Aftershock (Shaken Series) | KG MacGregor | A delightful sequel that continues and lends depth to...

book: Aftershock (Shaken Series) | KG MacGregor

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Aftershock (Shaken...

	Aftershock (Shaken Series) KG MacGregor Bella Books, 2008 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 1 review view larger image
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Finally at peace with the mistakes of her disastrous first marriage, Anna Kaklis is ready to experience love again, and Lily Stewart is the woman she will fight to keep forever. Even as she gathers her courage to go to the next level with Lily, the future of Premier Motors is suddenly in her hands. It's an irresistible opportunity, and Lily's support is crucial. Believing she has it, Anna throws herself into her long-cherished dream of building the family business into a powerhouse empire.

Anna's good fortune thrills Lily, but the demand on Anna's time does not--the sacrifices required for Anna's success grow more and more difficult to make. Inevitably, Lily's lifelong insecurities leave her feeling a distant second best. When tragedy strikes, her old habits take over.

If life was perfect and the future a sure thing, Anna and Lily would walk off into the sunset together. Instead, they stand on shaky ground. Anna will fight to keep Lily forever, but what can she do when the fight isn't hers?

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A delightful sequel that continues and lends depth to the series and characters

A good sequel maintains the tone of the original, versus trying to "outdo" the previous book by being more shocking, bigger, better, and ultimately introducing elements of the ridiculous. It treats the characters we've come to love and know with respect, versus creating manipulative situations just to keep the story going, or causing the protagonists to create their own uncharacteristic drama. A good sequel feels like a natural progression, breaking new ground with the characters and their lives.

Aftershock is a good sequel. A minor complaint of mine about Without Warning was that it ended too abruptly, but that was all right because I knew there were at least two more books in the series. Aftershock alleviates that annoyance well. We're returned in this book to the lives of Lily and Anna over a year after they first got together. Anna suddenly assumes a larger amount of responsibility at her family's Premier dealership as her father decides to finally retire, leaving her as CEO. Nearly simultaneously all her plans for growth become possible much sooner than she'd ever imagined as several other dealerships in the region go up for sale in an opportunity too good to pass up.

Unfortunately, this means working long hours, and making sacrifices in her life in order that her brother-in-law can be there for his wife and son. Lily is something of a workaholic herself, so maintains an understanding attitude. But she finds herself falling into self-destructive patterns, exacerbated by childhood insecurities, as some unhappy personal events in her life shake her foundations, and she unhappily turns to alcohol.

Anna struggles to be a supportive partner, while hiding their problems from the rest of the family, and finally has to make some tough decisions in order to stop enabling Lily. Lily finds herself drowning in her out-of-control life, and it takes extreme personal courage and the help from some friends to begin fighting her addiction. The compassionate and seemingly realistic ways these issues are handled makes what could be a very difficult story (read: a downer, something I don't necessarily like in my romantic, escapist fiction) end up being a very touching and life-affirming continuation of the lives of Anna and Lily.

An excellent novel. Can't wait for the next one.

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