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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 elite Albin Academy—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.
Review:
As part of the Carina Adores, Just Like That is a gorgeous, atmospheric, and lyrical addition to the line. I’ve never read Cole McCade before, so it was a real treat to find a new-to-me writer and enjoy him so much.
The story centers around Summer who returns home and to the very school he once attended to be a TA to professor who both intimidated and fascinated him as young man. Albin Academy is a kind of school for wayward boys brought by parents in need of an intervention to help their sons.
Professor Fox Iseya, a formidable personality, has been mourning the loss of his wife for 20 years. Despite this emotional isolation, he is attracted to Summer. A scorching kiss sets off a challenge – for every risk Summer takes, Fox rewards him with more kisses, each one drawing them deeper into shared intimacy. This game quickly spirals out of control as the attraction that simmers beneath the surface reaches a boiling point that refuses to be denied.
The writing is absolutely lovely. I love description and detail, so this type of narrative suits me. However, I also know many readers go into a contemporary romance searching for plot and immediacy and might be put off by the prose. I was not. In fact, I gloried in it. There is a haunting, gothic quality to the atmosphere, and the romantic elements are so movingly described, I felt emotionally hung over when I was done with the book. There’s something enormous about this love story and that is such a wonderful feeling in which to get lost as a reader.
Relevant tropes include age-gap, second chance and a bit of hurt-comfort, as Fox breaks out of both his grief over his wife and his feelings of inadequacy for being involved with a man so much younger than him. I am looking forward to the other installments in this series.
ARC provided by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
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