Book 1,003: Out on a Limb (Browerton University #2) – A.J. Truman

This book took a big turn for the series. I’m not sure if they’ll all be quite this disjointed, but I won’t be surprised. We got a brief interaction with Ethan and Greg from book one and a couple of others from later books I think, but no real connectivity as Cameron is a friend of friends.

Out on a Limb is a May/December romance with Cameron, a “can’t be bothered with relationships” graduating and heading to Hollywood senior, and Walker, a recently divorced father of one (Hodie) who’s tied himself to a boring desk job after graduating from Browerton.

Cameron and Walker meet at trivia when Cameron randomly goes up to him to ask about sports trivia. They end up going home together, but not to hook up. They go home because Cameron is a mess and can’t get home on his own. And the story goes from there. Cameron decides he does want domesticity, even without knowing about Hodie yet, and Walker’s libido and heart are alive for the first time since his divorce.

Walker flipped his tie around in his fingers. Nothing made you more of an adult than a tie. It was the crow’s feet of clothes. (Loc. 531)

Overall, the book was engaging and there were a couple of dramatic scenes, my favorite might have been Cameron stepping in to defend Hodie’s free spirit and creative ways with the gymnastics teacher who was being a dick. This of course brought the stand-off between Walker and his ex to a head and that caused them to sort out their shit and Walker to finally realize he was in love with Cameron and they had some tough decisions in front of them.

‘It’s okay to like him,’ Henry said.
‘It’s inconvenient.’
‘That’s how you know it’s real.’ (Loc. 2,133)

My favorite scene though, was when Walker played hooky from work and went to class and wandered around campus with Cameron. Truman did a great job writing about Walker re-finding his free spirit from college and creativity. Plus when he shows Cameron the old hook-up spot from the ’90s and all the initials carved into the shelves, you knew it was going to come back and it was going to be perfect (and it was). The ending felt rushed, apart from that scene when Walker realized that Cameron did love him and was putting on a show pretending he didn’t love Walker and was career driven.

Walker recognized the quiet building next store [sic] as the club he went to with Cameron a million years ago. (Loc. 3,696)

If I have one concern about the series, it’s the copy editing. I noticed more and more errors as I made my way through. A lot of them felt like eggcorns (Wikipedia link), just like in the last book, but the bigger problem is that I’m fairly certain all these books are republished recently. So that tells me, that not only were they not edited the first time, it doesn’t appear they were edited this time either. And that’s not fun for anyone. The stories are decent enough I’ll probably keep making my way through, but we’ll see how egregious these errors are moving forward.

Recommendation: I was excited to read this one when I found it was a single-parent romance and that aspect didn’t disappoint. Hobie (the kid) was hilarious and it really forced Cameron to grow up when he realized he wanted Walker and that Hobie came with him. The story was engaging and there was a bit of unnecessary drama, but what can you expect from an almost 10-year age difference with one of the protagonists just leaving college? By far, the biggest issue I have is with the editing. The book needs a copy editor and a good proofread. I noticed more errors in this one than the last one and that doesn’t bode well for the rest of the series.

Opening Line: “In the time that Cameron Buckley brushed his teeth, took a shower, got dressed, and watched an episode of his favorite show, Sleeping Beauty had not moved from his bed.”

Closing Line: “Walker stared at the beautiful guy in front of him, the guy who he was going to create a future with one day at a time. Cameron was right. There was no looking back.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

Additional Quotes from Out on a Limb
“‘We all have things tomorrow, but that shouldn’t stop us from enjoying today.”’ Cameron didn’t know where he came up with such a good line. He would write it down for his script.” (Loc. 927)

“‘I’m trying everything I can not to fall for you,’ Walker said.
‘I’m moving across the country, and you have a kid.’ Cameron opened the door and rejoined the party. In the light, Walker saw how red his cheeks were. ‘So try harder.'” (Loc 1,863)

“He had that natural bitchy quality to him that came easily to gay men and the British.” (Loc. 2,911)

“It’s scary when you enter the real world. It’s like turning off the highway in the middle of nowhere. Maybe there’s another road, or a dirt road, or nothing at all. But it’s up to you to forge your own path. You can ask for advice, but ultimately, it’s your road. And the good thing about this road is that it can go in any direction you want. You can turn left, turn right, turn around, get off the road completely onto another dirt road. All that freedom is scary, frankly. But eventually, you’ll look in the rearview mirror and marvel at this amazing journey you built from nothing. Enjoy the journey. Enjoy the confusion. Enjoy making mistakes. That’s how the best roads are built.” (Loc. 3,170)

“‘Top Gun was plenty homosexual,’ Porter said. ‘And Captain Jack Sparrow was practically a drag queen.'” (Loc. 3,546)

“But then he saw a new one just as he was about to stand up. It stuck out for its freshness compared to the years-old etchings around it. C.B. + W.R. Walker ran his fingers over the letters. He had trouble breathing, and his heart was going a mile a minute. He traced his fingers in the C, then in the B.
‘Well, damn,’ he said. ‘You really do love me.'” (Loc. 4,140)