Book Escapes Babs's Reviews > It Had to Be You

I absolutely loved this story of second-chance romance and found myself turning the pages, hoping for clues of a happy ending. Of course, Beth Moran controls the story carefully and reveals each element slowly. Each morsel leads toward the final payoff, and I loved every moment.
When we first meet her, Libby is a little bit broken. She is under the illusion that she’s coping well with her life and doing a great job of raising her children and running a business. However, it’s not long before the reader becomes aware that the piles of mess and unimaginative meals are symptoms of a breaking heart. As the book tells us more about her past, we get a clear insight into the events that led to her downward path.
Along with her sister, Nicky, Libby runs a centre that helps parents discover more about what is in store for them when their baby arrives. Thankfully, Libby’s background is as a midwife and Nicky works as a GP. Together they coach couples in all forms as well as single parents. They dedicate a part of their service to troubled teens, as when they were growing up, their parents fostered children who may otherwise have been lost in the care system. With each element of detail about Libby’s past, I was able to gain a better understanding of how she came to be so sad, and how she could perhaps find her way back to happiness.
Parts of this story are poignant, and others are comedic. I particularly enjoyed her blossoming friendship with Toby and the way he clearly saw what she needed and helped in a way that seemed to be about him rather than her. That friendship was inspiring and beautifully handled. Her relationship with her Dad was beautiful, and I could imagine his presence as she became stronger and more in control of her actions.
I was less inspired by Libby’s feckless ex-husband and her absentee mother, but even the irredeemable are offered a safety net in this beautifully uplifting story that left me feeling warm and contented.