Review: Shine Forever by Megan Derr

Title: Shine Forever (Missing Butterfly: Book Three)

Author: Megan Derr

Pages/Word Count: 130 Pages

At a Glance: Shine Forever is a book you can dive into and enjoy, and I recommend it highly.

Reviewed By: Janet

Blurb: Dai gave up everything when he ran away with his cousin, traded a life of wealth, power, and security to create their band and live the way they want. The one thing he refuses to do is hide; he’s worked way too hard, and given up way too much, to pretend to be something he’s not.

Cooper never anticipated he would trade rodeo fame for country music stardom. But the secret he had to keep for his own safety is now a secret he has to keep to protect his band. The one thing he can never do is make his sexuality public; he’s sacrificed far too much to risk it all by airing personal matters.

But when a chance meeting turns into a passionate night that neither can forget, a tenuous relationship neither wants to let go, someone is going to have to break the rules…

Review: I really enjoyed this story! Megan Derr set a whole lot of conflicts into motion and took us along on the ride with Dai and Cooper as they all came into play. Dai is a colorful little rocker, and Cooper is a tall drink of cowboy. I was hooked at their first meeting.

What was great about this book is that the author has the skill to create visual images with her characters, so I read the book with a movie reel playing in my head. And not just the MCs either. Members of the two bands are fully fleshed out, through both commentary and character interactions we can follow along with. With subplots and background fillers to round out the backstory, we can enjoy a robust plot that plays out vividly.

This book was engaging on so many levels. The rock star/country star world was realistically built, with performance issues, song writing, production and promotion values, touring schedules, etc., to give a solid base for the characters to grow and interact against. The relationship that develops between Dai and Cooper was handled perfectly, in my opinion; breakaway hot sex at their first meeting, then a few more meet ups leading to a friendship that turns into a relationship. During this process a discussion of status occurs – out, obviously, for Dai; gay but not out for Cooper – and how they will react with each other is established, with privacy the focus and their relationship hidden. It feels natural, just like the bit of kink they share; it is for them and no one else.

When it blows up the twist is awesome, as a plot line is revealed and another one hinted at. The reader is surprised by the events, but we feel like we shouldn’t be; the stage was set for us, but we didn’t quite see it coming. I loved the way Megan Derr brought all the storylines together for the ending, letting Dai and Cooper have their HEA but not closing the door on the rest of the characters, so there is hope for maybe another book from this world. The overall pace of this book was fast, simply because the story was so entertaining and fresh, and the details were spot on. The plot is solid and this made it even better. Shine Forever is a book you can dive into and enjoy, and I recommend it highly.