Review: ‘Building Storm’ by Gwyn McNamee
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Building Storm
by Gwyn McNameeSeries: Billionaires of New Orleans: The Hawke Family #4
Published by Self-Published on December 18, 2018
SubGenres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eBook
Pages: 370
Source: Kobo Plus
Audience: 18+/Adult
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She hasn’t been living. He’s looking for a way to forget it all.
My life went up in flames. All I’m left with is my daughter and ashes. The simple act of breathing is so excruciating, there are days I wish I could stop altogether. So I have no business being at the party, and I definitely shouldn’t be in the arms of the handsome stranger. When his lips meet mine, he breathes life into me for the first time since the day the inferno disintegrated my world. But loving again isn’t in the cards, and there are even greater dangers to face than trying to keep Landon McCabe out of my heart.
Running is my only option. I have to get away from Chicago and the betrayal that shattered my world. I need a new life-one without attachments. The vibrancy of New Orleans convinces me it’s possible to start over. Yet in all the excitement of a new city, it’s Storm Hawke’s dark, sad beauty that draws me in. She isn’t looking for love, and we both need a hot, sweaty release without feelings getting involved. But even the best laid plans fail, and life can leave you burned.
Love can build, and love can destroy. But in the end, love is what raises you from the ashes.
***Building Storm is the fourth and final full-length novel in The Hawke Family Series. While it is a complete story, it is NOT meant to be read as a standalone. The story of the Hawke siblings starts in Savage Collision and continues in book two, Tortured Skye, and book three, Stone Sober before reaching the plot in Building Storm. These stories all build on one another and are intertwined. They need to be read in order to fully enjoy and understand the plots and characters. ***
Building Storm is the fourth book in the Billionaires of New Orleans: The Hawke Family series, and this installment is an emotional one compared to the previous books. My heart ached for the FMC, Storm Hawke, for what she endured at the end of the third book, Stone Sober. She had lost the love of her life, and in this book, she’s trying to live life without him by taking care of her daughter plus running a company that her husband and his partner used to run. The last thing she wants is to fall in love again, but once she meets the MMC, Landon McCabe, at a club, he ends up making her feel alive again.
Where to start first on what I loved about this book, though? Everything. I loved everything—the characters and how well-developed they were, plus the emotional storyline that was hard to pull away from because I needed to know how Landon and Storm were going to have their HEA. This book was not an easy one to read, and I bet it was even more difficult for Gwyn McNamee to write. If I was having to use tissues, I know Gwyn McNamee probably was, too, while she wrote it. Any author who makes me feel so much for the characters and their story is a friggin’ amazing author.
I’m so glad that Storm found someone like Landon. He understood she was grieving, and he also understood that she would never stop loving her husband. He was going to be there for her no matter what. What he endured, as well, made me understand why he left Chicago. He needed to find himself again and get away and start over and he found it with Storm and her daughter. I also understood why he was hesitant to say anything. Be prepared for drama and suspense, especially towards the end of this book.
This book is definitely going to be my favorite in the series, even though I still need to read the next two books. It’s also going to be one book that will be in my thoughts for years to come; that’s how much the characters and story impacted me. I wish I could give it more than five stars because it truly deserves it.
Single/Dual POV: Dual POV
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Billionaires of New Orleans: The Hawke Family series and needs to be read in order.
Would I recommend this book/series? Yes. I highly recommend this book/series to readers who enjoy reading emotional, steamy, and suspenseful romance.
What to Expect:
✔️Billionaire Romance
✔️Workplace Romance
✔️Single Mother Romance
✔️Widower Heroine
About Gwyn McNamee
USA Today Best Selling author Gwyn McNamee is an attorney, wife, and mother. Originally from the Midwest, Gwyn relocated to her husband’s home town of Las Vegas in 2015 and is enjoying her respite from the cold and snow. Gwyn has been writing down her crazy stories and ideas for years and finally decided to share them with the world. She loves to write stories with a bit of suspense and action mingled with romance and heat.
When she isn’t either writing or voraciously devouring any books she can get her hands on, Gwyn is busy adding to her tattoo collection, golfing, and stirring up trouble with her perfect mix of sweetness and sarcasm (usually while wearing heels).
Gwyn’s debut novel, Savage Collision, the first book in The Hawke Family Series, was a 2017 Romance Writers of America Passionate Plumes Contest Finalist for excellence in contemporary steamy romance.
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