Smoke and Mirrors by Lillian T. MacGowan

 Firefighter Frank “Deck” Dekker was just doing his job when he saved Dr. Naim Moreau’s life, the last thing he expected was to lose his heart! But he can’t resist his quiet, mysterious doctor, nor does he want to. He wants to make a life with Naim—preferably locked away in his apartment worshiping each other like they were meant to be. Because they are.

Things aren’t as clear for Naim. His past haunts him to his soul, and he would rather die than let Deck seem him the way he sees himself. Being honest with Deck and showing his true face could cause him to lose Deck forever. But is it possible that just maybe Deck will see another man? A beautiful man? And what price is Naim willing to pay to take that chance?

Warning this book contains discussions of past child abuse and rape to one of the main characters.

Smoke and Mirrors catches your attention from the very beginning and holds it until the end.  It starts with the two main characters saving each other’s lives and then moves on to them saving their hearts.  Both Naim and Deck had been living as a shell of themselves for many years up until a burning clinic puts them in contact with each other.

At first I thought the title referred to Deck’s career as a fireman and later realized it has to do with the plot of the book.  Both men were using smoke and mirrors to try and fool their friends, family and even themselves that they were doing better than they were.  They had told themselves the lie that they didn’t deserve love and companionship and basically just let life happen to them instead of living it.  It wasn’t until they met someone they were willing to go out onto a limb for that they saw what they had been missing. 

Wow this was an amazing book and I loved the characters but I could not give it five stars because of the ending.  It was just so vague and unfulfilling.  There were several minor plot points that in my opinion were left open and it doesn’t seem like this is a series so there is no reason for the story to left unresolved like that.  I enjoyed watching Deck and Naim fight their demons and decide to take a chance on love again.  It was beautiful to watch and I hope to see more about these characters.

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