Like I Promised

Heather Bay, Book 1

By: Charlie Novak

Narrated by: Dan Calley

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 fantasizing 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, cozy coffee shops, and secret beaches.

©2022 Charlie Novak (P)2022 Charlie Novak

Good story. Great narration.

I snagged this audiobook because i enjoy listening to Dan Calley's voice, and I wanted to try out a book written by Charlie Novak. The experience was both soothing and entertaining. The romance was sweet with only a dash of angst, and the narration was lovely. This audiobook is a great pick if you are looking for a small town, second chance romance and smooth narration.

Cozy second chance romance!

Like I Promised was a second chance low angst story about Oliver, an editor, who inherits his grandmother's home, and his ex high school sweetheart, Lane, who is hired to fix up the house.
I love a second chance romance and this story really reminded me of that. I love the casual queerness of this story, and how it was both about these two and their love story, but also about this group of queer friends that Oliver joins with the help of Lane. This town was so queer and it was beautiful to read. I loved all this game nights and gatherings they had as a group.
These two reconnect pretty quickly in this book but it felt realistic to me because they were high school sweethearts and you could feel how much these two knew each other. It felt like they were picking up where they left off and that they fell into Something together again easily.
When the two start to take this as a less temporary thing and want more, Oliver is really struggling with deciding if he wants to continue his life in London or move back and try again with Lane. And Lane is trying to decide if him wanting to ask Oliver to stay is just like when they were younger and him still wanting Oliver to spread his wings. These two were so considerate of one anothers feelings and not at the expensive of their own; there wasn't a lot of self loathing with these two, they just had huge life decisions to make and wanted each other to be happy.
Over I think this story was so cozy and gave me hope for small towns and reminded me why I love queer friend groups.

Love the team of Charlie and Dan!!

Another amazing listen from Charlie Novak and Dan Calley!
This is the story of Oliver and Lane; a second chance romance between two men that never got over each other.
Lane and Oliver were childhood friends growing up in Heather Bay, and as they grew older their feelings turned to attraction, then love. They both thought this was it for them, but when Oliver gets into university and Lane wants to stay to work for his father, things quickly go south for these two.
Then nine years later, Oliver is brought back to Heather Bay when he inherits a cottage, and his mother has already hired a contractor to fix it up. Then he is face to face with his lost love again.
Oliver and Lane are super sweet together (they are also dead sexy together!). They always loved each other but were both hurt in the past, but their reunion is absolutely lovely.
Dan Calley does an amazing job narrating as always!!

Wonderful story

There is just something about a Charlie Novak book that feels like coming home. These characters were so good and I desperately love a good second chance romance. Oliver and Lane have never really gotten over each other in the 10 years they have been apart. Now that Oliver is back in Heather Bay, the two of them get to see if they can figure out what went wrong one maybe find their HEA. This is such a great feel good story and I can’t recommend it enough!! And Dan Calley does a great job as usual bringing her characters to life. Absolutely loved it and it is so worth listening to!!

🥰🥰🥰

I love Lane and Oliver!! This book is super sweet and steamy!

I love all the side characters that were introduced! I can't wait for the next books in this series!!

The narration makes this book even better!!!

Love the new Heather Bay series

Great story and fantastic narration! Love how it includes characters from other series Charlie has out. Definite must read!

Love this sweet second chance romance!

Oliver and Lane are just...ugh! I love these two so much together and while the angst leading up to them sorting out their stuff was kinda brutal, I loved seeing them finally happy together! Lane's deep love of his sweet little seaside town was so enduring and I loved that he didn't make excuses for not wanting to leave his home for something bigger and better. Oliver was tense and guarded at the beginning but I loved seeing him open up not only to Lane but also to what he truly wanted out of life, rather than what was "expected" of him to pursue. Second chance romances are so painful in many ways but I loved seeing how Lane and Oliver were able to address those issues that drove them apart in the first place without completely destroying the new relationship they were building. The ending was magical and getting to see a little glimpse of their happy lives together was amazing. The group of friends they have collected is so dynamic and diverse and seem like the kind of friends who will not only tease you until you want to explode but also be there at 3am when you need them. It was sweet to see them all together and building a family together. With so many interesting side characters, I hope there are a lot of future HEA set in Heather Bay! Wonderful writing with just the best characters! As for the narration, Dan Calley has quick become a top narrator for me! I love the timber of his voice and his ability to bring so many different characters to life within a story. I hope Dan will continue to narrate Charlie's book because they are an absolute joy to listen to!

Very good!

This is a nice second chance former childhood sweetheart story. It was fun getting to know these two, as they’ll appear in the next books in the series. This book really builds that world, and it’ll be awesome to follow the side characters in this book when they get their HEAs. As for plot, it was enjoyable, with very little angst and a good amount of sexy times.

Dan Calley did a great job performing as usual. His characters have just enough differentiation to know who is talking, but no one has any really weird voices. I do enjoy listening to him!

I did receive a promotional copy of this audiobook and am happy to leave an honest review.

So darn good!

Ahhhh! I freaking love this book so much.

This is my first Charlie Novak book and I’m obsessed. It’s the best mix of spice and story and it’s just gaaaahhh.

Plus.. DAN CALLEY! Hands down one of the best narrators. I could listen to him all day.

I love Ollie and Lane— they are the epitome of “you get me”. They love one another but let ego and hurt hinder their communication efforts and ended up spending 9 years apart. But when they meet again after so long— it’s like no time had passed. They fall into love again and it’s this timid tangle of “do I try or do I flee in fear”. Not over angsty — just perfect light read.

Go, go, go, shooo— go do some laundry while you listen and thank me later.

Steamy and Sweet!

*Minor spoilers*
This was such a good book! Like most of Novak's books it's very low angst but that is what I love! I adore that Lane didn't hold a grudge or resentment and that there wasn't chapters of denying what they both wanted! Just a sweet second chance story with emotionally mature people who realize they were young the first time. It was a very sweet story and man was it steamy! Like the right amount of steam but the steamy scenes were 🔥🔥
I think I figured out my issues with Dan Calley. I like him, but he sounds old! I don't picture guys in their 20s or 30s I picture guys in their 40s or 50s. It's totally a me thing.

Definitely recommend

*I was given a free copy for my unbiased review
** I listen to audio at 2x speed