Book 813: Cameron Wants to be a Hero (Love, Austen #2) – Anyta Sunday

I was always going to read these. From the second I found out about them from Gay Romance Reviews or when I randomly stumbled across them at some future date.*  With a description like, “It’s Northanger Abbey, complete with a neo-gothic mansion and charming misunderstandings. But contemporary. And gay.”, hell yes I was going to read them.

Both this and Emerett Has Never Been in Love, were adorable retellings of Austen’s works. I’m a little concerned Sunday will abandon the project before she gets to Mansfield Park (even though I SWEAR we met the characters) or Persuasion, like it seems most do (stupid Marvel and Austen Project).

I almost feel like the first title would be better suited to this one, but I guess when you replace hero with heroine it makes a lot more sense versus a superhero which was my default.

He’d always fantasized dancing an old-timey country dance with a partner of his own. A tall, dark, and handsome mister smiling flirtatiously as they bowed and crossed and held hands. (Chapter 2)

They danced a few more beats, their bodies close. So close, Henry was a solid wall of sexy literacy against him, all his favorite words crammed into keenly defined strength and poise. (Chapter 10)

Cameron, the Catherine Moorland stand in, is freakin’ adorable. He’s shy, he’s somewhat naïve, his dad steamrolls him. And Henry is a freakin’ hunk, I don’t know why, but for some reason I immediately cast Henry Golding (Wikipedia link). He’s smart, intelligent, outgoing and perfect for Cameron.

Their meet-cute is adorable, every time they interact is adorable and when you throw in how horrible John was, I honestly don’t remember him being that bad in the OG, the adorableness increased exponentially. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Henry being closeted and Georgie having to cover for him constantly, but it’s a trope and it works.

But even with how close she stayed to the book, where Sunday really excelled was changing Austen’s focus from gothic/mystery to romance. They definitely still talked about mystery books and the house was definitely gothic and there’s a ghost mixed in, but I loved that Cameron and Henry had conversations about romance, a much-maligned genre:

‘I read fiction in all forms and genres. Stories are lexicon-portals into human nature, transporting us to new and exciting worlds, where we can experience a million emotional nuances for ourselves.’
‘Mysteries and romances aren’t . . . silly?’
Henry leaned in and whispered against his ear. ‘On the contrary, some of the best.’
A laugh burst out of Cameron, causing John to look back and frown. (Chapter 7)

I mean the exact line where Austen criticizes those who make fun of genres makes an appearance and there are a lot more than the above. It was just great to see someone so bookish get all the love they wanted/needed. Not to mention I have yet another push to read Daphne du Maurier (mentioned a few times). And, I’m absolutely going to read The Charioteer by Mary Renault after reading this and hearing about how it reminded me of At Swim, Two Boys which I need to re-read sometime soon.

And then there’s the romance—boy is there romance. Sunday writes a great slow burn. Like seriously, the teasing, the tension building it just keeps going until there’s one major scene that is worth the wait. It always pays off in such a way that you don’t feel like it took 3/4 of the book for that final climax.

Something inside him had been unlocked. The door was open, and he wanted to loot everything while his arousal still drowned his nervousness.
God, this was not the kiss of classics.
This was needy and haphazard, wanton and rakish.
He was probably making a fool of himself with his eagerness. (Chapter 10)

Sunday has continued to excel with bringing humor into the sex scenes which is always refreshing and fun! She also does great balancing the serious and the fun throughout.

I’m not 100% on board with some of the changes Sunday made to the Austen-verse with the older characters being connected to some of the younger characters. I’m just so confused. Like the second she introduced Henry’s dad and had changed his first name to “Darcy” I legit said OH HELL NO, I mean how is that going to work. And then I read the preview of the Pride and Prejudice adaptation and it was confirmed and I’m still just not sure. Hopefully, it will work out but I’m a little hesitant.

Recommendation: READ THEM! I can’t tell you how excited I am that someone is adapting all of these. When you add in that Sunday has written realistic characters and fun stories that are a nod to, but not 100% copies of the original it’s just that much better. There were fewer typos and continuity errors than in the previous one, so that was a bonus.

*I received a copy of Cameron Wants to Be a Hero via Gay Romance Reviews in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

Opening Line: “You’re claiming credit for your brothers hard work?”

Closing Line: “Stars reflected in Henry’s beautiful dark eyes. He smiled and held out his hand.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

Additional Quotes from Cameron Wants to Be a Hero
“He was being too harsh on himself. He had good acuaintances, a caring brother, and book worlds he immersed himself in daily. He didn’t need someone falling for him.
Besides, who cared if he was a Mary and not a Lizzy Bennet? Mary had a fantastic literary recall, and—
God. She couldn’t even land Mr. Collins!
He thumped his head on his knees and groaned.” (Chapter 1)

“Henry waited for them to pass, and his grin sparkled as Cameron caught up to him. Everything brightened. Sunshine pushed through cracks in the clouds, outlining them silver, and tall grass bowed at the push of refreshing breezes.” (Chapter 7)

“It’s well worthwhile to be tormented for two or three years of one’s life, for the sake of being able to read for the rest of it.” (Chapter 10)