The Last Shot (Love in Chaos #3) by Amy Matayo

It’s the same routine every night, and country music superstar Teddy Hayes wouldn’t have it any other way.

7:00 pm: Arena doors open and fans fill the stands.
7:45 pm: Lights go out and spotlights come on.
7:46 pm: Energy from concert-goers reaches an ear-spitting crescendo.
7:47 pm: Teddy takes the stage and begins to sing.

But tonight, something is off.

It starts when a stage light malfunctions and sends sparks into the air.
It continues when his drummer stops playing and stares slack-jawed in Teddy’s direction.
It dawns on him when a fan doubles-over and a red stain spreads across her shirt.
Something isn’t just off tonight.

Someone in the crowd is shooting a gun.

And it’s up to a female bodyguard he’s never met before to save his life.

 * Amazon * Goodreads * 

Wow.  This book jumped right into the thick of things.  There was no easing into this climactic situation and honestly, it just doesn't let you go.  This book was very intense for me and very frightening.  Maybe because it is so real.  The previous books in this series are very real too, but they were more about the elements against people.  That is scary but not personal.  People shooting other people is personal and it's the stuff of nightmares.  There were a few times I had to close the book and walk away for a minute- just to calm my emotions. 

Lest you think all is lost- love begins in the darkest of places.  Literally.  I don't even think it was romantic love at first- just a common love for another human being struggling and needing comfort and support that turned to awareness.  I loved the connection forged between Teddy and Jane.  In the hardest, scariest moments of their lives, they are joined together, trying to make sense of what is happening and trying to stay alive.  Amy Matayo is so good at working through raw human emotions and turning it into something beautiful.  It really helped me feel like I knew intimately both Teddy and Jane.  

I think I read through this book in fast forward.  I actually thought when I finished that it was a shorter book- barely novel length.  Haha.  No.  It's a good size novel and I just blew through it so fast that it felt that way.  I couldn't help it, I guess.  That's what intense does to me. 

This book is the third in the series.  It can stand alone but characters from previous books make an appearance or two so you might be happier if you read the others first.  These books are all on Kindle Unlimited.

The Waves
The Aftermath

 Content:  violence, peril, mild swearing, kissing, mention of casual intimate relations

- I received a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are my own. 

It’s the same routine every night, and country music superstar Teddy Hayes wouldn’t have it any other way.

7:00 pm: Arena doors open and fans fill the stands.
7:45 pm: Lights go out and spotlights come on.
7:46 pm: Energy from concert-goers reaches an ear-spitting crescendo.
7:47 pm: Teddy takes the stage and begins to sing.

But tonight, something is off.

It starts when a stage light malfunctions and sends sparks into the air.
It continues when his drummer stops playing and stares slack-jawed in Teddy’s direction.
It dawns on him when a fan doubles-over and a red stain spreads across her shirt.
Something isn’t just off tonight.

Someone in the crowd is shooting a gun.

And it’s up to a female bodyguard he’s never met before to save his life.

It’s the same routine every night, and country music superstar Teddy Hayes wouldn’t have it any other way.

7:00 pm: Arena doors open and fans fill the stands.
7:45 pm: Lights go out and spotlights come on.
7:46 pm: Energy from concert-goers reaches an ear-spitting crescendo.
7:47 pm: Teddy takes the stage and begins to sing.

But tonight, something is off.

It starts when a stage light malfunctions and sends sparks into the air.
It continues when his drummer stops playing and stares slack-jawed in Teddy’s direction.
It dawns on him when a fan doubles-over and a red stain spreads across her shirt.
Something isn’t just off tonight.

Someone in the crowd is shooting a gun.

And it’s up to a female bodyguard he’s never met before to save his life.

It’s the same routine every night, and country music superstar Teddy Hayes wouldn’t have it any other way.

7:00 pm: Arena doors open and fans fill the stands.
7:45 pm: Lights go out and spotlights come on.
7:46 pm: Energy from concert-goers reaches an ear-spitting crescendo.
7:47 pm: Teddy takes the stage and begins to sing.

But tonight, something is off.

It starts when a stage light malfunctions and sends sparks into the air.
It continues when his drummer stops playing and stares slack-jawed in Teddy’s direction.
It dawns on him when a fan doubles-over and a red stain spreads across her shirt.
Something isn’t just off tonight.

Someone in the crowd is shooting a gun.

And it’s up to a female bodyguard he’s never met before to save his life.It’s the same routine every night, and country music superstar Teddy Hayes wouldn’t have it any other way.

7:00 pm: Arena doors open and fans fill the stands.
7:45 pm: Lights go out and spotlights come on.
7:46 pm: Energy from concert-goers reaches an ear-spitting crescendo.
7:47 pm: Teddy takes the stage and begins to sing.

But tonight, something is off.

It starts when a stage light malfunctions and sends sparks into the air.
It continues when his drummer stops playing and stares slack-jawed in Teddy’s direction.
It dawns on him when a fan doubles-over and a red stain spreads across her shirt.
Something isn’t just off tonight.

Someone in the crowd is shooting a gun.

And it’s up to a female bodyguard he’s never met before to save his life.It’s the same routine every night, and country music superstar Teddy Hayes wouldn’t have it any other way.

7:00 pm: Arena doors open and fans fill the stands.
7:45 pm: Lights go out and spotlights come on.
7:46 pm: Energy from concert-goers reaches an ear-spitting crescendo.
7:47 pm: Teddy takes the stage and begins to sing.

But tonight, something is off.

It starts when a stage light malfunctions and sends sparks into the air.
It continues when his drummer stops playing and stares slack-jawed in Teddy’s direction.
It dawns on him when a fan doubles-over and a red stain spreads across her shirt.
Something isn’t just off tonight.

Someone in the crowd is shooting a gun.

And it’s up to a female bodyguard he’s never met before to save his life.

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

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.

 * Goodreads * Amazon * 

Wa-hoo!  I love reading books by Amy Matayo!  It is always so exciting when I sit down and get to open to that first page that will start me on a roller coaster of emotions with characters I will grow to love. 

This book was so good.  So full of grit and charm.  There is tragedy and adversity with struggle around every turn.  It's in those moments of struggle, when things seem to be at their worst, that the core of who we are really emerges.  Riley is, at her core, generous and compassionate.  She sees human need and gives of herself, whatever she can, to fill those empty places even when she is breaking apart too.  I absolutely loved her.  

"Rescuing people isn't always about pulling them from the depths.  Sometimes it's about being there, being present, letting someone know you care without words or platitudes or even heroic acts of courage.  Sometimes the most courageous thing you can do is just listen without walking away."

And Chad?  He really is a man who shows up.  Whatever the motivating factor, he shows up and acts like a man.  A good man.  Yes, please.

I loved the sparks.  I loved the cupcakes.  I loved the sense of triumph in tragedy.  I loved seeing characters from the previous book in this series.  I loved the love.  The growing, palpable love. 💙💙  I was so invested, from beginning to end.

Content:  a couple instances of mild swearing, peril, kissing

- I received a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are my own.