A gay soccer player covers for his team captain, taking the fall for a prank and finds himself falling for the boy he has to spend community service with all summer. This was a heartfelt YA romance with good lessons about standing up for what you believe in and following through on commitments. It was also good on audio narrated by Amin El Gamal. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! Recommended for readers looking for a cute summer read with a side of climate change activism.

This story centers on high school soccer star Zack's struggle between doing what's right (personified in love interest Chip and his close friends Meyers and Beckett) or maintaining popularity (personified in team captain Ryan). It does an excellent job of portraying a teenager who makes serious mistakes but nonetheless tries his best to redeem himself and grow as a person. It seems like it would read as authentic to a younger audience, so would be perfect for either a middle grade or young adult reader, but did not resonate with me personally.

This is a fun summer YA read! There were a lot of impactful messages and this would be a great read for young adult audiences. I love the way sexuality was included in this book. I loved how Zach was already out and that his sexuality wasn’t a big deal. I think this is so important to represent, especially with young adult audiences. Zach frustrated me quite a bit throughout the story. Almost all of the conflicts were due to Zach’s selfishness. I liked Chip for the most part but was frustrated with his lack of understanding on why Zach couldn’t miss the game. If Zach was a bit more likable I think it would have bumped my rating up a little bit but overall I still enjoyed the story!

Here’s the thing with YA…if you have a flawed main character, you need to make sure the character is likeable. See: Simon in “Simon Vs” or Aristotle in “Aristotle and Dante”. Zach just wasn’t very likable. I understand his reasonings for taking the fall for Ryan, but the events that followed were wildly unnecessary and just put me off to his character, which is not what you want from the character driving your story forward. All of the conflicts in this are due to Zach being inherently selfish, which is called out, and the characters calling him out are made out to be the unreasonable ones. Things I enjoyed: sexuality was a non issue. Not an eye was bat at Zach and Chip being together which is a refreshing take on a story centered in sports. Bennet and Noah are the best friends everyone deserves. Chip is a treasure. This story had great potential, and i by no means think it’s bad, I just think the main character needed to be a smidge more likeable

This was a cute YA romance, but there wasn't much else in my opinion. It's not the worst book I've ever read, but it's not the best. I felt like the characters were a little too flat and not rounded enough for my liking to be fully immersed in the story. Real rating is a 2.5/5.

2.5 stars.

my feelings towards this book are weird. on one hand, there was nothing really "bad" about it. the characters and conflicts were okay enough, and there were some moments that i thought were actually really good (particularly those surrounding the MC's description of his parents' divorce, since i am also a child of divorce and related a lot). but at the same time, none of it really... made any sense? the inciting incident of this book is when ryan, the former captain of the soccer team, plays a gross prank on an opposing team and zach takes the fall for it, jeopardizing his position as captain. at the same time, zach joins the marine institue because a guy there, chip, is super cute. but chip is ryan's cousin and doesn't like zach because of the prank he supposedly played, and also because he's friends with ryan and chip thinks ryan sucks. that's basically the set up of the entire book, with some friendship/team conflict thrown in there too.

to me, all the conflicts seemed really disjointed. i felt like i was reading fanfic where random characters would make cameos and have conflicts based on their canon conflicts, so the fanwork doesn't really have to elaborate on them because the reader already knows the conflict. except this isn't a fanwork, and there is no canon for me to turn to for supplemental info. instead, i am just left floundering trying to understand where these characters are coming from. it was really disorienting, and at one point there was literally a new character introduced at the 80ish percent mark a la popular-fan-character-cameo.

basically if the plot were woven better i would've rated this book higher. prob not a whole lot higher, since the characters were also a bit bland, but def more than 2.5 stars.

(also this is mostly unrelated to my review but the only poc is zach's friend, beckett, and he's half-Korean. coincidentally he's also the only friend in the group to have academic goals and a career plan. wonder if those two things are related... /s i'm not saying beckett is a stereotype but he's also The Only poc in this book (unless i missed something). so that doesn't look too great.)

Thai was super cute! The messages through out the book were impactful and i definitely think this is a great read for young adult audiences. But by far my favourite thing was the way sexuality was included in this book. Unlike many lgbtq+ books this was not about coming out or the negative reactions that can come with that. This is something I’d like to see more of because I think especially with younger audiences it’s something that’s important to represent.

I have some mixed feelings after reading this book. There were some things that I loved, but there were other parts that fell flat for me. I loved the queer representation and how natural the relationship between the two main characters was. I also loved the Marine Institute. But I didn't really feel connected to some of the major plot points in the story--the prank, the conflict in the relationship, etc. I also felt the plot moved kind of slowly the first half, and picked up later in the book.

This was adorable! I really enjoyed reading it. Zach was a little frustrating at times but i liked that he worked on growing as a person. Chip was also a great character. I am a huge marine biology buff so all the fun moments in the aquarium was great to me. This was a great YA and i think itll be a fun summer read!

“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”

I’m always looking for books that I could add to my classroom; many of my students love Heartstopper so this seemed like a great next step book.

The setting of Citrus Harbour gives the perfect summertime and beach vibes (I especially love the beach and ocean so it was calling to me!), while Robby Weber’s writing makes it easy to get sucked into the story. The pop culture references are so much fun (shoutout to Easy A, an underrated movie and The Barbie Movie), and Weber even fits in some fun appreciation for William Shakespeare’s works. I didn’t know I could love an animal character so much but Odin, Zack’s dog, is the best; he gives the story a few good chuckle moments (such as plopping himself on the sand when it’s time to exercise). I feel like Weber has captured the thoughts of teenagers really well (the “are teachers still teachers on summer break” question made me laugh and is something I’ve definitely heard!). Zack and Chip’s developing relationship isn’t treated any differently than Meyers pining over Hope, which is so refreshing. The initial set up is a little far fetched - why does the future captain of the soccer team take the fall for a prank for the outgoing captain and the resulting punishment is community service, but the back half of the book makes up for it. Chip and Zack’s romance is so lovely, and I also loved that it is also highlights coming of age and friendship, as Zack figures out who he is as a leader, teammate, and friend.

I Like Me Better is a story of learning to trust yourself, finding out who you want to be, looking out for people you care for no matter what, leadership, and finding happiness. It is a feel good refreshing read that I think would definitely connect with my students. I can’t wait to go back and read Weber’s debut now! Thank you to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a cute and fun read with engaging characters and a nice love story. The only drawback for me was the “overdone” third act break-up…it felt very hokey. I enjoyed all of the characters and all in all I thoroughly enjoyed this book…

I’d just finished reading a couple of very long, heavy fantasies when I came across this book. It was the perfect light-hearted, romcom book I needed.

Zack is a soccer player ending his junior year and is up for captain of the team. Things are looking good for him until he takes the blame for a prank he didn’t commit and is assigned community service over the summer. But his punishment turns out to have a silver lining. When he’s assigned to a seaside conservation center, he discovers interests he never realized he had. He also meets Chip, a cute intern who supervises the volunteers. It turns into a summer of learned lessons from bad choices, taking responsibility for mistakes, pining over Chip, and epiphanies about the future.

I loved the focus on the environment in this novel – always a good thing in my opinion. I also enjoyed the setting of the aquarium and marine institute. Zack’s scenes with the young students and his unfortunate experience in a shark costume gave me plenty of laughs. His strong friendships with Beckett and Meyers are also a high point, and I liked how no one blinked twice that Zack was crushing on another guy. His relationships with his divorced parents and how they still remained a family unit is also a plus and written well. Shout out to Zack's dog Odin - he's a perfect wing man.

This is partially a coming of age story, and Zack certainly undergoes some character growth. If you’re looking for a summer read with a charming cast of characters and a little romance, add I Like Me Better to your list.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have to admit I have some mixed feelings after finishing this one. There were some things that I just loved, but there were other bits that fell a little short for me. To start with the good. I loved the way how natural and unnoticed it was that the main character was gay and dated another boy. I loved everything about the Marine institute and everyone there. loved Beckett and Meyers and their threesome friendship with Zack. I didn't love Zack. I wanted to, he wasn't a bad guy and he clearly wanted to be better, but I didn't like him much and I didn't think his growth trajectory through the book was as good as it could have been. I didn't love the conflict in Zack and Chip (I also didn't love that name's romance. I didn't love Ryan and the whole prank that Zack took the blame for (and really where was the logic? It would ruin Ryan's college career but not Zack's?). I found I liked the second half of the book a lot more than the first half. Overall I gave this one 3.5 stars but I rounded up for excellent queer representation and a great second half.

If you like romance stories in a sports setting this is a fun short read. Zack taking the fall for the bad prank, leading to an awkward meet cute with the last person who would want to associate with his new reputation, definitely added a humorous note to the story. Overall, it was a pretty cute summer read although a little frustrating at some parts. it definitely teaches a good lesson about what happens when you try to please everyone and I am glad to have gotten an advanced copy.

I’ve said it once (with Weber’s debut) and I’ll say it again, this is the summer romcom you’ve been searching for! If you have even an OUNCE of awareness of Robby Weber, you KNOW this book is filled with the perfect amount of flirting, entertainment, intrigue, and sass… I honestly can’t decide which of his two novels I prefer, I just know I love them both!

If soccer, marine biology, high school romance, or pop culture references are your thing, run out and grab this book!

Zack's summer plans suddenly change after covering for a teammate who pulled a prank, even though he wasn't involved. His punishment is to fulfill community service hours which he does at the local Marine institute, where his new crush Chip works as head intern. He's also trying to lead soccer practices in hopes of becoming the team captain senior year. Zack is pulled in many different directions between soccer, friends, possible boyfriend, and trying to show everyone he's up to the job. At times it was very frustrating to see Zack's decision making process, he's very naïve and doesn't always think about how his actions affect others, although there was growth by the end of the book. Overall, a quick summer read that highlights the issues of being torn between multiple obligations and trying to balance them all.

I was unfortunately unable to download this title before the archive date, but I look forward to reading and reviewing the finished copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Inkyard Press and the author for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book. Seamless queer rep plus a soccer storyline? Count me in. I have to give the author so much credit for how natural it was to have queer characters. However, the dialogue was not realistic as far as how teenagers really talk (and this is coming from a high school teacher and swim coach who is around teenagers talking all day long) and I could not get over the absurdity of the prank and why Zack would jeopardize everything he has going for him when he had absolutely no involvement or reason to take the fall. I was unable to suspend my disbelief and I am really sad that this did not work for me. Others may feel differently so I say give it a try if you are interested. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was such a fun read! (3.5 stars rounded up.)

I love the ocean and sea life so the setting of the aquarium was awesome.

The meet cute at the beginning for Chip and Zach was adorable. I absolutely loved Chip! Zack frustrated me numerous times throughout the book but he gets it together in the end.

I have to say I also enjoyed Noel. The enemies to lovers fan in me could see that being a great story also haha.

This a cute low stakes summer read that I definitely recommend! I’ll be sure to read more from this author in the future.

Thank you to HarperCollinsCa for this copy.

SUMMER VIBES ☀️ Robby Weber is so good at a summertime beach story topped with a sweet romance, some delightful friendships, and heaping spoonful of emotional intelligence. I loved Zack’s journey of self-discovery in this book, his mission to help his friends find their confidence, and his unexpected adventures along the way. Grab a copy for your next beach trip!!