Loved This Tale!

Mei is a medical examiner who is serious by nature. Shes a widow and a mom and since her husband died shes existing, not living. Morgan is a detective who is in charge of the newly established cold case division. Shes super outgoing and really, really cares about the people around her. Working in the same basement, the two become close as Morgan works to bring Mei out of her shell while she battles demons of her own. Morgan’s falling for Mei and Mei is realizing maybe shes not so straight after all. If only the ghosts of the past would get out of their way….

I LOVED this book! The characters were so real and complex. The dialogue engaging and its just the right pace. I loved how patient Morgan was and watching Mei’s journey. I cried for them when trouble drove them apart and cheered when they started figuring things out. The secondary characters, especially Morgan’s best friend were really well developed and important to the story without overtaking our heroes. This is one of those special books that make you say awww and gives you the warm fuzzies. I already want to read this book again!

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!

All of the stars!

“Beyond the Blue” by T.J. O’Shea was a lovely age-gap, toaster-oven romance that I enjoyed tremendously! I was really impressed that this was a debut novel, I don’t know if O’Shea has written other things but she definitely has talent when it comes to romance.

The characters were interesting and fun and had me right from the beginning. There’s a lot of humor and heart and there are parts that will tug on your heartstrings. Both main characters, Mei and Morgan, are dealing with issues that have an effect on their relationship and I loved how they grew separately and together to move on from those issues.

This is a romance where the romance is the star of the show, there’s not a mystery or exciting action going on. So, it’s always nice when the authors remember the main characters don’t live in a bubble and add more to the story to keep it interesting. Mei and Morgan’s family and friends were a benefit that added drama to the story in a way that felt natural.

I enjoyed this so much I was actually quite disappointed there wasn’t a back catalog of books from O’Shea to read. I hope we don’t have to wait too long for a follow up from her.

The main characters, Mei & Morgan cannot be more different from each other. Mei is a coroner and Morgan is a detective. However, a chance encounter on a snowy night is the start of a friendship after Morgan begins working on a cold case unit next to the morgue, where Mei works. Both work long hours and begin spending more time with each other and the attraction between them grow.
Morgan is ready for a relationship, but Mei is scared knowing that Morgan is much younger than herself and also she has never been attracted to a woman before now.
Very well written and a quick read.
I would recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to be watching out for future books by this author.
Ice Queen, doctor sharp and lieutenant kelly are the 2 main characters in this storyline. It's a story about finding love and excepting yourself. It's another age gap (love them) storyline. Both characters are interesting and captivating. And who doesn't love an ice queen in a story.?

I've given ‘beyond the blue’ a 4/5

Mei and Morgan had great chemistry - I loved how their friendship naturally developed into feelings and eventually to sizzling heat. The story itself was deeper and darker than I'd expected. Between Mei trying to get over her dead husband and Morgan's fear of abandonment, there was plenty of angst to satisfy readers who enjoy it. For me, the angst level was on the borderline of almost being too much near the end, but overall it was a very well-written book and a fantastic debut.

Doctor Mei Sharpe’s been working for many years in the county morgue. She lost her husband to cancer and they have two daughters. It was while coming from a visit with the oldest, Grace when the unthinkable happened. Every woman’s nightmare, a flat tire on a quiet road, waiting on roadside assistance when she first meets Morgan Kelly who stopped to help her get her tire changed.
Police lieutenant Morgan Kelly has just been transferred into the department to start up a unit who is charged with hopefully closing some ‘cold case files’. Friendly with a cheerful attitude she excels at solving murder cases. Now her unit is asked to set up it’s offices downstairs where the morgue runs it’s operations. It just happens that it was Morgan who had come to Mei assistance on that snowy, dark night.
Mei’s life has been full if somewhat boring. Her husband, Allan was the main caretaker for the family and the one who was friendly, happy and in most cases steered the family’s home life. Morgan grew up solving puzzles. Full of energy her mother would give her all kinds of things to solve. So when it came to murder she used the same skills used as a child.
This is the first book by Ms O’Shea and it won’t be her last. Great characters, interesting plot and we have ourselves a winner. Excellent read.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bella Books

“Chunky, stupid snowflakes dropped from chunky, stupid clouds and piled upon the other chunky, stupid snowflakes blanketing Mei’s car.” Talk about a descriptive and engaging hook! Bright ray of sunshine, Morgan and reserved, introverted, Mei connected from their first encounter on the side of the road in a snowstorm. Is it possible for these total opposites to overcome their pasts, their age difference, and their families in order to be together? TJ O’Shea has done a masterful job in creating this story. Mei and Morgan were three dimensional, relatable women. The supporting cast of characters really helped to enhance the overall plot. The dialogue was witty and engaging. And the chemistry between our mains was spicy! I loved everything about this book from Morgan’s need to help others to Mei’s dry humor to Ruiz’s snarky wit. How can this be TJ O’Shea’s first book?

I really enjoyed this book - a romance, with an age gap, and great characters. I'll definitely read more from the author - rich storyline! Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I was captivated from the beginning of the read. The setting and the characters were so well written. The emotional story of two women dealing with past and current issues was a draw for me. Lieutenant Morgan Kelly presented herself as one of the most dynamic characters I have read in a very long time. Morgan is a survivor of a childhood that you would not wish on anyone. I just wanted to pull her in and give her a big hug. Dr. Mei Sharpe appears to have it all together but when you look closer, that is not the case. What these women do is interact with each other in a way that they both need. Mei and Morgan are very good at there jobs and that gives them some sense of comfort but they need more. I also appreciated Morgan's best friend, Ruiz and Mei's best friend Shanvi. Morgan's daughters were quite the characters with some very funny interactions and dialogue. Lovely age gap romance.

• Beyond The Blue
• Author T.J. O’Shea
• Dr. Mei Sharpe & Morgan Kelly
• Detective
• Ice Queen
• Grief meeting
• Age-Gap
• 20 year




Dr. Mei Sharpe is trying to recover from her husband’s death.
It has been two years but it has been difficult for her.

Morgan Kelly is a detective at the sheriffs office. Morgan is a wonderful detective.
She was promoted to the newly created cold case unit.

This story is amazing, I love how Morgan is so invested in her job.
Dr. Mei Sharpe is highly intelligent and very detailed.
I feel this pulls the characters together, as they both are vested in their jobs.
They’re both struggling with grief but in different ways.

The support characters in the book are very well written, and play the support part well.


This was a wonderful story. The MC went through ups and downs.
Their love helped them both seek the help, that they had put off for so long. Which made them open up and make room to love each other.


I highly recommend this book 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received an ARC from Bella Books through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I believe this is TJ O’Shea’s first book and I genuinely hope many more follow if this is an indication of her writing style and imagination. This is an excellent book with rounded, likeable characters who behave like human beings, mistakes included. Morgan is a cop transferred on to a cold case squad and Mei is a pathologist. They work together and find a friendship and maybe more. Morgan is sure but Mei has only two years since she lost her husband of 30 years. Mei knows this feels good but is that enough and then there’s the age gap…

The age of the characters was a big plus for me. It’s great to have women who aren’t in their 20’s. To have women who stumble and aren’t always entirely honest with each other or even themselves. The contrast between the exuberant, positive Morgan and the quiet, private Mei is perfectly captured. The ancillary characters add great depth to the main relationship - especially Ruiz - and help give explanations and assistance the main characters journey.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley

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 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

I believe this book is TJ O'Shea's first foray into the wonderful world of romance and the author did an amazing job. I consider this as much a story about finding love as a story of letting go.

Morgan seems a bit too good to be true, loyal to a fault, super cheerful, and ready to help everyone. She is a really fun character to get to know, she has a depth you don't often see in these sunshine-type characters. Mei is older and a bit colder, I wouldn't call her an ice queen per se, but compared to Morgan she is one. Actually, anyone is an ice queen compared to Morgan. They meet by chance, but for Morgan, it's clear from the get-go Mei is "it". Together they are a seemingly perfect match. Morgan coaxes Mei out of her shell and their chemistry is great. I'm not the biggest fan of age gap and this is a significant gap, 20 years, but the issues I normally have with this trope don't exist in this book. They are each other's match. Morgan suffers from abandonment issues from her troubled past, a past she sugar-coats by the way. And Mei has a hard time of letting go of her dead husband, not the man per se maybe, but at least the rituals, the everyday normalcy.

This book is very moving and the author wrote some beautiful lines about loss and dealing with it. And the void, but also what comes after the void of losing someone, opening up again for love, and to start fully living again.

This book is really moving and I am happy we are taken on a long journey with the characters.

Mei Sharpe is a widow who works as a medical examiner, she is a brisk, no nonsense woman that most are intimidated by. She runs into the new cold case Lieutenant Morgan Kelly several times, each time Mei is drawn to Morgan in way that’s new to her. Morgan is kindness personified and finds joy in the little things like blue slushies and dinosaur bones. As they spend more time together Mei realizes she may have more than friendly feelings for Morgan but there are also many obstacles blocking their path to happiness.
If you need to sleep anytime soon, I would not recommend starting this book until you can finish. I finished this book in one sitting finishing around 2am. It left a smile on my face and my heart happy. These two MCs are lovable and relatable I felt like they were real people with equally real emotions. They were adorable together and I loved their story, it was very unique and extremely engaging. There is bit over a year spanning the beginning and end of the book and I almost always feel like the passage of time in most books is not handled well, and provides lots of opportunities for plot holes. T.J. handled this beautifully and I felt like the jumps in time were very well written and felt natural. The side characters were all great and each added a little something to the story. I loved the intelligence and wittiness in the characters’ interactions with each other. My only issue is that it’s over and I already want to read it again. Would love to see a sequel with Lara or a prequel with Reyna and Ruiz! T.J. O’Shea, please write more books so I can read them!!

well written debut novel. this is age gap story, but honestly I forget it sometimes.


Many thanks to Netgalley and Bella Books for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

Nice original story. We've all seen the May/December romance novels, but this one stood above the rest. I love that Mei and Morgan are from completely different walks of life, at different stages of their lives, but have enough in common to create a spark.

Well written, likeable characters that I could relate to.

This was a super sweet, older woman coming out, age gap romance. I felt it had honest feeling and didn't minimize the inconveniences of aging, while still feeling hot. This would definitely be a nice "beach read."

Definitely 5 star from me.
Great love story. Great and different. Different because instead of a long slow burn with a quick ending...while you wonder what happened next. In this story, the romance is in the first 20% of the story and the remainder is how they are together as lovers. How do they deal with the age gap and how do they each resolve their past loss and grief. How do the family members accept the relationship. It is a very thoughtful, interesting and warm story. I loved the sex scenes. They were very hot without describing every minute detail.
I enjoyed all the characters, and felt they were all very natural and the dialog insightful.
I understand this is O'Shea's first published story. Amazing...hopefully there will be many more.
I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review

I was really impressed by this debut novel from T.J. O’Shea. She is masterful with metaphors. I was drawn in by the characters individual stories and held by their romance. Two thirds of the way through it dragged a bit but I liked the direction it went in the end and how mature the MCs were, which especially makes sense since one is 55. This is a great age-gap romance, sunshine/grumpy trope, and also a different perspective on the police force. Highly recommend!

I highlighted so many lines, but one of my favorites was: “I’m so painfully attracted to you I’m pretty sure it’s the reason being gay is a punishable crime in so many countries.”

Short Summary: Mei is a recently widowed medical examiner who has not one but two chance encounters with the gregarious detective, Morgan before realizing this woman may be worth a third glance. After a slow courtship and lots of soul searching, can the two overcome life’s challenges and be together?