Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Mirror, Mirror

SERIES:  Ashland

AUTHOR:  Christina Nolte

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  294 pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 11, 2025

BLURB:

After a life-shattering clash with his father and the end of a toxic relationship, musical actor Arrick Filan has no more fight to give. Running to the other end of the world and returning to his roots as a small-town teacher seems like a good idea. A temporary solution. At least until his new boss’s enticing smiles threaten to draw him out of the comfort of his shell.

Evan Miller’s a vice principal, adores teaching, and his focus is on his friends, his dog and his job. Setting eyes on the new music teacher at Ashland High has Evan greeting a quest for love with open arms. His relentless attempts at friendship and romance force Arrick to examine his past. Could starting something new with Evan be worth the potential pain? Arrick has kept his heart and history close to his chest, but glimpses at his passion for music and teaching make it impossible for Evan to turn away.

REVIEW:

This story is really about building relationships after moving on from a past that wasn’t serving the characters.  Arrick needs to get away from his pat and 5000 miles to the West Coast of the US seems to be about right.  He’s broken up with his boyfriend and needs to put distance between him and his father.  Ben, the ex, comes from a small town in California and his mother is the principal of a high school.  There is a job opening at the school and Arrick had taught before, so he takes the offer and moves halfway around the world to take a job at a school in a struggling town teaching music and physics (interesting combo and not one seen much here ).  Immediately he’s thrown into a new environment and he seems to have inherited a cat.

The principal, Kate is helpful and welcoming, but it’s Evan Miller, the Assistant principal who really takes the lead in acclimating Arrick.  Oh and Evan also is very attracted to the man.  Arrick is clearly nervous around him and he’s not seeming to find making friends easily.  Arrick misreads a couple of situations but he also feels the pull towards his new boss.  Probably not a good idea.

But Evan is a persistent and wears Arrick down   They becomes sort of friends and then more.  The rest of the teachers and students and other locals do their best to help Arrick adjust as well.  They are supportive and well maybe a bit nosy as well

Eventually we get to the impetus of Arrick’s abrupt departure from London and move to the US.  Evan is happy to help Arrick take new stock of his life and his talents.  When Arrick’s old life barges in, well Evan and the rest of the team are there for him.  Despite other issues going on with the school and the town, Arrick and Evan and their found family provide support and a bulwark against the obstacles and unforeseen circumstances that occur.

I’ll admit that this started off a little bit like I’d walked into the middle of a movie.  It takes quite a while to piece together exactly what happened with Arrick and his life in London that causes him to take off for a reaching job in small town America.  It’s almost like it was a mystery to solve – what happened with Ben and Arrick’s father.  Evan is a good guy and he tries to be a good coworker and friend to the newbie.  Evan wants to know the sitch but he doesn’t want to be too nosy – even though this is a small town and everybody is in everyone’s business   I had another slight niggle that the American character POV used UK terms – like pitch and match – rather than field and game which I thought was a bit odd.  I would expect that from the British POV but not necessarily the US character POV.  Arrick plays things pretty close to the vest when he first arrives in town, but Evan seems pretty determined to break down these walls – whether in spite of or because of his attraction to the newest faculty member.  The relationship happens pretty quickly if I’m honest, but it didn’t feel forced.  I really enjoyed how Arrick and Evan ended up being there for each other when things got tough.  The ending is a bit of an HFN and since this is the start of a series, I wasn’t that surprised.  I’m looking forward to the next book in this series   This is a quirky town and I’m interested to see where this lovely group of people go next.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon