After the Storm (A KGI Novel)

This book has gotten a fair number of unflattering reviews. As a big fan of the KGI series AND Maya, I can understand how people had expectations about how Van's story would be. I have loved Van from the very first book. I, too, waited anxiously for his story to be told. As a creative type, I know that you can't always please everybody. But I also know that your muse talks to you. I truly believe that Van told his story to Maya. Whether that was to your liking or not, that's life.

I can't say that this is my favorite of the KGI series by any means, because honestly, Rachel and Ethan's story has always stayed with me and held tight to my heart. But I did enjoy this one. Was it how I envisioned Van's story - probably not so much, but that's ok. It doesn't change how I feel about Van or this series.

I can agree with some of the other reviewers that felt that the whole 'instant love at first sight' thing was a little hard to swallow, but seriously people, it's contemporary romance.....you read that stuff all the time! I was more annoyed by him calling her 'honey' so much - I have no idea why that bothered me! As always I loved catching up with all the Kelly Clan and even though all the family dynamics can sometimes be a bit over the top - I remind you again - contemporary romance - FICTION. It's allowed to be that way.

Anyway - I thought some reviews were pretty harsh. But like everything, everybody is entitled to their own opinion. I feel badly that Maya felt the need to make an apology for letting her readers down. Because as I see it, you can't please everybody. I look forward to the next book in this series, regardless!

This series is my favorite and I had been looking forward to Donovans story. I was so disappointed, I almost feel like someone else wrote the book. It did not seem like the same writing style, dialogue, or story structure. The characters in this series have such great story potential and for rock steady guy to be reduced to a somewhat creepy individual is just sad. I had a really hard time getting through the second half of the book and am just bummed out!

I have never written a review before but felt the need to write one on their book. This book lacked everything her other books have. Read the beginning then skimmed the rest of the book. A person can only hear how Donovan had a weak spot for women and children so often before thinking that maybe he was a little off like the deranged father/step father. Used to like him but found myself disliking immensely about half way through the book. Very disappointed. Hope the next one is a better read. This one was awful.

ok. the quickness of the relationship was stunning. I realize that for the sake of the story it was necessary. Eve is a very brave and awesome woman. She and DONOVAN are great. loved Cammie and Travis. and. hey. when is Sean going to admit he totally loves Rusty? don't make us wait too long!!!!

I have read and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the books in this series and even pre-ordered this one months back anticipating Donovan's story and yet another hard-to-put-down read as the rest of the series has been. Sadly this book is so over-laden with mental introspection by the characters that they have little time for any action much less developing a romance. The angst, conclusion jumping, and banal misunderstandings drag on and on until one wants to root for the villain to put in an appearance just to get something to happen one way or another.

Eve is so confused, conflicted, and exhausted all the time from her mental trials and tribulations that it is difficult to really care for her. And Donovan was never this macho-man stupid in any of the previous books. Did he suddenly lose all his strength of character and his abilities and develop a short-man complex? If he obsessed aloud about having his own family one more time I was ready to push him into the lake myself.

The role of KGI and its members and extended family is so minimal in this book that it really doesn't qualify as a KGI novel although we do get to see more of Rusty and Sean at least. The author apparently had a really difficult time writing this one, trying to make it work. Sadly it doesn't. 2 stars as I enjoy her other books in the series and I recommend them but I'd say take a pass on this one.

SYNOPSIS:
Hero falls instantly in love with a troubled woman with 2 kid siblings in tow. He is a living and breathing white knight. Hero meets woman and young siblings on the run from abusive relative. Hero swoops in, saves her, takes her home and declares “they’re my family” to which his family and friends all go “Ok”, with hardly any even raised eyebrows. Bad guy tries to come between them, cue the HEA.

This is not up to Bank ususal par. I was on page 265, and I remember thinking, “This is supposed to be a suspense romance. So far, no romance, no suspense.” It was a weak weak story. The main heroine, is so superficial and limp that I despised her.

Donovan, who was a geeky hero in my mind, did not live up to his rep. He didn’t use his head at all. He didn’t check out his love interest, he didn’t even ask if she was interested in the basic things that marriages involve, not even a fundamental question like ‘do you want to have kids?’.

PLOT TRAUMA
1) The author forgot Travis had broken ribs. Banks had him picking up a toddler, wrestling, picking up a 4 year old etc. I know people who broke their ribs and all they did was yell “*&@##*!!!” for months any time they picked up anything or moved.

2) The children had a wealthy father. That means they are a target of any long lost relative who would come out of the woodwork to contest custody with Donovan.

3) The author forgot there’s $ in the inheritance. It wasn’t mentioned. I thought that would be part of the HEA.

4) The hijacking. Really?! The plane would be shot out of the air. CNN would be on it live, that was too far fetched.

5) The tornado was so cliche. But then I remember that even Sharon Sala resorted to a tornado in her Cat books. The scenes were not realistic. The author had the characters shouting and understanding each other in the tornado. I was in one that destroyed our school building. It was as loud as a freight train on top of you. You can’t hear anyone.

6) The Kelly family just went along with Donovan’s madness. There was a small half hearted attempt to make Donovan think, but if my relative was acting like this, at least I would interrogate them separately to see if they get their story straight and check them out.

7) I hate virgins having screaming Os. Bleh.

8) The heroine Eve was not a sympathetic character. She was 24 years old and still in college?! Even going part time, she should have been finished, not blaming her home life on her overbearing controlling step father.

9) What happened to the heroine’s aunt that raised her? She was never mentioned again.

WHAT I LIKED:
I love the KGI series, with the exception of Steele’s story, the are all first rate and worthy of spending your hard earned $$. I was glad the teacher used proper grammar this time, (in her novelette, she made me cringe with her verbal mistakes). I liked adding Rusty to the mix. It is nice to see all the characters from the other books living in harmony and enjoying each other’s company. I LOVED the scene at the family dinner on Sunday after church.

This one is ok. But I really want to get to Rusty’s story and then little Joe. Plus they keep adding teams and members, so I bet Skyler gets a book soon. Usually Banks has great suspense, people acting in character and just a little bit of camp exaggeration. This one was more like a cake where they forgot to add in the flour and salt (romance and suspense), it just flops and is inedible.

Love Maya Banks writing . Sometime a little too graphic but it is my choice. She writes tight storylines and keeps you wanting more info about the adjunct characters as well. Would love to see a novel at the end of the series that has all the characters having a happy ending.

*SPOILER ALERT*

I am an AVID KGI series fan, having read and re-read all of the books in the series before this installment, yet I barely managed to get through this one. While the story is Van's the best parts of the book are the tidbits with Rusty and Sean. I refuse to give up on Maya's series, but after reading 'After the Storm' I won't be pre-ordering Swanny's book. I'll wait to see what other KGI fans have to say before buying it.

My biggest issue with this story in the series is Eve. She's 24, smart enough to get her siblings away from their abusive, sick-o, father, yet fell right into the "I want us to be a family" from Van within three days?! I'm all for suspending reality a bit while reading but this was too much. Even worse was after she was rescued in the end of the book; she believed Van far too easily in my opinion. She was a strong, determined woman with her father yet wilted within seconds to Van. As much as she'd been through I wanted her to finally let loose on Van, make him work hard to earn her trust again.

I have enjoyed every KGI book before this one. I recommend reading the others, skipping this one, and waiting to see reviews for the next in the series before buying it.

Bring on these boys! Bring them all on! Hey Maya, do you think in the near future you may have a 50something long lost uncle or brother hero type in the future? Of course I can pretend to be in my 20's while reading most of your books but it would be great to actually think I could without changing my age. Until then, fantasy will win the day! (. ;

While not my favorite in the series I enjoyed the book. I am one of those who love the stories when they take place with lots of the family around and the family is in the plot in a big way. I agree the love came fast, but it does in most all the KGI books, and in many of Maya's other series. I'm looking forward to all her future books!

This was, hands down, my least favorite of all the books. And I was so looking forward to Donovan's book. I think the insta-love and very little story was what turned me off. There was no build up, no tension. I swear, 10 minutes after meeting Eve, Van was all "I love you" and "marry me". UGH. Such a disappointment.

Maya Banks is a master at writing. I started reading this series and have made sure I get all of them as soon as they're released. She gives each of her characters a strong personality. This particular book felt like a rollercoaster ride ( in a good way) I'm glad Donovan got his own story. I can't wait to see what's next!

As always, Ms. Banks tell a great action pack story with lots of heart and family support. Eve will be one of my favorite heroines as Donovan has always been one of my favorite heroes. I can't wait to read more about the Kelly family especially Rusty and Sean (who I knew all along would have a great story).

This novel is a continuation of the KGI series and it is good; Maya Banks does well in this series as she continues to write about he main character. I enjoyed reading the book and I am a big fan of the KGI series. I have read every book in the series. I hope that Ms. Banks continues to deliver in this wonderful series.

I really enjoyed this new KGI book. Donovan is probably my favourite of the Kelly brothers and so I was really pleased to finally read his story. His heroine Eve is as under attack and in need as your typical Kelly heroine. I like a hero that knows and acknowledges that he likes his leading lady early in the book- none of that unnecessary faffing about with contrived "I-love-her-not "conflict. However, I think his declaration came pretty early and inappropriately in this book. There was literally no build up and Eve was never really given the chance to come to terms with her new situation in Van's house before being thrust into a relationship with him.

I wasn't really comfortable with the way Van declared himself to the heroine and her young brother and sister when they were at their most vulnerable. I felt that this really muddied the waters and took what could have been a sweet romantic plot into the questionable "is-he-taking-advantage-of-her" zone. And Van with his love and respect for women and children doesn't deserve to have that be a question at all.

If one can get past the uncomfortable start to the relationship, this is a sweet romantic story. Van, Eve, her siblings and all the Kellys are at their most charming and it's all very enjoyable to read and catch up with they're all up to.

As far as KGI villains go, Eve's father is pretty tame, not in terms of depravity, but in terms of the level of exposure we have to him. This is not one of the more action-packed KGI books. In fact the reactions of the Kellys are pretty sluggish. When Eve and her brother escape, it takes FOREVER for the Kellys to pull the finger out and get on with the chase. I could hardly believe it of the Kellys who'd jetted all over the world to save one another's women were so slow to react with poor Evie. I think it was probably done to create a little drama with such an undramatic villain but it just ended up making the KGI men look incompetent like they'd lost their edge.

Ultimately though, this was a pretty enjoyable read, a worthy addition to the KGI series. My great excitement is that Sean and Rusty kissed in this book (so that's why he's always been so tough on her!) I kind of hope they're the next book but it probably won't be them since they're both kind of young. We're also getting a whole host of new KGI team members AND Joe Kelly is still single so there's a lot of life still left in this series and I trust this author not to disappoint!

We finally get the KGI story of Donovan (Van) one of the last two single Kelly brothers. The Geek of the teams, who keeps the missions running behind the scenes, he is the one who is the most sensitive. He is the one that has the soft spot for any mission that involves women or children, especially children.

Rusty, the 'adopted' Kelly sister, is trying to help Travis, a 15 year old waif that reminds her of herself at that age, before Mama Kelly took her under her wing. Rusty ropes Van into following Travis home, to see what kind of issues he is having. They find Travis, his 4 year old sister Cammie, and his 24 year old half-sister Eve living in abject poverty. Wham, Van is immediately in love

Eve is scared, obviously hiding/running from someone or something. Before Van can even find out what the issue is, he begins to think of them as "his family".

What follows is 400 pages of very hard to slog through Van/Eve issues. This book really could have been about half the length it was. The plot was so-so, and predictable. The redeeming quality of this story was the little vignettes that we saw of the other Kelly family members, and the other teams. There just was not enough of the KGI grit and drama in this one. Yes, Van is the sensitive one, but he is still ex-military, and he still goes out on missions with the guys. He just did not have the OOMPH in this book that we saw from him in the other books.

The last few chapters of the book were better, but still, the book was not as good as the others in the series. I personally would read the KGI series again, but not this one. This was a one time read

While still a great KGI Novel, this one seemed to skip some of the important steps around the beginning of the relationship with Donovan and love interest. Falling in love and being protective all happening in one night, it just didn't read right. I had to go back and read the chapter again to make sure I hadn't missed something. Not my favourite KGI but still full of action that I have come to love in these books.

I was weary because this book got bad reviews but had enjoyed the others so much didn’t think it it could be THAT bad. It was worse. Not sure this was even the same author. You won’t miss anything in the series by saving your money and skipping this one

A tad disappointed because I really like Donovan and felt his story deserved better. This lover and protector of women and children just seemed to claim his female to quickly and I didnt buy the story as much as the others. Was hoping for more action. Nice story on its own but didnt think it fit with the series

I was dissapointed in the story of Donovan. So much potential just turned trite and repetetive. Won't stop me from reading the rest of the KGI series, though, and I'm really looking forward to the story of Swanny. I still highly recommend the whole series - read them all!

Maya Banks does it again. This is Donavan's story. He is helping Eve and her brother and sister as they are running from her stepfather. There are twists and turns and I couldn't put this book down. Fantastic addition to the series.

How can any woman not enjoy hot guys, resilient women and determination from both sexes, plus a love that meets no bounds?
I know I couldn't!
Thanks Maya Banks for the emotional experience of the men and women of KGI.
Keep reading my fellow book lovers!

This was a long book where things happened fast. But all I can say is that I am a loyal fan of maya banks and I always will be. Her LOG series is one that grabbed me and pulled me in from the first book. Thank you Ms. Banks for another wonderful read.

Sometimes we forget that real life is not always doing the normal for your life. Every now and again, something unsuspecting enters and you find yourself on unfamiliar ground. I think that this story shows that KGI is also about real life. And when faced with a situation unlike the norm, Van, the Kelly devoted to helping women and children. knew he had to help. And while helping, he realized he wanted more but that this situation required a more delicate approach than any other he had encountered.

Life is not like we think it should be. Some people react different than we would or should. Don't judge how the characters react because with fear, often people will do the obvious as they are only thing of getting away from the situation.

I loved the book. Ms. Banks did a wonderful job telling a difficult story dealing with abuse and in the end Love. And if you didn't understand this review, then maybe this book wasn't for you?

Keep writing Maya Banks, can't wait for the next KGI book.

I really wished I read the reviews before I purchased this book. I didn't because I love all of Maya Banks books, especially the Kelly Family.
This book was exactly as people reviewed it. Slow, lots of repetition, no real love story, and lots of grammatical errors, which surprised me; doesn't she have an editor?
Donavan is almost too aggressive in this relationship, and why doesn't that scare Eve when she comes from an aggressive step father?
The kids are so wishy washy, I wanted to pull my hair out! I also skimmed so much of this book, hoping it would get better. So disappointed in Maya Banks publishing team for allowing her to put out this book.

I have enjoyed reading all the books in this series. I had been waiting for this one. I was happy with it, But it was not my favorite one out of the series. But still a very good read that kept me turning the pages.

I have always loved Donovan and have been waiting forever to read his story. It kind of freaked me out when I found out the age difference between Eve and Donovan, but love has strange ways of changing people. I also enjoyed the younger siblings: Travis and Cammie. It was kind of weird ending but I still love the Kelly Family.

My least favorite of the entire KGI series. Slow, repetitive and far too predictable. Regardless of continued explanations as to the speed of main characters romance iit doesn't ring true. Hard to believe this is the same author of the rest of the series. Don't bother with this one.

I really wished I read the reviews before I purchased this book. I didn't because I love all of Maya Banks books, especially the Kelly Family.
This book was exactly as people reviewed it. Slow, lots of repetition, no real love story, and lots of grammatical errors, which surprised me; doesn't she have an editor?
Donavan is almost too aggressive in this relationship, and why doesn't that scare Eve when she comes from an aggressive step father?
The kids are so wishy washy, I wanted to pull my hair out! I also skimmed so much of this book, hoping it would get better. So disappointed in Maya Banks publishing team for allowing her to put out this book.

I have enjoyed reading all the books in this series. I had been waiting for this one. I was happy with it, But it was not my favorite one out of the series. But still a very good read that kept me turning the pages.

I have always loved Donovan and have been waiting forever to read his story. It kind of freaked me out when I found out the age difference between Eve and Donovan, but love has strange ways of changing people. I also enjoyed the younger siblings: Travis and Cammie. It was kind of weird ending but I still love the Kelly Family.

My least favorite of the entire KGI series. Slow, repetitive and far too predictable. Regardless of continued explanations as to the speed of main characters romance iit doesn't ring true. Hard to believe this is the same author of the rest of the series. Don't bother with this one.

Maya Banks clearly wrote the first portion of the book. Then at 40% she took a vacation and handed it off to someone else to finish. I don't know what happened but this was not a KGI book. In fact if the other KGI Men knew this was Van's story they would have stripped him of his man card and not allowed him back in the family. The story was awkward. The speech was strange. It was rushed. It was awful. I've never asked for a refund on a book before, but I did with this one. Maya Banks lost a reader today.

Donovan has been one of my favorite characters throughout this series and this book did not disappoint. What an amazing story. It made me cry and laugh and I can't say enough about it. I absolutely LOVED it.