Title: Had to be You
Author: Juliet Chatham
Publication Date: August 5, 2014
Publisher: Swoon Romance
Pages: 360
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When Rory Finn first left behind the familiarity of her quiet, picturesque hometown to pursue a professional career in the city after college, her intention was to focus on the future—until a jarring bit of unwelcome news forces her to face the past. What if her first love could actually still be the true love of her life? There’s just one little problem with the timing of this revelation. He is about to marry someone else.
As she embarks upon an impulsive, desperate bid to win him back, her mission turns into an unexpected and emotional journey of rediscovery. With both humor and heartbreak, the story itself transitions from past to present, exploring a small history of love from its tentative beginnings to what may just turned out to be its final bittersweet end.
I was sort of ridiculously happy to get the chance to come up with a playlist for HAD TO BE
YOU, because being a movie-music-soundtrack-maker person was always on my short list of
careers. (Though obviously not high enough on list for me to bother to find out what the actual,
official title of that occupation would be.)
I love all kinds of different music and artists, and spent most of my early twenties following
around my friends’ bands at all the local bars in Boston and on the North Shore. People used to
actually drop things in my mailbox—back in that ancient, uncivilized age of CDs—if they found
something new I might like. (And I could pretend I was cool and snobby about my tastes, all
High Fidelity style, but nope, not even close.) The main thing I love about music was just the
same as what I love about writing—if it can tell a good story.
If I were to create a soundtrack for HAD TO BE YOU, it would be as follows:
- The Story Brandi Carlile
(Love this song, and the lyrics are a nice match to the history of Rory and Matt.)
- Flake Jack Johnson
(Jack Johnson is always good for summery beach music, and some might find this an
appropriate description of Rory. Not me, mind you, but some people.)
- All I Want is You U2
(Also known as Matt and Rory’s song.)
- This Year’s Love David Gray
(This is such a lovely and almost bittersweet song, full of longing and wistfulness and all
those good things. Perfect for hopeful, heartbroken Matt. *sniff*)
- Feels Like Home Chantal Kreviazuk
(This one nicely describes the feeling Rory has for Matt.)
- Polyester Bride Liz Phair
(May be showing my age on some of these, but love this song, so it’s fun how easily it fits the
story theme and the character of Rory.)
- A Reason to Toast Mighty Mighty Bosstones
(A nice little bar song from a Boston based band, in honor of O’Shea’s—“I’ll raise my glass
up high to all the friendly faces, here and wherever they may be, I don’t know why I never
thought ‘til now to say this, but you mean the world to me”)
- Wedding Bells Coldplay
(Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think? Not exactly a warm and fuzzy wedding song, when you’re
singing about losing the only thing you ever loved. “You keep on moving, but I stay still. I
always loved you and I always will.”)
- Someone Like You Van Morrison
(Going back to my wish list of careers, the movie-music-soundtrack-maker person in me
couldn’t leave out Van Morrison.)
- True Love Pink
(In considering songs that best fit the relationship of Matt and Rory, I think the lyrics to this
one kind of speak for themselves.)
- Dream Came Down Push Stars
(Throwing a little local love out to the college bands of my youth, I like how the lyrics fit
Matt—“You don’t even know how much you’re worth the wait”.)
- You Are the Best Thing Ray Lamontagne
(I think this song is the best thing.)
- It Had To Be You Frank Sinatra
(No explanation needed, and no disrespect to Harry Connick, Jr.)
About the Author
A lifelong New Englander, I divide my time between the North Shore and Cape Cod. My favorite things are beaches, boats, books, bars, the Boston Red Sox and boys, but not necessarily in that order. Consequently, you’ll probably find that these are the things I write about, too.
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