After the Rain

After the Rain by Lillian Darcy

Casey Jay Brown never thought he would return to Marietta, Montana.  Not after the prom night that changed his life forever.  During a drug-fueled night of partying and excess Casey's girlfriend, Neve Shepherd, lost her life in a freak accident.  The only problem is Casey has always questioned just how responsible he was for that accident.  Consumed by guilt he has abused his body to it's breaking point and still has never found release from his demons.  When a once in a lifetime job opens up half an hour from Marietta, Casey decides to take it.  After all, what are the chances that he will ever need to set foot in town?

Kira Shepherd Blair has been angry most of her life.  Even before her sister's death  eighteen years ago she felt the sting of resentment and anger brewing beneath the surface.  There has always been someone to direct the anger at, too.  Her sister, for the unfair treatment she received when Neve was around; Jay Brown, for Neve's death; her ex's first wife, for treating her like trash even though she had no part of that marriage's demise; her ex, for constantly disappointing her and their son.  But when she is faced with a horrifying truth, she is forced to realize that it might just be time to let go.

Like most of Ms. Darcy's offerings, this story is a mixture of sweet, emotional, and mysterious.  Casey truly is tortured by his past, but he has also learned to move past the guilt and live with the questions.  Kira has never learned to do that.  Her personality is such that she thinks if she lets go of the anger then she will fall apart.  I found it interesting that she saw her mother as weak, when the truth was that her mother was stronger that everyone else.  Not because she "got over it", but because she learned to cope with it.

I really liked the transition from the other books in the series and the foreshadowing of Gemma's story.  There really was a sense of closure for Tully in this book and a promise that Kate and Harrison will be involved in Gemma's story as well.  There was also a lot of information in the book that checked out in real life and made me as reader appreciate the amount of research that really goes in to writing a contemporary book.

The supporting characters in this book were a mixture of filler (the artists and party goers) and secondary-mains (Lindeen, Corrine, Neve's parents, Kate, and Gemma).  I felt they were handled quite deliberately, and it worked beautifully.

Overall, the book was well balanced and beautiful.  A worthy continuation to captivating series.  

Ratings:

(1=unacceptable, 2=poor, 3=acceptable, 4=good, 5=excellent)

Continuity/Flow – 5

Sex – 4 

Language – 4

Storyline – 5

Overall – 5