Reviews

Beyond the Blue by TJ O’Shea

lcburghard's review

4.0

Typically, a toaster-oven romance is not my standard fare especially when it is an age-gap. The author did a brilliant job with the character development- These characters get dark, and they get really deep. It was refreshing to read a story where adults know that they are individually flawed, need to reset and learn how to better themselves in order to be a healthier person/partner. I cant recall If I've ever read another story where the pair of main characters have to grow in order to earn their happily ever after.

This book caught me in my feelings quite a bit. I looked back and saw that I had 34 highlights/annotations!

jillx08's review

4.75

This author is so great at building up tension, as well as getting you truly invested in characters. Great book  

lurker_stalker's review

5.0

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 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!

**2/5/24 - first reread of this one and I loved it maybe even more the second time. Morgan's abandonment issues hit hard with me and my eyes leaked more than once. This was exactly the mental hug I needed.**

tessisreading2's review

emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A really nice slow-burn bisexual awakening romance between two women dealing with their lives and with grief. Not perfect - there was a lot of stuff that wasn't addressed - but it was very slice-of-life and in some ways the "not addressing stuff" felt deliberate, since that's how it works in real life, things are dealt with as you can rather than all at once to tie everything up with a big bow at "the end."

mlkshks's review

hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

bridance's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

lezreadalot's review against another edition

4.0

“Your indefatigable optimism is both exhausting and charming.”
“‘Exhausting and charming’ is my Tinder profile bio.”

Oh, this was so so so good. Maybe it's more of a 4.5? It felt like a warm hug of a romance, so well-crafted and sweet and simple and emotional in its own way, really taking its time with the character development. It's an age gap, toaster oven romance between Mei, a grieving, slightly icy widow who works as a medical examiner, and Morgan, a sunshine police officer with huge golden retriever energy. I was fawning over this couple; they were so so cute and this was exactly the kind of book I needed. Sweet, funny, but with a lot of heart and depth.

It did seem like it would go in certain directions that I don't love. It moves at a nice slow pace (with a lot of great obliviousness and pining that I adore) but the characters still got together a lot earlier than I expected, and I was left with a '...okay, now what?' kind of feeling. But I ended up loving that aspect of the story, the fact that we got to see them as a couple for an extended period of time, see them interacting with their families, see what really worked in their dynamic and what didn't, all the things that had to change to get them to their HEA. And they had such strong foundations. Morgan is so wonderful, total book girlfriend material. I loved her verve, her goofiness, the way she gave so much of herself to help others without expecting anything in return. There's more depth to that aspect of her personality, and it broke my heart, but she just completely filled the swoony heroine role. Mei was just as swoony; so suave and collected, protective and kind once she thawed, and I love that it took so little to thaw her? But also, it's clear that she's not like this with everyone; it's Morgan who brings out certain sides of her personality. They were just really great together. I loved how they bonded over grief, all those little dates/not-dates, the depth of their friendship before it blossomed into more. So much chemistry.

Nobody wants to be resilient. Resilience is a badge you earn trying to survive. A badge someone else gives you when they realize you should be broken but you miraculously remain whole.

And I really liked the ways the secondary issues were treated. I love reading age gap romance, and I do enjoy when we stop to have certain realistic conversations (without ever moralising about it, or getting too depressing about it). It was one of those situations where you felt the age gap (Mei is a grandmother) but the characters never felt like they weren't on the same page or the same level. I really loved the conversations about grief and surviving, all their friendships and other interpersonal relationships. Mei's relationship with her daughters was so cute, and felt really true to life, as well as her relationship with her mother. The conflict when it came was a really necessary one, and while it hurt, I see how it was needed for the characters to grow.

I could have rated this higher, but I had a couple nitpicks. Morgan was so lovely, as aforesaid, but sometimes she seemed too perfect? Other characters had things they needed to work on, and she did too, kinda, but to a much lesser extent? And when we get to the depth in her backstory, it feels a little late in the day. And like,

Spoiler

we get hints that she might have an alcohol problem, and then later she DOES develop an alcohol problem, and then by the end of the book she gets over that alcohol problem...? Through sheer force of will? Because she's so cool and determined? It felt too easy.

Also, the cop thing. I swear I don't pick up books with cops expecting to complain about them; I pick them up completely willing to buy into the fictional fantasy of a good police service with a 'few bad apples' and a system that isn't corrupt from the inside out. I'm very happy and willing to believe that for the duration of a book.

Spoiler

But there are some conversations I just feel like... if we're not going to delve into this matter thoroughly, then why bring it up at all? That's how I felt about the issue with Morgan's father and his distrust of police. It was completely right for Mei to yell at him for foisting his issues onto his daughter, and I cheered her on. But then we just... left it there? There's an acknowledgement that 'some corrupt/bad cops exist' and that's it? Nothing about the wider system and Morgan's part in it? It felt so paltry and unsatisfying, and I do wish we just hadn't talked about it at all.

Listened to the audiobook as read by Cindy Kay and I loved it sooooo much. I think this is the first time I've listened to a romance novel from her, specifically, and I need a dozen more. Both her Morgan and Mei voices were so appealing, and she did so much justice to all the cuteness and humour and sexiness. (It's not a particularly steamy book, but it's very sexy.) All in all, great first read from this author, and I need to read more from her ASAP.

A new sensation bloomed in her stomach. Like the split-second moment when you step off a curb wrong and your heart leaps in preparation for a fall that does not come. Instead you land sturdily, solidly on the ground, but your heart is racing still. It felt a little bit like falling in love.

jennaolmert's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

misha_ali's review

5.0

I really enjoyed this!

- Older, woc main character (Dr Mei Sharpe is a medical coroner, in her mid fifties, and her parents are from Taiwan)

- Age gap but both are old enough for it not to be weird. One MC is in her mid fifties and the other in her mid thirties.

- Grumpy sunshine trope done to perfection! I loved Mei as the grumpy sort of ice queen who finds it hard to open up unless it is with the golden labrador sunshine new Lieutenant in the same building, Morgan, who makes friends and is effusively charming, caring and lovely to everyone she meets.

- Coming out later in life/dealing with loss. Mei has lost her husband of thirty years and is a bit frozen in her life and grief. I love that this book addressed the guilt of making room for a new love and major relationship while still honouring the old one.

- Extremely low angst. Everyone is a sensible adult and they talk about issues, recognize and accept their trauma and the need to get therapy to deal with it before making a good partner to others. It's lovely and refreshing to see.

I cannot recommend it enough and this is my second TJ O'Shea book and I've loved both so far.

annelise_provenzano's review

5.0

I love them sooo muchhhhh♥️♥️♥️