Griffin for the great read!

Even though It Must Be True Then by Luci Adams comes out tomorrow (March 12th), I’m gonna tell you guys about it today because why not!

I’ll be honest: this book had me just as confused as our main character is! It took me a little while to get into and yet was also strangely binge-able for me? I found some of the plot to be dragged out too much, yet also I could stop turning the pages to see what was going to happen? If you’re now confused also, then yeah same and I’m sorry…

There are some parts in this novel that are cute, but others that infuriated me and while Daisy is supposed to be endearing and relatable, I found her so insecure and not relatable to me that I just want to smack her silly!

The book is basically just a bunch of present day situations that make Daisy out to be a hot mess (which she is) and flashbacks that make her look like a desperate idiot. But, as usually, I’m a sucker for cute kids and the single dad trope so that part I think is what had me in a chokehold and kept me reading.

Eventually, this book did get better in the end and I’ll admit to tearing up at certain points, but I think Daisy just took too long to reach her character arc for me. While this book wasn’t my favorite, I still found it enjoyable and maybe you’ll like it too!

*I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a fun, heartfelt read!

The first half read more like a Women's Fiction and felt a bit slow. There were also a lot of flashbacks, which were confusing at first.

A lot more happens in the second half and that's where you really start to feel the romance.

Some situations the FMC gets herself into were definitely ridiculous and hilarious. You definitely get second-hand embarassment from your reading spot!

Archie and his daughters were adorable, especially Cara. The romance itself felt authentic, with the MCs first becoming friends then realising their deeper feelings for each other.

I also really enjoyed the sister storyline, especially how it all comes around.

Overall, I recommend this book if you're a fan of slow-burn, contemporary romance!