Review: Caught On Camera

Wilderness survival television star Dominic Tyler (Ty) and his assistant Kate Somersby are stranded in a remote cabin during a freak winter storm. Things look pretty bleak—until they make a fire and strip off their wet clothes….
Act I—set up
Survive This! is Kate's life…as are unscripted fantasies about Ty, her boss and best friend. But when Kate is suddenly injured, Ty decides filming is too dangerous for her. This will be Kate's last adventure for a while.
Act II—plot point
Kate is furious and threatens to quit. But Ty needs her. So what can he do? Keep her occupied by filming every minute of their intense and definitely unrehearsed sex!
Act III—cliff-hanger
It's Kate's choice now: Her hard-won career? Or end credits featuring dangerously wild sex with Ty? Ha. Some choice. But either way, the final cut is guaranteed to be a thrilling ride!

Making the Grade: B+

For My Thoughts

There is only one reason I decided to read this book...Meg Maguire is the alter ego of Cara McKenna. Last year I discovered Ms. McKenna and her book Willing Victim and really, really really liked it. So when I started following her on Twitter and discovered she had an alter ego - I knew I would be reading Meg Maguire’s debut Harlequin Blaze Caught On Camera. That’s not to say I may not have picked this book up based on the cover/back blurb but since Meg Maguire = Cara McKenna, this book quickly went on the auto-buy list.

I love reality TV and Survivor is one of my favourite shows, so the premise behind Caught on Camera which is based on a reality show Survive This! similar to the Bear Grylls show Man vs. Wild with a hot Aussie host Dom don’t-call-me-Dominic-because-I-hate-it Tyler, with his equally hot Aussie accent and quaint sayings I knew regardless of anything else I was going to like this book (love me some Aussies). In addition this book takes place mainly in the wilds of Saskatchewan and I’m Canadian - what’s not to like about this book so far? Nothing that I could see.

Caught on Camera was a flirty, fun, surprisingly suspenseful, emotional read. Who knew that being stranded and isolated in the Saskatchewan wilderness would be so cathartic for examining and re-evaluating your life, your feelings and finally make you realize what’s really important in life.

Ty and Kate have been working together for three years in some pretty extreme and bizarre situations all over the world. They both think of each other as their best friend and know each other inside and out. Yet being stranded together in some of the most extreme conditions they’ve ever faced yet quickly reveals just how little they really do know about one another. Up until this point they’ve never crossed the line between friends and co-workers (although they‘ve both thought about it...a lot), but things are about to change in a big way.

Ty and Kate’s time spent alone was almost like an intense three day long therapy session. There are no secondary characters, no sub-plots to carry the story. Just Ty and Kate and their unscripted struggle to survive in a real life version of their reality show Survive This! And Maguire sure does make them struggle...after all that which doesn‘t kill you, makes you stronger. Take a little dog sled mishap, throw in a blizzard, a chimney fire, an unexpected meeting with an animal trap, mix in two emotionally scarred and stubborn people and Caught on Camera delivers an emotional wallop right up to the very end. Ty’s grand gesture at the end was so romantic and sweet...seriously - the Aussie redeemed himself beautifully.  I loved it!