This was a delightful book. The characters were incredibly well built-out, and there was just enough angst to be both anxious and hopeful for the couple. I look forward to seeing more from Albin Academy and Fox and Summer.

So I made it about 2 1/2 hours of the audio for this book and I had to stop. This is my fourth attempt at reading a book by Cole and while in theory I should love all the tropes he writes because they are my jam, but his writing style of purple prose just does not work for me. In the case of this the relationship between Summer and Fox made me deeply uncomfortable because the kissing contest starts off with a non consented kiss and even though it is addressed the next day it did not sit well with me. Nor did Summer being like well I can see that you want to do this so why should you say no right now made me more uncomfortable.

So I will not be finishing this book

Book left me a little flat. Would have liked to see more character development. A lot of little storylines that never got explained satisfactorily.

I'd only read one of Cole McCade's books before this, but I completely loved it. I went into this with high expectations while still being really nervous because I'm a teacher so I'm very critical of books that include teacher/student (even former) relationships. It's usually a trope that I avoid with a 10 foot pole, but since this author wrote it, I was willing to give it a shot. I'm glad I did, because it was fantastic. I ordered a physical copy before I was even halfway through. I'm really interested to see what the next book is going to be about. I assume different characters that we got to know in this book.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Veronica – ☆☆☆
Summer returns to his former boarding school to work as a teacher’s assist for his former psychology professor and teenage crush, Fox Iseya. I'm not often a fan to romance stories with large age gap but it really works here. Fox and Summer are night and day. Fox is stoic and controlled and Summer is a bundle of nerves and anxiety. But he is also brave. Although he feels his anxiety, he still goes head first into situations he fears. The men complement each other so well.

Just Like That is a lovely romance. The author's writing is beautifully descriptive, which I initially enjoyed but around the middle, the story slowed down a bit and I wanted less description about kisses and more getting on with the story. Luckily, the story picked up nicely and gave us a bit of drama.

This is one of those romance novels that very much focuses on the couple and other characters on come in as absolutely necessary. They work in a school, but we know very little about the other staff. Given this is the first book in a series, I would have liked to have learned a little more about the school and its inhabitants. Overall, I enjoyed Just Like That, it is a good romance and I look forward to reading more of this series.


Shannan – ☆☆☆
Summer Hemlock has always been the shy, keep to yourself kind of guy. Especially when he was in Professor Fox Iseya's psychology class. Now he's back at Albin Academy, not as a student but as Professor Iseya's TA. Summer still finds Professor Iseya intimidating but now as an adult, Summer is a bit braver, especially when he's given a little push and some amazing incentive.

Summer and Fox's relationship was years in the making. Fox's wife died in a tragic accident and Fox has never been able to get over his grief, but with Summer giving him the push he needs, maybe he can finally find himself again.

This book wasn't bad but I didn't feel a connection at all with the characters. The writing was done well but it just wasn't my personal preference.


Erica – ☆☆☆
Cole McCade is a new-to-me author, and I felt the debut in a new series was the perfect chance to get a taste of the writing style, especially since I'm a fan of the tropes inside the pages.

Summer returns to an academy, this time as the TA for the professor he had a crush on when he was a student. Not only that, he's assisting the very professor he loved, a professor who is a widower, many years his senior, and is probably straight. They challenge one another, while fighting anxiety. Now, doesn't that sound like yummy deliciousness?

Just Like That was beautifully written, mature and intelligent, with a steady pace as the story unfolded. Now, doesn't that sound amazing as well? I think this is a case of where the writing style doesn't suit me as a reader. Can a novel be too intelligent?

There was a voice filled with flowery purple prose that was absolutely beautiful in the storytelling. However, this buried the story beneath the pretty, beneath the intellect, until it made it hard to connect with the characters. Reminiscent of classic novels, where you had to truly dig beneath all the words on the page to find the handful that meant anything, and this is being said by someone who enjoys historical fiction and has read the bulk majority of the classics.

I felt nothing but disconnected the entire time I was reading the novel.

I couldn't connect with Summer or Fox. What made it more difficult, there wasn't a firm divide when the characters switched narration. Since I could 'hear' the writer's voice the entire novel, and both Summer and Fox both sounded identical. With the large age-gap, the fact that Summer was a recent college graduate, yet he sounded exactly like the professor love interest that was ready to retire.

No matter how you pretty up the narration, it all starts to sound one-note. The plot itself was intriguing, but it was buried beneath over-description, purple prose, and rambling inner monologue.

It was easy for me to lose focus, knowing the couple would find their happily ever after together, I lost interest in the journey to get there. I kept thinking I would eventually fall into the story, but that never happened, even when I got to the end. I found myself skimming more and more as I waded through the novel.

While I'm sure there is a base of readers who will be delighted in Just Like That, I wasn't one of them. The writing style isn't to my tastes, so this will be the first and the last novel I'll read by this author.

Summer returns to his hometown to be near his mother and work at his old private school. But, he is immediately confronted with his own self-doubts when matched with his old professor and crush who has his own personal baggage. In what starts out as a game of “just a kiss,” both characters must face their past demons to survive the school year and each other.

McCade’s writing is passionate and exciting. Summer’s self-doubt disappears a bit fast, almost in a single page, but is otherwise relatable and fun. The plot is playful and rewarding. Enjoyed it to the end.

I really like Cole McCade's Criminal Intentions series. I was excited to try this book because I find the author's writing descriptive and characters deep and complex. Unfortunately, this book missed the mark for me. I'm not opposed to student/teacher relationships when done right. Summer's attraction to Fox seemed contrived and false. Summer was such an anxious, shy person that I had a hard time suspending belief that he would go up and kiss his old professor who terrified him. I could have gotten past all of this except the writing style fell very flat for me. A paragraph is 5-6 sentences and this book didn't have paragraphs often. It was a sentence, then another sentence, then another sentence. It was disjointed and annoying. I made it about 30% through before I called it quits (which I don't do very often). I will continue to read this author's other books but this one wasn't for me.

Absolutely striking prose throughout. It took me a few chapters to get hooked by these characters, but once I did, this book became one of those stories that would linger even when I wasn't reading. Fox, especially, was a profound, heartbreaking character. This book is a beautiful exploration of love and how we go on after a loss. At first, the way the author portrays Summer as "shy" and "anxious" was at odds with how bold he was with Fox, and it put me off. However, by halfway into the story, I realized that his boldness with Fox was a foil for Fox's own fear and insecurity, and it became the thing that carried the whole story. The ending is absolutely beautiful in both a practical and a metaphorical way. This is my first book by this author, but I'll definitely be looking for more.

While waiting for the next Criminal Intentions book, I picked this one up because, hey, it's written in the same universe. After all, we had that wonderful teaser of Summer Hemlock back in Backdraft, as Summer decides whether he wants to go back from Baltimore to his home down of Omen, both to look after his mother and to take up a teaching job at Albin Academy.

Well, given that this book exists, we now know what Summer chose. Of course, the teaching job just happens to be under the very same professor that he had such a crush on in the days when he attended the academy as a student himself.

Summer is quite shy, is depicted as having anxiety, and yet is rather strong in himself for all of that. He knows how to manage himself.

Which, for a lot of this novel, is much more than can be said about Fox Iseya. 15 odd years ago, Fox's wife drowned, leaving Fox alone and very much grieving. As the novel goes on, I will mention that there is suicidal ideation from this character that is not shied away from but, as it is a Cole McCade book, the trigger warnings are pretty thorough right up at the start of the book.

The thing I didn't quite expect, though, was how much Fox would remind me of Seong-Jae, over in Criminal Intentions. That was honestly a little disappointing for me, although the motivations for the same characteristics had demonstratively different backstories. I guess I wanted something a bit more fresh.

This being one of the new Carina Adores line, it was pretty tropey, most particularly with May/December overtones, but also teacher/TA and a little bit of forced proximity.

What a sweet, gorgeously written story. This May-September romance is set at a boarding school and revolves around two men with baggage and bruises who fall madly and passionately, but not swiftly in love. The older man is a widow who’s been grieving for twenty years and doesn’t ever expect to recover. The other a man in his twenties who deals with a sometimes overwhelming amount of anxiety. They bring out the very best in each other even if that’s not easy. The novel strikes a great balance between sweet and steamy and has just enough humor to get you through the rough spots. A great start to the series.

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 was 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 was so well done. It was not a power trip, but a beautiful kind of healing. They do have some dominant/submissive vibe at some point, but there is also respect and love. This book is definitely on the steamy side.

The book was well-written and the story well crafted. The pacing was perfect and made this book a real page-turner. In the final copy, the author gives quite a few warnings, I appreciated that. This book may not be for everyone, but it was wonderful to me. I highly recommend it.

Carina Press’s new Carina Adores line pays homage to some of the tropiest tropes in the Romance genre. In the case of author Cole McCade’s Just Like That, readers are offered up some familiar favorite themes such as an age gap, the grumpy one falling for the soft one, the former student/teacher relationship, as well as mutual hurt/comfort in the romance that develops between Summer Hemlock and Professor Fox Iseya, like the snap of a finger, just like that. Did it work for me? … Yes and no.

One of the things that stood out to me is that Just Like That reads like it might have wanted to be something other than a simple contemporary romance, with some maybe not-so-subtle inclusions as the Albin Academy in Omen, Massachusetts, Summer Hemlock, Fox Iseya, but that also could be, and likely is, my own interpretation of these symbolisms rather than what the author actually intended. It was not lost on me, though, that I kept anticipating something out-of-the-ordinary to happen, and with some of those ideations stuck in my head, it was difficult to then watch the academy be quite mundane and not only that, but to play such a limited role in the story. It’s a boarding school for wealthy boys whose parents have seemingly washed their hands of the business of raising them, but only three boys out of the entire student body factor in—two who are being bullied, and the bully himself. They serve as the device for Summer to ultimately discover what he’s good at, however, which is not teaching but counseling, and which factors into the big turnaround we see in Summer from the fledgling TA we’re introduced to at the start of the book.

Riddled with anxiety and given to panic attacks, Summer can’t even look Fox (or anyone else, for that matter) in the eye when they come face to face again some seven years after Summer graduated from the academy and left Omen in hopes of “finding himself” in Baltimore, a return that was prompted as much by a lack of success as it was the need to come back and care for his mother. When Summer gets Fox alone for the first time, mere hours after his arrival at the academy, he discovers a previously untapped well of boldness and kisses Fox when the professor challenges Summer to do one brave thing a day. Of course, Summer is motivated because he’s crushed on Fox since he was a student, and he quickly turns the tables on the professor by demanding a daily kiss as the reward for his bravery. Fox’s acquiescence to Summer’s demand is equal parts curiosity and blasé. The professor has walls, and he’s determined that Summer will not penetrate them.

The irony of the psychology professor who is not in a healthy place, mentally or emotionally, and has closed himself off from anything resembling human connection, was not lost on me. Fox’s late wife died in a tragic accident some twenty years before, and he has since been locked in a cycle of grief and guilt, closing himself off and forbidding himself from moving on because he doesn’t want to dishonor her memory. Miyako Iseya is a presence in the story in the form of Fox’s reverence to her and the shrine he keeps for her in his home. Summer has no intention of trying to usurp Miyako, he merely wants Fox to live again, and this is where the tables turn in the hurt/comfort theme of the story, when the student becomes the teacher. It all happened rather quickly and leads to the final moment of conflict when Fox runs away from Summer, ostensibly for Summer’s own good, and prompts the climactic scene in which Fox finds the courage to admit that he’s in love with the man who tore down the defense mechanisms he’d clung to for so long.

There was some beautiful imagery invoked by McCade’s prose, some truly lovely turns of phrase which, at times maybe tipped over a bit into the purple, but overall, I appreciated that the author’s voice served the story he told in a complementary way. While there were also times when I felt as if I was supposed to know Summer already, more so than I got to know him through this book, for sure, and while I appreciated his transformation—albeit that it felt a little abrupt—and the ways in which he brought about Fox’s own evolution with little more than patience, love, and understanding, in the end I think my expectations exceeded what the story delivered.

Summer Hemlock knows what he wants and that is is Fox Iseya. Fox is having a hard time letting anyone in his life since he lost his wife. They both are stubborn men dealing with life issues. Summer is shy, younger, and would do anything to make sure Fox sees him. The book is romantic, second chance, first time, some angst, very hot sexy times, and it have your attention from start to finish.

<i>A huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!</i>

<b>SCREECHES</b>

I stayed up until 3am to finish this. Hadn't even taken my meds yet, so who knows at what time I'll be asleep but <i>fuck</i> it was WORTH IT. This was so good and a proper review will come tomorrow when it's not almost 3:30am HAHAH

<b>OKAY LET'S DO THIS!</b>

Basically: Read this. Read this amazing book and yell at me about it, unless any of the following content would be triggering or too much for you. I am copying it directly from the book, and if you have any questions about specifics, don't hesitate to message me!

Content warnings:
<spoiler>• A main character dealing with the death of a spouse, including grief, guilt and PTSD flashbacks.

• A main character with chronic anxiety, including graphic depictions of panic attacks and anxiety reactions with physical responses.

• A main character with a dead parent.

• Graphic depictions of nightmares involving drowning.

• Brief mention of suicidal ideation.

• A subplot that seems to depict the tragic death of two queer characters.

• Use of derogatory Japanese slurs toward mixed-race people, by a character and directed at himself.

• Penetrative cis male/cis male sex without a condom, and including exchange of bodily fluids.

• A relationship that includes multiple uneven power-exchange dynamics, including May/December (age gap), mild hints of D/s kink with breathplay and senior/junior employee.

• Depiction of bullying between high school age boys, including brawling and extreme methods of harassment, specifically recollection of urinating in a sports drink.

• Depiction of neglectful parents and their impact on the students.

• A moment in which both main characters recklessly endanger themselves for the sake of their relationship and each other, with the threat of drowning involved. (It’s their TSTL moment for the drama, y’all. Just let it be what it is.)</spoiler>

Full disclaimer: I saw one of the men of the pairing was a teacher and I hit the request button so hard before even reading the rest of the synopsis. Teachers are my thing, y'all. My weakness. I'm not even gonna apologize for it. For some, it's vampires. For me, it's teachers. What can I say? *shrugs*

So basically I went into this quite blind. Which was probably for the best, because it kept me levelheaded going in. I would have been a mess before even starting otherwise.

This book... is so much more than a romance with some NSFW scenes. It deals with trauma, grief, anxiety.. and it does it all so incredibly well. These characters are hurting, are struggling, and both have entirely different coping mechanisms. Iseya Fox' especially hit close to home for me. There are some quotes in this book that literally had me sitting back and swallowing a lump in my throat. I wish I was more like Summer, or to have a Summer of my own. Maybe one day?

JUST LIKE THAT is a romance, yes, and it's also an easy read, but it also deals with some heavy topics without shying back from them. I think that's what made me love it so much more than I would have if it was just a 'shallow' romance. There is serious depth in here. Sure, it's also the predictable fast moving romance you expect. It's just so much more, too!

And best (and most unexpected) of all: <i><b>It made me feel things</b></i>. Because I don't. Ever. Fanfiction is the only exception. And this.

Now excuse me while I go reread this book a thousand times.

I recently read and enjoyed the first three books in Cole McCade's Criminal Intentions series, so when I saw this ARC for a new series in the Carina Adores line on Netgalley I pounced on it. But I'm afraid Just Like That didn't work for me, on a number of levels.

The set-up is interesting: Summer Hemlock, a former student of Albin Academy, a boarding school for boys, returns to his alma mater to take up a trainee teacher position. Seven years have passed since he graduated, during which time he's filled out, both physically and mentally. But some things haven't changed - his anxiety for one thing, and his devastating attraction to his former teacher, and new mentor, Fox Iseya for another. As a boy he idolized Professor Iseya, who rules the school's psychology classes with a cold, iron will, and now as a man he finds himself drawn to Iseya in new and terrifying ways. And for some reason Summer doesn't seem to be able to control his impulses around the professor. On their very first meeting as colleagues, he dives in and kisses Fox, violating the professional bond and permanently changing the nature of their relationship. Summer is sure he's ended his teaching career before it begun but, instead of firing him, Fox turns the act on its head: he promises one kiss a day if Summer will continue to show the same level of bravery in his teaching as he does in his sexual advances. It's not clear what Fox - who hasn't had an intimate relationship with anyone in 20 years - wants from Summer, but Summer is willing to take whatever he can get.

A kiss pact? A May/December pairing? The forced proximity environment of a boarding school? These are all things I should enjoy, and yet I struggled with the book from the start. Partly this was to do with the prose, which is ornate and heavy with significance throughout, and partly with the intense interiority of the action. McCade is an emotional writer, and I knew that already from Criminal Intentions; when he writes about feelings he works in a purple poetic mode. It can be A Lot. In Criminal Intentions I've found it works for me, because of the balance between feeling and plot/action, where the plainer plot/action sequences dilute the effects of the character's intense emotions. In Just Like That there is very little action or plot. The entire novel is in the heads of either Fox or Summer, as they work out what their relationship is, what it might mean and what a future together could look like. The central conflict is an emotional one, revolving around a tragedy in Fox's past that has led to him sealing off his heart. And so the prose is more than A Lot, and for me it was Too Much. When it worked, it worked exceptionally well - like when Fox and Summer have sex for the first time - but in the long run it exhausted me. I can't manage that state of heightened sentiment for 200+ pages.

I also struggled to reconcile myself to some aspects of plot and character. Summer, for example, never quite shone clear to me. On the one hand he's a deeply anxious and worried person, who can barely say his name to a class full of students, but on the other he's bold enough to kiss an older man and then demand the chance to be his lover. He switches back and forth between these two modes throughout, in ways that often felt inconsistent to me. Fox is also strangely dissonant, generally hyper formal and intense, but sometimes making snarky comebacks that seem to belong in the mouth of a different kind of character altogether. And their relationship is clearly taboo. Never mind that Summer is Fox's former student, Fox is now also his direct superior with power over whether he keeps or loses his job. At first there are hints of dominance and submission in their relationship, but they never come to much, and the troubling power dynamic between them isn't addressed at all. No one at the school seems to be even slightly concerned about it, although surely they must have some sort of policy about that kind of intimacy between senior and junior staff. Then again, the school isn't really a presence in the book at all. While a handful of pupils briefly supply a minor plot point, and two other teachers are named, we never learn very much about school life or culture, or how Summer fits in or feels about returning as a teacher. It feels very flat, and I found myself desperately craving some other texture or background.

So, not a very successful encounter, all in all. That said, I will read on with the series, because I really enjoy McCade's work otherwise and I'll chalk this up to a clash of taste.

First, this is my first experience with Cole McCade, but after reading Just Like That, I'm positive it won't be the last. The guy certainly has a way with words, and he uses them here in all the best ways. This story is a terrific mix of some of my favorite tropes, and it's one that was so easy to fall into. I found myself invested in Summer and Fox almost from the very first page. The more I learned about these characters, the more I wanted to know. I think the best way to say what I'm trying to say is that they're human. Neither is perfect, but they're pretty darn perfect for each other. As I said, this may be my first book from Cole McCade, but I will be checking out what's already available while I wait for whatever comes next in this series.

I love the mix of a super shy and quiet character and a grumpy and stand-offish one and this book did that combination so well. Summer and Fox blended their differences together amazingly well and it made for a very sweet and tender romance. There were a lot of moment that we got to see the unsure Summer actually be brave and stand up to the easily irritated Fox. It was a surprising thing to see just how much that happened since Summer was so shy most of the time but I loved those scenes.

Fox was so closed off and unwilling to even allow himself to enjoy life ever since he had a tragic loss years ago. But Summer wouldn't be ignored and slowly we got to see Fox open up, including some super cute half smiles that he would grant Summer. For me it made them so much stronger as a couple to see that they both grew while together.

Summer Hemlock grew up afraid of everything. When he left the small town of Omen behind, he wanted to become more than just the awkward teenager who never quite fit in with the privileged students at Albin Academy – and more than the boy who yearned for Professor Iseya.

Walking back through the hallowed halls of Albin brings back all of Summer’s fears of never being good enough. Until Fox Iseya gives him hope in the form of a soul searing kiss.

“He hadn’t found anything out in Baltimore except the realization he wasn’t cut out for his original career choice in forensics; that he couldn’t handle the blood, couldn’t stare down the horrors of humanity without breaking down into a hyperventilating anxiety attack. So he’d transferred his psych credits into the only other MA track where they’d still count: education.
That didn’t mean he wanted to teach.
Or that he knew what he wanted at all.
The only thing he’d brought home with him was a tan, a few more inches in height...
And, he guessed, a resurgence of that old crush, even if it felt like a wholly new thing.”

Fox Iseya feels like he’s been frozen for years. After the tragic death of his wife, he’s been locked inside walls of his own making. So he’s completely unprepared for Summer Hemlock.

He’s awkwardly gorgeous, intelligent and he truly cares about the students. Fox can feel him getting under his skin. It’s the single best and most terrifying thing that’s ever happened to him.

But Summer doesn’t know just how damaged Fox really is. He deserves so much more than an old man that has nothing left to give. But how can Fox walk away when he can’t imagine life without every feeling the warmth of Summer again?

“You,” he said sunnily, “have been watching me all day.”
Fox tossed him a glower. “I’m your supervisor. It’s my job to monitor your progress and your performance.”
With a playful smile, Summer rolled his head toward Fox, resting his cheek against his upthrust shoulder, the taut muscle straining against the linen of his crisply ironed off-white button-down. “So that’s the only reason?”
“Why are you so annoyingly confident around me?” Fox threw back. “I can make any other teacher in this school quiver in his boots with one look. And yet you, the most anxious, awkward person I have ever met, refuse to cower appropriately.”
“It’s simple,” Summer said, before his voice dropped, low and soft and just a touch heated, hungry, husky. “I’m the only one who knows what you taste like.”

Cole McCade delivers a lyrical masterpiece in Just Like That. With hypnotic prose, he paints a landscape that feels almost gothic. There’s beauty in the smallest of details. From Fox’s hair to Summer’s smirk, I couldn’t put it down for a second.

It starts with a low thrum of heartbreak, blooms into an all-encompassing desire and ends in a warm burst of joy. This is an epic love story in every sense of the word. And I’ll remember that there’s always a reason to be brave. Just like Summer…

When I read the description of Just Like That, the former-student-now-teacher forbidden nature of the romance had me requesting this title. I'm always on the look out for a new M/M author so I thought I would give this author a try. This is my first book from this author.

Summer Hemlock returns to his home town due to family illness and ends up taking a job at his old school. The Albin Academy caters to rich socialite students, and Summer has never fit in, but he's eager to reconnect with his teenage crush, Fox Iseya.

Professor Fox Iseya has erected lots of protections for his own emotions which prove to be a bit of a challenge for these two to get together. Just Like That does a good job of keeping the slow burn going as Fox and Summer negotiate their relationship. Summer does a good job of warming Fox's cold heart. They also have a twenty-plus age difference to deal with, which gave the story interest and another hurdle to jump in their relationship.Fox also has some past issues to deal with that color his view of the world. Good thing Summer helps him learn to live.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. It has that a good boys-school feel to it, and I love it when two characters find their happiness together by moving on from the past, even when they have obstacles they have to overcome. Just Like That was a quick easy read, There is a bit of wordiness and the unique naming of these characters threw me off at times, but I'm left definitely wanting to read more from this author.

An ARC was provided by the publisher. This is my honest review.

The new Carina Adores line from Carina Press promises highly romantic, feel-good stories with a strong central trope featuring LGBTQ+ protagonists getting their Happily Ever Afters.  Carina has a pretty strong track record when it comes to queer romance and I’m really looking forward to trying the new-to-me authors in the line as well as to reading new books from ‘old’ favourites.  Cole McCade has been on my radar for a while (I even have some of the books in his Criminal Intentions series on my Kindle – I just haven’t got around to reading them yet!) and I eagerly jumped into Just Like That, an exquisitely written May/December romance between a professor and former student that, while somewhat melancholy in tone, delivers a deeply felt, sensual love story.

Seven years earlier, Summer Hemlock left Albin Academy, a prestigious boys’ boarding school, and fled to Baltimore, intending to shake off the hopeless, invisible boy he’d been, find himself and learn not to be afraid. He’d intended never to return to his home town, but he knows his mother isn’t getting any younger, so he takes up a TA position at the academy – in the psychology department - in order to be closer to her.

He arrives to find the school on fire.  Well, not all of it, just the chemistry lab. Summer well remembers Dr. Liu’s propensity to set things on fire from his own time at the school, and makes his way inside to see what he can do to help.  The first voice he hears is one that stirs up many memories of hours spent listening to it in a class full of boys who were more than a little afraid of the man it belonged to - the same voice Summer now follows through the smoke, to find the tall, severely elegant form of Professor Fox Iseya - upon whom Summer had a massive teenage crush.

Fox had forgotten about the imminent arrival of his new TA and certainly doesn’t give much thought to his former students, so he’s surprised, when Summer introduces himself, to find himself actually able to recall the gangly, shy boy Summer had been, and then contrasting that memory with the attractive, athletic young man standing in front of him.  Once the fire is out and he and Summer are finally able to talk, Fox wastes no time in making clear his reservations about Summer’s ability to do the job:

“They will push those boundaries at every turn, and considering you haven’t changed a bit from when you were a student… I don’t think you’re capable of dealing with that.”

Summer angrily refutes that suggestion, which leads Fox to issue a challenge. Summer is to do one thing that takes him out of his comfort zone every day to show that he’s prepared to take the necessary steps “to face down a classroom of unruly, disrespectful children” on his own.  Goaded past irritation at Iseya’s dismissiveness, Summer accepts the challenge and makes an immediate start on doing things that scare him – and fulfils a long-buried secret longing.  He kisses Fox – then panics and leaves, feeling like a complete idiot.

Summer returns the next morning, intent on doing his scary thing for the day – to find Fox and apologise.  The conversation they have here is wonderfully open and honest; Summer is upfront about his attraction to Fox – who is upfront about not understanding exactly what Summer finds to like about him – and I loved the way Summer talks openly about his anxiety and explains how every so often, he hits “fuck-it mode”, a breaking point where he just has to say or do what he has to regardless of how scary it may be.  This talk engenders a kind of… if not exactly trust or friendship, then the makings of it, and leads Summer to issue a challenge of his own.  He has learned that Fox suffered a terrible loss when he was around Summer’s age, and that he has built incredibly thick emotional walls to protect himself from ever again experiencing such pain.  Summer suggests that perhaps Fox is ready to start living again only to find himself caught in a cage of his own making, and offers him a deal. Refusing to listen to Fox’s insistence that he’s old and used-up and has nothing to offer,  Summer tells him that when he (Summer) does something out of his comfort zone each day, he will ask Fox for a kiss as a reward – which Fox will give only if he really wants to.

Okay, yes, the kiss-a-day premise is a bit creaky, but Mr. McCade makes it work, allowing both characters to learn about each other, reassess their preconceptions and become closer as the days and weeks – and kisses - pass.  But even as Fox is starting to see the truth of Summer – a young man who is willing to challenge himself at every turn, to face down fears he couldn’t control every day, wired into his brain by chemical tractions and triggers – and to realise that for the first time in years, he might actually learn to be happy again, he’s also terrified.  He’s falling for Summer – young, optimistic, bright and oh, so sweet – and what will he do when, as is bound to happen, Summer tires of being with someone so broken who doesn’t know how to love him back?

The writing in this book is insightful and utterly captivating, and the characters are both complex and compelling. The growing intensity of the emotional connection between them is described in prose that is both lyrical and beautiful, and made those emotions leap off the page and get under my skin in a way that doesn’t happen very often.  I loved seeing Summer finally finding himself and his purpose; he’s a wonderful mix of strength and vulnerability and I was as charmed by him as Fox was.  Fox’s self-imposed aloofness and detachment make him a bit harder to like, but the author does such a good job of showing why he is the way he is that I began to warm to him quickly, especially when he starts to let down his guard a little and let Summer in.

But on the downside, some things, such as Fox’s insistence on having nothing to offer someone as vibrant and present as Summer and that Summer will soon get tired of being with him got a bit repetitive, and there was just a little bit too much introspection at times.  The grand romantic gesture at the end is a bit TSTL (which the author admits in his notes!) and made me roll my eyes a bit, and as I said earlier, the kiss-a-day thing, while rather charming, was also a bit of a stretch.

Even so, I really enjoyed Just Like That and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an emotionally satisfying, slow-burn romance.  I’m looking forward to the next in the series.