Thank you for providing a copy of Overexposed by Megan Erickson. I initially took a break from it, intending to return later, as I couldn't get into it at the time. Unfortunately, I’ve since lost interest in revisiting it. I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to exploring future titles that align more with my current reading preferences.

I initially loved this book. Bad author behavior - truly unconscionable author behavior - sullied my feelings on it.

I was so excited when this book came out and read it not long after getting approval on NG...but then life got in the way and I apparently never came back here to leave a review. I also didn't leave anything solid on Goodreads either. I marked this as 4 stars and I remember the warm fuzzy feelings that i got when I read this book but I don't remember much more than that. I was sad to see this series end but recall thinking that this was a beautiful story and a fitting conclusion to this companion series.

Levi Grainger spent a year on the reality show Trip League and is now tired of being in the spotlight. He and his sister Laylah had planned to hike the Appalachian Trail once the show was over, but she was killed during military service. The two were incredibly close, and Levi is still devastated by her loss. He decides to hike the trail alone, as a tribute to his sister, and also to give himself some time alone to deal with his grief and think about his future.

One night Levi sees a stranger sitting on a rock, staring at the moon near Levi’s tent. When the two run into each other again, they somehow end up deciding to hike together. Thad is a guy who keeps mostly to himself. He clearly doesn’t want to talk about himself, or talk much at all in fact, but that is ok with Levi. Somehow, despite the fact that Levi is chatty and outgoing, he just fits with the quiet, stoic Thad. As the two continue to hike together, a quiet friendship grows between them, as does an attraction. The two act on their feelings, and a relationship grows between them over the long, quiet miles through the woods.

Neither man has talked about their future after the trail, but it is clear that something real is developing between them. Being with Thad is helping Levi to get over his loss, and Thad’s quiet strength and support allows Levi to take the time to reflect and deal with his pain from Laylah’s death. But as Levi gets more attached, he also knows the pain of loss if things don’t work out will be devastating. And when he learns some of Thad’s secrets, Levi becomes even more afraid. Now the two men must decide if they are willing to take a chance on one another, and if what they have built as they hiked together is enough to sustain them in the real world.

Overexposed is the fourth book in Megan Erickson’s In Focus series and I absolutely adored it! I wasn’t sure any of the books would top my feelings for Trust the Focus, the first book in the series, but Overexposed was about as close as you could get. We met Levi in the previous book, Out of Frame, as one of J.R.’s costars on the reality show. But this story stands alone the most of any in the series, and while we see all the guys again in the epilogue, other than that this story stands entirely alone.

Aside from loving this series, this book caught my attention because it prominently features the Appalachian Trail. The trail is a 2180+ mile path that runs from Maine to Georgia and every year hikers not only day hike its paths, but many attempt to through hike, covering the entire trail. I live close enough to the trail that I have had a chance to see parts and even do some small day hikes and I have always found it fascinating. Like climbing a massive mountain, the strength and endurance required to hike the entire trail is incredible. Just even attempting such an arduous journey is impressive, let alone those who manage to survive the elements and the endless miles of hiking to complete the whole trail. So needless to say, I found the setting fascinating and Erickson does a nice job of bringing the trail to life. We get to see details of their day-to-day experiences and some of the dangers, as well as those quiet, beautiful moments of being alone in a vast wilderness.

One element that works particularly well is the sense of being able to reinvent yourself on the trail. Both men are at kind of a crossroads in their lives, looking to put aside the past and figure out who and what they want to be moving forward. For Levi in particular, he is well known enough from his TV show to be often recognized. But he is also grieving, and wants some time to reflect and deal with his loss. So these guys both have some baggage, and both are looking for a chance to refocus themselves and figure out what is next. There is an anonymity to the experience that is important to both men. Neither know one another in the outside world, and they accept each other at face value as the person they present on the trail. It enables both of them to start fresh and put aside their pasts in a way that opens both men up to what is to come.

I also really liked these guys together. Levi is friendly and chatty and outgoing. And Thad is, well, not. He is quiet and stoic and mostly grunts and gives one word answers. He clearly doesn’t want to talk himself, or really talk at all. Half the time when they encounter other people, Thad sort of hulks behind Levi and terrifies everyone around him. But somehow these guys are a perfect match. Thad loves listening to Levi talk, even when he doesn’t want to talk back. He is also sweet and gentle and kind with Levi. And when Thad does open up, he is so beautifully romantic and lovely you can’t help but get kind of swoony. These guys are such an interesting match and are so sweet and super sexy together. I haven’t come across too many characters like Thad, or couples like the pair of them, and I found them so engaging and really enjoyable.

So I really totally loved this one. It gave me all the warm fuzzies as the story came together. Plus, lots of super hotness between the guys. And I loved the way the trail is incorporated into the story, really proving to be much more than a setting, but also a means for these guys to find themselves and their love for one another. This is a fabulous addition to an already great series and I highly recommend it.

I quite adore this series. I think Megan has such a knack at capturing young men's hearts. You're heart breaks for Levi with his loss of his sister. While he is living the dream he had with his sister he meets Thad.

I liked Thad and Levi together. The story was sweet and hopeful.

Some of my favorite parts:

I bit my lip, unsure what to say. What did one say when they were dry-humped in the middle of the night by a man who spoke in sentence fragments?


"I'm not looking at the moon right now, Le," he said. "I'm looking at you. Those gorgeous eyes. Those lips. That body. You're the moon I get to see during the day."


"You're being really fucking annoying for someone who just got the best blow job of his life."


"Where once again, you took a choice away from me. Once again, you made the decision on what was best for me and us without talking to me about it."

DNF.

Though I really have enjoyed this series, this book just felt like it was trying too hard. And I couldn't go on.

We will no longer be reviewing this title..........

What can I say about this book other than wow. I was blown away by all the feels in this book. Just when you thought Megan Erickson could not give us another amazing book she does. I can’t do this book justice it was so damn good.

Well done Megan Erickson, well done.

I will forever and ever read/review everything Megan writes. She seems to be good at all of it. Levi and Thad were probably two of my favorite characters of hers, ever. The way they came together and found each other and balanced each other out just, ugh, it was perfection..

Overexposed by Megan Erickson is book 4 of the In Focus series but can be read as a stand alone novel. This was the first book of the series that I have read and quite honestly, it was amazing. I quickly bought the first 3 books in the series as soon as I finished it and spent an entire weekend reading all of them. I have nothing but great things to say about this Appalachian trail romance!

Levi is introduced in a previous story but, basically, he has just finished a year on a reality TV program where he was cast as the out and proud, flamboyant gay guy. It was exhausting and he was looking forward to hiking the Appalachian Trail with his sister when she came home from her deployment. However, his sister does not make it home alive and Levi is devastated. They were incredibly close and he decides that he wants to hike the trail anyhow, in her memory. Even if he isn’t the most qualified hiker in the world. He is determined and he needs the escape.

Levi’s solitary trip is interrupted when he meets a mysterious man named Thad. He is incredibly quiet, very intense, and clearly, has some of his own demons that he is battling. But, they make a great hiking pair and form an incredibly intense connection. Thad is an intense puzzle that Levi desperately wants to figure out.

I won’t give you all the details of the romance and drama that ensues. You will have to read the book for yourself to really dig into that. However, Thad has issues that he needs to deal with and it is not all smooth sailing between him and Levi. Their intense Appalachian trail romance leaves the trails after a while and heads back into civilization where both of these guys come face to face with their own realities and they aren’t always pretty.

The story is told from Levi’s point of view so you don’t really get to know Thad all that well. However, you do get snippets of text messages from Thad to an individual from his past which gives you brief insights into his history. I must admit, I did want more and probably took off a fraction of a point just because he remained a bit of a mystery for too long and I really wanted inside his head. He is a man of VERY few words so you don’t really get to know him all that well. He feels an amazing pull towards Levi that is undeniable, even if he is hesitant to let go of his heart.

The relationship development in Overexposed by Megan Erickson is truly amazing. These two guys have very troubled pasts and they are hurting inside. While they are battling their own demons in their heads, they are starting to realize that their hearts are getting involved. Neither one is sure they are willing to risk being emotionally hurt and it definitely causes some hiccups as their feelings come into play.

The chemistry between these two guys is amazing but the sex never overpowers the story itself. The relationship development, character struggles, and the details about the hike play a much more significant role in this story than the sex but when they DO get together, it is intense!

Overall, I definitely recommend Overexposed by Megan Erickson. And having now read all the rest of the books in the series, I can honestly tell you to buy them ALL!

Another excellent book from Megan Erickson. Everything she writes is great.