Review: The Aftermath (Love in Chaos #2) by Amy Matayo

About the Book

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. 

Amazon / Goodreads

My Thoughts

Oh my! This book, y'all! It absolutely broke my heart. A tornado rips through town and completely destroys lives, leaving many destitute, their homes destroyed, loved ones lost. They have nowhere to go and very little hope. Though one of the bright spots in their day is going to the cupcake shop owned by Riley Mae Floss. She's been just as affected by the tornado as the rest of the town, but makes it her mission to lighten the load a bit for everyone who walks through her door.

There's always something so real and relatable about the characters in Amy Matayo's books. And that's still the case in this book with Riley and Chad. And even the characters who only appear in one quick scene. There's a real authenticity.

Riley has been through a lot in her life. Faced quite a few hardships, ups and downs. She's overcome a lot, but one thing she doesn't do is let people get close to her. Most of the people she's cared about, with the exception of her grandmother, have left her in some way or another. She just can't deal with being hurt again, so she doesn't let anyone close enough to try.

Chad's always trying to prove himself and feels like he never measures up. The girl he was in love with chose his brother over him. Things just never seem to work out for him...until he meets Riley.

The Aftermath is an emotional read, for sure, but there was also a nice amount of humor to lighten things up when it started to get too heavy. It struck a perfect balance. I highly recommend it to fans of contemporary romance.

Four Stars