The second book in a New Adult fiction series from USA Today bestselling author R.J. Prescott. 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 … 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.
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The Aftermath
By rjprescott
In this corner reaching category five…
Unfortunately bad things happen to good people everyday so you can choose to either wallow in self pity or you can get up and continue to fight.
However Cormac was having issues dealing with things that were totally beyond his control so now he was allowing his emotions to rule his actions.
Which didn’t help him in the least and especially not his latest match that totally knocked him down a few pegs.
Emily had been startled by the reappearance of the one person who should have stood up for her but totally ignored everything.
And now she’d just dealt them another emotional wound.
When I unwittingly lost my head; Emily was the quiet voice of reason pointing out things I needed to see.
Because I was making countless mistakes; I was totally using my talents the wrong way by taking my pent-up aggression on the last person who just happened to be available.
Still I’m a bigger man who can totally deal with the consequences of my choices and do the right thing in the end.
Nothing would ever prepare me for and uphill battle against the boogeyman from my nightmares.
But no matter what happens from here on out I’m the winner; because I’m still standing.
This is a very good book with a great storyline and wonderful characters that will touch your heart. Con and Em take you on an action packed adventure full of twists, turns and suspense. The only problem with the book was the pace – it is very slow and repeats things from book one and the ending could have used an epilogue to help close out the story. But still a very good book that flows.
It is a bank holiday Monday here in the UK today, and for once it is gloriously hot and sunny too. I finished my re-read of The Hurricane this morning and thought I would go straight into The Aftermath and that is how I’ve spent this day – sitting in the garden with Cormac and Emily and oh how I loved it!
The Aftermath continues Con and Em’s story, so ideally you should read The Hurricane first. I really do love this couple – I have a real soft spot for them. As they settle into married life, they seem to have everything going for them. Their career paths are on on the up with Con’s time in the ring bringing him fame and fortune and Emily entering her final year of studies at university. However, they both face a huge battle and lots of turmoil as the problems that they hoped they left behind in book one, follow them through this book too. My heart broke for Emily at times. What she has had to go through is something that no-one ever should, but she always faces everything with great strength and determination and I love her for that. The connection and love that these two people have for each other is never in doubt and Con gave so much support to Emily and I just knew that if it came down to it, he would risk his life for Em…. he would literally do anything to protect her. I absolutely loved that we got Con’s POV in this book whereas The Hurricane had been written in Emily’s. I certainly think that R.J. Prescott made a great decision doing this.
What I really appreciated in this book is the way the author gave me plenty of opportunities to laugh. The interactions between the guys at Driscoll’s gym are priceless. They are one big family and they aren’t afraid to make fun of each other whenever the opportunity arises. With all the heartache and angst that was happening throughout the book, I found this to be perfect for the story and it really enhanced my enjoyment. I felt that the author had all the emotions covered superbly!
I can honestly say I have loved spending the past couple of days with Con, Em, Danny and the guys. This series is one of my all time favourites and I’ll never get tired of reading this story. I’m so lucky to be able to pick The Storm straight off my bookshelf and start reading it tonight. This is Kieran’s story and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Loved the follow-up story. I loved The Hurricane and this one was no different. I just want an O ‘Connell for myself 😉 Love the relationship between Emily and Cormac! The things she went through is what you never want to go through in life but you just fight. You can’t let fear overcome you. Their love for each other got them through it all!
Cormac “The Hurricane” O’Connell’s fighting career has really taken off and he is definitely feeling the joys and the pressures that go along with it. The rise in his fighting career, has lead to him to have to travel all over the world, and he would love nothing more than to have his wife by his side for all of it, but she had to stay behind so she could finish her college education. They both are achieving everything they have ever wanted in life, and they both want the best for each other, but spending time apart so that they can accomplish their goals is killing both of them, they know they must find a way to make it all work without either of losing sight of things. And just when they think they have a handle on things, the past comes back to haunt them, and Em’s life is in danger once again…
This is the follow-up novel to the “The Hurricane,” and is told solely from O’Connell’s point of view, which proved to be a refreshing change of pace for me, it was nice to see the situation told from the guys prospective. As soon as I started it I was once again pulled right back into the thick of things, and felt myself becoming addicted to their story all over all again. I got so involved in it that I ended up devouring it in less than a day, I just could not put it down, I was so captivated with these two!! Once again I was treated to a truly exceptional reading escape courtesy of Ms. Prescott’s very impressive writing abilities, wonderfully crafted characters, which left completely satisfied!! I definitely look forward to more books from this author!! Highly recommend you give this book a try, not only it is sure to treat you to some very satisfying reading, but it is also certain to leave an indelible impression on your heart!!
ARC requested through NetGalley, and kindly provided by Forever (Grand Central Publishing) in exchange for honest and unbiased review.
2nd read 2019
1st read 2016
I really adored ‘The hurricane’ so when I heard that book two would be about the same couple, Cormac O’Connell and Emily (‘Em’). I was both excited and I must confess, a little bit anxious because when you love a first book that much, you can only hope and pray that the second book will be as good as the first one. And to my very delight, I can say that I love ‘The aftermath’ just as much as ‘The hurricane’.
The writer R.J. Prescott decided to write The aftermath from O’Connell’s point of view. So this time we got to know Cormac O’Connell much better. His emotions, his love for his wife, his reaction and feelings in certain situations and his love for boxing.
Cormac O’Connell is happy for the first time in his life. He is married to a beautiful, sweet and gentle girl that loves him no matter what and he’s working hard to becoming the best boxer he can be. He has all the things that he dreamed of as a child but never though was possible until now.
But life isn’t always a fairytale, sometimes it can be very hard and unkind, something that both O’Connell and Em know very well with their difficult childhood, but both are determined to do everything they can to get a better life together. Each of them doing this in their own way. But first they will have to face Emily’s painful past one more time, before they can really start with their new and happy life together. A task that will not be easy and if that isn’t hard enough, O’Connell has been giving the chance of his lifetime, a chance to win the title of the WBO World Heavyweight Championship. A big chance for a boxer but this will also mean many hours of training and hard work and this for many weeks with little time left to spend with Em. Which will leave Em alone most of the time and unprotected. Something that O’Connell doesn’t like or want. But sometimes you have to make sacrifices to achieve big things.
O’Connell will be confronted in this book with many conflicted emotions and he will have to make some huge decisions about his boxing carrier and his private life. And he will also has to face the fact that sometimes justice isn’t for everyone. But is it right to take justice in your own hands? Is love really worth everything in life?? And how far do you go to protect the love of your life?
I really, really love Em and O’Connell but I must also confess that I love Liam, Tommy, Kieran and Danny just as much. The friendship in this series is just as much part of the story as the romance. The batter between the guys, the loyalty and their gentle care of Em. It would almost made me jealous of Em for having this great group of friends around but she’s so sweet and has suffered so much that I can only be happy for her, for having this great new family in her life.
I can only hope that one day in the future all the guys will have their story to read. Fingers crossed!
AfterMath is a continuation of The Hurricane #1 told in Conmac’s POV. This book is better understood if it’s read in numerical order. The AfterMath does not contain cliff hangers, much angst and does have a HEA. It’s an emotional tale of his love for Em and what they have gone through. On the down side it reminded me to much of the movie Rocky….
Cormac “Con” O’Connell, aka: The Hurricane, is on his way to being a heavy weight champion. He has a promising career ahead of him for being so young and hot headed. But the credit for his focus and drive goes to his “Sunshine” better known as Em, his wife.
Em is in her final year of college and can’t follow Con around the world for his matches. Her obsessed, rapist, step-father is in jail, Con and her are married and are each other’s world so everything is going the way they want until a jury finds her rapist not guilty and he is on the loose and back on her trail.
O’Connell must make a decision, to fight and become a champion and give them the life they deserve or to kill the rapist for kidnapping and torturing Em, which would set her free from constantly looking over her shoulder but in the process it would mean him spending the rest of his life in prison. No matter the decision, he knows he will make sure that nothing bad ever happens to his Sunshine again on his watch.