When exhausted single-mum Jess returns to Manchester for her twenty-year school reunion, she’s hoping for nothing more than a well-deserved break from reality. What she’s not expecting is to bump into her secret teenage crush, hot single-dad Sam, or to remember quite how much they have in common.
But they live so far apart, their kids aren’t always easy, and there are events in their shared past it’s best not to revisit. Surely the idea of a future together is just a crazy dream in their messy, adult lives?
Though when Sam invites Jess to accompany him to a mutual friend’s high-profile wedding, the years they spent apart once again melt away. What will it take for them to be together? Can they use their second chance to finally get it right?
What did I think?
Like Me is a superb debut novel from Katharine Light that is filled with drama, insecurities and romance. You could call it a slow burn as the chemistry between the two main characters smoulders from start to finish.
Jess has always had a crush on Sam since they were at school together. They have a bit of history as teenagers but it is very much a what might have been. The school reunion brings Jess up from London to Manchester and her attraction to Sam has clearly not waned over the years.
I had my fingers crossed that Jess and Sam would finally get together this time but old insecurities resurface and it's almost like they revert back to having the feelings they had as teenagers. With secrets and traumas buried in their pasts, neither of them have the confidence to declare their feelings.
Katharine Light's characterisation is outstanding and I was really invested in both characters as if they were real people that I knew. Like Me isn't a simple love story; it is reminiscent of the trials and tribulations of real life and I couldn't put it down until I found out how it would end.
Like Me is an engaging and emotional romance novel that held my interest and introduced me to characters that I genuinely grew to care about. It's well worth a read and I'm glad that the author has decided to make it into a series with another set of characters taking centre stage in the sequel, Me Too.
I received a gifted paperback for the Rachel's Random Resources blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
My rating:
Purchase link: https://amzn.to/3XRgWwC
About the author:
Katharine Light was born in Glasgow and lived there until her family moved to Manchester when she was ten. While in her teens, she began writing stories for her younger sister Emma. These mostly centred around a naïve heroine and a 1980s pop star (some would say the hero was modelled on John Taylor of Duran Duran).
She did a degree in psychology at University College London, and after a year travelling, worked in corporate film production for several years, before taking a break to raise her children.
For many years she wrote mainly during the holidays, around her busy work for a local church.
Her first novel Like Me, published in 2023, was shortlisted for The Selfies Book Awards 2024. Her short story My arms are empty which is based on an episode from her second novel Me Too recently won the City University competition City Writes.
She is a director of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, with responsibility for organising their conferences, gatherings and awards ceremonies.
Katharine lives in London with her husband and quite often at least one of their adult children. She loves singing, walking, painting, looking at art, and going to the theatre.
Social Media Links –
Instagram/Threads – katharinelightwrites1
Facebook – Katharinelightwrites
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