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)

Another story ruined by negative stigmas...

There were one or two pronunciation errors that were easily overlooked, and the only one that really sticks in my head is the mispronunciation of labret when discussing piercings.

The huge problem with this book is the use of the term "Clean" to denote a negative HIV status. Not only does this perpetuate a horrendous stigma, but it also insinuates that people living with HIV are "Dirty" or "Unclean"

Unfortunately, that terrible faux pas ruined an otherwise pleasant story. Hopefully, the author won't continue to enforce negative stigmas and alienate people.

Tamer than I expected

Sweet friends to lovers story. Well written but very tame- so if you are looking for more sweet than sexy you will like this audiobook. Narrator was okay.

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.

Great beginning to a series - great narration

Justin’s dad was the only one (besides his best friend Landry) who “got” him. His conservative mother certainly doesn’t. He’s gone to college, gotten the degree and now he’s slated to go work for her, for her campaign as the manager, this fall. But before he consigns himself to a future he hates, he and Landry go on a cross country trek spreading his dad’s ashes at his favorite places.

Along the way Justin realizes he can’t keep hiding his true self. He’s an artist. He’s gay. He’s in love with his best friend.

Unfortunately, he makes a lot of mistakes along the way, fortunately Landry’s the forgiving sort.

**

I really, really liked this story. I loved how real and sincere Landry was and how realistically the couple acted and responded. They both screwed up – ran away, lied, hid, did other stupid things – they’re kids! But in the end they make the right choices and “man-up”.

The sexy-times were appropriate to the age level – some but definitely not the focus.

I also liked how – sort-of- Justin’s mom comes around. It felt authentic.

The writing is excellent, the characters were great and fully developed and the romance so sweet and touching!

My only complaint was that I got a bit fed up with Justin’s waffling. There were times when I thought he’d figured things out but since the story still had places to go he waffled some more… but that could be my own impatience with wanting the happy ending to come quickly!

Audio
Marc Bachmann is a great narrator. He's easy to listen to and handles the emotions, dialog and smexy times very well. He does enough with the voices so that we know who's speaking without going over the top.
Highly recommended in either form.
4.5 of 5 stars

Good story

Good story. Performances was easy to listen to. Like the idea of in the store. Would listen again.

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.

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.

The last two hours were great...

I could have taken one, or maybe two, of Justin’s tantrums, but they seemed to take up at least half of the book. He was absolutely horrible to Landon, and left my stomach churning.

If I were to read this again, I would read maybe the first half hour for the backstory, then skip to the last two hours. I am glad to leave this behind. The next book in the series has some very good reviews, so I will give this author another try.

Awesome

This is by far the best book I have ever read! When I first started it I wasn’t sure about it but by the end i had experienced so many emotions that it will go down as my all time favorite

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.