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What happens when you let your guard down and let someone see the real you? Will they like what they find?

Meghan Koo doesn’t take life too seriously — especially not in the ten years since she’s broken away from her conservative, homophobic upbringing. Now, as the drummer for The Shrikes, she’s touring the world and getting to play the music she loves. You could say she’s officially Living The Dream.

Collins has fought for years to be taken seriously as a woman in a male-dominated industry. As one of the most well-respected producers in the world, she doesn’t have time or energy to take others feelings into consideration, earning her a fairly… callous reputation. But is it totally deserved?

When The Shrikes land the amazing opportunity to have a live show and album special produced, the record label taps Collins to produce — given that she did an incredible job on The Shrikes’ Kaleidoscope album. When the opportunity arises for Collins to take over as Director, she's told that Meg is the key to getting The Shrikes to back her new role.

Now, Collins finds that she has to get Meg on her side, and they're both a bit surprised by what they find once they stop arguing and start getting to know one another.

Will the two women be able to call a truce in order for the show to go on? Or will the fireworks between them set the entire concert on fire?

This is a full-length, standalone romance that can be read on its own, but it also harmonizes well with others in the series.

Recommended Reading Order:

Undone

Bewilder

Midnight

Bloom

188 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 6, 2020

66 people are currently reading
156 people want to read

About the author

Bryce Oakley

24 books253 followers
Bryce grew up in the mountains of Colorado with a taste for adventure and a head full of clouds. She never grew out of either. She lives in Denver with her partner, two adorable rescue dogs, and a very opinionated cat.

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5 stars
175 (39%)
4 stars
150 (33%)
3 stars
100 (22%)
2 stars
15 (3%)
1 star
2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
Profile Image for Jacob Proffitt.
3,314 reviews2,155 followers
March 12, 2022
This is fourth (and last) in a series and lots of character moments are going to make more sense, and have more depth, if you've read the rest. I recommend reading in order.

Short review because I'm way behind and need to lessen the psychic weight of my own expectations.

I was looking forward to Meg's book because Meg is the only one who hadn't had a problematic interference moment with any of the others and because she's been kind of into being single as a thing. And I even liked getting to know her better and see deeper into her motivation.

But this story doesn't really work and that made me very sad. Collins just doesn't track for me. She's single-minded and very stuck in her own head and the plot was thin at best so she didn't have much to work with for character exposition.

And then a dark moment happens that turns Meg into an unsympathetic jerk and I was mainly sad because this was so much potential wasted. And eight weeks of Meg being a closed-off, negatively motivated* no-beast very nearly made me sympathize with Collins. Only then I remembered that none of it actually made any kind of sense so I finished the story on inertia.

Are you surprised with my two stars at this point? So disappointing as an end to the series. And so much wasted potential with Meg, starting with her backstory being just thrown away and ending with her so-called "glue of the group" being thin enough to read fine print through.

A note about Steamy: There are a couple of explicit sex scenes, putting this on the lower end of the middle of my steam tolerance. They're another example of things that don't quite cohere the way it feels like the author intended, too, so that's a bit sad.

* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term. Jennifer Crusie blogged about it a bit back (or, if that link doesn't work, here's a cache of the original) and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story.
Profile Image for pipsqueakreviews.
588 reviews504 followers
March 6, 2022
Conflict at work.

This is the fourth book of the Kaleidoscope series and we finally have the story of the fourth band member of the Shrikes, Meg. Meg is a player and this is a fact I hadn't known earlier, but her playing the field isn't a source of conflict between the main characters. Instead, this is a sorta enemies to lovers romance because Meg's love interest, Collins is a music producer who is harsh on the musicians she work with, including Meg.

While I love the dynamics of their relationship and how Meg and Collins have come to be attracted to each other, I'm under the impression that the author forced a conflict between them at some point to fulfil a certain romance novel formula when there was actually none.
Profile Image for khi.
237 reviews11 followers
May 26, 2021
Lovely book just too short like every other book in this series
Profile Image for Sam.
837 reviews114 followers
June 19, 2021
Throughout theses series the characters have grown up so much and I think it only spans over a year or two (not counting this one’s epilogue).

Oakley has definitely matured the characters and I think it’s for the better. I’m enjoying the Kaleidoscope Album as the fun and easy read I think it is intended to be. This one tells Meg’s love story and it’s slightly surprising. In the other books I didn’t see her as this sort of player she is portrayed as in her own story. She isn’t a player for long, because the book is short, but it’s surprising nonetheless. I’m not sure I believe she is a good match with Collins but it’s ok. I figured Meg would end up with Isla, but that’s just me…
It’s enjoyable, bit on the overly dramatic side, but an entertaining read
Profile Image for Angie.
674 reviews77 followers
August 10, 2024
While I liked this one the better than the previous two, this book riled me up a a lot. I could not connect to Collins. At all. And Bryce Oakley didn’t earn their development or really show me why Meg would even want to be with her. I really liked Meg, though.

But there was too much I could not ignore here:

1. Let’s start with Meg, the drummer for The Shrikes. In book 2 we really start to get to know her. She’s described as quiet, shy, and awkward with girls. In this novel she’s the queen of super short relationships or one-night stands and she’s definitely not shy. I like the version of Meg in this book because she’s not afraid to speak her mind and she’s funny and smart, but I would have loved to see how Book 2 Meg would have handled everything here. So Oakley loses points for lack of continuity. But also because now I know Oakley can write humor, so why not give Pia—the former comedian—any good lines? Yes, I’m still criticizing book 3.

2. Collins just gets to be a film director? What? Okay, so The Shrikes get a live album recording deal and a music concert movie deal. Collins, who produced the studio album is slated to produce this live album. But when the film director is a no-show everyone thinks she’s the best choice to direct the film? When there’s zero indication she has any experience in the medium, not even a high school film club credit? And the narrative’s reasoning is it can’t be that much different than producing an album? What? Look there’s suspension of disbelief and then there’s whatever we have here. I’m sorry, that’s just bonkers and my brain just won’t allow it.

3. What’s with all the Harry Potter references? I know this came out in 2019 and I don’t think JKR’s views were fully known until the end of that year(?), but it’s really jarring to read it now. So readers be warned.

This could have been a 3-star book for me. And it could have also easily been 1 star. I will settle on 2 for Meg.
Profile Image for Judy - JC.
224 reviews9 followers
September 27, 2022
This is a very easy-read, I really enjoy this type of books, they are short and give you a fast happy ending, so you don’t think much about the story but when it is the fourth book of the series, you already know what’s going on, it tends to be very predictable.

I stopped reading at 69% although I did finish it. I stopped because it felt like something was off it was not working for me; this story was forced to me. Billie, Domino and Sabrina’s story were nice. I really liked Collins (love interest of the main character in this book) but I didn’t understand Meg (the MC in this book) and what upsets me is that I loved her in Domino’s story, I guess that not giving these characters a completely original narrative affected how I saw it, probably any other day, without it being a series and this being the 4th book I would be okay.
Profile Image for Amanda Nemer.
228 reviews28 followers
April 30, 2020
i am really sad about have not liked this book. meg is by far my favorite protagonist of the series but despite of that fact i didnt feel connected to her romance.
i think their conflict was really easily solved (because they didnt have an actual conflict imo).
meg is charismatic and her personality really touched me, how much relatable i felt with that.
even though i just caught myself wondering why wouldn’t the author explored actual conflicts? like idk meg’s family or whatever you know.
i loved how connected she felt with collins’ family but i think her own family feelings were left behind.
all in all, ill miss these girls so much. they are all so charismatic and good. except for dom. she ruins her friends’ happiness every chance she gets. sabrina sweetie, im so sorry.
Profile Image for Lexxi Kitty.
2,060 reviews477 followers
June 20, 2020
There is a simple reason I liked this book least of all books I've read by this author. I hate when a break up situation is placed entirely on one side, and that individual has to jump through hoops to get the other to even talk to them again. Especially when it wasn't one person's fault & both characters acted completely out of character just to have 'an issue' occur & and to react out of character in that situation.

For fuck sake, there were a million & one possible plot lines open. The two major ones did get touched on but neither were really the cause of the issue and neither, for that matter got resolved (Collins dates almost exclusively, before now, airhead who she only really gets along with because the are good in bed and willing to be controlled by her - Meg is not an airhead and is just as stubborn as Collins; Meg just sleeps with people, she doesn't do relationships & doesn't do dating (beyond what is needed to get a woman to fuck her). A lot of potential for conflict here, eh? It did come up, it did play a part in what happened, but more as background. And the issues were more brushed aside, and less dealt with and/or the cause of stuff. (

By the way, part of my problem with the characterization as presented, at least for Meg, is that it doesn't really line up with hints dropped in other books. Including the hints that Meg was in a secret relationship & other such stuff. ()

Rating: 3

June 19 2020
Profile Image for XR.
1,980 reviews106 followers
June 14, 2020
Admittedly, I thought a story about Meg and Isla was going to be told so a Meg and Collins romance was a nice surprise. This story was a little bumpy, but sweet AF.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ametheyst.
84 reviews3 followers
September 19, 2022
Okay, so it wasn't my favourite in the series but I still really enjoyed this short read.

I've decided that what I like the most about The Kaleidoscope books is how different each character is. Hear me out.
Bryce Oakley has done an awesome job of building separate personalities for her characters. And there are quite a lot of characters. Oftentimes you see authors using similar quirks for different characters, or failing to really differentiate between personalities, this doesn't happen in these books.

In addition to that, she's also mastered the interpersonal friendship dynamics of the group. So even if Meg's story wasn't the one I loved the most, I was still completely 200% all in.
Profile Image for Wendy.
85 reviews3 followers
May 13, 2020
This book was good, which is a disappointment for me because it could so easily have been great. I love the kaleidoscope series and have been looking forward to Meg’s story. I love her character and liked Collins, but for some reason there was nowhere near the depth needed to make the story meaningful.

The speed at which they went from enemies to a relationship, the missing discussions on why Collins was so bitchy in her work persona, the background on Meg’s crappy family situation and obvious trust issues. Even the whole Micah/Collins relationship which was weird and never spoken about after the beginning even though it drove all the angst (which came off as way overblown).

I gave it 3 stars because it was an easy read, but sadly not at the same level of the prior three books.
12 reviews
August 2, 2020
While I love the kaleidoscope series, this book felt a bit shallow. I missed the debt of the characters like in the other books of the series. There is not much in the story told about Meghan and I think that kept the story a bit on the surface while it could have been just a bit more. Never the less, as a book in a really nice and sweet series about 4 friends who work, play and love together it was a nice book to read
Profile Image for Sterling Sapphic Reads.
389 reviews458 followers
November 26, 2025
If you're looking for a sapphic audiobook that feels like slipping into a comfy hoodie—warm, a little rebellious, and full of heart—Bloom by Bryce Oakley, narrated by the ever-expressive Lori Prince, is absolutely your next listen. This one hit all the right notes (pun fully intended).

Let’s start with Meg Koo: chaotic drummer energy, fiercely funny, and tender in ways she doesn’t always show right away. Her “live fast, don’t look back” approach is endearing from the jump. Then there’s Collins, the producer with a capital-P, whose sharp edges hide a vulnerability that sneaks up on you (and Meg) when you least expect it. She’s the type who walks into a room and commands it—not because she’s loud, but because she knows things and has had to fight twice as hard to get half the credit. Naturally, sparks fly.

And oh, do they sizzle.

There’s a delicious push-pull between Collins and Meg that feels so real—this isn’t just enemies-to-lovers, it’s artists-to-soulmates. You get the sense that these two women have been circling each other emotionally long before the story even begins, and when they finally start to peel back those layers? It's soft, it's sexy, it’s unexpectedly healing. Oakley nails it with a blend of slow-burn and emotional payoff, and Lori Prince’s narration brings it all vividly to life with just the right balance of snark, swagger, and swoon.

I love how Bloom plays with the idea of image versus reality—how we present ourselves, especially in the public eye, versus who we are when someone finally sees us, really sees us. And in that way, it’s a love story not just between Meg and Collins, but also a quiet reclaiming of identity and softness for both women. There’s something especially satisfying about watching women who've had to be tough for so long finally get to be loved gently.

If you’re traveling or running errands or doing chores, need a sapphic serotonin boost, or just want something quick and rich to sink into, this audiobook is a hit. The Shrikes as a band continue to be a found family dream, and while Bloom works as a standalone, you’ll probably end up devouring the whole series—I know I did. These books are like queer comfort food: easy to love, satisfying, and always leave you a little more full-hearted than when you started.

So turn up the volume, press play, and let Bloom sweep you into its messy, musical, beautifully sapphic world.
Profile Image for Pam.
424 reviews
March 6, 2020
Opposites attract but can they let love Bloom?

Meh and Collins have a difficult interaction at best. Collins has pushed the band during the making of Kaleidoscope and Meg beyond pushed. The Strikes have a opportunity of a lifetime can they work with Collins. Meg wants to defend and protect her band, Collins needs Meg to get everyone on board for her. What starts out as so much dislike turns into such a possibility for them both. I loved the banter, arguing these to do and their connection was electric. They way they open up to each other was such bliss. Trust was always the issue for both. What a great enemy to lovers story. In this 4 book about my favorite band we learn more about what love can be. This was a great love story and I hope we see more of these characters I love so much.
Profile Image for Adrian Brown.
222 reviews1 follower
October 30, 2021
Ok, so I am still enjoying the series (ever pause your progress just because you don't want a series/book to end?), but the plotlines are growing quite predictable...newsflash: the girl gets the girl, almost exactly as one would expect. But that's one reason I love lesfic, so it's not necessarily a bad thing...I want the girl to get the girl. I'm both excited and sad to start the next/last book in the series, but also I'm excited to read some of them for a second time (the first one's my fave, my wife likes the second one best). Cute read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Suzzette Montgomery.
11 reviews
March 8, 2020
I loved all of the books in this series, but I think Bloom is near, if not at, the top of the list for me. The only problem I had with it was the length (which did affect the pace a little), but otherwise, the enemies to lovers storyline worked out extremely well in this book. It didn’t feel forced or unrealistic even though I would’ve liked to get to know the characters and story line a little better. I definitely think it’s worth the read and even worth the reread! 4.5/5!
Profile Image for Pixip.
133 reviews3 followers
June 2, 2020
Lovely end to the series

Really enjoyed the last book in the series. We hadn't really seen much of Meg in the previous books so it was nice to get to know more of her. I wasn't entirely sure of her and Collins to begin with but once we began to see the real Collins I was much more on board. Really wish there were more books with these ladies because I loved being part of their universe.
432 reviews5 followers
July 10, 2020
Another brilliant story in this series

This being the fourth book about the Shrikes .This time it Meg the drummer. who act as the spokesperson when required. This time they have to work with Collins again. Micah there manager once again sorted it. The band not happy and sparks fly.. This is a story about trust,honesty, anger and more.
Bryce Oakley again did an excellent job writing this and looking forward to reading the next book.
Recommend --Yes. 5*****stars
Profile Image for alice lydia.
28 reviews
May 1, 2022
Feels like this series was definitely running out of steam by this book. It was pretty well written, but the pacing and timing felt weird, so some of the conflict felt really contrived and immature, in a way. Probably could have used like, 50 or so more pages to properly develop the characters and mature the conflict. Still fun though, if a bit fast. :)
Profile Image for Alexa Steli.
630 reviews4 followers
May 15, 2022
3.15/5 i was really exited about this book.
I loved Meg and i was shipping her and Collins since Zoey's book.
But I was a little disappointed in the end.
they started the feelings thing too soon,and i think that it ruined the book to me.
i'm not a sucker for slow-burn but personally i think it's necessary into hate-to-love relationship.
both characters were interesting but it was not for me .
Profile Image for Nic.
69 reviews7 followers
November 27, 2024
Good book incorporating HP not good

Reading this series has been great. I have rated all of them 5s until this one.
J K Rowlings has done a ton of damage to our GLBTQIA2+ family and I hate the references in this book. Hate it. It is damaging to our community, honestly. Enough that this could be the last book I read and I'm a little sad about that.

Profile Image for Deb.
378 reviews9 followers
December 22, 2025
In this final installment in the Kaleidoscope series, Meg, the last single member of the band The Shrikes, also finds love. I think this was the least enjoyable installment of the series, but if, like me, you read all four installments one after the other as one long book, it's a very enjoyable read. This installment gets a 3.5⭐️ from me. The entire series gets a 4⭐️.
Profile Image for charles clayson.
1,330 reviews6 followers
March 27, 2020
💗🌈TERRIFIC🌈💗
Like the 3 books of the series ! This one also brought the characters to life . It was fun to learn more about Meghan .
Collins well for me it was a huge surprise to learn that she was the one Bryce chose for Meghan's one she wanted to settle down with .
BRAVO Bryce ! 💗
410 reviews1 follower
August 31, 2020
Music maestro

Can you separate business and pleasure? Collin is a producer and Meg a musician their relationship became professional then it became... Read the story. Well written and relatable.
499 reviews2 followers
June 14, 2021
Great book

I wasn't to sure that I would like this book at first but the more I read the more I loved this book. It has great characters and the dynamics between Meg and Collins was wonderful.
745 reviews3 followers
April 21, 2020
Once Again

Once again, Bruce has written a warm , sweet story. I've followed the gang through all four of the books and enjoyed all of them immensely. Great job!!
49 reviews1 follower
October 8, 2020
Good read, book 4 of a good series. But by now formula fixed and same in all. Author is a good writer so willing to forgive. Do suggest some new plots tho. :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews

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