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!

Great book, an easy read, you can’t go far wrong with this author.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

I found this quite slow to get in to but once I did it was a lovely story. It tugged on the heartstrings.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy’s books are a dream!!! I’ve been a fan for years and couldn’t wait to read this. Loved the characters and the plot. Her writing always fills me with joy 🤩

I loved this story of the complexities of family love and of community. I found the characters relatable with some laugh out loud moments and some equally touching emotional moments. I really enjoyed Tara’s journey of self discovery and better understanding her past and how it impacted on the person she became. Would recommend.

I loved this book by Lucy. As with many of her books, this tugs at the heartstrings. The characters were very relatable and I found myself not being able to stop reading until I was literally falling asleep - it was that good. A definite must-read! Can't wait for her next book.

I found it difficult to get into this book until over halfway through. A pleasant enough read but it didn’t really grab me.

It was a good book, quite slow at first, but i enjoyed it. It was a very realistic portrayal of life and the things that it throws at you. It dealt with things like abandonment from her father and i really enjoyed Dillion’s perspective. The only thing i would say is more romance please! 😂

I am a Lucy Dillon fan but sadly this wasn’t one of my favourites. It was a heartwarming tale, and very topical given all the coverage for climate change. However the story was a little depressing and rather slow.

a most enjoyable book to read when one door closes another one opens and this keeps you reading it and of course after the rain comes a happy ending a good read for anyone

Tara is a counsellor who is using her skills to help out her local community following some devastating floods. She is also trying to deal with her own issues, some concerning the recent death of her mother and others revolving around her father leaving the family when she was young. I liked Tara’s character although it did take a little time to warm to her, and I found myself only truly liking her some way into the book. Tara seems a good person however, helping her fellow villagers to deal with the destruction of the recent floods. It seems though that she’s not very good at practising what she preaches, especially in her own personal life with a wayward boyfriend, her difficult to get hold of brother and the reappearance of her dad.

I found myself enjoying the storyline at the beginning, but as the book moved on it did start to slow up a little for me. I found her relationship with her dad was stuck at a stalemate for so long and this was a little frustrating. I get that there were some past issues which they needed to get over, but as a counsellor you thought Tara would have been able to deal with these a little bit better. I loved David’s character, and whilst his “talent” was a little unusual, I found his ability to do what he does quite moving and emotional.

The book as a whole, I did enjoy, despite a few hitches along the way. I enjoyed the later part of the book more than the beginning and I loved how all the family secrets which had been hidden for so long came tumbling out as the storyline continued. It’s a book which is full of life, love, family and second chances and touches on some tender moments of grief and family breakdowns. There are some lovely likeable characters, and the storylines are emotional and well written. Would recommend.

I have read all of Lucy Dillon’s previous books, and so was excited to read this one. Sadly, After the Rain didn’t live up to the expectations set by my enjoyment of Dillon’s prior novels, which was a shame.

After the Rain follows Tara, a therapist working hard to restore community spirit and connection after Longhampton is hit by flooding. She’s also grieving the loss of her mother and a missing boyfriend. When her long-estranged father returns in the middle of all this, it is the last straw, and Tara’s carefully maintained façade starts to fall apart. Also new to town is David, a counsellor who joins the Wellness Centre where Tara works, and his empathic nature may just be the last — yet very — thing Tara needs.

Despite this premise, I really struggled with this book. Tara was a difficult character to connect with, despite her strength and obvious love for her community. I found her arrogant and dismissive, especially of the alternative therapies offered by other characters at the Wellness Centre. As a Witch and holistic therapist myself, I found the near-constant derision at which Tara viewed Hero, Anji, and other complementary therapists to be really hurtful and unnecessary. She is really close-minded, and not even the wonderfully warm and intuitive David could make up for her attitude.

I did appreciate the LGBTQIA+ representation in this novel, along with something I suspected and was later confirmed. I loved being back in Longhampton again and my heart hurt at the flood damage, but sadly this was not a book for me — no matter how much I wanted it to be.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, Penguin Random House, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Star rating 4****
This book was really wholesome and what I would describe as a perfect cosy rainy day book. The character development throughout the book was well paced. I was intrigued by what twist and turns would be hidden on the next page. The main character Tara came across to me like someone you’d want as your best friend, someone you can confide in, meet for coffee and just all round a lovely person. The book wrapped up pretty quickly in the last chapter but I don’t think anything else needed to be said. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a lighthearted read.

‘After The Rain’ is the latest book by Lucy Dillon.

Tara Hunter is a therapist on a mission to restore Longhampton’s community spirit after catastrophic flooding. But with her boyfriend AWOL, her family fragmented, and only a cat for company, Tara’s own life is crumbling. On top of everything, Tara’s father – last seen as he walked out on her when she was ten years old – is suddenly back, with a surprising offer that could change everything. Dr David Dalloway is Longhampton Wellness Centre’s new star counsellor. He’s charming, caring and has a knack for reading people’s minds – which is the last thing Tara needs right now. Will having David and her dad around make for a bigger storm on the horizon? Or is this Tara’s chance for a fresh start?

It’s been a while since I’ve read a book by Lucy Dillion and ‘After The Rain’ was a lovely book to sink into and return to her writing.

The story is seen through the narrative of Tara, her mother has recently passed away and has left Tara the house and in going through old things, stirs up old emotions. Tara’s relationship with her father is a turbulent one, after her father left her and her twin brother Toby and when he reappears in her life wanting to make amends as well as help the town get back on its feet after recent flooding. Tara is a counsellor helping others put their lives back together but she feels like her own life is falling apart with the reappearance of her father Keith, a charismatic man that charms everyone and as much as Tara wants to repair her relationship like she advises her clients, she finds it to move on. There’s constant reminders of Keith’s absence from Tara’s life especially at pivotal moments in her life and this does makes for sad reading particularly when Keith’s new life meets his old life.

I loved Tara, she’s warm, kind with a huge heart. Her interactions with her clients make for interesting reading, as the advice she gives them is something that she needs to apply to her own life. When David, a new counsellor joins the team, he’s a fascinating addition to the story with quite an unusual way of dealing with problems and his new friendship with Tara makes for lovely reading as he helps her address her own problems.

This story is a story of community, relationship and repair, as a community begins to repair itself after the terrible floods, houses are ruined and people themselves begin to heal. ‘After The Rain’ is a beautifully written story, packed with poignancy and reflection as people look back on their lives and decide whether they want to move on or live in the past.

You can buy ‘After The Rain’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.

Another lovely, heartwarming tale from this author. Her stories have such empathy to them, you can't help getting wrapped up in the lives of the characters, needing to know how everything will turn out. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

By the time I finished the book I was enjoying it but it was very slow to get going and the middle section seemed to be mired in inertia which could have been symbolic of the main characters situation but made for a less interesting read. Various characters in the book are more interesting than others - David for one! Not as compelling as some of the author is previous books. A middling read.

Thank you Netgalley.

I sadly couldn't get into this one. I really wanted to enjoy it but I found it hard to connect with Tara no matter how much I tried. Whilst she is a strong character I found her to be quite annoying.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a lovely book dealing with some difficult issues. I really like the character of Tara and her relationship with her father was incredibly well written. A lovely read.

Many thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the e-ARC!

This is my first Lucy Dillon and I can't wait to read more of her books! After the Rain is a heartwarming story about love, friendship, grief, and loss which can be difficult subjects but have been dealt with quite beautifully and the emotions are well-captured. I loved Tara's character and it is quite well developed though she can be a little too set in her views! This is an uplifting book and a perfect pick to get anyone out of a reading slump!

A lovely and heartwarming story that touches important topics such as friendship, family, love and forgiveness. It was full of great twists and important conversations. A book that will make you believe that things will be well in the end!