Book Review: After the Rain by Lilian Darcy

Rating:

after the rainBook 4 of the River Bend Series, “After The Rain ” by Lilian Darcy happens immediately after the ending of “The Sweetest Thing ”. In fact, there are crossovers in the storyline.

This time though, Ren and Tully from “The Sweetest Thing ” take a backstep while Casey Brown and Kira Shepherd Blair, the main characters of “After The Rain ” take center stage.

Again, author Lilian Darcy chose a title with a double meaning. “After The Rain ” can literally refer to the summer rains in Marietta, Montana. Figuratively speaking, it is also about the emotional journey of Casey, Kira and her parents on how they deal with the death of Kira’s older sister Neve who died 18 years ago.

Just like “The Sweetest Thing ”, “After The Rain ” is a poignant story. Sad and distressing at times, it also has sweet moments as the characters find love and forgiveness.

After The Rain ” is Rated M for Mature due to subject matter. There are also mild sex scenes in the book.

DESCRIPTION

How do you stop being angry at someone when they’re gone?Kira Shepherd Blair’s older sister Neve died eighteen years ago at River Bend Park, on the night of the 1996 Marietta High School senior prom, and Kira is still mired in feelings she can’t resolve. So much of her life has been shadowed by Neve, from the adolescence she spent banished from the family spotlight because Neve was so greedy for it, to the bad marriage she made at twenty-one because she and her parents needed the security and the promise of a future, after Neve’s tragic death.

Kira is working to make a good life for herself and her ten-year-old son Jake after her divorce and is finally starting to feel that she’s getting on track, when Neve’s high school boyfriend Casey “Jay” Brown comes back to Marietta and turns everything upside down.

Casey has never known in his heart how much he was to blame for what happened to Neve that night, but when he and Kira are forced to work together at the renowned Haraldsen Architectural Foundation in the foothills of the Absaroka Mountains, she leaves him in no doubt as to her opinion on the issue.

That’s how you stop being angry at someone when they’re gone. You channel your anger onto the man you hold responsible, the man who’s right here, no matter how heart-stoppingly gorgeous he is.