The Aftermath (Love in Chaos Book 2) by Amy Matayo {Review}

The Aftermath (A Love in Chaos Novel) by Amy Matayo

Kindle Edition, 182 pages

Published September 12th 2019 by SYG Productions 

Source: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own and were voluntarily given.

 

    

 

According to Riley Mae Floss, life is a ten-page menu of possibilities. As the owner of a cupcake shop in small-town Missouri, she thrives on candies and rainbows and spreading joy every chance she gets. Even her hair is the color of bubble gum. Life is just the way she likes it, so why would she want anything to change now?
 

But when a tornado rips into Riley Mae’s southern town and destroys nearly everything in its path, her happy little life changes in less than forty-two seconds. Buildings gone. Homes carried away. People missing or even dead. Her bakery a shell of what it once was; also her life. Riley Mae’s picture-perfect world is shattered, and everyone she cares about has been hurt in the process.
 

According to insurance adjuster Chad Gamble, life always works out exactly the way it’s supposed to…for other people. As for him, life is a bit of a crapfest—one where he never wins the prize, makes the starting team, or gets the girl. He’s straight-laced, suit-and-tie, all-business, and sees the world for the color it is: muted gray with a little black around the edges.
 

So when Chad Gamble walks into Riley Mae’s ruined bakery to “assess the damages”—his words, not hers—he has no intention of getting bogged down by sentimental nonsense. Sparks immediately start to fly, and not the good kind. Who does this pushy, pink-haired chick think she is, treating him like an outsider when all he came to do was help? He can’t figure out why the locals like her so much.
 

Or worse, why he can’t stop thinking about her.

 

My Review: 5 Stars 

 

Riley Mae hasn't been handed the best cards in life, but she's sweet to the core and I loved the descriptions of her creative cupcakes at her bakery. This sugar-laden world came to a screeching halt when a massive tornado rips through town and I must say, I was chilled to the bone. Matayo does a great job of describing the fallout and I was swirled away and transported smack in the middle of Springfield, MO. My sister doesn't live far from there and I found myself getting upset, thinking about what my sister must be facing, only to realize--this is just a book! But it was that realistic

 

As an insurance man, Chad follows disaster, but the trail of help, hope, and light he leaves behind makes him one super amazing man! He goes above and beyond with his job responsibilities and his personality makes him perfect to diffuse any situation...except for those involving Riley Mae...because of his awkward compliments.

 

You'd think with all the devastation around, there would be no time for sparks, but that's completely wrong. A complete, yet subtle, attraction is fueled with good intentions, misunderstandings, a darling little girl, and lots and lots of cupcakes. 

Even though there are some serious situations the characters find themselves in, the goodness, selflessness, and light radiating through these pages warmed my heart and slapped a smile on my face. 

PS Can Teddy's story be next?

Content: mild romance with some light innuendo; mild-moderate moments of peril, danger, violence; mild+ language (mostly at the beginning)