Just for the Cameras by Meghan Quinn

Narrated in duet by Connor Crais and Emma Wilder, with a full cast featuring Teddy Hamilton, JF Harding, Jason Clarke, Stella Hunter, and Samantha Brentmoor

Stands alone, first in a related series.

Thank you to Meghan Quinn and her team for the early ALC. This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Meghan Quinn has been a favorite of mine for ten years now, and her audio productions just keep getting better and better. Just for the Cameras is a full-cast duet audiobook, which in my opinion took it to the next level. The book honestly could have ended around the halfway point and still worked as a low-angst, cute romance, but Meghan was just getting started. At sixteen hours, this is no quick listen, and while I think it could have been a little shorter, I also didn’t want it to end, so I’m not really complaining about the length.

“I’m a moody d!ck as it is, but put me in a situation I don’t want to be in and you make me almost unbearable.”

Graydon St. John takes top billing for the biggest grump I have ever read in a rom-com. When the San Francisco football team is doing terribly and the PR situation is even worse, Graydon gets forced into being a team representative for a publicity stunt at the local zoo, along with two other pro athletes.

“At six foot five and two hundred and eighty-eight pounds of rock-hard muscle, I’m not a f*cker to be messed with.”

Does he get the lion, bear, or snake exhibit? Of course not. Graydon St. John, a man so huge he can barely sit normally in a car, ends up being forced to volunteer at the flamingo exhibit. His worst nightmare just got even worse.

“Flamingos? F*cking flamingos. Gretchen, you can’t be serious. Bennett and OC get lions and giraffes, and I get a pink-feathered dipsh!t on stilts?”

Maple, the gorgeous zookeeper in charge of the flamingos, overhears Graydon trash-talking her beloved birds and hates the big grump on sight. Still, they need to work together to raise money for her flamingos and clean up his public image, so they play nice for the cameras. They become so popular that a fake PR relationship seems like the perfect way to boost donations…right?

Of course, the PR soon turns real. And while all of that makes it sound like a light and fluffy romance, there is actually a surprising amount of depth to both characters. Graydon’s growth over the course of the book ended up being my favorite part. I truly thought he might never become likable, but I should have known better with Meghan Quinn.

“But that smile, Jesus, it has so much power, the kind of power I’ve never experienced before. Because it has a hold on me. The kind of hold that packs a powerful punch, like she could ask me anything with that smile attached, and I’d say yes. To anything.”

Graydon’s dynamic with the other two athletes at the zoo was also a blast. OC is so aggressively friendly that how could you not love him? Their group text, the “Gladdy Daddies,” was hysterical, with Graydon hating every second of it…until he desperately needed their help.

Likes:

Little visits from other series.
The banter and chemistry.
The Gladdy Daddy group chat.
Seeing what’s behind all the grumpiness.
The way he took care of her.
OC crossing over into this series and getting his own book. He’s my fave.
It brought out every emotion.
Graydon’s family situation, which was absolutely heartbreaking and felt very real.
Graydon’s growth.
“Mine” and “Good girl” growled.

Dislikes:

I disliked the MMC for way too long.
Meghan could have shaved about 100 pages or a few hours and I wouldn’t have missed them. It felt just a touch too long.

The Narration:

A full cast of all my favorites? YES PLEASE. The narration was phenomenal and elevated the story even more. I absolutely recommend choosing the audio for this one. Listening to Connor Crais growl “mine” is reason enough to grab the audiobook. 🤤

The Down & Dirty:

I love Meghan’s books so freaking much, but I will admit I worried for about the first thirty percent that I’d never like Graydon. He wasn’t just grumpy, he was a full-on asshole. When he finally did something amazing and thoughtful, though, it hit that much harder. And once he had to turn around and actually win Maple? 😍😍

What started as a grumpy hero and a PR setup slowly turned into a surprisingly emotional romance, featuring a full-cast audiobook that made the entire experience even better.