Like I Wished

Heather Bay, Book 2

De: Charlie Novak

Narrado por: Dan Calley

Dreaming about my best friend’s brother is one thing, him actually falling for me is another.

Baking cupcakes for the science department bake-off shouldn’t strike fear into the heart of chemistry teacher Noah, but his previous record hasn’t exactly been glowing. In an attempt to stave off another year in last place, Noah turns to the one man who might be able to help him: his best friend’s older brother, Spencer.

Noah’s had a crush on the vibrant and sporty footballer turned baker for years, but the chances of anything happening between them are slim to none. Spencer is caring, funny, gorgeous...and totally straight.

Spencer has never thought about dating men before, but after watching Noah lick buttercream off a whisk he’s suddenly realising he’s not as straight as previously thought.

Revelations about his sexuality are one thing, but his footballing past being dragged into the present is another, and Spencer isn’t sure which is more stressful. But he’s sure about one thing: He wants Noah in his life. Now all they have to do is figure out how to make their wishes come true.

Like I Wished is a hot and heartwarming best-friend’s-brother contemporary MM romance featuring adorable ghost cupcakes, a bisexual awakening over biscuits, gate-crashed first dates, gym-bro besties, and lots of hot chocolate.

It is book two in the Heather Bay series, and while it can be listened to as a stand-alone, it’s best enjoyed as part of the series.

©2022 Charlie Novak (P)2022 Charlie Novak

As Sweet As Cupcake Frosting

As with other titles from Charlie Novak this one is a part of a world with great characters and it’s very sweet with zero angst. Noah and Spencer fit together very well. This is definitely part of a universe of characters so it helps if you read book one first so that you kind of have an idea of what was going on with the group of friends. This is almost always the case with Novak’s books. This is a lighthearted entertaining listen. The only issue that I had was mentioned another review that Calley’s narration doesn’t really differentiate too much between their voices so it is easy to get lost between the characters, and if you’ve listen to other books by Charlie Novak that are narrated by Dan Calley listening to too many of these in a row can just seem very monotonous due to the narration. Recommended though for a sweet (pun intended) no angst read

Lovely brother’s best friend romance

I enjoyed Noah and Spencer’s story. They are both great guys who deserve their HEA, and I’m a huge fan of no angst stories that just tell me about two people falling in love without all the drama. I quite like Dan Calley’s voice and will definitely listen to more by him.

Fluffy goodness 😍

I love how sweet and feel good Charlie Novak books are. I wish people really communicated like they do in these books. They are good books for modeling healthy communication!
Anyways this book was amazing and I wanted to hug the characters throughout the story (especially Spencer!). I LOVED there was no drama with Alex, it's always weird to me when siblings get mad so I loved that he didn't and supported them. I do look forward to future books in this series!! Dan Calley continues to grow on me, but I have to listen to him with headphones, for some reason it's harder to focus on like in my car or on my Google home. Would definitely listen to this again!

Sweet and Sexy!

Like I Wished is the second book in the Heather Bay series, following Noah and Spencer as they navigate their way to their HEA. As is typical of Charlie Novak, this is a low angst, high heat, feel good romance. The blurb gives a good overview of the plot, but do be aware that there really isn’t much tension or suspense as you’re reading. So if you like that sort of thing, don’t expect to find it here. But if you’re like me and you just want a happy book where everything is great but not boring, you’ll enjoy this. You’ll also enjoy it if you’re looking for a lot of smexy times and dirty talk–this is very steamy!

As usual, Dan Calley did a great job with narration. He always adds a depth to the characters voices so you can really get a feel for their personalities. And I just love his voice :-)

While it is the second book in a series, it can stand alone. You just won’t get as much background into the characters if you don’t read the first book. I did like this book better than the first one, which isn’t typically the case in a series, so good job there! I can’t wait for the next installment!

*I received a promo copy of the audiobook and am happy to leave an honest review in return.

Great addition to the series

Best friends brother, bi-awakening and a spicy forever love all narrated in Dans smooth as honey voice. What more could you want!

Adored it

I loved this book when I read it falling in love with Charlie’s characters instantly. Dan brought these men to life and did a wonderful job narrating them. Loved it!!

Loved it

Few authors can write such sweet no angst stories without them just being too sweet and cloying. Charlie Novak is definitely one of them. Noah and Spencer are a shining example of a “my best friend’s brother” trope full of sweet moments and some spicy loving. Really good story and Dan Calley does a great job of reading it.

A bit disappointed

I really liked the sweet, almost-too-low-angst, best-friend's-brother story when I first read it, and it was nice to read it again this way. However, I was pretty disappointed in Dan's narration this time. There was little to no discernable difference between Noah and Spencer's voices! So if you zone out a bit, or if they're having a conversation without obvious dialogue tags or cues or whatever, it can be confusing who's talking at any given moment. It really bothered me the whole way through; I've listened to plenty of others by him and while he doesn't have a huge range of voices usually you can tell the two MCs apart! Ah well, can't win them all.

I received a promo code in exchange for this honest review.

Sweet and steamy!

Another sweet and sexy read by Charlie Novak with wonderful narration by Dan Calley!
This is friends to lovers, bi-awakening, best friend’s brother…and there’s lots of baking!
Noah has had a crush on his best friend’s brother for years, but Spencer is definitely straight. After an injury robbed Spencer of his football career, he joins his brother in opening a cafe. When Noah needs help for his school bake-off, Spencer is happy to help. But the more time he spends with Noah, the more he discovers his feelings may be more than friendly.
I really liked Spencer’s journey. He’s not at all freaked out by being attracted to a man, and he leans on his friends (and goes down some internet rabbit holes 🤣) to figure out his feelings. He never treats Noah as an experiment or source of discovery, and Noah is very accepting and supportive.
These two are very sweet together and their friend group is hilarious:)

Umm buttercream

Am I a sucker for best friends, brother to a lover? Is it worse when you know it’s a zero-angst book? Yes, but that is what I love when I know I am picking up any book from Charlie Novak. I loved when Spencer realized that he wasn’t looking at men in the gym to see their form. He found them attractive, but the one person who pushes all the right buttons is his brother's best friend. Noah is a disaster in the kitchen, but when he comes up with an idea to have Spencer teach him how to make cupcakes, nothing can go wrong. Can Noah push down everything that he has always felt for Spencer? Who knew buttercream could be seductive?