Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Twister
AUTHOR: Kayla Halleur
PUBLISHER: Harkaway Publishing
LENGTH: 310 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 4, 2025
BLURB:
Now that I’ve graduated college, I’m expected to join the family accounting business even though I hate everything to do with finance.
What’s not expected? Getting stuck in a small town on my way home after a tornado nearly destroys my Jeep, or the lonely single dad and his adorable preteen daughter who offer their spare room for my stay.
Sometimes the most unexpected things can lead to the best life decisions.
Marshall
I’ve put off going home after graduating as long as I can, but there’s no excuses left. My cubicle-filled future is here whether I like it or not.
Until I drive into a huge, terrifying tornado, that is.
Now I’m stuck in a small town while I wait for my Jeep to get fixed. Thankfully, the adorable young girl who survived the twister with me talks her dad into offering me one of their spare rooms, so I don’t have to waste money at the local motel or contend with the gossipy motel owner.
Maybe I should’ve declined the offer, but there’s something about her dad that makes me think he’s desperate for another adult to talk to.
I’m only in town for the week, but that’ll be plenty of time to give him a reprieve from his hectic, but lonely, life. If only he didn’t turn out to be everything I was looking for….
Daniel
My preteen daughter is convinced that I’m sad and lonely, and that my life would be infinitely better with someone to share it with. Even if that was something I wanted to explore, my farm takes up too much time and energy to consider a night out.
Meeting someone new isn’t on my radar at all, until a gorgeous guy literally falls at my feet in his effort to escape the twister that sideswipes the local gas station.
Less than an hour later, my daughter invites him to stay with us while he’s stuck in town.
Maybe I should’ve said no, but there’s something about him that makes me want to help and protect him.
I’ll admit that I find myself wildly attracted to him. If only he wasn’t so much younger than me….
REVIEW:
What an absolutely fascinating novel by a new-to-me author that I can’t wait to read more books by!
Marshall is finally driving back to Chicago. He can’t put his demanding brother off much longer. He went away to college in California and studied finance like his father encouraged. But he did a dual major in Management also. But he can’t bear the thought of sitting in a cubicle looking at numbers until he can finally retire and escape. While driving through South Dakota he spots something he never wanted to see first hand. A twister is barreling right towards him on the freeway. He smartly gets off the next off ramp looking for safe shelter.
Daniel knows two things:
- He knew that his 12year old daughter Rose was maturing and he should have been better prepared for this day and that One neither wanted to discuss in the first place!
- He knows going out for her now much-needed supplies when there are tornado warnings in effect for their town is stupid.
So finding himself at their local gas station/mini market when a twister decides to show its evil head was pretty much inevitable. What he didn’t expect was the young man barreling up to the gas station just moments before impact! Nor did he ever expect the instant connection they both had. When Rose offers their home to the stranded traveler he has to do the right thing. But the boy is way too young for him no matter what Marshall and Rose think! He’s a burned out single dad with an adopted daughter with issues from her past and an ex-husband that ran when things got tough. What does he have to offer the young man looking fondly at him with what turns out to be a caring and old soul looking for something other than what life has offered.
I loved that this seemed like a slow motion romance but actually it was a whirlwind of just a couple days. And so much excitement and drama are crammed into those precious few days! I absolutely loved all the meddling side characters that put their two cents in whether it was wanted (or even needed) or not! And so much past hurt was resolved in this short time frame. Marshall showing up in the middle of a tornado should have clued Daniel in on how fast his life was changing moment to moment. Faster than a blink of an eye sometimes.
Twisters scare me. I have no desire to live anywhere near where they are common place. They are powerful and deadly. They have a mind of their own and nothing is safe when you are directly in its path of destruction. The characters in this book were extremely lucky that they didn’t loose their lives. Even the tiny waterspouts that pop up in Hawaii are forceful and do damage. And they are nothing compared to this level of destruction.
I am looking forward to getting to know all the side characters in this book. I have learned that we get Daniel’s twin Henry and his boyfriend Blue’s story in the novel Glitter and the upcoming novel Dingo Daze is Daniel’s ex-husband’s story coming soon. Oh and it hints that my fascination with paranormal will be peaked in his story! And I really hope we get to the bottom of the foul-mouthed Kajir and how Gabe can calm him. That story will be epic I believe!
I’m so thrilled I took a chance on this story and already crave more!
RATING: 
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