I found my place in the world, and that’s enough for me — for now. - Millie

Louisa Jane Borden has grown up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, the only child in a household composed of her father and grandmother. Fortunately she has a wonderful maid, Millie, that has admirably filled the role of good friend and confidante, something Louisa missed having no mother. Grandmother appears to have no particular love for Louisa, except to convince her to marry a man of social standing from England. Sparks fly when the young lady is not in agreement!

The author has given us plenty of excitement in this story with an earthquake, fire, robbery, train accident and more. The detailed scenery and imagery make you feel you are right there, as part of all the action. There seem to be many areas that Louisa could be involved in. She just needs to find her place in the world. Opening her heart to all that is around her, brings new opportunities and love into her life. After the rain, the sun shines brightly.

This book is published by Dusk to Dawn Books. The impressions and comments are my own and are in no way solicited. ( )

Saturday, February 27, 2016
After the Rain by Rita Gerlach, © 2015

After the Rain is a sprawling 570 page Edwardian era novel set in the outskirts of Washington DC and a tight-knit village called Chestnut Creek in Virginia.

I purchased this copy of After the Rain by Rita Gerlach and highly recommend this historical fiction.

My review:
I loved the flow of this story. Jackson O'Neil and Louisa Borden are separated from each other after they meet. I admire Louisa for continuing on nobly with her life when her interest lies with Jackson, along with an unknown future. Her widowed father travels for business and she is left at home with a cantankerous Gammi who has little use for Louisa. Louisa's best friend, Amy Lockhart, has been away from home for months. Instead of bemoaning her station in life, Louisa cares for others and their needs, and goes to serve a Thanksgiving meal at a mission with her dear, close maid, Millie.

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the characters in After the Rain. Even some I wouldn't have expected! Wait until you find out what a mule and a new Buick have to do with each other!

Amy returns home and Dr. and Mrs. Lockhart invite Louisa to join them during Christmastime while her father is abroad and Gammi has gone back to England with distant relatives. She had been certain a visiting childhood friend of Louisa would be just the right match. Louisa decides not, and desires to marry for love and not money. Mrs. Lockhart, Amy, Louisa and Millie, go to visit Amy's Aunt Annabelle Fairchild in Long Island in mid-winter.

Receiving troubling news and not hearing from her father, Louisa travels to stay with her elderly great aunts, Mildred and Maude, in a small country town in Virginia. Her life takes a different turn as she oversees a children's home, continuing from an endowment funding patronage begun by her mother years before.

This story is so thorough and you come to care for secondary characters who enliven and nourish so richly.

The scar may remain, but with forgiveness it will not fester.
Louisa ~ After the Rain, 293

Love this quote. A story well worth reading!! Built very well and you come to know the characters in a genuine way. ( )

This book kept me interested from start to finish. I loved all the characters in the story. There were a lot of twists and turns throughout. Louisa Borden meets her fate after being thrown from a horse. Jackson O'Neil helps her and she is a snob to him. Many adventures later and some tragedies help to bring them together again. This is a long book but it never seemed that way to me. I had to know how all the characters would fair in the end. I look forward to reading more of Rita Gerlachs books. I received a copy of this book from Celebratelit for a fair and honest opinion. ( )

I love great literature and I truly struggle when I find a story to be confusing. It is frustrating. I read After the Rain through chapter fourteen and was unable to finish. There are paragraphs and situations that just don’t play out cleanly. Gerlach has a good story without good execution.

On the other hand Gerlach does create a genuine sense of being in the world of the wealthy in the early 20th century. She also creates a fantastic villainous character in Gamma Beatrice yet her “good” characters are just too good. They are pushing the limit of Christian credulity.

As much as I would like to I cannot recommend After the Rain.

I received a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

For all of my reviews visit my blog at https://blessedandbewildered.wordpress.com ( )

​Louisa Borden is a very pretty young woman. She has had her share of heartache and now lives in a mansion in Chevy Chase. Her grandmother is very stuffy and stern. She rules the mansion and is quite rude at times to people. Beatrice, the grandmother has decided that Louisa is to marry Rupert Eastcott. He is a very wealthy man who will provide well for Louisa. There is of course one problem with that decision. Louisa does not love Rupert at all and refuses to live in England with him.

One day while Louisa is out riding she is thrown from the horse and a man happens upon her. Jackson O'Neil helps her get back up the slippery bank that she fell into. Poor Louisa is embarrassed but doesn't miss the fact that her rescuer is quite handsome. They become attracted to each other, much to her grandmother's very vocal disapproval.

The story is so well written and the author has a great knack for letting a story flow across the pages with emotion and mystery that it is hard to put the book down. Louisa will endure heartache, deceit and a feeling of loneliness that she can't escape. Rupert will stop at nothing to win Louisa's hand in marriage. Will Louisa believe the lies Rupert tells her about Jackson? What secret will her grandmother tell her that will have her heart break into pieces like shattered glass?

When her father goes away on a business trip , a devastating natural disaster happens that could claim his life. Will Louisa be strong enough to carry on and honor her father's wishes if he doesn't survive? It has been awhile since I have read a book of this caliber. The history in the story is real and described in great detail. The story is filled with so many raw emotions that I found myself crying at times, and gasping at the surprises throughout the book. I got so involved in the book, that I blocked out the world around me and traveled back in time with Louisa and watched her beautiful story unfold. There are a few funny moments in the story that will make you chuckle as you get to know Louisa's aunts. This story is one that will stay with me forever. It's a breathtaking story that goes through an aray of emotions which will grab at your heart and keep you engrossed in a magnificent story of love, hope and family and forgiveness.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit and the publisher for an honest review. ( )