Title: The Camera Never Lies (Previously Hard as Teak)
Series: Hard as Teak #1
Author: Margie Church
Genre: Contemporary/Coming Out
Length: Novel (190 Pages)
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave (July 25th, 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3.5Hearts
Blurb: Having sex with his girlfriend has begun to feel like a job to nature photographer Kevin Marks. A year of sexual ennui prompts him to head for the solitude of his Minnesota cabin, in search of his lost passion-which he finds in the form of Teak Hidalgo.
Kevin can’t resist the gorgeous Texan. Their fateful meeting takes Kevin’s life in a new direction, professionally and personally. Before long, Teak resuscitates Kevin’s flat-lined libido, becoming the perfect tour guide to a sexual territory Kevin has only fantasized about. Teak provides the safety Kevin needs to finally be who he truly is, and the men embark on a romance better than anything Kevin ever imagined. But their sexy seclusion can’t last forever.
All too soon, reality, obligation, and envy threaten to sever the couple’s fledgling connection.
ISBN # 1419991027
Product Link: http://www.ellorascave.com/the-camera-never-lies.html
Reviewer: Gigi
Review: An interesting proposition, one escapee photographer, seeking answers to life’s unsolved mysteries up north at his cabin refuge. He’s battling a nagging feeling in his gut, that his attraction to men mean more than just the admiration of beauty. He finds not just one but two hot male muses as he puts the lens of his camera back to work photographing not just nature, but these hot men in their natural habitat.
I was a bit confused about the relationship dynamic between Teak and his female friend with benefits, Teak and Drew, and eventually Teak and Kevin. While the sexual heat was scorching at times, and the whole “model for me” scenario was fun, I felt the relationship between Teak and Kevin progressed too fast with too much uncertainty.
The twist with Kevin’s manager Gail, and her machinations to “expose” him, was a bit over the top, and who really cares anyway? Who is actually going to put this in a gossip column? Photographers, unless you’re Ansel Adams or Annie Liebovitz, are not really all that famously recognized anyhow. Maybe that’s why it is hard for me, I come from the art world, and poor photographers are lucky if people put the right name with the right image, let alone actually recognize them personally.
The story was fun, who doesn’t like a bit of sexy-fun-time in the wilderness? Something is lacking, but I did find myself entertained for an evening. I’m sure there will be more to come from this trio of characters in the future.