Reviewed by: Guest Reviewer Marieke
Title: Mirage
Author: Tia Fielding
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 200 pages
Blurb:
When forty-six-year-old washed-up country musician Jasper “Red” Blue looks at the past, all he sees is a series of failures. His one treasured success is six years battling alcoholism without the help of AA. To secure his children’s future, Jasper desperately wants to produce a new album, but he can’t write alone. And he won’t work with just anyone.
Jasper’s record company manages to secure the writer of one of the biggest country music songs in recent history to help write the album. Cade Wallace is a long-haired former soul surfer, devastatingly handsome, talented, and willing to take a chance on the rugged musician. Jasper, on the other hand, is deep in the closet.
With Jasper’s career hanging in the balance, he can’t promise Cade anything, and Cade eventually heads back to his full-time job as a truck driver, taking Jasper’s hopes of a relationship with him. If Jasper’s dream of a life together is ever to come true, he will have to take some big risks, putting both his career and his children’s security on the line.
Review:
I have to be honest here and admit that I like this author a lot. Her writing style speaks to me and it was no different in this book.
Jasper ‘Red’ Blue is a ex-alcoholic, closeted country singer. He’s been married to Jolene, who knew he was gay from the start, and has two children. These children are the most important thing in his life and the author makes that clear in all the little things that Jasper does and thinks.
Cade is ‘mostly’ gay and not in the closet at all. He’s had one affair with a woman, who we get to meet early on in the book. The trouble is that you want to dislike her, because she’s not Jasper and you know he and Cade are meant to be together. But you can’t dislike her.
Actually you can’t dislike any of the characters. In fact, if I have to name one thing that I didn’t like about this story, is that all the people, especially Jasper, are so perfect. Even with all their imperfections they are amazing people.
The story has a nice pace to it. Jasper and Cade fall in love but not too fast, but not too slow either. You can see the trouble with Jasper’s coming out from miles away, yet it’s written in such a way that it isn’t at all boring or too predictable.
The fight/break-up is a bit predictable, but not the way it is worked out. You’d think Cade would beg Jasper to come back….but nothing is further from the truth.
Jolene, the kids, Mia and her mom are all very nice additions to this story from the start, but Cade’s friends make it to be a very warm and loving ending. They accept Jasper very graciously.
I can’t tell anymore without giving away all the little quirks in this story, but I can say that it’s worth its cost. It’s a wonderful book. I enjoyed it immensely.
4.5 stars from me for this one!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: