Book Review: Focus on Me

Book: Focus on Me (In Focus book #2) by Megan Erickson

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Publisher: PEGUIN GROUP Berkley: InterMix

Description:

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…  


Rating: 4 stars

Review:

21 year old Colin Hartman got more than he bargained for when he offered to give 23 year old Riley Sorenson, a stranded young man at a Las Vegas gas station, a ride to the Grand Canyon.

Colin had been traveling from California on his way back home to North Carolina after he flunked out of college. He never seems to succeed at anything and so before he goes back home to work at his family's restaurant, which he actually enjoys working at, he wants to enjoy the trip.

What started out as Colin trying to get to know his rather mysterious passenger Riley, turned into a friendship that turned into something romantic. Although at times you can tell that Riley was hiding things from Colin. What Riley was hiding was the fact that he was dealing with mental health issues along with having an eating disorder. Riley had been a model but decided to quit because it wasn't working for him anymore and was making his problems even worse.

As the story moved along, the guys were enjoying the road trip with Riley trying to complete a sort of bucket list. Unbeknownst to Colin, the list is something Riley hopes will help him be able to feel something because he feels so dead inside and just wants to feel alive. With Colin in no hurry to head home that gave them plenty of time to explore not only their growing attraction but the places they were visiting. However, after some time Riley's erratic behavior and mood swings were starting to make Colin wonder if everything was okay with Riley.

Some days Riley would be happy but other days he would be depressed and withdrawn with nothing being able to bring him around. Even the cute little dog they found on the side of the road couldn't help with his really bad days. When their relationship turned serious, Riley seemed to become really dependent on Colin almost as a lifeline for him. This unnerved Colin because what he thought was romantic was quickly revealing itself to be something really unhealthy.

This story is told from Colin's point of view as it focused on two 20-somethings who were both trying to figure out what they wanted out of life. Colin who usually fails or quits just about everything he attempts decided that he was not going to give up on Riley who truly needs professional help. However, Riley is resistant to seeking help but Colin knows that to help the person he loves he needs to do something even if it may result in Riley never wanting to see him ever again.

Focus on Me is a sequel to Trust the Focus with it connecting to the previous book with Justin and Landry (the couple from the first book) showing up at a critical point in the story. Riley is friends with Landry and had been sending e-mails to him throughout the story.

This was slightly darker than the first book with Riley dealing with a lot of issues. But the subject matter aside, the author created an interesting story (albeit with a bit of instant love) that's part road trip and part self discovery with romance added on. Similar to the first book this is a touching story that is filled with drama, humor and romance intertwined with emotional turmoil. There is a lot of good character development in this for both Colin and Riley, the author did do a good job with making these characters seem real instead of being stereotypical or one-dimensional.

Please note, there are some steamy/racy scenes in this.