Out of Frame by Megan Erickson

Title: Out of Frame (In Focus #3)

Author: Megan Erickson

Publisher: InterMix

Release Date: March 15, 2016

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

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.

If you know me, then you probably know of my love for Megan Erickson and her books. Every single one I’ve read, I’ve absolutely loved. Every time I hear about a new book from this author, my excitement levels sky-rocket. And as excited as I was about Out of Frame, I loved it even more.

Quinn has always been shy and has never been one to take chances, preferring to stay in the shadow of his best friend. That’s until they set sail on a spring break cruise featuring the members of the reality TV show Trip League. Even though he would never admit it to his best friend, Quinn is fascinated by J.R. Butler, one of the cast members. And now is his chance to find out more about him. Too bad for him, J.R. is straight. Or so everyone thinks. J.R. didn’t think it was a big deal when he signed the contract that said he had to play straight. But now he’s tired of hiding half of himself. And when Quinn catches his eye on board the ship, J.R. can’t help but want to explore the side of his sexuality he’s been hiding. With Quinn, J.R. wants see where things could go. But being with Quinn would mean risking his career, and that’s assuming Quinn is willing to stand in the spotlight for the first time in his life.  

I have yet to meet a Megan Erickson book that I haven’t loved, and her In Focus series is one of my absolute favourites. I have loved every single one I’ve read and I start flailing excitedly every time I am able to get my hands on a new one. I just can’t help myself. I mean, Trust the Focus and Focus On Me were some of my favourite books of 2015 and already Out of Frame is close to the top of my list of favourite books I’ve read this year (so far). There’s just something about those Megan Erickson romances. They get me every single time. And it was no different with Out of Frame. Even though it didn’t quite pack the emotional punch as the first two books in this series (at least for me), I still got completely caught up in this story. I would sneak in a few pages on my phone, every time I had a chance while at the same time never wanting this story to end. I wanted to keep reading about Quinn and J.R. and see what kind of trouble they were going to get up to next on the cruise ship. Despite everything that was happening around them, they were just fun to read about. And I loved seeing their relationship develop. It took them both by surprise, but it was sweet and heartwarming and just made me so freaking happy to read about. And like is often the case with Megan Erickson’s books, what made me absolutely love Out of Frame was J.R. and Quinn.

It really should go without saying that I loved J.R. and Quinn. You can’t really love this story without loving them. Quinn was just trying to be comfortable with himself and stop hiding all the time. But at the same time he was struggling with actually doing what he wanted as opposed to what was expected of him or what he thought other people thought he should do. There were so many times while I was reading that I wanted to tell him to just go for it and stop overthinking everything, but at the same time I totally understood where he was coming from because I can be the exact same way. But when he started going for it? I was all in favour of that, especially when it involved going for it with J.R. And I felt for J.R. So much. He just wanted to be himself but he fully believed he couldn’t because of the contract he was under. Seeing the pain this caused him hurt me, too. I was more than happy to see him decide to say screw it and spend time with Quinn. These two boys just needed each other, whether they realized it or not. And seeing them together just made me so freaking happy. And as always, I was more than happy to be getting glimpses of the boys from the other books. I will never tire of reading about this group of guys.

I wasn’t surprised at all when I found myself loving Megan Erickson’s Out of Frame. How could I not? One of my favourite authors writing a book in one of my favourite series. It’s a no brainer, really. If you love romance, in particular m/m romance, and haven’t read any of the books in the In Focus series, you are seriously missing out. 

Getting Him Back by K.A. Mitchell

Title: Getting Him Back (Ethan & Wyatt #1)

Author: K.A. Mitchell

Publisher: Carina Press

Release Date: February 15, 2016

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

An unexpected fresh start leads to an unlikely-but-absolutely-perfect pairing in this male/male new-adult novel from bestselling gay romance author K.A. Mitchell.

Ethan may have followed his high school sweetheart to college only to get dumped his first day there, but he’s not going to let that stop him from exploring all his new life has to offer. Sex-only hookups, his photography, new friends a campus-wide game of zombies vs humans all help keep his mind off his broken heart and move him toward building a new, better life without his ex.

And then there’s Wyatt. Mysterious, grouchy--hot. And possibly not gay. But Ethan’s not going to let that stand in the way of figuring out what makes Wyatt tick. New college goal? Get Wyatt into bed and into Ethan’s life. 

Step one: arrange a “tutoring” date. Step two: “accidentally” bump into Wyatt as often as possible. Step three: explore the sexy body under that ever-present hoodie. And when their friendship deepens into something neither of them expect, convince Wyatt he’s not just a pity fling or a one-time hookup, but that Ethan is in it for the long haul.

Discovering new romance authors is always fun, especially when it also means reading a great book in the process. Before reading Getting Him Back, I had never heard of or read anything by K.A. Mitchell. But now? I’m definitely going to be reading more of her books.

Ethan thought he knew what the next four years of his life were going to be. He had it all planned out. But when he shows up on campus, the boyfriend he followed to college dumps him on the spot. Ethan is absolutely heartbroken, but his new friends aren’t willing to let him wallow in self-pity. But while trying to find a way to get Blake back, Ethan is always running into Wyatt. And the more he sees Wyatt, the more Ethan wants to find out about him. But if he really wants Wyatt, Ethan is is going to have to prove to him that he’s in this for more than just a hook-up. 

Apparently, I’ve been on an m/m romance kick lately. It’s nothing new for me, I’ve been reading m/m for a while. But in the past week alone, I’ve read three and I’m about to start another one. But as much as I enjoy reading these books, I tend to always go back to the same authors so I’m always a little excited when I come across an author I haven’t read before. So when I saw K.A. Mitchell’s Getting Him Back on NetGalley, I clicked request. I mean, it’s m/m NA romance, which I am apparently all about, so how could I not request it? After having read it, I can say that Getting Him Back was a fun and enjoyable read. Granted, because of the title and the way things seemed to be going in the beginning, I wasn’t sure where the story was going to go. For a while, I actually thought it was going to be about Ethan getting back with the high school boyfriend he followed to college. I mean, the book is called Getting Him Back, so that would fit. But then the description said something else and the more I read the less I wanted Ethan to go back to that guy because he wasn’t exactly the greatest person. Wyatt was a much better choice. But that confusion aside, I really enjoyed this story and I’m definitely looking forward to reading the next part of Ethan and Wyatt’s story. 

Ethan was a fun character to read about and it was fun to read this story from his perspectives. He was just so comfortable with who he was, or at least that’s the way he came across. But then the more I read, the more I realized that maybe he wasn’t quite as comfortable as he initially appeared. And that probably had a lot to do with the fact that he always saw himself and his future as it related to Blake, the high school boyfriend he followed to college. So I liked seeing Ethan figure out who he was outside of Blake’s boyfriend. And I liked that person a lot. Especially once he stopped focusing so much on getting back with Blake because Blake wasn’t a very nice person. And I honestly was kind of confused as to why Ethan wanted him back when he could have Wyatt instead. And as much as I liked Wyatt, I feel like there’s still so much about him that I want to know. I feel like I only really got a small glimpse of him in Getting Him Back and I’m excited to get to know more about him in the sequel. 

I definitely enjoyed reading K.A. Mitchell’s Getting Him Back. It was a fun story with the kind of romance that I loved. And it introduced me to characters that I look forward to getting to know better in future books. 

Focus On Me by Megan Erickson

Title: Focus On Me (In Focus #2)

Author: Megan Erickson

Publisher: InterMix

Release Date: July 21, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

Colin Hartman can now add college to his list of failures. On the coast-to-coast trek home from California, Colin stops at a gas station in the Nevada desert, and can’t help noticing the guy in tight jeans looking like he just stepped off a catwalk. When he realizes Catwalk is stranded, Colin offers a ride.

Riley only intended to take a short ride in Colin’s Jeep to the Grand Canyon. But one detour leads to another until they finally find themselves tumbling into bed together. However there are shadows in Riley’s eyes that hide a troubled past. And when those shadows threaten to bury the man whom Colin has fallen in love with, he vows to get Riley the help he needs. For once in his life, quitting isn’t an option…

In the last year, Megan Erickson has quickly become one of my favourite authors when it comes to romance books, especially ones that are packed with all the feels. So Focus On Me? It hit me right where it hurts. But it was oh so good.

Colin thought he was going to be spending his drive across the country thinking about his latest failure: college. But his trip has barely begun when he can’t help but noticing the guy who looks like he’s come straight out of the pages of a magazine. And he offers him a ride without a second thought. What starts out as something completely innocent, quickly becomes something a lot bigger for Colin. But Colin isn’t sure Riley feels the same way he does. Until it becomes very clear that both of them want the same thing and it all comes out one night in Dallas. But Colin can’t help but notice those moments where Riley seems to almost be haunted by his past. And Colin is determined to do whatever he can to help Riley, no matter what it takes. Because for once, Colin is determined not to fail.

Despite having only been publishing books for just over a year, it feels like I’ve been reading Megan Erickson’s books for much longer than that. In the year that her books have been out, she’s quickly become one of my favourites when it comes to romance and her books are all auto-buys for me. And earlier this year, I read what I thought was my favourite Megan Erickson book, Trust the Focus. In fact, I couldn’t seem to shut up about the book (seriously, ask my friends, they will confirm it). But Trust the Focus may now have been replaced by Focus On Me, the second book in the In Focus series. I started reading Focus On Me when I was supposed to be reading something else entirely. And then proceeded to stay up until way too late (considering I had to go to work the next day) just because I had to keep reading and know how the story would end. Well, actually, I wanted the story to last forever, but that's not really the point. I knew going in that Focus On Me was going to be an emotional read, one that was likely to hit me right where it hurts (in a good way). And it absolutely delivered on that. More so than I could have ever have predicted. Even though I could tell what was coming, it still didn’t prepare me for how much that emotional punch hit me. There was so much in this story that needs to be said and needs to be seen. Focus On Me touched me in a way that I didn’t think it would. And by the end of the book, I was crying in bed at 3 AM. Because Colin and Riley’s story was an absolutely beautiful one. Emotional, yes, but beautiful all the same.

Having read Trust the Focus, I know that Megan Erickson can write some absolutely beautiful relationships between boys. But the relationship between Riley and Colin in Focus on Me couldn’t have been more different than the relationship between Justin and Landry in the first book. Where there was a lifetime of history between the two boys in the first book, Colin and Riley are complete strangers at the beginning of the story. But the connection between them was instantaneous and I loved seeing the relationship between the two develop the way it did. Colin’s easygoing nature perfectly balanced out Riley’s intensity. And Colin was the caring person that Riley needed in his life, the person who would do whatever it takes to help him, even if he didn’t want the help. If I’m completely honest, there were plenty of times where their story was completely heartbreaking. But I wanted nothing more than to root for Colin and Riley, for them to make it through everything that was standing between them and get to be together the way they deserved to be. But in the end, all the pain was completely worth it because of what it led to. And I have to say that getting to see Justin and Landry again made my heart happy in all kinds of way.

I feel like this review may have been all over the place. But it’s just HARD to articulate all the feelings I have about Megan Erickson’s Focus On Me. This story made me laugh, it made me smile and it made me cry. And I loved every single moment of it.