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Cameron Unscripted
Trying to start a relationship with the man Josh has been pining over would be chancy enough, but doing it as the new guardian of his recently deceased sister's children - mission impossible.
THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM
Subtle glances, suggestive smirks, passing comments laced with innuendo...Cameron Heiser and Josh Goldstein have been quietly flirting for years. Just when the time seems right to act on their desire, Josh’s focus shifts when unexpectedly, he becomes father to his young niece and nephew.
Cam doesn’t date men with kids. Too many complications. He likes his fun to flow with the pace of his life. He comes and goes as he pleases, and getting involved with someone else’s family is more than he’s willing to take on. Even for Josh.
But the pull is too strong, and they strike a deal. What they have has to remain separate from Josh’s family life. No kids involved. What starts out as the apparent perfect solution turns into everything Cam swore he wouldn’t do. Josh’s time is not his own, and Cam is not good with waiting on the sidelines.
Miserable apart, Cam sees no way to make it work until fate’s hand pushes him in a direction he never saw possible. No one is more surprised to learn, love really does conquer all.
THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM
Subtle glances, suggestive smirks, passing comments laced with innuendo...Cameron Heiser and Josh Goldstein have been quietly flirting for years. Just when the time seems right to act on their desire, Josh’s focus shifts when unexpectedly, he becomes father to his young niece and nephew.
Cam doesn’t date men with kids. Too many complications. He likes his fun to flow with the pace of his life. He comes and goes as he pleases, and getting involved with someone else’s family is more than he’s willing to take on. Even for Josh.
But the pull is too strong, and they strike a deal. What they have has to remain separate from Josh’s family life. No kids involved. What starts out as the apparent perfect solution turns into everything Cam swore he wouldn’t do. Josh’s time is not his own, and Cam is not good with waiting on the sidelines.
Miserable apart, Cam sees no way to make it work until fate’s hand pushes him in a direction he never saw possible. No one is more surprised to learn, love really does conquer all.
180 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 16, 2021
4 people want to read
About the author
Emily W Mims
37 books194 followersAuthor of over forty romance novels, Emily Mims combined her writing career with a career in public education until leaving the classroom to write full time. In addition to eighteen Candlelight Ecstasy Romances under the pen name 'Emily Elliott', she has written two series under her own name, the Texas Hill Country series and the Smoky Blue series, and has completed four books in the Durango Street Theatre series. The mother of two sons and grandmother to six, she and her husband Charles split their time between San Antonio and their lake home in the Texas Hill Country, and make frequent trips to Tennessee to see grandchildren. When not busy at the word processor, she plays the piano, organ and dulcimer. She plays her ukulele with two singing groups and has even been known to sing a song or two at the mic. She says, "I love to write romances because I believe in them. Romance happened to me and it can happen to any woman-if she'll just let it."
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 6, 2021
3.5 stars
Ugh, this book is full of feelings—in a good way. Somehow it handles tragedy & heartbreak without becoming a melodrama, & lets the characters feel what they need to in the moment they are facing, balancing it all out with joy & humor. The family relationships are just as well developed & meaningful as the romantic relationship, & that was really satisfying. All the fun bits about musical theatre & running an arts school were super fun to read about too!
[What I liked:]
•The exploration of family in this story is really beautiful & meaningful. From Cam’s baggage with his relationship to his dad, to Josh’s bond with Bubbe & Miriam, to Josh learning how to be a parent, to understanding what it means to pass on a faith & family legacy...the story doesn’t preach clichés or easy answers & has room for mistakes, misunderstandings, & the fear of messing up. But it has so much love! This is a really beautiful love story, & it goes far beyond the romantic love story between Cam & Josh.
•Speaking of, I did enjoy the romance storyline. Cam is a right jerk in mystifying ways for a good long while, but he’s (mostly) up front about things so I can’t say he was manipulative. It’s a story of falling in love, fraught with figuring out expectations & negotiating a “new normal” as Josh’s life changes. It’s really good once they figure it out, & for the most part I enjoyed watching them get there.
•I think the dialogue was particularly well written & natural sounding. Especially when the kids were talking, they sounded & acted like real kids with unique personalities, not just side characters thrown in there as plot devices or to add cuteness to the story.
•It’s so fun to read about a theatre group, & about an arts school! Brings back memories of my childhood at a similar school, & I appreciated all the performing arts culture references.
•The setting is well done, from the descriptions of San Antonio’s different neighborhoods & history, to the social ecosphere in the community. Rather than the story feeling set in a generic city, I got a sense of what Josh’s life was like as a Jewish man in a not-very-Jewish place, & what Cam faced as a gay man in a not-very-liberal city. It added a lot to the shape of the story & characters.
•There is a bonus novella included which tells the love story of Bubbe & Zayde, & it’s worth a read!
[What I didn’t like as much:]
•The book starts off a little slow. The first chapter is mainly summary of earlier events & characters from previous books in the series, but most of that info was irrelevant to this book so I’m not sure why it needed to be there. Fortunately, there was no more info-dumping or heavy summary after the very beginning.
•Cameron is quite the jerk to Josh about a particular thing, well into the book (at least 50% in?), & tbh it was a little hard reconciling that behavior with the rest of his character since he’s a pretty good guy otherwise. He was just being (deliberately?) obtuse, & also mean about it for so long...eventually he figures out the real foundations of his concerns & deals with them, but I think it would have helped the pacing (& my ability to sympathize with him) if he was honest about his fears earlier on instead of cruelly projecting them onto Josh for 60% of the book.
•The epilogue is unrelated to the story, & basically sets up the next novel in the series. It’s just not what I was expecting, since I’m used to epilogues in Romance novels focusing on the main couple.
CW: homophobia (mainly subtle & internalized), anti-Semitism (including some slurs)
[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]
Ugh, this book is full of feelings—in a good way. Somehow it handles tragedy & heartbreak without becoming a melodrama, & lets the characters feel what they need to in the moment they are facing, balancing it all out with joy & humor. The family relationships are just as well developed & meaningful as the romantic relationship, & that was really satisfying. All the fun bits about musical theatre & running an arts school were super fun to read about too!
[What I liked:]
•The exploration of family in this story is really beautiful & meaningful. From Cam’s baggage with his relationship to his dad, to Josh’s bond with Bubbe & Miriam, to Josh learning how to be a parent, to understanding what it means to pass on a faith & family legacy...the story doesn’t preach clichés or easy answers & has room for mistakes, misunderstandings, & the fear of messing up. But it has so much love! This is a really beautiful love story, & it goes far beyond the romantic love story between Cam & Josh.
•Speaking of, I did enjoy the romance storyline. Cam is a right jerk in mystifying ways for a good long while, but he’s (mostly) up front about things so I can’t say he was manipulative. It’s a story of falling in love, fraught with figuring out expectations & negotiating a “new normal” as Josh’s life changes. It’s really good once they figure it out, & for the most part I enjoyed watching them get there.
•I think the dialogue was particularly well written & natural sounding. Especially when the kids were talking, they sounded & acted like real kids with unique personalities, not just side characters thrown in there as plot devices or to add cuteness to the story.
•It’s so fun to read about a theatre group, & about an arts school! Brings back memories of my childhood at a similar school, & I appreciated all the performing arts culture references.
•The setting is well done, from the descriptions of San Antonio’s different neighborhoods & history, to the social ecosphere in the community. Rather than the story feeling set in a generic city, I got a sense of what Josh’s life was like as a Jewish man in a not-very-Jewish place, & what Cam faced as a gay man in a not-very-liberal city. It added a lot to the shape of the story & characters.
•There is a bonus novella included which tells the love story of Bubbe & Zayde, & it’s worth a read!
[What I didn’t like as much:]
•The book starts off a little slow. The first chapter is mainly summary of earlier events & characters from previous books in the series, but most of that info was irrelevant to this book so I’m not sure why it needed to be there. Fortunately, there was no more info-dumping or heavy summary after the very beginning.
•Cameron is quite the jerk to Josh about a particular thing, well into the book (at least 50% in?), & tbh it was a little hard reconciling that behavior with the rest of his character since he’s a pretty good guy otherwise. He was just being (deliberately?) obtuse, & also mean about it for so long...eventually he figures out the real foundations of his concerns & deals with them, but I think it would have helped the pacing (& my ability to sympathize with him) if he was honest about his fears earlier on instead of cruelly projecting them onto Josh for 60% of the book.
•The epilogue is unrelated to the story, & basically sets up the next novel in the series. It’s just not what I was expecting, since I’m used to epilogues in Romance novels focusing on the main couple.
CW: homophobia (mainly subtle & internalized), anti-Semitism (including some slurs)
[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]
April 1, 2021
Cameron Heiser and Josh Goldstein had flirted with each other for years. The time was right to move on that flirtation and start a relationship. But Josh suddenly and unexpectedly becomes the father to his young niece and nephew, Jackson and Beth. Cam’s firm rule is to NOT date any man with children. His own upbringing and his father’s callous remarks made it clear to him that kids would bring complications for a gay man. Being involved with someone’s family is more than he’s willing to deal with.
But tell that to his brain. He misses Josh, so they decide to keep their relationship separate from the new family. But it didn’t work out that way and they broke it off. When Josh’s 90+ grandmother came to Cam’s workplace, she had a long talk with him. He had always known he was not good for kids. But she had talked to Jackson and Beth and they adored him and missed him terribly. Jackson was angry because his promised visit was never acted upon. Cam’s love for Josh was never in question. And the kids totally accepted – and loved – him. And he knew he loved them too. What would he decide? Would he risk his heart for this family he adored but felt inadequate to raise? Or would he talk to Josh, tell him what he feared about his shortcomings, and let them work it out together? Love is what makes the difference. And Cam can do that easily.
This was a wonderful story. No one should ever feel inadequate. What you don’t know about, you learn. And as long as love is the guiding principle, mistakes are forgiven. And having a partner who loves you also makes it easier. Cam is a good person with love to give. He was harder on himself than he needed to be. When under stress, we usually fall back on how we were raised, and that didn’t give him much support when he needed it. But those who love us can rally around and make the difference. Grab your copy and see if Cam will try again. Will he realize he was the missing piece in their happiness? Would he understand how much they were hurting without him?
But tell that to his brain. He misses Josh, so they decide to keep their relationship separate from the new family. But it didn’t work out that way and they broke it off. When Josh’s 90+ grandmother came to Cam’s workplace, she had a long talk with him. He had always known he was not good for kids. But she had talked to Jackson and Beth and they adored him and missed him terribly. Jackson was angry because his promised visit was never acted upon. Cam’s love for Josh was never in question. And the kids totally accepted – and loved – him. And he knew he loved them too. What would he decide? Would he risk his heart for this family he adored but felt inadequate to raise? Or would he talk to Josh, tell him what he feared about his shortcomings, and let them work it out together? Love is what makes the difference. And Cam can do that easily.
This was a wonderful story. No one should ever feel inadequate. What you don’t know about, you learn. And as long as love is the guiding principle, mistakes are forgiven. And having a partner who loves you also makes it easier. Cam is a good person with love to give. He was harder on himself than he needed to be. When under stress, we usually fall back on how we were raised, and that didn’t give him much support when he needed it. But those who love us can rally around and make the difference. Grab your copy and see if Cam will try again. Will he realize he was the missing piece in their happiness? Would he understand how much they were hurting without him?
April 26, 2021
Josh and Cameron were attracted to one another and they danced around that attraction to one another for a good long while. Just as they decided it was time for them to go from flirting to acting on their attraction Josh becomes the caretaker to his niece and nephew. Cameron is not interested in being in a relationship where children are involved. But the draw is there and they try to keep them on the downlow but the kids get involved and Cameron walks away. Things in his past make him believe gay and children do not mix but in the now, it was working with this family. This book had all the feels and although they had to go through some things as Cameron worked through his issues and this family and couple found their footing it was a nice look at how love can move people to heal and move forward.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews