This was my first time reading a book from the author but I am delighted to say I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading more books from the writer in the future

Tara works at the local Wellness Centre as a consultant along with lots of other therapists with other specialties. At times it looked more as if she was working at a vet’s office instead because David, another therapist, seems to be quite the pet whisperer. It seems to be helping their owners with their therapy though so he puts his skills into good use.

Tara has a lot on her plate next to her work because her father who abandoned his family when she was a child unexpectedly shows up, wanting to be back in her life and he offers to help rebuild the village hall, but can she really count on him or will he walk away again? She wants to discuss it with her brother Toby on the other side of the world but he’s not answering her calls most of the time and the guy she’s been seeing hasn’t been in touch for weeks either. So she unburdens to her colleague-therapist David, only to wonder the day after if that was such a good idea.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. Female protaganist tried to restore community spirit after a catastrophic flooding, but I didn’t.

Tara came across as an immature and naive woman. She’s a therapist who buries her own problems, but doesn’t see the issue with this. She is spoiled and self-centred and I couldn’t warm to her. David who can ‘hear’ animals was taking things a bit too far. The author seemed to focus too much on hippy stereotypes for others within the practice.

This book just missed the mark for me.

After the Rain is an uplifting and heartwarming story of love, friendship, community, and not forgetting the dogs, which left me feeling like I really knew the characters and didn't want the story to end.

Lucy Hunter is a counsellor who is at the heart of helping her local community recover from devastating floods. Unfortunately, her own life is falling apart around her too. Her mother recently died, she can't get hold of her brother who now lives in the US, she hasn't seen her dad for years and her boyfriend has gone AWOL after asking her to look after his cat.

To make matters worse, highly qualified Dr David Dalloway has settled very well into the counselling team in her absence, provoking her insecurities about having stayed behind to help her mother instead of completing her qualifications and moving on.

In the midst of all this, Tara's dad unexpectedly reappears, bringing to the surface many unresolved issues.

Tara goes through a lot but there is light at the end of the tunnel and this is a lovely, well written read.

After the Rain is a lovely, feel good novel, filled with love, friendship and community. I love that Lucy Dillon's novels all feature animals in some ways, and this is no different!
Lucy writes such strong, believable characters that you miss when you finish reading. This book gave me all the feels!

I'm sure I've said it before, and I know I'll say it again but the best Lucy Dillon books have dogs in them, and there were certainly some 4 legged presence in this story, I just wish there had been more.

The story starts with some dramatic descriptions of the local awful floods, and of Tara working as a counsellor to try to help people come to terms with everything. She is a therapist, but omg she really needs therapy. The amount of things she keeps hidden, refuses to talk about to anyone, it was driving me nuts.

And her family dynamics were interesting, because she has clearly been brainwashed by her mum not to think about her dad, let alone dare care for him or his whereabouts, so is completely thrown when he suddenly reappears.

I just found the Tara bugged me at times, whereas David the brand new therapist at the Wellness centre that Tara is working at, well I wish he had been the main character. He was fabulous, has an interesting talent, and I just loved him entirely.

I enjoyed seeing the character development from Tara as the story progresses. It was a gentle, enjoyable story.

Thank you to Transworld and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Sorry for the delay in reviewing this book, love Lucy Dillon and her style.
Hope and happiness are within the pages of this book, as well as sadness. She's threaded this story together well. Recommended Read.

After a fairly shaky start - sorry, but I found it quite disjointed and wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it but persevered as I have enjoyed other Lucy Dillon books I have read - I did get into this story. It centres around Tara, a counsellour who, as well as doing her day job, helps out in the community following major flooding in a nearby village. However, she has quite a few issues of her own to contend with, particularly with her family and her relationship. She has a lot of hang ups from when she was a child to deal with, especially due to the fact that her Mum has not long passed away. The unexpected return of her father brings things to a head and as the story unfolds, she needs to examine matters she simply had no knowledge of which have resulted in the mindset has had since she was about 10 years old.

Overall, a nice read and I would look to read further books by this author in the future.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review, which is what I have given.

I picked this one up after enjoying some of this authors other books and enjoying her writing style. I found it very slow until about 60% and found I wasn’t rushing to pick it up. However, once I hit this point I ended up not able to put it down. I became invested in Tara, Toby, Keith and Molly. Also, the relationship that was building between Tara and David. It was a story of family, love, mistakes and forgiveness. I am glad that I kept going with it though and will be picking more up from Lucy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. I have given After the Rain by Lucy Dillon two stars ⭐️⭐️

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me. There was a significant part which led me to believe that this book had a mystical element which I did not expect and from there it made me roll my eyes a little. Also, this was a very slow paced book where it felt not much was actually happening, once it picked up slightly I just felt confused and didn’t seem to enjoy what I was reading.

I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters; our main character, Tara, was a tad droning and she found it very difficult to stand up for herself. Towards the end, you get a better feel but still I found the characters to be boring and perhaps too many of them which made it difficult to connect with them.

Another unputdownable read by the lovely Lucy Dillon. Thought provoking with a couple of surprising twists. This book as always did not disappoint,

Sweet, sensitive, charming story that showcases mankind's resilience, compassion and sense of community. Tara is a therapist, who throws herself into fixing her community after catastrophic flooding... instead of fixing herself. Her parents divorce when she was ten, has left her with deep scars and guilt that she was responsible for her broken family. When her absent father suddenly appears on the scene, and a new therapist causes her to face some truths, she is forced to challenge her memory of her past and what she wants for her future.

The story feels original and unpredictable, with cute touches of humour and hidden depths. I liked how it showed the impact of the floods on peoples lives and emotions, and how such tragedies can bind communities and make them stronger. The characters felt rich and were well thought out and believable. Tara, herself, could be frustrating in her obstinacy to truly face her past, and blindness to what really happened. She comes across as naïve and a bit self-absorbed and hysterical. However, this felt like an authentic reaction to someone facing early trauma and contrasted well with the growth she takes throughout the story.

There were some lovely moments, and overall an entertaining read.

I really loved the concept of this one & I'm a sucker for estranged families coming together but I just couldn’t gel with the main character. I found Tara to be so immature! If we had more of everyone else & less of her internal monologue this easily would be a 5*. Instead I’ve gone with 3.

After the rain took me a while to get into. Tara has a lot to deal with and an estranged relationship with her dad and brother. As the book unravels we learn more about Tara’s past and her barriers in life.

She throws herself into helping people but is she using it as a way of hiding from her problems.

I liked this one but it didnt shine for me too much. The main character annoyed me a little, though Im not sure why. There were a few plot twists that were unexpected that I enjoyed. I have only ready one previous book by this author - The Ballroom Class and I prefered that one I think.

A touching story about twins Tara and Toby who have become estranged following the breakdown of their parents' marriage. Tars is always trying to solve everyone else''s problems, taking a sabbatical from her counselling job to offer her services to the victims of flooding, but she has never faced up to her own... until now.

This one was a lovely read. I really enjoyed reading this one. I just love this kind of books.
4 stars read for me

A great read, with some laugh out loud moments. Well thought out characters both human and animal ! A strong sense of community shines through this book coping with the aftermath of tragedy and the exploration of family relationships.
The plot was well thought and believable, a well written story which I would recommend.
Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Uk and Lucy Dillon for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this. It was one of my first books to bring me back in to my contemporary

I enjoyed the focus on family as well as the love interest

We were in the main chatacrterd head a lot and it was a slow build but a very enjoyable read

I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to read and follow, gripping, hard to put down, the characters were all very relatable and it was just what I needed!