REVIEW: Had To Be You: Bad Boys of Red Hook by Robin Kaye
24y.o. singer has an instant mutual attraction to the son of the owner of the bar she works at. 
Late 20s computer-software creator Hero is back home temporarily before he heads off to his contracted work in Bahrain. She tries hard to deflect his flirtation. But the time they end up spending together, when her brother’s accident takes her home, result in a passionate affair. Their intimacy is alien to both of them and brings up their fears. Two major revelations in Hero’s life drives his fears between them.** How much of his past will he let dictate their romance?
This book was steamy, emotionally-pulling, adorable, and poignant. The strength of this book was in how Hero and heroine persisted in keeping their romance, despite the difficulties that came. They didn’t do immature hysterics or prideful avoidance that many romance tropes do. We saw them confront each other, fight for each other, and hope for the best in one another. It massively helped that the secondary characters(i.e., Hero’s extensive adopted family and their friends) were written in to support their romance and not take the spotlight from them. So, when Hero’s repressed traumatic past came into the surface, his family helped him through it. If it wasn’t for their loving confrontations, I think the ending would’ve been different. Or, at least, prolonged.
Well-recommended.
**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
