REVIEW: After The Storm

In After The Storm by Maya Banks, the setting is KGI’s home land. Donovan is home at the KGI compound between missions. Donovan protects people and helps people who are for whatever reason unable to help themselves. When his adoptive sister Rusty hires a boy for their Dad’s store who reminds her so much of herself at that age, she wants to help him as much as she can. It is Donovan who helps Rusty. It is Donovan who, with Rusty, follows the boy home to discover him living in a fun down trailer with his older sister Eve and younger sister Cammie. When Donovan sees Eve, Travis’s older sister, the fear, hunger and distrust lurking in her eyes brings out every protective instinct in him and something else he never would have expected at that moment in his life.

Eve has been on the run with her siblings for so long, trusting no one for so long, that it is impossible for her to be able to even think about trusting this man. Evil is after them, and Eve will do anything to protect them – even if it means running from their newest home. But Mother Nature steps in, and After The Storm Eve realizes she’s going to have to accept help. She only hopes it’s not the biggest mistake of her life. Slowly as Eve and her brother and sister heal, she starts to trust Donovan and his family. For the first time someone is taking care of her, caring about her. Eve is also becoming very close to Donovan…he is patient but persistent, because it is Eve he wants to spend the rest of his life with. Donovan will pull out all the stops to help Eve, to keep her safe, and to make it so she never has to be scared again.

Assumptions, fear and continued mistrust soon have Eve forgetting the good though. The evil is catching up to her … and acting on impulse is never a good idea. Can Donovan and the rest of KGI save Eve, Travis, and Cammie – the people Donovan wants for his family? Or Will Donovan lose Eve before he really has her?

For me, Maya has done it again with After The Storm! From the first page I was entranced, I was there. I love the KGI series and the KGI family, and when I read these books Maya makes me feel like I am part of them. I really liked the change of setting in that After The Storm takes place in their compound and in their homeland. Maya give us a really good look at Donovan and his life by doing this. When I pick up a romantic suspense book, I want to lose myself in drama and romance. I want those things that probably won’t happen to me in real life (but anything is possible!), I want to lose myself in the fantasy of the world my characters I am reading about are in and Maya has never failed to do this for me.

It would be impossible not to like Eve. She has been through so much but is still soldiering on, willing to sacrifice herself for her brother and sister. She’s brave and selfless and very, very cautious. On the surface some of her actions were annoying and frustrating at times, but trying to put myself in her shoes made her much easier to relate to. Donovan is the hot tech guy of KGI, he’s been biding his time hoping to meet ‘the’ woman one day. When he meets Eve he stops hoping and starts living his dream…he just hopes she feels for him what he feels for her, that she’ll see he’d never do anything to hurt her. I think if Eve can open her heart and risk it, her and Donovan will be a perfect match – if they can overcome her past and what haunts and chases her.

I also loved seeing all the other members of the KGI family. It is always so fun to see where they are in their lives now and to read the interactions between them all. There are quite a few secondary characters, so I would recommend reading the entire KGI series so that you can get to know them and see how they all fit and work together.

After The Storm does not take place over a long period of time…most of the book is over a few days. The pace is fast though, and that, with the action, keeps the book moving so that you are never bored or waiting for tomorrow…everything just flows together. I really enjoyed the love at first sight in After The Storm…for me it sparked and the chemistry was hot between Eve and Donovan…hot enough that it always seemed to be smoldering between them!

Personally I would highly recommend After The Storm by Maya Banks for romantic suspense readers. I also highly recommend reading some if not all of the other KGI books also and see what sparks your interest! I can’t wait for the next book in this series!

Book Info:

Published January 7th 2014 by Berkley

The Kelly Group International (KGI): A super-elite, top secret, family-run business.

Qualifications: High intelligence, rock-hard body, military background.

Mission: Hostage/kidnap victim recovery. Intelligence gathering. Handling jobs the U.S. government can’t…

Over the years, Donovan Kelly has fought relentlessly for justice, women and children always holding a special place in his heart. Working side by side with his brothers, Donovan has witnessed firsthand the toll it’s taken—physically, mentally, and emotionally—on his loved ones, and the innocent lives caught in the crossfire. What he never expects is for his next mission to happen right on his home turf—or for it to take a very personal turn.

Picturesque Kentucky Lake is the perfect place for a soul in search of safe harbor. A beautiful stranger has arrived—desperate, breathless, and on the run from a dark past closing in on her and the younger siblings she has vowed to protect. Donovan must now draw on every resource at his disposal—if he wants to save a woman and the children who may prove to be his destiny.