Title: Out of Frame
Series: In Focus, #3
Author: Megan Erickson
Genre: New Adult Romance
Length: 203 pages
Publisher: InterMix (March 15th 2016)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts
Blurb: Romance trades the open road for the high seas in the latest from the author of Focus on Me and Trust the Focus…
Perpetually shy, Quinn Mathers is content to remain in the shadow of his brash best friend Jess Hartman. But before their college graduation, he and Jess have planned one last hurrah: a spring break Caribbean cruise.
And it won’t be just any cruise. On board are members of the reality show Trip League, which follows young twenty-somethings on adventures around the world. Since the show’s beginning, Quinn has been fascinated by J. R. Butler, with his amazing body, warm eyes, and killer grin. Unfortunately, he’s straight—or so the world thinks.
At nineteen, J. R. signed a contract to play straight for the show, and there’s no way to get out of it now. Yet with each passing day, Quinn and J. R. find it harder to keep their hands off each other and to keep out of the camera’s frame. But when the lens finally focuses on them, J. R. must decide if he’s willing to risk his career by admitting his bisexuality, and Quinn must determine if he’s bold enough to stand in the spotlight with the man of his dreams…
ISBN: 9781101988602
Product Link: http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/536725/out-of-frame-by-megan-erickson/9781101988602/
Reviewer: Aerin
Review: This is my least favorite of Megan’s books to dat., which is a pity considering how much I liked the previous stories in this series. I’m not exactly sure what happened or why the book didn’t leave an impression, it’s mostly a mixture of things.
First of all, the whole reality show J. R. was part of was what mostly put me off this book. I don’t make a habit of watching reality shows, so I’m not familiar with the type of show this was. But I could easily imagine something along the lines of Jersey Shore. Ugh!
J. R. Butler (I hate that name and the space between the initials, which bugged the hell out of me) is part of the Trip League reality show, whose producers made a habit of stereotyping and hiding the true nature of the participants.
J. R. is the black, angry kid on the show, the heterosexual who’s in a committed relationship with his girlfriend Andrea. If the public only knew J. R. is not as angry as he comes across, Andrea exists only in his imagination, and he’s not exactly straight. Admitting to his bisexuality would mean a breach of contract and would make his brother’s much-needed surgery that much harder to get.
Quinn has lived his whole life in a bubble of parental protection. He’s been the good boy who never crossed any boundaries and has never broken any rules. Spending a week away on spring break on a Caribbean cruise with his best friend Jess opened his eyes to how much fun the real world can be. But it also brought him face to face with J. R., the TV personality he’s always had a crush on.
There’s instant chemistry between them and as hard as J.R. tries to ignore his attraction towards Quinn, it isn’t happening. Trying to take advantage of the time they have together and avoiding the cameras in a desperate attempt to stay out of focus puts a lot of pressure on J. R.
There was something off when it came to Quinn and J. R. and I can’t put my finger on it. The whole teenager vibe and the fact that J. R. was thinking of Quinn as a kid was irritating as hell since he’s on 19 years old himself. I guess something didn’t click for me because I wasn’t crazy for them as a couple and I found their story to be too predictable. I felt some of that chemistry but I didn’t get the feeling that they were made for each other.
There are a lot of secondary characters. From the guys we met in the previous books to the fellow cast members, but my favorite of them all is Levi. Oh my god, I love him so much and can’t wait for his book because I bet it’s going to be awesome.
This was a nice, easy read, low in angst and very predictable, but I wasn’t blown away. This was a solid 3 Hearts for me.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *