TJ O'Shea

Oh how I loved this book. So much.

I was hopping from one romance to another trying to find something to grab my attention. I had just DNF'd two books - one at 35% - and was starting to get frustrated. Then I saw Beyond the Blue and remembered that it's an ARC that I'm clearly overdue for reviewing. So I tapped the cover and got into it. And didn't want to put it down.

Morgan and Mei are beautifully flawed characters who fit with each other and made me fall in love with them. There was just show more enough angst to keep the edge there for me and so much love that I found myself smiling regularly. I loved them together.

This was my first exposure to TJ O'Shea but I totally dug her writing style and voice. Really, really. I tend to keep my expectations pretty low when reading a new author (whether a debut book or just a new to me author) but there's no need for that with Ms. O'Shea. As soon as her next book comes out, I'm there for it.

Thanks go out to Bella Books and NetGalley for this great romance and for introducing me to a talented author! show less

Another winner for T. J. O'Shea - still my favorite author right now!

The Order is completely different than the previous two books by O'Shea and I loved that. The setting is post-USA with the country divided up into geographical regions and headed by people with varying levels of awfulness. And then there's the resistance - The Order - who mostly kick ass and cause chaos.

This is a LONG book and full of action. But it wasn't perfect by any means. So let's look at the good, the bad, and the show more ugly, shall we?

The Good
Great chemistry between the mains. This is some serious slow burn but it gets there. And Taylor is such a damaged character that I wanted to hug her most of the time. I thought Lucy was great for her because they were very opposite in the ways that work well for couples.

The humor. I love O'Shea's humor and wit. Love it. It's great.

The plot. Loved it. I was expecting another contemporary romance but no, this has action, intrigue, and plot twists.

The Bad
There were a few places where I couldn't figure out where Lucy was coming from. Lucy moving from Daddy's Little Girl (to some degree) to some of the things she said about him early on with regard to his reign over his region didn't make sense to me. It was too soon and sort of out of nowhere.

This book didn't seem as polished as the previous two books. I love a long, slow-burn romance but it felt like it could have been tightened up a bit to help with the pacing and flow.

The Ugly
The eye rolling. Seriously. So. Much. Eye rolling. Everywhere, all the time, by everyone. I didn't do it, but it would be interesting to see how many instances of variations of they rolled their eyes were in this book. If it wouldn't have been so engaging and fun, I might have even quit reading over it. Repetition of words and phrases is a big pet peeve of mine. Ask anyone I've ever worked with on a proofreading job. It's distracting and can pull a reader right out of an otherwise glorious story.

Overall, though, I'm still a solid 4 stars for The Order. I can hardly wait for the next T. J. O'Shea book. And if you haven't tried any of her books, do it. Beyond the Blue is glorious and so is To Be With You. And The Order is pretty damn good, too.

Thanks to Bella Books and NetGalley for giving me a fix of my new favorite author! I appreciate it! show less

I tore through this one and had a great time. This is my first book by the author, but it def won’t be the last. This one had such an interesting world build, some stellar characters, and a really nice dynamic at the core of it. I’m so glad this is one I grabbed on paperback at a sale, bc it’s one I’ll want to go back to for sure.

Beyond the Blue by T.J. O’Shea

Loss, grief, chemistry, and possibilities are there for the taking IF Mei and Morgan can open themselves up enough to one another and do the personal work required. Great story!

What I liked:
* Morgan: puzzle solver, police lieutenant in charge of cold cases, difficult back story, loving, caring, patient, people person, good friend, liked her a lot
* Mei: forensic pathologist, mother, widow, reserved, grieving, capable, intelligent, conflicted, closed off, in show more some ways open and not so much in others, twenty years older than Morgan
* Ruiz: good friend of Morgan, sergeant with the police, married to Reyna, liked her
* Shanvi: Mei’s longtime friend, sounding board, provides wise counsel
* The real-feel of the family dynamics in Mei’s family – deep and somewhat troubled – Mei’s mother was wise but probably a difficult woman to have as a mother and her daughters very different from one an other
* The glimpse into Morgan’s family
* That Morgan and Mei took their time to get together
* Thinking about what it would have been like to be either/both of the women
* The writing and plot
* The way it all came together at the end

What I didn’t like:
* Thinking about how difficult Morgan’s childhood must have been
* The pain that both Mei and Morgan felt at times

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Bella Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars show less