A review by tandemshelves
It Had To Be Him by Adib Khorram

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I loved Darius the Great by this author and knew I just had to pick up this too. Noah and Ramin were well written characters and I really enjoyed the romance! There was a good balance between the second-chance and friends to lovers trope. The pacing was great and the slow burn with the flashbacks added more depth to their relationship since they meet again two decades later. 

The vacation setting in Italy was perfect for a summer read. I really enjoyed how immersive it was with the different cities and cuisines. I also liked Ramin’s friends because all the moments between them easily ranged from hilarious to supportive. Noah was quite relatable with his own flaws and I admired his character development throughout the story. 

The only thing is that I would have liked to see more closure with Noah and Angela because the ending felt quite rushed. Jake was such a lovable kid and Noah was such a great dad to him. I also felt that the spice was a bit overdone in the last half of the book because I would have loved to see more development between Ramin and Noah after they go back home. I would want to read a book about Arya because he was so iconic!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Forever for the eARC!!