Trust the Focus

In Focus, Book 1

By: Megan Erickson

Narrated by: Marc Bachmann

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

With his college graduation gown expertly pitched into the trash, Justin Akron is ready for the road trip he planned with his best friend, Landry, and ready for one last summer of escape from his mother's controlling grip. Climbing into the Winnebago his father left him, they set out across America in search of the sites his father had captured through the lens of his Nikon.

As an aspiring photographer, Justin can think of no better way to honor his father's memory than to scatter his ashes at the sites he held sacred, and there's no one Justin would rather share the experience with more than Landry. But Justin knows that he can't escape forever. Eventually, he'll have to return home and join his mother's Senate campaign. Nor can he escape the truth of who he is - and the fact that he's in love with his out-and-proud travel companion.

Contains mature themes.

©2015 Megan Erickson (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Equal parts sexy and sweet, Trust the Focus is full of heart." ( RT Book Reviews)

Trust The Focus

ok... I am going to try and put aside my personal feelings for Justin the Jerk to write a review about the actual book. LOL. But man does he make me so flipping Angry during like 70% off this book. I just want to Hug Landry, and tell him to run every time Justin opens his mouth and speaks, He treats Landry like crap. But then thinking about it.. Justin is just taking out the horrible feelings he has about himself on Landry, and Landry ends up getting the brunt of his anger. My feelings for Justin aside; this book was really good, Megan did a great job on the subject and progression of feelings and story. The entire book was really believable like it totally could have happened in real life. Like we were actually following along with the real story of two boys driving around to different places to spread the ashes of their father. I mean I am sure someone somewhere has done this.
Audio - I really liked Marcs narration. There is just something about his voice I really just like listening to. He made these characters story come to life with the emotions thrown in.

Requires a lot of patience

I'm somewhat surprised that I even stayed with this book. Several times I was so mad at Justin that I abandoned it for a few weeks. There was always that spark of love that Landry expressed that brought me back. He is such a patient and super nice guy. Seriously, I was so uninvested in Justin that I could just abandon whole book, but I didn't. I'm glad I fought my instincts because finally, the last 2hrs were so good. There was a lot of strum and drang to get there though. Stick with it if you feel that way, it will be worth it in the end. I'm not sorry I experienced this book, but dang, it requires patience.

Too long and the Justin is a jerk

I hated Justin. Landon was a sweetheart and no way deserved to be treated the way Justin treated him regardless of the circumstances. Not a fan of the narrator. story was too long and had too much unnecessary detail. I was happy to have it end.

okay but I was not too keen on the mc

Any additional comments?

I sort of enjoyed this, but was also annoyed by a few things. Since it’s in the romance package I’m going to give the series another chance, but I would probably not if I was to pay a credit for the next book.
The mc annoyed me somewhat. I didn’t really get his over the top explosions. I know there were some explanations, but perhaps he is just too different from me, I just did not get him at all.
I’m sorry to say that the narrations grated my nerves a bit too. It felt like the words were drawn out and pronounced too carefully. Not sure I’m making sense.
But in conclusion there were good parts and annoying parts.

Loved the story; the narration, not so much

Trust the Focus was my first-ever read from Megan Erickson back in 2015, and it was the beginning of my love affair with her In Focus series. I've been itching to listen to the audiobooks ever since I found out that there actually were audiobooks of the series and with me finally trying out Audible Escape for three months, I decided these four In Focus would be my first in the romance audio program.

Justin Akron and Landry Jacobs have been best friends for years, and now that they've graduated from college, The next few weeks will be spent visiting twelve different locations that held significance to Justin's late father. Their mode of transportation? The Winnebago that Justin's father left him. This may well be the last time Justin will be able to indulge in his love for photography, but could it possibly be the first time he'll finally be able to indulge in his love for his best friend? And how will the openly gay Landry feel when he realizes that the best friend he thought was straight wasn't all that straight after all?

Now, when it comes to audiobooks, more often than not, it's difficult to separate the story from the narration because the latter tends to affect the former. That doesn't always hold true; however, in the case of this book (and the rest of the series for that matter), it did, which is why I had to take a couple or so days after having listened to the audiobook before writing this review. Almost five years after I first read Justin and Landry's story, I still loved how they were best friends who became so much more.

Megan Erickson penned a romance that had me going through a myriad of emotions, particularly when it came to Justin and his (mis)handling of a whole lot of what was happening during the cross-country trip with Landry. I love when an author is able to evoke varied thoughts and feelings from me. I confess, though, that I wasn't a fan of Marc Bachmann's narration. Maybe it was because the voice he gave both Justin and Landry didn't sound the way I thought they should have in my head, but it made the listening experience far less than I had hoped for, especially since I was already a fan of the story. So, I'm giving Erickson's story five stars and Bachmann's performance two stars, leaving the audiobook for Trust the Focus with an average rating of three stars. ♥

Bad story writing!

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

There is way too much emotion in every sentence.

Any additional comments?

How can you write a book about a road trip and still make it boring!

Slow beginning, great ending

This book was a slow start for me but by the end it won me over. I love the 2 MC’s story and chemistry.

A Sweet Coming Out Story

This was a coming-of-age story for Justin Akron, a 22 year old college graduate, who is caught between what he wants from life and what others expect of him. After he graduate college, Justin takes a road trip with his best friend, and secret crush, Landry, in honor of his father. The road trip is not only a way for Justin to grieve and honor his late father, but also a way for him to come to terms with his own sexuality and vision for his future.

The story is sweet and well written, but it’s a typical coming-out/coming-of-age story. There’s angst and misunderstandings, but at the end of the story, there’s a happy ending.

Tedious

I finished this book but it was difficult. I think the narrator lacked the correct intonation in addition to sounding too mature for the main characters POV. I enjoyed supporting character personality as it carried the story. I will avoid this narrator but will research other books by the author before passing too harsh a judgment.

Ehhh

One sided story that implies the only way to come out is kicking and screaming