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Mosaic
When you’re a single lesbian who’d prefer to be partnered, it pays to keep your eyes peeled―even at work.
Kelsey Maliar blew into Summer Hayes’ shop on a frosty cold morning, and within a few minutes things had warmed up significantly. By the end of the week they were having a great first date, followed by another, and still another.
Everything seemed perfect, something neither of them had a lot of experience with. But they were both ready to put in the work this time, having learned that the end result was well worth the effort.
Nearly every couple reaches a few forks in the road when they’re starting out, but things sailed along very smoothly―until they didn’t.
What do you do when a woman who’s remarkably close to perfect struggles with an issue that wouldn’t bother the vast majority of people―but is a hot-button for you? Is it a positive grown experience to work through an emotional challenge together? Or is self-protection the wise choice?
They’ve both tried to understand the path to love, but the manual’s really hard to comprehend. If they can stick to their resolve, they should be able to hurdle this roadblock. But can they?
Kelsey Maliar blew into Summer Hayes’ shop on a frosty cold morning, and within a few minutes things had warmed up significantly. By the end of the week they were having a great first date, followed by another, and still another.
Everything seemed perfect, something neither of them had a lot of experience with. But they were both ready to put in the work this time, having learned that the end result was well worth the effort.
Nearly every couple reaches a few forks in the road when they’re starting out, but things sailed along very smoothly―until they didn’t.
What do you do when a woman who’s remarkably close to perfect struggles with an issue that wouldn’t bother the vast majority of people―but is a hot-button for you? Is it a positive grown experience to work through an emotional challenge together? Or is self-protection the wise choice?
They’ve both tried to understand the path to love, but the manual’s really hard to comprehend. If they can stick to their resolve, they should be able to hurdle this roadblock. But can they?
396 pages, Paperback
Published April 12, 2021
10 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Susan X. Meagher
59 books370 followersSusan X Meagher was born in southern Illinois and grew up in East St Louis. She attended college in Chicago and started her working career there. She and her partner moved to the Los Angeles area in the late 80's. It was there that she started to write. Her first few books were simply posted on the web and became the I Found My Heart in San Francisco series. In 2002 she moved to New York and divides her time between Manhattan and the Jersey Shore. She has published thirteen books in the series and has gone on to write many individual books as well. She has partnered with other authors on two short story books and has written many stories that have been published in other mainstream anthologies. Susan is active in the lesbian author community and loves to attend Women's week at Provincetown and the GCLS annual conventions. Her stories revolve around the relationships that two women can build when given a chance and how those relationships can strengthen the individual and the partnership. Her genre is lesbian romance/fiction and she believes strongly in the happy ending that we all so deserve. Susan X Meagher was awarded a 2011 Lesbian Fiction Readers’ Choice Award for Favorite Lesbian Fiction Writer. She is the recipient of the 2014 Alice B. Medal for her body of work.
From the author's website: I live in New York with my spouse, Carrie. We've lived in Chicago and Los Angeles for significant periods, but New York fits us very well. I love to discuss my work and fiction in general. My goal in writing is to explore feelings. I want to entertain, but I also want to make people think. I've heard that life is all about finding out who we are. To me, life if about finding out who other people are. I'm interested in the small details of life, that's how a story about two young women in college is slowly becoming a 26 book series. The joke in Seinfield was that it was about nothing. I feel the same about most of my books. They are about the many things that happen when nothing is happening. The small joys and sorrows of everyday life can be fascinating, especially if you care about the people involved. I try to create characters that will make a reader care deeply. I'm always interested in hearing how close I am to that goal. So please drop me a line whenever you have a comment or a question about a story. Writing is a pretty solitary pursuit and it's great to know that I'm not alone.
From the author's website: I live in New York with my spouse, Carrie. We've lived in Chicago and Los Angeles for significant periods, but New York fits us very well. I love to discuss my work and fiction in general. My goal in writing is to explore feelings. I want to entertain, but I also want to make people think. I've heard that life is all about finding out who we are. To me, life if about finding out who other people are. I'm interested in the small details of life, that's how a story about two young women in college is slowly becoming a 26 book series. The joke in Seinfield was that it was about nothing. I feel the same about most of my books. They are about the many things that happen when nothing is happening. The small joys and sorrows of everyday life can be fascinating, especially if you care about the people involved. I try to create characters that will make a reader care deeply. I'm always interested in hearing how close I am to that goal. So please drop me a line whenever you have a comment or a question about a story. Writing is a pretty solitary pursuit and it's great to know that I'm not alone.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 30, 2021
Kelsey and Summer met at the very start of this story. And they connected and they felt the attraction. It was almost love at first sight. Almost. But love did not come easy. Kelsey and Summer still had a long way before their happily ever after. They had their strengths and weaknesses but at the end they solved their issues. Thank God!
BTW, I had to read chapter 9 twice just to learn who was who in Summer's family.
BTW, I had to read chapter 9 twice just to learn who was who in Summer's family.
April 5, 2021
Patience. Loyalty. I'd say these are the main themes of this slow burn book, focusing mostly on MC Kelsey in therapy dealing with a traumatic childhood. All the while other MC Summer waits and waits and gives lots of shoulder rubs. It isn't what I expected, and the pacing was quite slow, but still well written.
I was a little thrown by some dialogue, as both are basically planning their wedding as soon as they meet. Their banter is peppered with 'when we get engaged' and their futures as a whole, both being very transparent they are not in for a casual fling but a serious long term relationship from day 1. That's cool and all, and I realize sometimes it was meant in a humorous tone, but kinda killed the sparks for me. They were so....practical. Not a ton of heat.
Some unique family dynamics and details of the women's interesting careers were included as well, rounding this out for a 3.5/5 for me.
I was a little thrown by some dialogue, as both are basically planning their wedding as soon as they meet. Their banter is peppered with 'when we get engaged' and their futures as a whole, both being very transparent they are not in for a casual fling but a serious long term relationship from day 1. That's cool and all, and I realize sometimes it was meant in a humorous tone, but kinda killed the sparks for me. They were so....practical. Not a ton of heat.
Some unique family dynamics and details of the women's interesting careers were included as well, rounding this out for a 3.5/5 for me.
May 3, 2021
Continuing with the theme of the week, I didn't expect that I’ll like this book so much. I went in blind, inferring I would like it, just because of the author.
The first quarter or the book I was questioning my choices. It felt like completing a checklist for both MCs and not much more, the chapter were Summer and Leah are discussing how low is the bar really cemented that, so I was waiting for some “actions speak louder that words” kind of stuff, but no, none came, the MCs seemed pretty happy having separate everything and not a lot of life in common.
Then the book got interesting for me. One of the MCs became annoying, then the other felt whiny, and I was expecting the always present drama, but it came on a different way that I was expecting, and I liked that.
Go give this book a chance.
The first quarter or the book I was questioning my choices. It felt like completing a checklist for both MCs and not much more, the chapter were Summer and Leah are discussing how low is the bar really cemented that, so I was waiting for some “actions speak louder that words” kind of stuff, but no, none came, the MCs seemed pretty happy having separate everything and not a lot of life in common.
Then the book got interesting for me. One of the MCs became annoying, then the other felt whiny, and I was expecting the always present drama, but it came on a different way that I was expecting, and I liked that.
Go give this book a chance.
December 10, 2021
Mosaic grabbed and held my attention because I was drawn into the lives and backgrounds of the two main characters, Kelsey and Summer. I was interested in finding out how they would they build and develop a relationship despite the issues that emerged in their lives that held them back. Based on the blurb, which mentioned a hot-button issue that would divide the two main characters, I imagined there might be a political or ideological issue that they would disagree upon. However, without spoiling anything, it was more to do with how the characters chose to approach more fundamental elements of their lives and relationships.
The two main characters in Mosaic have a lot of depth in terms of their life histories, ethnic and family backgrounds, and professions. Susan X. Meagher's characters are always unique but also ordinary in their own ways.
You can’t go wrong with Mosaic if you want to read something different and far from a cookie-cutter romance.
The two main characters in Mosaic have a lot of depth in terms of their life histories, ethnic and family backgrounds, and professions. Susan X. Meagher's characters are always unique but also ordinary in their own ways.
You can’t go wrong with Mosaic if you want to read something different and far from a cookie-cutter romance.
March 28, 2021
I am a really big fan of this author because you always come away learning about a place, profession, community. Add to that excellent writing and interesting stories and you know you are in for an enjoyable read.
This novel is no exception. I really enjoyed getting to know Kelsey and Summer two woman with baggage and who are very wary about committing to people. This book introduced me to Pittsburgh and the world of custom tile. The two main characters where complex and multi-layered dealing with issues that I think will resonate for a lot of woman.
This novel is no exception. I really enjoyed getting to know Kelsey and Summer two woman with baggage and who are very wary about committing to people. This book introduced me to Pittsburgh and the world of custom tile. The two main characters where complex and multi-layered dealing with issues that I think will resonate for a lot of woman.
October 5, 2021
I don’t care, I’m giving it five stars. My first five star lesfic in over a year. I really enjoy Susan Meagher’s measured approach to writing romance, and when it’s a setting/trope that’s even remotely in my area of interest I’m bound to love the book. And that’s true for like…90% of her books. Embarrassing for me, I know, being such a stan.
But here’s why this book is my favourite of hers since Chef’s Special (which was a couple of books ago):
Aside from the story working as a great romance novel (chemistry, banter, fluff, the works) it also was very careful about the issues it brought up. It didn’t just stir up family drama and past trauma to facilitate a vulnerable bonding moment. Once the past was brought up, it became almost a third character, in how it drastically changed the dynamics of the relationship—as trauma is wont to do.
It is a common thing in the genre to bring up tough topics but not really put any effort towards naming the actual issues or indeed, solving them. Typically, the resolution ends up being one of the leads “healing” due to finding love or something to that effect. That’s handled differently here, they both have to take extensive therapy to deal with their respective issues. Meagher also doesn’t try to make the characters too perfect by the end of the story. They are still dealing with some things and working on themselves, but that’s okay!
In an interview/podcast I listened to years ago (I think it’s a cocktail-themed lesfic chat podcast, it’s now bothering me that I cannot remember the name), Meagher said that she wished she hadn’t made Ryan (a lovely main character from her I Found My Heart in San Francisco series) seem so perfect in book 1. That was something she tried to adjust in later books, and the reading experience of that adjustment feels similar to the experience of reading this book. Because at first Kelsey is unbelievably perfect, but then her past gets dug up, and aside from her dealing with the understandable turmoil of all that, I do believe there was some truth to Summer’s fears. Kelsey isn’t perfect, neither is Summer, but that doesn’t take away from their lovability or even the believability of the romance. It adds to it, especially with how it’s addressed in this story.
TL; DR: I’m giving it five stars because it was realistic about the relationship highs and lows and was deliberate about bringing it to a happy ever after without rushing it.
But here’s why this book is my favourite of hers since Chef’s Special (which was a couple of books ago):
Aside from the story working as a great romance novel (chemistry, banter, fluff, the works) it also was very careful about the issues it brought up. It didn’t just stir up family drama and past trauma to facilitate a vulnerable bonding moment. Once the past was brought up, it became almost a third character, in how it drastically changed the dynamics of the relationship—as trauma is wont to do.
It is a common thing in the genre to bring up tough topics but not really put any effort towards naming the actual issues or indeed, solving them. Typically, the resolution ends up being one of the leads “healing” due to finding love or something to that effect. That’s handled differently here, they both have to take extensive therapy to deal with their respective issues. Meagher also doesn’t try to make the characters too perfect by the end of the story. They are still dealing with some things and working on themselves, but that’s okay!
In an interview/podcast I listened to years ago (I think it’s a cocktail-themed lesfic chat podcast, it’s now bothering me that I cannot remember the name), Meagher said that she wished she hadn’t made Ryan (a lovely main character from her I Found My Heart in San Francisco series) seem so perfect in book 1. That was something she tried to adjust in later books, and the reading experience of that adjustment feels similar to the experience of reading this book. Because at first Kelsey is unbelievably perfect, but then her past gets dug up, and aside from her dealing with the understandable turmoil of all that, I do believe there was some truth to Summer’s fears. Kelsey isn’t perfect, neither is Summer, but that doesn’t take away from their lovability or even the believability of the romance. It adds to it, especially with how it’s addressed in this story.
TL; DR: I’m giving it five stars because it was realistic about the relationship highs and lows and was deliberate about bringing it to a happy ever after without rushing it.
November 18, 2021
This was a slow moving book - to the point of dragging – it’s as if the author had a targeted word count and she was going to make that target no matter what. The book quickly became bloated with unnecessary descriptions and unnecessary words.
There were too many characters who were badly written, so the reader doesn’t know any of them well enough to be able to tell who they are when they show up much less like any of them. Most of them remained amorphous to the end of the book.
It was difficult to keep track of who was speaking when the characters interacted due to the lack of adequate dialogue tags so the reader is pulled out of the story to try to figure out which character is speaking
Neither of the main characters is particularly likable – they are both obnoxiously opinionated and believe they have the right to interfere in the life of the other.
There were too many characters who were badly written, so the reader doesn’t know any of them well enough to be able to tell who they are when they show up much less like any of them. Most of them remained amorphous to the end of the book.
It was difficult to keep track of who was speaking when the characters interacted due to the lack of adequate dialogue tags so the reader is pulled out of the story to try to figure out which character is speaking
Neither of the main characters is particularly likable – they are both obnoxiously opinionated and believe they have the right to interfere in the life of the other.
March 18, 2023
3.5 would be more exact. If you are more into the will they wont they (as I am), this book is not totally for you, pretty much from the start the caracter are into each other. So there no chace, no hesitation really
This book is more about relationship, dealing with pass trauma and also realising stuff about yourself, as much as Kelsey had stuff to deal Summer too and I was glad she realize it because for a big part of the book felt like she didnt respect Kelsey. Like she liked thing to be a way and the minute its wasnt she had a probleme with it which pissed me off but then Kelsey reacted wich was a good surprise for me but a good choice also.
The book maid me cry 3 time with the marianne story line. Meagher know how to writte personal growth and dealing with Trauma and this one is done beautifuly. An interesting read that for sure.
This book is more about relationship, dealing with pass trauma and also realising stuff about yourself, as much as Kelsey had stuff to deal Summer too and I was glad she realize it because for a big part of the book felt like she didnt respect Kelsey. Like she liked thing to be a way and the minute its wasnt she had a probleme with it which pissed me off but then Kelsey reacted wich was a good surprise for me but a good choice also.
The book maid me cry 3 time with the marianne story line. Meagher know how to writte personal growth and dealing with Trauma and this one is done beautifuly. An interesting read that for sure.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 24, 2021
Excellent.
I loved Mosaic. It takes a really mature adult to admit mistakes and take steps to correct them. Maybe a spoiler********** I had to read the description of Summer’s family a few times to get it straight.
I loved Mosaic. It takes a really mature adult to admit mistakes and take steps to correct them. Maybe a spoiler********** I had to read the description of Summer’s family a few times to get it straight.
April 16, 2021
This is a challenging love story by Megan X. Meagher, who is one of the best lesbian fiction writers around. Two young women who seem perfectly matched for a real relationship encounter a difficult challenge. This novel digs deep and isn't always easy, but it's well done and worth the effort.
April 23, 2021
3.5 stars
August 19, 2021
i should probably start therapy
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews