It Had to be You

Phil Claussen is ex-military and a respected teacher in his hometown. He is a model citizen until a feud with his neighbor causes him to make a series of choices that land him in the county jail. Disgraced and ashamed, he decides his only course of action is to leave his wife and daughter and head out of town in a new RV. On the road, Phil meets a mystery woman, Dani, who seems to come out of nowhere. The more time Phil spends with this woman the deeper in love he falls. But he begins to find himself questioning if his actions are even choices anymore, or if he is just a puppet following a storyline. Phil decides he needs to take control before he has no choices left at all. But if he has a destiny, is there any way to change it, and does he really want to?

The unique storyline promises a steamy, mysterious love story, but the problems with the story crop up early and don’t stop coming. Phil’s feud with his neighbor is believable and relatable, but it is farfetched for this law-abiding citizen to land in jail for fighting with a woman. Phil skipping town and leaving his wife and daughter behind seems completely out of character. One of many issues with the plot and timeline is when he meets his mystery woman and doesn’t know her name, however, he learns her name two different times. The romance seems forced and completely based on physical attraction. If Dani and Phil were able to get to know one another and build a relationship, maybe the chemistry would have been there. With a little tweaking, this story could really shine!

Cara Cieslak