Hello and happy Friday. Today’s review will be short, sweet, and to the point, since it’s about a novella. I’m talking about It Has to Be You by Dani McLean. I want to thank NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

If you want something sweet and unproblematic, but that features more realistic characters than your usual romance book, then read this one. Indy struggles with anxiety, which, let me tell you, is super relatable. She’s also heavily tattooed, like I am. She seems to think that everyone is always looking at her tattoos, though, which is something I haven’t experienced or heard anyone with tattoos mentioned, and I am from a very conservative country. That bit was the only one I found unrealistic, but maybe it’s because the author doesn’t have tattoos herself. I don’t know; it’s not that deep, right?

Ethan, the love interest, is and does more than the bare minimum, which means that I think he’s amazing. But honestly, out of all the romance books I’ve read recently, he’s my favorite. Maybe it’s because he’s a fourth grade teacher, or because he actually understands and applies affective responsibility. Either way, I ended up liking him more than Indy, which rarely happens when I’m reading about heterosexual relationships. I just think he was extremely patient and at times Indy was plain dumb.

You need some context, right? Indy is now in her early thirties, but when she was a teenager, she was dating this guy Nick, who gave her a bracelet, and a psychic told her that the owner of the bracelet was her soulmate. Months after that, her relationship with Nick is over and she pretty much forgets about her bracelet until she finds it, fifteen or so years later, in the present. She decides that Nick is The One, as foretold by the psychic, so she goes to look for him, but instead she ends up running into Ethan, Nick’s cousin.

That’s about all you need to know. Oh, yes, and there’s a sex scene, but it happens only in one chapter, so you can skip it and pretend it’s a fade-to-black thing. Okay, now that’s it.