Much like his debut novel "If You Change Your Mind" last year, Robby Weber's "I Like Me Better" is the perfect summer read.

But this time with sharks.

After taking the fall for a heinous prank in order to maintain his shot at being voted captain, romance blossoms between conflicted soccer-star Zack and devoted intern Chip at the local seaside conservation centre.

Plus sharks.

Occasionally repetitive and at times far-fetched, this story about finding yourself and leadership and responsibility and young love is flawed but fun.

Did I mention sharks?

I Like Me Better is Robby Weber's sophomore novel. When the main character, Zach, takes the fall for his soccer team, he winds up doing community service instead of partying. But in true Weber fashion, this turn for the worse becomes a swoon-worthy and sweet summer romance. This is an auto-buy for my collection.

Fans of ted lasso 🤝 fans of heartstopper. This is your baby. Robby Webber back again with adorable queer ya books! This was so much fun! The perfect summer read I had the best time

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Inkyard Press, for the chance to read and review this book.

When the captain of the soccer team's prank goes wrong and than means trouble for the whole team, Zack decides to cover for him, trading his summer's plans for community service at a seaside conservation center. That also means that his new reputation isn't able to give him a shot with the cute intern there, Chip. Between dolphins, fishes and shark costumes and new disasters, Zack finds himself falling more and more for Chip. Will he be able to keep up his lie, protect his team and also not losing himself in the whole process?

After reading Out of the blue, Jason June is a winner for me. Every book is a new favourite and after reading this plot, I couldn't resist and I had to read I like me better. And, sometimes, or all the time, you need a funny summer romance to lift your spirit high!
I loved reading I like me better! Not only Zack is fantastic main character, loyal, intelligent and funny, but I also love his relationship with his team and with Chip and how slowly everything changes between them. I also do love the setting. A seaside conservation center? Dolphins and shark costume disasters? I'm in!
I loved everything, from the plot, the writing style, the summer romance and how Jason June never disappoints and gifts me a new favourite book!

NetGalley ARC Review
Spoilers

Robby Weber has written another charming rom-com in "I Like Me Better", a worthy successor to his 2022 debut, "If You Change Your Mind".

ILMB follows the story of Zack, a successful high school soccer player, who is hopefully next in line to earn the captain position. When the current captain, a graduating senior and Zack's soccer mentor, pulls a prank that could jeopardize his college plans, Zack decides to take the fall.

He finds himself doing community service at the local library until he meets Chip, a handsome classmate who happens to work at a marine biology institute. Zack pulls some strings and ends up now doing his volunteering at the institute as a way to try to get to know Chip, who mostly notices the "big reputation" of the soccer star.

The summer turns out to be a rollercoaster for Zack, his friends, and Chip, as tensions rise surrounding soccer practices, advocacy, a crucial vote for team captain, and meetings with an important political figure. All surrounding a summer romance. Overall, it's a nice handling of all of the subplots, especially considering how many character relationships are involved, including the soccer team. There's a good time away from the team and the important Fourth of July game, but it returns at a more critical point in the overall story.

Robby does a delightful job illustrating the pressures of high school friendships and relationships in both of his novels. The novels are set against the backdrop of summertime which students anticipate, but who don't fully grasp how limited that time is and that not everything will go exactly according to plan. The exploration of that theme throughout the novel - both novels, actually - help support the characters rather than allow them to feel like they're on the verge of faltering. No "cruel summer" for these folks!

I appreciated Robby's ending where Zack and Chip become each others' boyfriends. There's a scene where Chip stands his ground and tells Zack they're just going to remain friends, even though Zack apologized for his wrongdoings, and how he has developed a more mature character; he eventually helps Chip, his team, as well as himself.

Not necessarily sticking with Chip's initial idea of their relationship, thus a friendship with longing, hopefulness, or potential, which isn't necessarily romantic in the end, is not an incorrect route to go, of course. It's not a criticism, but something that sparked my curiosity about how Robby might continue developing what his main characters' relationships can look like by the end of the books. Especially considering Zack went through such a significant transformation that he also just wants to make sure he can get right, thus "working on himself", as he mentions at one point towards the end.

Of course, happily ever afters are the best; I love them, myself. But sometimes a happily ever after with ourselves (rather than *by* ourselves) can mean a whole lot, if not more. But if there's room for both, like in "I Like Me Better", well, then score one for Weber and I'll just be over here in my Sharky suit. #iykyk

Congrats to Robby on continuing his summer-lovin' Citrus Harbor High series with ILMB! Cannot wait for the next novel, "What Is This Feeling?"... a theatre-themed book... yay!

I appreciated the underlying messages of this YA romance and the individual interests of the characters, from committing to helping the environment to empowering each other to do the right thing and make a difference. But while I liked the endings of the character arcs, at times I didn't feel they had a fully realized beginning, middle, and end. The main character especially seemed to have unclear motivations a lot of the time and while their changed perspectives made sense as a place to end the story, I didn't totally follow that the character development had been there to get them to that point.

**Thank you to Inkyard Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review**

Tha k you Netgalley and publisher for this advanced copy.

Robby Weber brought US such a cute coming age story. I loved every single sweetness and sour moments in this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was such a cute story. I loved the characters and was rooting for them through it all.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
The main character, Zack's, journey through this story felt so true to "coming of age" and high school experience. Anyone who ever felt put into a box (by your peers, parents, or even your own expectations) could definitely relate to this character. The story was sweet, if sometimes a little corny, and I think the pacing was well done. I genuinely wish there had been more to read once I'd finished, There were several scenes that I would have loved to be even longer. I think character development is clear and well done in this piece. My only serious complaint, though, would be some of the "you complete me" vibes that I was getting from the main couple, but that's a personal ick that may not bother others.
Overall, really loved the story and will probably see this as a reread sometime. I also think there are some people I know (many in the actual target age range for YA) who would love this book even more than me that I will have to recommend it to.

I LIKE ME BETTER was a cute, heartfelt young adult queer romance about Zack Martin whose best summer ever turns out to be not so great when the captain of his soccer team convinces him to take the fall for a horrid prank. Relegated to community service, Zack has to figure out a way to juggle all of his priorities, including trying to get the guy he likes to pay attention to him and trying to convince the soccer team that he would make a good captain for their upcoming senior year.

I flew through this book. It was cheesy and adorable and something that I didn’t want to put it down. Zack could be a little insufferable at times, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying reading about him. I loved seeing his growth, how he was adamant about learning from his mistakes and was willing to keep growing until he’d figured them all out. Ryan infuriated me, but that was probably the point. I kept waiting for Zack to realise what a piece of shit he was, and it thrilled me when Zack managed to stand up to him. His relationship with Chip was sweet and got sweeter every time they were together. I loved the general progression of their relationship, and how they fit so well together. I also really enjoyed the side characters and how Zack’s relationship with Chip wasn’t the only thing he concerned himself with.

There were moments where I kind of wanted to shake Zack and be like ‘OPEN YOUR EYES’ but I managed to rein it in because I am a queen at self-control. (and also that isn’t actually… possible.) moving on. There was a scene at the end where I was ready to start pulling my hair out because of Zack’s inability to read between the lines—like seriously, why is he an all in or all out kinda guy?—but then his team mates pulled him back from the edge and I managed to breathe a little. I have to admit, I wasn’t a huge fan of the conflict that pulled Zack and Chip away from each other because I kept mentally asking Chip what it was he expected? I don’t know, it felt like because of their relationship, Chip expected Zack to be there for him in spite of all of his other commitments and got annoyed when he actually had something not-Chip related to do. This doesn’t mean Chip was clingy—actually the opposite—it was just this one scene that got on my nerves.

Overall, I think I’ll be picking up Weber’s debut because I did thoroughly enjoy this and I can’t wait for his third.
Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

(p.s. if I accidentally called Zack Zach I apologise the love interest in the book I’m currently outlining is called Zach and I kept getting the spelling mixed up while writing this review.)

This was a cute story, albeit a little unrealistic. It does seem like there's too many plotlines here to keep track of and to fully flesh out. Hated the ending, but maybe that's because we don't get to know any of the other characters well enough to know if the ending is deserved.

This book was a refreshing read. Also an easy read. Some may say low stakes. Maybe, but not every YA has to be about the chosen one saving the world from doom. I think it's a good book for young people to read. It's more about real life problems and also features some hidden practical life advice like "how to date when it's two guys".

This book a feel good story and I can't wait to read more from Robby Weber.

The absolute perfect book for a Pride read. Perfect for summer. I like me better is a great coming it age book that is at the heart strings. Predicable tea, but sometimes that's not a bad thing

Zack is gay and no one bugs him for it. NO ONE. It’s amazing! How I wish we could live in a world where people do not care about sexuality but rather only care about if you’re happy as a human being.

Sorry, that, in this book made me feel so good. I want more books like that.

Zack is a character who is hard not to love, but also will make you want to sit him down and have serious chats with about how much pressure he puts himself under due to his own self worth, his soccer captain, his parents and everything all around him. He’s a goof, and I love him. But man, when I read the summary and saw that he was taking the blame for a prank I really was not expecting that.

Meyers and Beckett are also two of the best friends he could’ve asked for, though both of them have their own very interesting storylines.

Ryan is a dick.

Chip is an adorable, science nerd cinnamon roll with his own issues that made me want to wrap him in hugs.

This book really is about finding yourself, getting what you want and being ready to learn. The romance is pretty adorable, and also the fight for Marine life made me happy.

This should have been the perfect summer read for me in theory, but unfortunately it wasn't entirely my thing. There were definitely parts I enjoyed, and I liked the ending, but Zack was really unlikeable for most of the book, which made me enjoy the book less. I know it was very much the point of the book and it was intended that way, but I just didn't find myself rooting for him, and I didn't think he was a very interesting character.

Super cute YA book! I enjoyed the characters a lot! I am looking forward to reading more work by this author!

A gay soccer player covers for his team captain, taking the fall for a prank and finds himself falling for the boy he has to spend community service with all summer. This was a heartfelt YA romance with good lessons about standing up for what you believe in and following through on commitments. It was also good on audio narrated by Amin El Gamal. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! Recommended for readers looking for a cute summer read with a side of climate change activism.

This story centers on high school soccer star Zack's struggle between doing what's right (personified in love interest Chip and his close friends Meyers and Beckett) or maintaining popularity (personified in team captain Ryan). It does an excellent job of portraying a teenager who makes serious mistakes but nonetheless tries his best to redeem himself and grow as a person. It seems like it would read as authentic to a younger audience, so would be perfect for either a middle grade or young adult reader, but did not resonate with me personally.

This is a fun summer YA read! There were a lot of impactful messages and this would be a great read for young adult audiences. I love the way sexuality was included in this book. I loved how Zach was already out and that his sexuality wasn’t a big deal. I think this is so important to represent, especially with young adult audiences. Zach frustrated me quite a bit throughout the story. Almost all of the conflicts were due to Zach’s selfishness. I liked Chip for the most part but was frustrated with his lack of understanding on why Zach couldn’t miss the game. If Zach was a bit more likable I think it would have bumped my rating up a little bit but overall I still enjoyed the story!

Here’s the thing with YA…if you have a flawed main character, you need to make sure the character is likeable. See: Simon in “Simon Vs” or Aristotle in “Aristotle and Dante”. Zach just wasn’t very likable. I understand his reasonings for taking the fall for Ryan, but the events that followed were wildly unnecessary and just put me off to his character, which is not what you want from the character driving your story forward. All of the conflicts in this are due to Zach being inherently selfish, which is called out, and the characters calling him out are made out to be the unreasonable ones. Things I enjoyed: sexuality was a non issue. Not an eye was bat at Zach and Chip being together which is a refreshing take on a story centered in sports. Bennet and Noah are the best friends everyone deserves. Chip is a treasure. This story had great potential, and i by no means think it’s bad, I just think the main character needed to be a smidge more likeable