The Aftermath by R.J. Prescott
Series: The Hurricane (# 2)
Release Date: December 15, 2015
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 231
Source: Book provided by NetGalley for review
When you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose. But what happens when you have everything you ever wanted? You fight to keep it.
Cormac “the Hurricane” O’Connell’s star is on the rise. Billed as the most promising young boxer of his generation, his new career is taking him to places he never dreamed. But O’Connell only needs one thing in life: his wife. In her final year of college, Em cannot follow him around the world but together they make it work.
Just when everything they ever wanted is on the horizon, the past resurfaces to haunt them and O’Connell realizes that justice might not be a part of his happy ever after.
He couldn’t protect Em once before, but in the aftermath of the hurricane, he will make sure that never happens again.
Review: This is the second book in a series by R.J. Prescott. I have to admit that I did not read the first book in the series prior to reading The Aftermath, but I was under the impression that they were stand alone books. I will give a bit of warning. Read The Hurricane first. Reading The Aftermath first I was able to follow the story and that was a relief, however I did get very confused in the beginning trying to figure out the difference between Em, Sunshine and Emily. I finally figured it out and maybe it was just me but until I figured it out I was very confused.
In The Aftermath we follow “O’Connell” as he is referred to by his friends and “Em” his wife on the rocky roller coaster that they call life. Em has been through a lot in her life, from losing her dad to an abusive stepfather and a mom who never seemed to care about her. Things seem to be looking up though because she has found the love of her life in Cormac O’Connell.
That was just the beginning though. There is an upcoming trial where her stepfather is being tried for her kidnapping and rape. This brings up a lot of issues for O’Connell because he feels like he wasn’t there for her when she was kidnapped and he should have been because he is her husband. In his eyes it is his job to protect her and he failed at that. Add to the fact that O’Connell is a boxer with a hair trigger temper and someone is going to be in for the fight of their life.
R.J. Prescott does a great job of staying on track with the story and is very detailed in her description of the scenery and the characters. Once getting past my initial hiccup with characters I found myself flipping through the pages like the book was on fire. The Aftermath is an amazing story of love, loss and redemption. The authors style of writing kept me on the edge of my seat and dying to know what would happen next. I will definitely be looking forward to her next book, and I can’t wait to go back and read her first book to see how Em and O’Connell’s love connection happened. For pulling me into the story and keeping the pages flying by I give The Aftermath a 4 rose rating.
Favorite Quote: “First time you come on to me, you’re misinformed. Second time, you’re disrespecting my wife. So how about you fuck off back to your seat before I decide to get offended?”
