1) Just Like That ★★★★½

content warnings: discussions of bullying, violence and the unlawful kidnapping of Indigenous children
representation: gay protagonist, gay Indigenous protagonist, main m/m romance, side gay characters

“Some things just had to be dealt with.
And Rian Falwell was apparently one of them.”

When I read Cole McCade's Just Like That earlier this year, I was blown away by how much I loved it so I had high expectations going into the sequel, which thankfully did not disappoint.

Taking place once again at Albin Academy, Just Like This follows Rian Falwell and Damon Louis, an art teacher and football coach respectively, who realise that a mutual student of theirs, Chris, has been lying to both of them about where he is when he's supposed to be at football practice. Out of concern for Chris, the two teachers decide to put aside their mutual dislike in an attempt to figure out what's going on with him. Romance, of course, ensues.

I love how invested McCade is in the world of this series. It would be easy to just make Albin the setting and not do much with it, but so much of the book centres on the complicated politics of this school where rich parents send their troublesome sons and what that entails. With the two perspectives being Rian and Damon, this is explored from two different angles and makes for honestly a fascinating read if you, like me, find the strange lives of rich people weirdly compelling.

But you don't want to hear about the politics of an academy for rich boys; you want to hear about the romance. Oh, the romance is so good. I'm obsessed with the way Cole McCade structures his romances like a Nancy Meyers movie, with the leads getting together halfway through the story and then figuring out how to be together. This has the added flavour of being a very soft enemies to lovers, which we all know I'm a sucker for, so that's a nice bonus.

Because of the way the story is structured, you get to spend the first half or so with Rian and Damon before they get together and then the next half with them as a couple, which gives you enough time to understand them as individuals before understanding them as a couple. If I had my way, most romances would play out like this.

Outside of the romance, I also really enjoyed the mystery subplot about Chris. It deepens the characters because you see how they react to the situation and their reasons for it, but it's also just really damn compelling. Without giving too much away, I definitely didn't guess where it was going to go and loved the ultimate resolution.

This is a very dramatic book because it features two very dramatic main characters, but I like that about it. The romance is lovely and the story is incredibly compelling; I read most of it in one sitting. It's a great sequel to Just Like That and makes me want to pick up more of McCade's work, which you should absolutely also do.

I received an ARC of this book for free as part of a blog tour in exchange for an honest review.