ARC Review – It Had to Be You (Lucky Harbor #7) by Jill Shalvis

I simply loved being back in Lucky Harbor, it’s like taking a vacation without having to leave my couch and that my friends, it a very good thing! ~ Slick, Guilty Pleasures

Description:
Ali Winters is not having a good day. Her boyfriend left her, everyone in town thinks she’s a thief, and now she’s about to be kicked out of her home. Her only shot at keeping a roof over her head and clearing her name is to beg for help from a police detective who’s as sexy as he is stern….

After a high-profile case goes wrong, Luke Hanover returns to his hometown for some peace and quiet. Instead he finds a bombshell brunette in a heap of trouble. As he helps Ali put her world back together, the pieces of Luke’s own life finally seem to fall into place. Is this the start of a sizzling fling? Or are Luke and Ali on the brink of something big in a little town called Lucky Harbor?

 

 

 

Review copy provided for an honest review

Every time I read a Jill Shalvis Lucky Harbor book I feel like I’m going home. There is just something about that town and its residents that grabs me in and doesn’t let me go. This one is no different but I’ll admit I was a little disappointed in how quickly some of the residents judged our heroine, Ali Winters, despite the fact they stood behind her and loved her enough to practically bribe an off duty vacationing police detective and our hero, Luke Hanover, to help her. No matter how hard he tries, Luke doesn’t want to get involved in Ali’s business or the town. He’s in Lucky Harbor licking his wounds after a case he was working when bad in San Francisco. He just wants to rest, relax, and rewind….unfortunately he comes home to find a semi naked woman hurling a bowl at his head and the nosey older residents refusing to leave him be.

I really liked Ali’s spunk and outlook on life. Considering her upbringing and all the pretty awful things that have happened to her she doesn’t lose hope and that tells me a lot about her character. It’s like she’s eternally optimistic and she’s just someone who you would love to have around. She works incredibly hard but in addition she gives back by volunteering at the senior center and they love her and I love how she calls them “my seniors.” While she obviously hasn’t had the best track record with men, I think some of that stems from her overly trusting nature. I also find it amazing how easily she is able to make friends and even turn acquaintances in to allies. She just has this way about her that makes it hard not to like her. I sort of imagine her with this aura of sunlight around her body; she’s just that amazing of a person.

Luke was a little harder for me to figure out and like. He was such a grump ass for a good portion of the book and while I sympathize with the circumstances that drove him to Lucky Harbor I kept waiting and waiting for his good side to come out. We’d see flashes of it but then it would go into hiding again. It wasn’t that I hated him, not by a long shot but he was just hard to love. There is no doubt he is one sexy brooding man, but he was so closed off it was hard to figure him out. I had to laugh at how he kept getting involved in helping the seniors with their various “problems” and how he immediately felt the need to help and defend Ali. I love the fact that he always believed her innocence even when most of the town didn’t. I also admire the fact that he tried, really hard to do the right thing and not get involved with her because he knew he’d be returning to San Francisco eventually.

Luke and Ali set out to prove her innocence by finding the person responsible for the crime. Along the way they end up finding out a lot about each other and spending a lot of time trying to deny the growing feelings between them. They finally do give in even though they both agree it will be short term unfortunately they both find themselves feeling way more than they know they should. Their road is pretty bumpy mainly because Luke can’t wrap his head around what he’s thinking and feeling. It doesn’t help that they both are being pressured from outside sources making their lives just that more difficult.

A life threatening experience, another round of police questioning, and some good friends all help Ali and Luke see their way to each other. It Had To Be You is another stellar offering from Jill Shalvis and in this one we are gifted with glimpses of the couples from the previous books, the senior gang, and we get a really nice hint about what’s to come in the next book. I simply loved being back in Lucky Harbor, it’s like taking a vacation without having to leave my couch and that my friends, it a very good thing!

4.5 Stars