I really loved her brothers and how much they loved her and each other. I loved their families, the fake personas and all, I wish we were getting more from Gia's family in particular because they were interesting. And it felt like such a real convo that two people coming together would have that I just laughed. My favorite part came in the second novel when they were fighting about seeing the real person, not the persona and Jax pointed out that he was well aware that Gia wasn' perfect, that she left her shoes laying around and she had cords all over the place. I really loved their conversations and their chemistry. Gia had to learn that knowing something and being apart of it are two different things. Jax wanted to protect her and in doing so didn't understand that Gia was just as tough as he was even if she didn't appear like it. This was two people learning to navigate the world they were born into and the world Gia was now a part of due to her work.

There was a lot going on in this novel, and yet I never felt like it was forced or trite. This is a second chance romance that was hot from the first time they were on the same page., They both wanted to deny their attraction but Jax had finally decided he wanted something for himself, even if it meant his family would have a hand in it. Leaving Gia behind because his family needed him, he thought to never see her again, until she came in on a deal he was working on. That time passed and he couldn't let go, not until his family began to intervene. When he meets Gia he can't get her off his mind, and he decides just a few months will be all he has. His parents had a terrible relationship, one that he was determined never to end up in.

Jax is the son of a wealthy and influential family. Gia went after this position after her heart and dreams had been shattered and she figured how could she lose? I loved that her mentor understood heartbreak and was willing to help because she didn't want Gia to make the same mistakes as her. Gia now works again in New York for a well known and highly sought after curator, a former chef who had expanded beyond the kitchen to creating world-class restaurants and talent management. She also came from a close-knit family who had her back whenever she needed them to. I loved Gia especially because she's a native NYer and she made something of herself despite the belief that she wouldn't be able to handle the world she was going for. I went into this knowing nothing and I'm glad I did because I blew through this without any expectations and fell in love with the characters very quickly. I fell into this story and didn't come up for four hours until it was done. I should have known it would be phenomenal because Sylvia wrote it. Well if I'd have known how good this was I would have read it a long time ago.

Afterburn & aftershock book series