Limecello’s review of Photo Opportunity by Jess Dee
Contemporary romance published by Samhain 2 May 08.

I believe this is the first book I’ve read by Jess Dee, and I’m definitely intrigued. I really enjoy the “friends to lovers” story line. Not only that, but after I’d read a few excerpts for it I knew I wanted to read the story.

The opening of the Photo Opportunity is extremely well written. The scene is hot, and incredibly sexy, yet it’s emotional and warm. There’s a definite connection between the hero and heroine. I knew, reading it, however, that what I was reading wasn’t “reality” – and I was right. It was a dream sequence. Unfortunately, the rest of the book did not read like a dream.

I really wanted to like Daniel and Amy, the hero and heroine, but at times they made it extremely difficult. I appreciated the fact that Daniel knew he loved Amy, and made the decision to go after her. I love when a hero does that- and Daniel goes about it in a very creative and complex way, setting up faux admirers, and recruiting his sister’s help. However, some of the scenes weren’t very believable, and all put together, at times the plot didn’t flow.

Amy, as a romance heroine, fell into a lot of clichés. She’d been hurt before, and completely walled off her emotions to prevent future heartbreak. I was even ok with that, but Amy’s reactions and logic (or perhaps lack thereof) irritated me. She convinced herself her numerous emotionally (and sexually) charged situations with Adam were all in her head. While I understand this can be possible when a person is running away from a difficult truth, even in that situation, Amy’s response in Photo Opportunity was borderline ludicrous.

I also felt that the author didn’t really stand by what she wrote. Many of those situations I found so hard to believe, were later “explained” away, as being machinations Daniel created in his pursuit of Amy. However, I didn’t find the explanations plausible. What saves the book are the extremely sexy scenes, and great emotional connection Amy and Daniel have when they aren’t being stupid. Too many questions and conflicts could have been resolved with a simple conversation, that would have occurred but for the sake of prolonging the story. Still, some of the scenes were extremely well written, and the emotions were there, and strong.

I think that Jess Dee’s writing shows promise, and I look forward to reading more of her books. The story was fun and creative, the characteristics of Daniel and Amy admirable, but put together, all the aspects of this story didn’t really work for me. Still, some of the scenes read extremely well, and I hope to see more like them.

Grade: D+

Can friends become lovers…can lovers remain friends?

A prequel to Ask Adam.

Daniel Tanner’s through with being loved like the proverbial brother. He intends to make his best friend, Amy Morgan, blaze with the same desire he feels for her. The plan? Initiate a series of escapades that will have Amy falling into his arms—and into his bed.

When her trusted buddy suddenly turns up the heat, Amy finds it impossible to resist his sexy advances. But as his best friend, she knows a thing or two about Daniel. While he may be charming and gorgeous, he’s also commitment phobic.

If she trusts her heart to him, she’s sure he’ll leave it—and their friendship—shattered in a million pieces.

Read an excerpt here.