"It Had to Be Him" is the latest novel by Adib Khorram, offering readers a slow-burn, second-chance romance between Noah and Ramin. This story marks a departure from his YA roots, focusing on themes of growing up and gaining clarity about who we are and what we want, while also learning from our past. Set against the backdrop of Italy, it has readers rooting for our Kansas City couple.

Fans of Khorram’s work will be pleased to see recurring characters from his previous novels, such as Farzan, David, and Arya, making cameo appearances. While the book does include a happily ever after (HEA), it also addresses important issues like contentious parental relationships, body dysmorphia, consent, and more. Like Khorram’s other works, it is warm, vulnerable, and features a diverse cast along with queer representation.

I highly recommend this book, especially if you’re looking for a warm, happy beach read. Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It Had To Be Him by Adib Khorram was phenomenal! I love to see a MM romance tackle consent and communication so well! The opening was very strong and the ending was perfect. I appreciate the discussion questions for readers at the end as well. Thank you for the opportunity to read!

What first got my attention about this book is that it seems to be in the same vein as The Pairing, and that is one of my favorite romances. Unfortunately it isn’t anywhere as good, at least for me.
We follow two men, Ramin recently broke up with his boyfriend and Noah is on a family vacation with his ex wife and kid and both go spend a little time in Italy.
I love the premise, but the execution just wasn't for me. It tries to be sex positive but does it in a really strange way, there’s an entire subplot about the size of a character’s dick and how it is a problem(?). It’s just really strange. Smut is also a big part of the book, which would be fine if I knew beforehand but since I didn’t I definitely wasn’t expecting that. It also talks about kink a lot, but that’s just okay.
The son and wife are kinda just there, I thought it would be more about their journey as a family and what the possibility of a parent being an ocean apart from their child would entail. It would be really cool given Noah’s relationship with his parents, but it was all wasted. Ramin’s friends receive an even worse treatment, if they weren't there it would make no difference.
The summary seems to be written by someone who didn’t read the book, and if they did I would like to read that version because this just wasn’t it. This whole section: [“Only Ramin fears Noah’s feelings won’t last without Ramin’s adventurous new persona—and Noah's not sure he can be the supportive partner Ramin deserves. With the days counting down to the end of their trip, can their love last without the magic of Italy?”], like where is that? I didn’t see it.
I initially gave the book 3.5 stars but writing this review I realised I have way more critics than I thought.
I have to say, the beginning was really good, so maybe it just wasn’t for me but I would definitely say go in a little skeptical if you decide to try it. (oh, and read Kiss&Tell by the same author, it is really good)

Thank you Netgalley and Forever for the ARC.

Oh my GOD the way I DEVOURED this book! It was soooo good! I read the whole thing in less than a day, and contemporary romance usually isn’t a genre I like very much.

Ramin and Noah are so sweet and vulnerable, which was so refreshing to see in male characters. I usually don’t believe that people can fall in love in less than two weeks, but this author may have completely changed my mind on that.

The writing was hilarious from start to finish, beginning with Ramin (aka sorta Elle Woods) impulsively piercing his ears on the way to the airport after a bad breakup. He meets an old high school friend, Noah, in Milan. Love some good bisexual rep, and Noah is very comfortable in his bisexual-ness. Angela, Noah’s ex-wife whom he is on good terms with, is taking their family on a “death march of fun” (so real, I am also guilty of doing this tbh). I loved seeing what a great dad Noah is, especially his role as the more nurturing parent. Again, so refreshing to see tropes being turned on their heads in this book. Toxic masculinity is completely thrown out the window. Noah was raised in a toxic household and is determined to raise his son in a beautifully nurturing and soft way, emphasizing that it’s ok to cry and have emotions.

Ramin’s relationship with his Iranian-ness was beautiful and pure. I loved his friendships with Farzan and Arya. His imaginary cartoon devil/angel versions of them were so cute. I also loved Ramin’s perspectives on aging and body dysmorphia. When Ramin has a mental breakdown over his body image, Noah says the most absolutely perfect things to reassure him that he is beautiful. Their first time having sex was so realistic. Noah is understandably nervous and Romin’s response of “Bodies are weird. Don’t worry. I’ve got you.” was perfect. Noah writing notes on being a dom on his arm was so adorable.

Ugh. I loved this book so much. The moral of the story is… it’s a tough life, go to therapy, and find happiness in being queer.

SO many thanks to the author and publisher for the opportunity to have read an advanced copy this book for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Heartmelting
I absolutely loved reading this and seeing Ramin and Noah find their ways to each other. I also loved the throwbacks to high school and the addressing Ramin's insecurity and body dysmorphia. It was realistic and sweet. Jake was also such a great character and I love how supportive Angela ended up being of the two of them—the part where she pointed out her sister was a lesbian before they even got together was hysterical.

This book warmed my heart and I cannot wait for you to be able to read it. Adib Khorram has such a special way of writing his characters, infusing each one with a warmth and movement that makes you instantly latch on to their stories. Ramin and Noah are no different and both have a richness and depth to them that draws you in as if you’re right there with them. I thought their connection in high school was the perfect tie in that made the speediness of their romance make complete sense. Children in romance novels can be a little tricky for me, but I think what is special about Jake is he’s just treated as another person whose life is intertwined with our characters (and while sometimes he can be a bit of a handful for his parents, he never gets to be annoying or loathsome to the reader). The spicy scenes were indeed spicy and so so good! I loved the crossover of characters and themes from I’ll Have What He’s Having. Adib Khorram continues building his universe and I will continue to be here for it!

Many thanks to Forever for early access!

Thank you Forever and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. So swoon worthy! Ramin decides the time is right to propose to his boyfriend Todd. So he’s devastated when Todd turns down his proposal and even more gutted when it’s because, according to Todd, he’s boring. Wanting to prove he’s not he booms a spontaneous trip to Italy hoping to see the sights and get dicked down by plenty of Italian men. Noah’s life is about to be upheaved when his ex-wife decides she may move to Italy and wants to take their 9 year old son Jake with her. First she wants them all to go on a trip so they can get used to Italy and make a decision. The two bump into each other in Italy while getting gelato, but also Ramin and Noah went to high school together. Noah was Ramin’s first big crush, though he wasn’t out in high school. And unbeknownst to everyone, including Noah, he may have had a thing for Ramin too. The two are instantly drawn into each other’s orbit and keep bumping into each other. All these people in Milan and somehow they keep finding one another. Ramin is careful with his feelings, as he cannot develop a crush on a straight man again. Noah, who’s bisexual, keeps flirting but maybe it’s too much as Ramin doesn’t seem interested and he is just getting over a breakup. It doesn’t help that Ramin is so incredible with his son. The more time they spend together the more their attraction grows. But Ramin is supposed to be living this incredible new life and Noah is supposed to be spending time with his family especially as his son may be moving away from him. Can the two finally find happiness in each other? Or are life’s pressures just too much? Adib Khorram is a master with queer romances! Absolutely charming, sweet, funny, touching, heartwarming and full of spice!! I love the flashbacks to their high school days as well!! Expect all the warm and fuzzies with this one! A must read!

Ramin's life has just been turned upside-down: he thought he was on the marriage track only to find out he was on the breakup track. In a drunken effort to prove that he's not boring, he books impulsive tickets to Italy...where he runs into Noah, his high school crush. Shenanigans ensue.

Honestly, I was sold as soon as I saw that this took place in Italy. Call me predictable, but I love a good foreign-escape book. "It Had to Be Him" is set in the same universe (and the same friend group) as "I'll Have What He's Having", so it was an easy enough guess that there'd be solid characterization and overall good storytelling. (As it turns out, there's also quite a bit of wine—I'm guessing that that's an author interest and not just a character choice!)

This does the job handily. Lots to like here: good communication (most of the time), interesting material about body image, realistic kid-chaos, and one of the best relationships between exes that I've seen in a book—Noah and his ex-wife Angela are coparenting their kid, and enough time has passed since their divorce that the dust has settled and they can just...be friends. They're in Italy together, and although they don't always see eye-to-eye on things, they understand each other really well (e.g., Noah is pretty wry about Angela's approach to tourism, which he terms the Death March of Fun), and this is all treated as normal and healthy (as it should be but so rarely gets the chance to be in romance).

Despite the generally good communication throughout, I don't think there was quite enough between Noah and Angela about Angela's plans. Noah accepts it all at face value, but I have to think that a change that will, one way or another, have a major impact on your life, your kid's life, and your relationship with your kid should be discussed in a lot more detail. Like—I get where Angela is coming from, but at the same time, I wanted Noah to say "Whoa, hold up, there's a custody arrangement in place for a reason." And on a different note, it's worth mentioning that this is best suited for readers who don't mind their romance being on the explicit side (something I'm generally fine with, but since I'm more of an f/f reader than an m/m reader, this one raised some questions for me that I am *valiantly* resisting Googling).

I suspect that there's a third book planned, presumably with Arya as a main character. With any luck that's the case, because I'll happily read more...though I'll stick with my bottom-of-the-grocery-shelf wine rather than taking any of the much better recommendations here.

Thanks to the author and publisher for inviting me to read a review copy through NetGalley.

Oh my GOD!!!!! Adib's books will always deliver for me and loved getting to see more of his witty writing and lovable characters in his second adult romance book.

Ramin is such a loveable character and all the internal struggles he goes through in the book made me want to wrap him up in the biggest hug possible. Noah is such a sweetheart and such an amazing dad. I love getting to see the flashbacks of the pair in high school because you're able to see how tender hearted Noah has always been towards Ramin. I loved getting to see more of the found family that exists between Ramin, Farzan, and Arya and can't wait to see how this series end with Arya's story.

AND OH MY GOD THIS WAS SO HOT. The dirty talk, the role playing, the light dom/sub exploration. And nothing makes me go more feral than a "good boy" or "breed me".

Thank you Forever and NetGalley for an ARC of It Had to Be Him!!

Well, well, well. Adib Khorram has done it again, folks. I read and loved I’ll Have What He’s Having last year, and I was ITCHING for Adib to give us (me, specifically) another adult romance. This book was EVERYTHING I wanted.

Noah and Ramin were *so* easy to root for and I loved the flashbacks to their young friendship. I loved how they were in their late thirties. Ramon’s insecurities hit so so close to home for me that I actually highlighted so many passages I’ve said to myself. I also related to Noah always putting everyone else first. Absolutely guilty of that. And when I drank I definitely loved a good bottle of wine.

The romance was perfectly swoony and oh-so-romantic. Like that first kiss was gorgeous!! Their feelings for each other simmered over 20 years. Three words: ONLY ONE BED!!!!!!

And these two are so HOT for each other. I was literally sweating at some points like….. so so so so so hot. The train station about sent me into orbit. Poor Adib and Jenna who had to deal with my reactions live….🥵😮‍💨😏- ALSO it is so so so refreshing to have characters who communicate their wants and needs in and out of the bedroom and trust each other so deeply. That’s what I want someday!!!

Also - I loved all of the supporting characters especially seeing Farzan and David and Arya again (we’re getting an Arya book right!???)

Adib is not just one of my favorite writers. He’s one of my favorite people. He’s funny and smart and kind and generous. He also gives great hugs, I can attest! So definitely request from your library (I have already) and preorder (ope also done that already for a physical and audio copy) and you can get signed copies from Adib’s local indie @underthecoverkc.

Thank you @adibkhorram for this little bit of pure, queer magic. I loved it so much with all of my heart and I love you and I can’t wait to see you in a month!!!!

It Had to Be Him is a perfect summer read. The Italy setting was so wonderful, I loved the atmosphere of this book. It was so special to see Ramin and Noah reconnect after 20 years and immediately form such a deep connection. I absolutely loved both of them, and it was clear to see how they're both better for having the other person in their lives. I also loved how Noah's son, Jake, was not just a generic child character like in so many books, but was instead fully fleshed out and had an actual character arc. It made this story feel so real.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for this ARC!

I was really happy to return to Adib’s world and the group from I’’ll Have what He’s Having! It felt a bit like catching up with friends. This is a friends to lovers story about high school friends meeting again on a trip to Italy. Generally I’m not a big fan of flashbacks but I thought they were incorporated pretty seamlessly and informed the story. Noah and Ramin were really sweet and I enjoyed the rekindling their friendship.

On the other hand I found Jake and Angela to be very annoying and didn’t feel they needed such a large part of the story. In addition, there was a lot of should we/should we not especially on Ramin’s part which got old after a whole.

Rating: 3.75 rounded up