Review: Mirage (Mirage #1) by Alice Montalvo-Tribue

I'm the woman your husband thinks about while he's on top of you at night...
At least, that's how I tell the girls I hire to think.
Being an escort is no easy job, and being a madame is no easier...

I'm in the business of selling fantasies and dreams to million dollar clients, and if you think what I do is harmful to society, then think again. (If it wasn't for me, there'd be a lot more unhappy and unproductive businessmen and a lot more drug addicted prostitutes in the world)

I guard privacy and secrets with my own life, and I've never slipped up or got caught, not once.

But there's something about the man I just met, something that makes me uneasy, especially since he's interested in me...

And he's offering me a whole lot more than anyone ever has before...

I'm just not sure if this is a risk worth taking--if letting him into my life is the right thing, or if the red flags I'm currently seeing are real or another mirage...

Victoria Powell has a guilty conscience. She's a madam, she sells sex. In order to frees herself from some of the guilt, she only allows her girls to have one client at a time as long as their contract lasts. Victoria only allows a few people to be close to her. She doesn't want her secret to get out. When she meets Nathan Lennox at a charity event her senses go on full alert and for good reason.

Victoria has a saviors complex because of her past experience with her mother and it influenced her career of choice. Money is not Victoria's only reason for being a Madam, she wants to right her mother's wrongs. Nathan shows up at a time when Victoria had already been considering closing down her illegal business. As she falls further in love with Nathan, she continues to hide the truth from him by only sharing the mirage that she's created. There's a major twist in the story that was not difficult to forecast. The truth is exposed and their relationship is in jeopardy.

I was disappointed that the twist in the story was predictable. Victoria is also not a friendly character, many of her actions toward Nathan are hard to swallow. Victoria is a very hurtful, mean, sarcastic woman. I had a difficult time understanding Nathan, he was definitely whipped.  Nathan continues to pursues Victoria no matter what she says or does. I understand her issues but dam Nathan needed to grow a backbone and moved on. Victoria does face her past and makes a concerted effort to move forward and leave it behind her. I felt as if the damaged was already done.