It Had to Be You [Mass Market Paperback]

Timothy James Beck (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

New Yorker Daniel Stephenson had made a name for himself with his drag persona, Princess 2Di4, when the sudden death of the real Princess Di drained all the pleasure from his performances. Taking the advice (and financial support) of a wealthy aunt, he decides to "toss the tiara and get a life." Unfortunately, Daniel's only degrees are in "extensive show tune knowledge, advanced lip-synch, and how to cover up a five o'clock shadow." With his best friend beginning to die from AIDS, his ex-boyfriend prowling around, and his ex-boyfriend's new boyfriend making a pass at Daniel, what's a boy to do but throw himself into intensive weeding and planting of his new apartment garden? And if a handsome stranger should smile down at him from a nearby window, so much the better. Timothy James Beck's debut novel is detailed, realistic, and continually interesting. His main character spends so much energy exhaustively "processing" what happens to him, however, that this might as well have been a lesbian novel. With a little editing, It Had to Be You would have been a much stronger book, but patient readers will agree that Beck shows great promise along the lines of Felice Picano and Neal Drinnan. --Regina Marler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The playful panache and wit of writers like Neal Drinnan and Matthew Rettenmund are evoked by newcomer Beck, spinning a charming, humorously appealing tale of 30-something New York transplant Daniel Stephenson, who chucks his famously popular drag queen alter ego "Princess 2Di4" for a more meaningful and fulfilling life. Faced with an uncertain future and devoid of any actual employment experience, Daniel is temporarily kept afloat by a generous check and some good advice from his wealthy and wise Aunt Jen. Now there's lots of time to cultivate his green thumb in the "comfort zone" of his backyard garden, and love looms nearby as Blaine, a beautifully mysterious stranger, sporadically appears in a window high above his garden. But what entanglements the weeds can't offer, a bevy of interpersonal dramatics certainly do: jealous fights erupt at his old venue Club Chaos, Daniel's old drag wardrobe is sadly auctioned off and ex-boyfriend Jeremy and Jeremy's new love carelessly blur the lines of their individual friendships with Daniel. Adding to the mix, his friend Ken's health begins to deteriorate from AIDS even as he manages an awkward administrative position at Blaine's advertising firm. Beck's narrative is crisply charming but overlong, too often indulging in the many deliberations of his melodramatic protagonist. Once over these hurdles, however, readers will find the overall mood light and the action (romantic or otherwise) absorbing enough to keep the pages turning. Beck's debut delivers fluffy, uncomplicated, G-rated entertainment for those who prefer their gay fiction whipped to a frothy consistency.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575668904
• ISBN-13: 978-1575668901
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,550,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why can't we have more books like this?, October 16, 2001

By 

"krebago" (SAN DIEGO, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It Had to Be You: Sometimes You Just Know When He's the One... (Hardcover)

The love story is a neglected genre in gay fiction. And it's even rarer to read a gay love story that features believable characters and situations. The author of It Had To Be You must be congratulated for creating a story full of the quirky kind of incidents and complications which are so typical of real life. Truth is always stranger than fiction, but in this case, the fiction is enhanced by the addition of just the kind of strangeness readers can recognize from their own lives or the lives of people they know. Daniel, the main character, transcends the stereotype of the drag queen, becoming a living breathing human being. Blaine, the object of his often ambivalent desires, undergoes a series of transformations from nameless hunk to sensitive and vulnerable nice guy as his character is revealed more fully during the course of the novel. There are no cardboard cutouts here. Daniel's fellow drag artistes are nicely drawn, and so are the several female characters in the book. The somewhat meandering plot closely follows the contours of real experience and mirrors Daniel's all too believable confusion as he tries to change his life and find true love. There are no gratuitous laughs here, just chuckles of recognition. This is a sweet natured story, a little heavy on backstory and exposition, but always entertaining, and the characters are people you'd like to have as friends. I hope Mr. Beck is working on another novel. If he's not, he should be.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book 2Di4!, April 26, 2003

By 

Jonathan Burgoine "bookseller" (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It Had to Be You: Sometimes You Just Know When He's the One... (Hardcover)

When I read "He's the One," by Timothy James Beck, there was a character introduced that I was dying to learn more about: Daniel Stephenson. He had a realistic past, I identified with him a lot more than the main protagonist of "He's the One," and moreover, he was just a wonderfully developed secondary character with some great stuff in his written past.

Now I know why.

Turns out that "It Had to be You," is the story of Daniel Stephenson, getting up to just about the point where he's in in "He's the One." This was great, even if I did already know the ending as I'd read them out of order. Daniel is an easy-to-identify-with character for me (no buff jock, just a slim guy; no massively successful job, just an entry level second-attempt-at-a-career). He's still hurt over the betrayal of his last boyfriend, still a little damaged over the revelation that yet another friend is slowly dying of AIDS, and just about ripe for falling head over heels with the hunky guy across the street. Basically, he's a knight in slightly tarnished and dented armor (or at least a sequined gown).

The trouble being that the guy across the street lives with a woman, seems about as straight as they come, and probably won't react well to Daniel's previous career as a female impersonator who mostly did Lady 2Di4, a Princess Diana tribute. Uh oh.

The wit is just as sharp in this one as in "He's the One," - and just as often nicely balanced with some poignancy that doesn't over-sweeten to saccharine levels. And I must say I am now a firm fan of all things Timothy James Beck. I really hope to see more books out of him.

'Nathan

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Laugh Out Loud Madcap Adventure, October 3, 2001

By 

"redcities" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It Had to Be You: Sometimes You Just Know When He's the One... (Hardcover)

Overall, Beck has created a main character who is easy to identify with. Daniel Stephenson, the main character is thrown obstacle after obstacle on his way to finding true love and a new career. I couldn't wait to see what would happen to him next and was continually surprised by the outcome. Most of the time, I found myself laughing outloud at Daniel's quirky reactions to these situations he's been dealt. There were a few time that I felt the back story was a little lengthy, but it didn't stand in the way of the overall enjoyment this novel provided. I can definitely say I look forward to Beck's future endeavors.