A few days ago, I posted a spotlight of Just Like That. Right after, I decided to pick it up, and oh wow! I finished it in less than a day. The first book in the Albin Academy series, written by Cole McCade, is a beautiful (LGBTQ+) adult romance. It is now out in the world and published by Carina Press.
Check out my review below. Also, a little excerpt for you inside :). Thank you so much, Harlequin/Carina Press, for gifting me an e-copy of this book. I also bought a copy for myself after reading this book. 🙂
Synopsis – Just Like That by Cole McCade
Summer Hemlock never meant to come back to Omen, Massachusetts.
But with his mother in need of help, Summer has no choice but to return to his hometown, take up a teaching residency at the Albin Academy boarding school—and work directly under the man who made his teenage years miserable.
Professor Fox Iseya
Forbidding, aloof, commanding: psychology instructor Iseya is a cipher who’s always fascinated and intimidated shy, anxious Summer. But that fascination turns into something more when the older man challenges Summer to be brave. What starts as a daily game to reward Summer with a kiss for every obstacle overcome turns passionate, and a professional relationship turns quickly personal.
Yet Iseya’s walls of grief may be too high for someone like Summer to climb…until Summer’s infectious warmth shows Fox everything he’s been missing in life.
Now both men must be brave enough to trust each other, to take that leap.
To find the love they’ve always needed…
Just like that.
In Just Like That, critically acclaimed author Cole McCade introduces us to Albin Academy: a private boys’ school where some of the world’s richest families send their problem children to learn discipline and maturity, out of the public eye.
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Review – Just Like That by Cole McCade
Just Like That was such a wonderful read. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started, but I loved every single page. I don’t recall reading an M/M romance before, but I read this book in one day. I loved it so much that I went and bought the book afterward because I will definitely be re-reading this one.
Both characters touched me in their own ways. Between anxiety, grief, and love, this story is heart-wrenching and heart-warming. Summer is like his name indicates the warmth that will thaw Fox’s icy exterior. The age difference did not bother me in this book because it is so well done. It’s not a power trip, but a beautiful kind of healing. They do have some dominant/submissive vibe going on at some point, but it’s also done with respect and love. This book is definitely on the steamy side.
The book is very easy to read and the story well crafted. The pacing is perfect and makes this book a real page-turner. In the final copy, the author gives quite a few warnings at the beginning, and I appreciated that. This book may not be for everyone, but it was wonderful to me. I highly recommend it.
Warning: Anxiety/Panic Attacks, Grief, M/M Sex
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book Excerpt Below
6-Excerpt_JustLikeThat_McCadeAbout the author: Cole McCade
Cole McCade is a New Orleans-born Southern boy without the Southern accent, currently residing somewhere in Seattle. He spends his days as a suit-and-tie corporate consultant and business writer, and his nights writing contemporary romance and erotica that flirts with the edge of taboo—when he’s not being tackled by two hyperactive cats.
He also writes genre-bending science fiction and fantasy tinged with a touch of horror and flavored by the influences of his multiethnic, multicultural, multilingual background as Xen. He wavers between calling himself bisexual, calling himself queer, and trying to figure out where “demi” fits into the whole mess—but no matter what word he uses he’s a staunch advocate of LGBTQIA and POC representation and visibility in genre fiction. And while he spends more time than is healthy hiding in his writing cave instead of hanging around social media, you can generally find him in these usual haunts:
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