Product Description

Perhaps it's a twist of fate when event photographer Cameron Walker runs into veterinarian Jeremy Montgomery at a wedding. Cameron has harbored a crush on the handsome man since high school, and he can't believe his luck. Jeremy asks him to dance, and Cameron's over the moon. Having admired Cameron from afar, Jeremy is just as thrilled to discover Cameron feels the same. After a few dates, Cameron and Jeremy (and their new dog) are ready to embark on a loving journey they both have dreamed of-a new life together. Cameron's best friend, Detective Patrick Hawkins, is very happy for the new couple. But he's equally worried when mysterious gifts with disturbing letters keep appearing, targeting Cameron. When the stalking escalates to a senseless and stunning act of violence, Patrick is there for the two men, both physically and emotionally. Working together, Cameron, Jeremy, and Patrick set out to find the stalker and put a stop to his actions, but will they be able to stop him before it's too late? Book Two in the Lost Boys and Love Letters Series

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #756363 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Customer Reviews

A Nice Try
Brown, Bethany. "Picture Perfect", Dreamspinner Press, 2009.

A Nice Try

Amos Lassen

Cameron Walker, a photographer, met Jeremy Montgomery again at a wedding. They had been in high school together and Walker has had a crush on Montgomery for years. When Jeremy asks him to dance he thinks he is in seventh heaven. They begin to date and they decide to build a life together. Patrick Hawkins, a detective and Cameron's best friend begins to worry when disturbing letters begin to target Cameron and this soon escalates to a violent act. The three men together try to find out who is responsible.
The novel is set in a small town where everything is perfect; a bit too perfect to be real. The relationship between Jeremy and Cameron is sweet but unfortunately a bit too sweet. We see that Cameron has always loved Jeremy, albeit from afar, and that lets us know that even though he had been in a relationship with another man that Jeremy had been his first true love.
There are interesting characters here and the plot is "cute" but entirely too perfect to seem plausible. The story tends to repeat itself and there is a lack of background here. Too much went on before the book began and it is only barely mentioned. I found the book to be disappointing but there is a lot of promise here. The characters are strong and the writing is good. A little more thought would have made this an excellent read.

Picture Perfect by Bethany Brown & Ashlyn Kane
All right, this book is quite a challenge for various reasons, and so you are warned, don't continue to read if you don't like spoilers, since I probably am not able to explain all this book left to me without using a bit of them.

First of all please tell me where is the small town USA where the two main characters live; it's a wonderful place, where everyone knows everyone else, where a widow mother brings up not only her two sons, but also another runaway boy. A place where that same mother doesn't freak out when her teenager daughter gets pregnant and she doesn't ever know who is the father, and that becomes her son's best friend when he comes out. A place where a teenager crush could last 15 and more years and could, at last, become the real thing.

Cameron is a photographer and he has a pretty good life, a nice independent house, a loving family and good friends. He is just out an abusive relationship, but he was good enough to realize that it was not good for him and got free; now yes, he has some self-esteem issues, but nothing serious. And so when he has the chance to meet again Jeremy, his teenager crush, he is open and ready to accept him in his life. On the other side Jeremy is finally happy that things happen at the right moment: also him his bringing a torch for Cameron since their teenager years, but for a reason or the other he has never made a move. Now both of them are free and willing, and for Jeremy is pretty easy to convince Cameron to give him a chance: flowers, restaurant and a good night of sex and Cameron is totally convinced. And here is the first moment when I was a bit perplexed on Cameron: for a man who is just out of an abusive relationship, he is quite "friendly", but then, the reader knows that Jeremy is Cameron's first and real love, and so maybe it's better for us not to wait to much for seeing them happy together.

I was almost drowning in sugar, with a perfect picture of family happiness, when a stalker from Cameron's past decides that instead he is not at all happy that Cameron found his true love. And so reader please enter Patrick, Cameron's best friend and the runaway boy that Cameron's mother welcomed in her family. Patrick was the first person that Cameron informed of his blossoming relationship with Jeremy, and he did so calling Patrick at 2 in the night while the man was in bed with another man. All right they are pretty close so at the moment the reader, me, didn't find strange that Patrick was not angry, and then he had the chance to have another round of sex with the man in his bed, that almost made me thing that Patrick and Keith were another couple in the story. But no, Patrick disappeared only to enter again when Cameron is threatened: he is right there for him, he encourages him, and when something very nasty happen, he comforts him while Jeremy is temporarily not available... wait a moment... is Patrick bringing Cameron to bed? Oh no, no, no... ah, phew, no, they are only lying in bed, one under the cover and one on it. For a moment I fear that... NO! now Jeremy is back and they are having a threesome?!? Oh well, Cameron is willing, Jeremy is willing, Patrick is willing (Patrick is a slut, he is always willing!), all right I can accept it... But wait: Cameron went out and he is supposedly in danger, and Jeremy is having sex with Patrick?!? All right, all right, I know that Cameron knows it, and that it is only a way to let it go fear and tension, but still, it's really hard to accept for me.

Joke apart, what I want to say is that I'm not totally convinced that the "sex with all" turn the book took was all of my liking, but this is something that arrives from my gut. Otherwise, the book is quite full of both funny than interesting characters, not only Cameron, Jeremy and Patrick "the slut" (sorry I have to say it, but don't get me wrong, I like Patrick), have their development, but also all the other characters around, from Diane, Cameron's mother, to his niece Emily, to friends Ben and Kennedy, all of them, even till the less important like Jeremy's employees or Patrick's colleagues. And don't forget that I said that I like the "sugary" atmosphere of this small town USA, it's a good place where to live, so also the setting is nice. I'm not disappointed by this book, you can't always read the same story, and probably if Jeremy and Cameron met, made love, and walked toward the sunset in perfect harmony, this would be only another sappy story. In this way, it's different, and maybe better... but still, if I was a man and I had a boyfriend, I would take him far from that slut of Patrick ;-)

Certain developments in the story just do not click for me!
I enjoy True North and was of course looking forward to this one. I have to say I am disappointed with this second effort. The story starts off well as we are introduced to Cameron,a photographer, who is struggling to get over an abusive relationship even as he holds a flame for his former Maths tutor, Jeremy, who is now a vet.

As in True North there is a strong cast of supporting characters, the cop hunk, Patrick, who is Cameron's best friend and a few female roles too. The developing romance between Cameron and Jeremy is sweet with the unfolding of Cameron's abusive relationship and its effect on Cameron giving an interesting angle to their romance. However midway, this exploration of their romance is dropped as the story takes another turn.

A stalker appears on the scene and the story seems to take off on a different angle. Patrick enters into the guys' relationship and here is the development which I find unconvincing and a turn-off. Patrick is an interesting character but the writers should just keep this cop hunk out of the romance. Is the M/M/M scene necessary ? And 2 guys making out while the 3rd guy is in hospital really turns me off which ever way you look at it. Maybe the writers wish to add more erotism to the story but it is just inconsistent with the characters and makes you wonder about their interpretation of love. The side characters have their own little interesting stories but do not really serve the main story.

While I will read the next effort in this series I hope the writers will tone down on the sex part. More sex does not make an M/M romance great. If it is not well written a reader like me will just skip the sex parts and get on to the truly romantic parts.