Happy book birthday to The Aftermath by Amy Matayo! This marks the second story in her “Love in Chaos” series! It’s a quick read that left me curious and excited for the next one! Read on for my thoughts & review.
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.
The Aftermath tackles natural disasters, family baggage, dreams and purpose, and a romance in the chaos that ensues. This novel portrays an honest and realistic story of how life can change in an instant and be incredibly hard…. and how it can also be filled with joy, filled with people who continue to show up and care about you. I greatly appreciate its theme and message of how the past doesn’t have the final say. (And YAY for a story setting that’s close to me in real life! Springfield, MO!)
Did I mention there are CUPCAKES!? Cupcakes and a bakery that brings a community together. Amy Matayo gets it RIGHT when it comes to the hard behind-the-scenes work of such an endeavor (I’m a baker myself). And I really, really loved how scars are used as a metaphor for Riley. They mark pain and hard things, but they also heal and fade with time (or in Riley’s case, with bandaging from an, ahem, attractive “new friend” 😉 ) In the middle of all the sweet sugar, a sweet romance unfolds that finds the characters vulnerable and sharing their aches.
Once again, I appreciate how Amy Matayo’s stories absolutely cannot be categorized or put in a box. The lighthearted moments strike a contrast with the grit and emotion of Riley and Chad as they learn and grow through the aftermath of devastation. I recommend it to fans of (clean) new adult and inspirational fiction alike!
Thank you to the author for the advance review copy. This is my honest review.
The Green Mockingbird 
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