Title: It Had to Be You
Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Publishing Date: 1994
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: B
Sensuality: Hot
Phoebe Somerville’s father has recently passed away. He was a man’s man and all her life she has always felt like she was a big disappointment to him by never living up to his expectations. She left home at eighteen and hasn’t been back until now, to attend her father’s funeral. Phoebe is in for a big surprise though, because her father’s will now names her the temporary owner of his beloved football team, The Chicago Stars. Sparks fly between Phoebe and Dan Calebo, the coach of the football team. Dan can’t believe his bad luck that, this ditzy woman is now the new owner!
It Had to Be You is a fun, fast paced book. I had no trouble turning the pages of this one. There is a lot to like about it. Phoebe is a wonderful heroine. She is just the right combination of strength and vulnerability. She is very intelligent and resourceful. Phoebe is thrown into managing a football team, something that she knows next to nothing about and yet she comes out on top time and again. Some of the ideas she came up with to outmaneuver Dan or her other opponents were outrageous and laughable, but they worked.
Dan wasn’t my favorite hero to date. He is a bear of a man, used to bowling right over people and getting his way. The only emotion he is comfortable expressing is anger. He has temper and a mean streak that was too volatile for my taste. Sometimes he would just say the meanest things to Phoebe. I could have accepted it better with the addition of lots of groveling. One thing I can definitely say about Phillip’s writing is that the characters are vivid. They practically leap off the pages. I will definitely be reading more by Ms. Phillips in the near future.
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4 comments:
You have to read "Nobody's Baby But Mine." I loved it, which is really saying something, because I hate secret baby books.
Hmmm, it's funny because I've read some of SEP books and most of them, I didn't enjoy ^_^; and I've read some of the later books of this series... but never this one. Perhaps I should...
Kate, I am planning on reading the whole Chicago series at least up to Nobody's Baby but Mine. Oh no! It's a secret baby plot? I choose it for a book challenge. It filled the requirement for having the word "baby" in the title.
Nath, I don't know Nath. Phoebe was great, but I don't think you would like Dan. But maybe I am wrong. See if you can get it from your library and try a few chapters. The opening scene with Pheobe's dog at her Father's funeral is priceless.
Personally I found Natural Born Charmer to be an emotionally powerful book all around. Probably her best but she uses many of the same themes in all of her books and if you read these in order the comparisons are going to water down the impact of the writing.
Match Me if You Can uses previous characters/locations heavily, so that one, at least, is better with some back story.
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