The Hurricane - Book Review

By R.J. Prescott

Synopsis

Emily McCarthy is living in fear of a dark and dangerous past. A gifted mathematician, she is little more than a hollow, broken shell, trying desperately to make ends meet long enough to finish her degree.

Through an unlikely friendship with the aging, cantankerous owner of an old boxing gym, Em is thrown into the path of the most dangerous man that she has ever met.

Cormac “the Hurricane” O’Connell is cut, tattooed and dangerous. He is a lethal weapon with no safety and everyone is waiting for the mis-fire. He’s never been knocked out before, but when he meet Em he falls, HARD. Unlike any other girl he’s ever met, she doesn’t want anything from him. Just being around her makes him want to be a better person.

They are polar opposites who were never meant to find each other, but some things are just worth the fight.

Review

Cormac O’Connell (aka Con) doesn’t have a lot going for him. As a construction worker who boxes on the side, he feels there’s nothing of substance that he can offer a woman, other than a body they would kill for to have warming their beds for a night. One look at Emily and Con is ready to change his ways. He knows he doesn’t deserve her, but he’s so sweet on her that he doesn’t care enough to stay away. When he looks at Emily, he sees his home and a future filled with love, two things he’s never had before that make him determined to win her over.

Emily is a young, broken woman running from a terrible past, trying to remain invisible in the hopes that her past won’t find her. As people start incorporating themselves into her life, she learns to open up and to overcome the mental conditioning she endured over the years. Thanks to her new friends, she found a wonderful group of people that became her family. She would do anything to protect them and they would do anything to protect her.

Through Con, Emily is able to find her inner strength and to let go of the frightened girl she once was. And Emily gives Con a purpose, a reason to become more than his lot in life, more than what he thinks he deserves.

Con: “I will fight to make something better of myself, to be someone better. Someone you can be proud of. If you need time, then I’ll give you time. If you need friendship, then I’ll give you friendship. But you’re mine, and when the time is right, when you’re ready, I’m coming for you.”

I’ll be honest, the cover is what caught my attention to THE HURRICANE. Then I read the synopsis and even though it seemed quite dark (which is not my usual book of choice), it sounded interesting and I haven’t read a boxer/fighter story in a loooong time, so I bought it. And then I couldn’t put it down. Literally. The only two times I stopped reading was for a pesky little thing called sleep and to do the school run in the morning. For a debut novel, I was blown away. I didn’t even realise it was a debut novel until I started preparing for this review.

Without trying to give away any spoilers, what Emily endured throughout this book is horrific. I’d advise taking caution if you’re sensitive to abuse scenes. Apparently there will be a second book on Con and Emily called THE AFTERMATH, but to be honest, I think I’d prefer if their story ended here. They both endured so much in this book and they got their HEA at the end, so why mess with that? I don’t want to read about them experiencing any more heartache and there’s really only one thing that could hurt them: a lack of justice. That being said, I’ve already added THE AFTERMATH to my TBR list for when it comes out at the end of the year. What can I say? I’m curious and need closure. And if it’s as good as book 1, I’ll be clearing my day just to read it.

Con: “Meeting you was like seeing the sun for the first time, after a lifetime of living in the dark.”