Quick Synopsis

Two contract killers, each with a hit out on the other, must fight their growing attraction as they face off in an epic game of lust and murder across Western Europe.

Publisher’s Synopsis

When Eva and Jonathan hook up on the sleeper train from Florence to Paris, they think they’ll never see each other again. Which is too bad, because neither has ever felt a spark like this for another person. But love isn’t on the agenda in their line of work. 

Six months later, they run into each other in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles. This encounter is not by chance, because Eva has been hired to kill Jonathan. She’s a contract killer, but what she doesn’t know is that he is too.

Their meeting kicks off a high-stakes adventure across Western Europe. There will be tourism. There will be bodies. Eva and Jonathan might even fall for each other.

As the two get closer to completing their assignments, it becomes clear that they are also being hunted—by something even more dangerous than love. . . .

Book Review

After reading Good Rich People a few years ago, I have been closely following Eliza Jane Brazier and reading everything she writes. So far, I have been surprised by her breadth of stories and always have fun reading her books.

It Had to Be You is a unique combination of thriller and romance about two strangers, who happen to be contract killers, that hook up on a sleeper train from Florence to Paris, never expecting to see one another again. Six months later, they run into each other in Versailles… but not by accident this time. Instead, Eva has been hired to kill Jonathan, not knowing that he, too, is an assassin.

It Had to Be You is everything I wanted Butcher and Blackbird to be – thrilling, murderous, and still, a love story. Through dual points of view, we follow Eva and Jonathan in their cat-and-mouse game across Europe. Unlike Butcher and Blackbird, It Had to Be You has a solid plot with actual stakes as well as a sexy romance that builds (and exists outside the bedroom). While this sounds like a stressful, high stakes story, in actuality, it is a fun, cross-continent jaunt complete with tourism, murder, and twists. If you are looking for a wild, unhinged novel to become lost in, look no further.

Brazier has an addictive writing style that grabs you and does not relent until the last sentence. At the time I picked up It Had to Be You, I was in a multi-month long reading slump that was cured by the novel immediately catching my attention. I find Brazier’s writing easy to read yet engaging. And I am always pleasantly surprised by twists that I do not see coming.

I really enjoyed the flawed, yet likable characters in It Had to Be You. You should not want to root for these two killers, but it is too difficult not to do so. Both the main and secondary characters are largely well-developed. Each of the protagonists have a full backstory to explain their off-kilter, damaged past, which made them into the assassins we observe in the book. And best of all, the chemistry between Eva and Jonathan sizzles from the page

Overall, It Had to Be You is an exciting, fun, and amorous book to find yourself lost in. If you had to skip a vacation this summer, I definitely recommend taking a spin around Europe with Eva and Jonathan. Those who don’t take themselves or their books too seriously will especially enjoy this novel.

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