Like I Promised (Heather Bay #1) by Charlie Novak


Oliver and Lane have known each other since they were 3 years old. A second chance at a forever love in Heather Bay with romance and steam, Like I Promised is a great start to a new series from Charlie Novak.

From the blurb:

Falling for my childhood sweetheart wasn’t part of the plan.

Moving back to Heather Bay wasn’t on Oliver’s agenda for the summer, but after inheriting a cottage in dire need of renovation he doesn’t have much choice. Supervising the builders should be easy… except the man in charge is Oliver’s childhood best friend and ex-boyfriend.

Lane’s spent nine years desperately trying to forget his first love, but that doesn’t stop him from fantasising about Oliver in every spare moment once he discovers Oliver’s back in town. Falling into bed together isn’t supposed to mean anything, even if Lane’s emotions feel too big to be ignored.

Being drawn to each other is one thing, but being stuck together after disaster strikes the renovations is another. The pull of the past is strong but Oliver and Lane have been down this road before. This time they’ll need to learn from their mistakes so they can finally keep their promises.

Like I Promised is a steamy second-chance contemporary MM romance featuring former childhood sweethearts, interfering friends, questionable barbecues, a very lazy collie, cosy coffee shops, and secret beaches.



SNik's Review:

First in series (Heather Bay). Second chance. Former best friend/boyfriend to lover. Dual POV. 

When Lane and Oliver were younger, they thought they would be together forever, but as Oliver plans to go off to Uni, the fear of separation and their miscommunication end their 15 year relationship. 

Nine years later, being back in his hometown only for the summer, Oliver is overseeing the renovation of his inherited cottage, but doesn’t expect Lane to be the man in charge of the project. 

This second chance story hits all the marks with two men that were meant to be together and finding their way back to each other, having a shared history and those first love feelings that never go away. 

I appreciated that Lane and Oliver’s familiarity with each other made starting up again easy, falling back into intimacy and spending time together as they both strived to communicate and express their feelings. 

Of course, the book includes an introduction to a fun set of secondary characters which is necessary for the beginning of a series (with hints at possible cameos from some of the authors previous series?) and there was no angst in rediscovering friendships. 

A thoroughly enjoyable read, with romance and a straightforward HEA.

Rating: 4.5 Stars


Heather's Review:

First off, I love the town name... and I love a childhood sweethearts reunited story and this was a steamy and funny.  Like I Promised was straightforward with just a hint of angst and it was a truly enjoyable read.  It had good flow and kept my attention, but I would have loved to have known more about their past relationship and the big blow up...

I can't wait to see whose story gets told next in Heather Bay!

Rating: 4 Stars


Like I Promised is currently available as an e-book and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription  

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