‘It Had to Be You’: A Charming Follow Up to Book One!

Since reading my first Susan May Warren novel (Happily Ever After), I’m 100% a committed fan of Warren’s brand of wordsmith. The second novel in Warren’s “spin-off” series (which does return to Deep Haven), this It Had to Be You book is Eden Christiansen’s story.

STORY | As the responsible daughter of the family, Eden always puts aside her feelings and aspirations in favor of keeping baby brother, Owen in line while he pursues a career in the NHL. Eden is devastated when her wild brother is injured with the possibility he may never play again. This brings team captain Jace Jacobsen into her life.

Jace is the Blue Ox’s “bad boy,” every stereotype of the image is written about him and because of this neither Eden nor Jace know each other beyond passing in stadium halls. She makes assumptions about Jace and he never thinks of Eden as anything other than Owen’s bossy cheerleader. But now these two unlikely people are about to discover there is more to a person than first impressions.

It Had to Be You by Susan May Warren | Book Review

REVIEW | In many ways, Susan feels like the matriarch of contemporary fiction. She has a talent beyond any author I’ve read because of the poignant ways she strings words (emotions) together. Secondly, she knows how to do all the genres with effortless grace (she tackles suspense, historical and contemporary, each one more beautifully than the last). Eden is one of those characters who interested the reader even in Take a Chance on Me, and her story doesn’t disappoint. Book two tells her story in such a way that most if not all readers will relate to her heartbreak; she’s the one sister who feels “misplaced.”

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I have to say that I never expect Eden to make the decisions she does, and it’s refreshing when a writer switches things up. Also unexpected is Jace’s turmoil. He struggles with past scars of belonging and finding out who he was. With Eden he becomes the best version of himself and the scenes between them take the time to cultivate a good relationship anyone will root for. The Christiansen family is not just a fun group of people to know for 300+ pages; they’re a warm, loving family that seem like good friends.

“We look at our own problems, and we say… why? Maybe we should look at our blessings and ask the same thing.”
― Susan May Warren, It Had to Be You

Aside from the beauty of this story, I have to talk about one reader pet peeve. No matter how well I adore the story, the format isn’t a favorite. Much as I liked the prior novel of this series, the back-and-forth perspective switches “feels” awkward. In this novel, Susan uses the supporting friends and characters to help further the story instead of surpassing Jace and Eden’s own heartbreaks, and fortuitously, it reads better, especially when everything reaches its pinnacle. Compared to its peers, the spiritual message shines as brightly as the characters; the novel made my mother cry and resonates with me. If you’re one of those newbie readers to Warren’s novels, there is no better time to start.

This is one author who is only getting better with each book and I cannot wait to find out what joy she has next for us to discover in this memorable Christiansen family saga. ♥

ABOUT THE BOOK

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Author: Susan May Warren
Publisher: Tyndale
Source: Publisher – thank you!
Publication Date: 2014
Series: Christiansen Family – Book 2
Find the Review Elsewhere: Amazon ǀ Goodreads
Find the Book Elsewhere: Amazon ǀ Goodreads
Genre: Fiction; Contemporary Romance
Rating: ★★★★★

This review originally appeared on Fiction Addict.With thanks to the publisher, Tyndale House (thanks to Jen at Fiction Addict) for providing a complimentary ARC copy of this book for reviewing purposes.