Review: It Has To Be You by Dani McLean*

  *I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.

Title: It Has To Be You
Author: Dani McLean
Genre: Romance Novella

Trigger warnings:  Sexually Explicit Scenes

Rating: ★★★★

She believes in Fate. He’s calling her bluff.

As a teen, Indy learned that Destiny would lead her to the man of her dreams. His name was Nick.

Fifteen years later, Fate grants her a second chance at her One True Love. And even though leaving her house for anything less than a latte is terrifying, Indy has to take it.

See, Indy O’Neall isn’t anything like the adventurous heroine she writes. For her, a good night is sharing a pint of mint chip ice-cream with her roomate Sasha while cheering on the best damn basketball team in the league.

But this is Destiny calling. Indy can’t ignore it.

Unfortunately, one man is standing in her way.

Ethan Fraser.

He’s six feet of confidence in the body of a superhero, and a bone to pick with her future husband. Indy is happy to steer clear of the gorgeous, motorcycle-riding, rock-climbing, elementary teacher.

The problem is, no matter what Indy does, all roads seem to lead back to Ethan.

Ethan is charming. Ethan is flirtatious. But Ethan isn’t her soulmate.

 

It Has To Be You is the latest fun and flirty instalment of Dani McLean’s ‘Movie Magic Novella’ series. It’s a slow burn friends to lovers romance which would be the perfect short and sweet read if you are a fan of magical realism or just want a contemporary romance packed full of charm, heart and a bit of spice.

After reading and reviewing the third book in the series ‘A Missing Connection’ earlier in the year (click here to read my full review), I was eagerly awaiting the opportunity to venture back into the world of Chance City and It Has To Be You certainly didn’t disappoint. Although it is part of a wider series, all of the novellas can be read as standalone stories in any order and each feature a magical or supernatural element, such as telepathy or in this case the idea of fate and soulmates.

The heartfelt narrative is very well-paced and well-developed despite only being a novella. It’s a book which is very easy to absolutely devour in a single sitting which would make it perfect for breaking you out of a reading slump.

I’m a sucker for a slow burn romance novel and especially when the payout is as strong as it is here as we get a fantastically written spicy scene which was definitely worth waiting most of the book for. Whilst conscious of avoiding spoilers, the mirror scene was absolutely everything and I was thinking about it for literally DAYS afterwards.

As usual, Dani McLean writes fantastic characters with such depth to them, despite a limited wordcount. Indy is a fantastic strong female lead character who was endearing and so relatable. I loved that she was an author and the focus on her finding it difficult to write an authentic happily ever after love story when she hadn’t experienced one for herself. Ethan probably takes top spot as my fictional book boyfriend of the year so far (which is no mean feat as there have been some very strong contenders) as he has such as good heart, brilliant banter and was cutely nerdy whilst still being a totally swoonworthy motorcycle rider. He also definitely got bonus points for being such a passionate elementary school teacher!

I didn’t necessarily find the focus on soulmates as compelling as the telepathy plotline from A Missing Connection and the twist was quite predictable but it is such a well written story that this didn’t impact on my ultimate enjoyment of the novella.  

Overall, It Has To Be You is a fantastic contemporary romance novella which is humorous and packed full of charm and loveable characters. I have already downloaded the rest of the series (as side note – they are all available on Kindle Unlimited) and can’t wait to see what it has to offer. 

Click here to read my review of the third book in the Movie Magic Novella series 'A Missing Connection'

Review: A Missing Connection by Dani McLean*

 *I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.

Title: A Missing Connection
Author: Dani McLean
Genre: Romance Novella

Trigger warnings:  Sexually explicit scenes

Rating: ★★★★

A Missing Connection is the latest fun and flirty romance novella from Dani McLean. It’s the third instalment of her ‘Movie Magic Novella’ series but all of the novellas can be read as standalone stories and this was my first venture into both the series and the author.

The book tells the story of Beau – the extremely wealthy sole heir to his father’s business empire – and April – a woman working in STEM who comes from a large family background. They both feel in a rut in their lives, particularly when it comes to dating, but one day they realise they can speak telepathically to one another. As months go by of them speaking to each other day and night, they really open up to each other and build an anonymous relationship of flirtation, encouragement and deep understanding (with quite a lot of dirty talk thrown in for good measure).

This beautifully crafted love story is short and sweet but really packs a punch. It’s really nice to see a love story where they connect on an emotional level first and their instant chemistry was perfect. A Missing Connection is a real cutesy romance and although it has all of the inner-workings of a cheesy hallmark movie, it also has some fantastically written spicy scenes and the bathtub seen was HOT!

I was hesitant that the length of the story would limit my opportunity to build a connection with the characters but this was not a problem at all as Dani McLean writes such fantastic characters and achieves such depth to them despite a limited wordcount. Both April and Beau are such wonderful, loveable characters with impeccable banter that it was quite hard to work out which one of them I fancied more.

Although it’s only a novella, the story manages to go beyond the romance and also looks at the inner-workings of both April and Beau’s families. I would have a liked a little more exploration of Beau’s relationship with his father as it was resolved a little too cleanly for my liking but I do appreciate that we were limited on page space.

I fell in love with the setting (particularly the market) and the descriptions of the vibrant community. The scene where they finally met for the first time had me beaming from ear to ear and I really enjoyed the epilogue and the quick insight it gave into how their lives and relationship had progressed after meeting in person.

I would advise going into this book not expecting any explanation for the fantastical telepathic connection element. But, despite not being an avid reader of the fantasy genre, this didn’t really bother me and I just enjoyed the magic element of the romance, interpreting the telepathic link to be the universe’s way of connecting soulmates.

A Missing Connection is perfect for anyone who’s after a quick charming love story with a bit of spice and a whole lot of heart.