It Had to Be Fate (It Had to be, #3)

by Tamra Baumann

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4/5 stars

**Thanks to Montlake Romance for the ARC furnished via Netgalley!

This is Casey's story. She was a surrogate mother to the two youngest Andersons when they lost their mother. She is the one, who never left Anderson Butte. She is the one, who is constantly sacrificing her own happiness for everyone else.

Our story begins with Casey in the middle of a custody battle with her cheating ex-husband, while licking her wounds due to a cheating ex-boyfriend. Enter Zane, a rocker with a bad reputation to complicate things.

Reasons to read this book:
1. Casey and Zane. This match is fantastic! I love the heat, the smolder, the banter. I love them. Our heroine evolved a great deal, and our hero totally made me swoon.

2. Caleb and Ty. These kids are too adorable. I love how they spoke before they thought, true to the nature of most children that age. I felt so much compassion for them and the situation they were caught up in, and they added that touch of whimsy that I like so much to the story.

3. Anderson Butte. I have been a fan of this town since book 1. I love when the other Andersons get involved in the story. Grandma is still the standout of the clan, as far as fun side characters go, but I love knowing what is going on with our previous romances.

4. The romance. This is a sweet, straight forward romance. Sometimes, you are just in the mood for an adorable romance, that is not all angsty and depressing, and that is what Baumann does so well. There is drama in the book. There is lots of drama in the book, but it's just enough to keep it interesting without making it depressing, and it is balanced out by the wooing and the fun bits.

I stumbled into book 1 of this series by accident, and I am so glad I did. I have grown to love Anderson Butte and its inhabitants. I know when I pick up an It Had to Be book, I will read a great, fun, sweet romance, that will leave a smile on my face.