I’ve enjoyed reading many of Lucy’s books before and I was thrilled to have an early opportunity to read this one.

Tara has been busy helping her local community deal with a devastating flood, just a few months after her own mother died. Tara spends her days (and evenings) helping others but needs to make some major decisions about her future career and living arrangements.

Added into the mix, there is a new counsellor at the Wellness Centre. How is David able to help families no one else can? I loved this idea but as this is a non spoiler review, I won’t share anymore now.

Life becomes more complicated when Tara’s dad reappears, her ‘boyfriend’ disappears and she meets a new member of her family (and a four legged friend). I loved how the story evolved, as Tara helped families whilst starting to unravel the truth about why her parents split up and to make plans for her future. Happy to recommend to readers looking for an uplifting read.

Tara is back living in her childhood home, and doing her level best to ignore the ghosts of her past but keeping busy helping all the victims of the recent flood that has caused so much loss and destruction.

But when her absent father reappears in her life, she is forced to face the demons she's long suppressed.

And the new counsellor, David who works at the Wellness Centre she's also part of, plays a big part in her laying them to rest.

A story about hope, second chances and the importance of friends, family and community. An uplifting and warm tale that is a cozy hug as all Lucy Dillon's books are.

Such a compelling read. I was drawn into Tara's world from the start. A world that had been badly affected by floods, and where Tara, CBT counsellor had volunteered her time to help those affected. This was shortly after her mother's death and she's grieving badly. Tara, her twin brother Toby and their mum had been left by their dad when they twins were 10 years old, and this shaped both their lives. Tara had been programmed to think of her dad as a philanderer who never tried to get in touch. So when he appears, she doesn't know how to react. Years of repressed memories threaten to overwhelm her, especially when Toby puts in an appearance. Several "extras" who contribute in various ways to the story also appear. There are some great humorous moments, especially involving colleagues at the Wellness Centre, and some touching times. I really enjoyed this read. #netgalley #aftertherain

A split family re-unites. Tara's mother has recently died, leaving her the family home. She lives in a town that was recently flooded and her job involves helping the affected villagers. Love that Lucy Dillon includes an animal in her cast of characters. Here, it's a soppy chocolate Labrador. A good read, full of compassion and community spirit, but one part of the story seems rather unlikely.

After the Rain is a delightfully emotional tale of self-discovery, family relations and dynamics, offering a lot of food for thought about how people deal with different emotions.

Lucy Dillon’s writing style always takes her readers on a massive journey along with the characters, but she can do so without being draining or too heavy. This book is a classic tale by this author, as I laughed and cried in equal measure.

She has created Tara’s character brilliantly - big-hearted, full of good intentions and loving. Being a therapist means she can concentrate on other people’s problems rather than her own. I warmed to her almost instantly, and as I got to know more about her, as the story unfolded, I liked her even more.

There are deep conversations and many sensitive topics discussed throughout, and I am confident that readers will find characters in this book relatable.

A highly recommended read for fans of this genre and author, and a perfect book club read with lots to discuss with others!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the advance copy of #AfterTheRain by #LucyDillon

Curl up with a coffee and some chocolate digestives and lose yourself in Tara’s story.
After massive flooding Tara is on hand to offer her counselling skills and practical help to her town to try and help them through.
Still trying to come to terms with her mothers death Tara is struggling and then when matters can’t get worse they do and the father who walked out when she was a child reappears.
You will be rooting for Tara all the way through A great read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A wonderful read. Tara spends her days helping other people overcome their challenges, but she is burying a whole world of pain of her own.

When her dad returns into her life her carefully constructed front crumbles. At the same time alone comes Dr David, a new and impressive therapist at work. Everyone loves him.

My first Lucy Dillon book didn't disappoint. A recommended read.

Tara I’d a counsellor, helping out after her village has been flooded quite badly and residents are traumatised. This helps her forget her own problems; her mum has just died and her dad returns after walking out on them when she was 10. Her twin brother is in the States so he’s no help!

The wellness centre where she works has lots of holistic therapists and a new counsellor who allows dogs in with his patients!! It’s an easy read, however I found it a bit too drawn out to fully hold my interest.

After the rain is a moving touching book about modern families, secrets and dysfunction.
Tara Hunter is a therapist who has got totally involved in helping her local communities after severe flooding has changed lives for so many in villages close to where she lives. Her life is still in turmoil after her mother suddenly dies, her boyfriend goes missing and her twin brother Toby is not there for her.
There is so much in this book, from the true to life misery of how flooding ruins lives, to being frustrated at what Tara gets swept along with, to the comedy scenes at her work with all the different therapists at the holistic centre.
I sometimes found her lack of understanding and sympathy grating and annoying but also realised that people do make unwise decisions which in the end be right for them.
Interesting book.....but annoying for me.
Thank you NetGalley for the early read.

Warm, funny and full of emotional insights that I wasn't expecting. This is a wonderful book about community, friendship, family secrets and the importance of one's own wellbeing.

Focussing on Tara who's emotional well-being has taken quite the knocking. She is the type of character I instantly warmed to; it was wonderful to read about the challenges she experienced and the hard work she puts in before making it through to the other side. There were no easy fixes, so I found her journey both refreshing and incredibly inspiring.

In these difficult times I would urge anyone to pick up this book which is full of hope for the future, and I would like to thanks the publishers and NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

This story was very well written and the versatile characters.

The story of Tara, who’s mother, recently passed, has only left the house to her and not in joint names to include her brother. Tara and Toby’s dad wasn’t around in their lives when they were kids.

Working as a councillor, Tara is helping local residents when not working, who’ve been affected after a terrible flood.

A new councillor where she works, Tara finds has a fabulous counselling method. .

So, the councillor, along with her relationship with Phil, the re-appearance of her father, her wanting to see her brother form a story about building relationships that have broken down and starting new ones, as well as how family is really important.

An enjoyable read.

Tara is a counsellor in a small village who has experienced flooding. She's plagued with questions about her own childhood now that her mother has passed away and her absentee father has suddenly made a reappearance. She's also struggling with her current standing, professionally, because she really wanted to get further in her career, but was always too afraid to delve deeper into her own psyche during the mandatory self therapy. Her twin brother has also been mostly absent from her adult life.

When a new doctor joins the wellness centre she works at, his 'gift' helps to spark a reassessment of her life. Dealing with themes such as grief, loss and abandonment, this is a slow-paced tale of acceptance and second chances. I enjoyed the parts about the various wellness centre employees quirks and in particular, the home-brew. David seemed like a good guy but I did find Tara rather frustrating at times, particularly the whole situation with Phil. The romance between her and David felt a bit too convenient and was very flimsy in it's execution unfortunately.

Overall it was an okay story, but I found the pacing very slow moving.

*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review*

Overall Rating: ❤❤❤
Heat Rating:
Emotional Rating: 💓🤔😞

**I will leave the same review on Amazon UK on publication day**

AFTER THE RAIN by LUCY DILLON.

Following the community of Longhanptom being devastated by severe flooding, Tara is one of the therapists on hand to support the local residents as they come to terms with what has happened.
The role also helps Tara to put her own problems to one side.
Fellow therapist David, seems to be held in high regard by others, but Tara isn’t so sure and is reluctant to open up to him with her own issues, which have been exacerbated by the reappearance of her father who left when she was ten.

I liked Tara’s character very much. She was sweet, rather vulnerable, but good fun and did her best for others.
I loved how David saw the best in Tara.and truly believed in her.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It’s a charming read. There are ups and downs to the story, with some parts being quite emotional and others lifting the mood with lighter humour.

I love Lucy Dillon’s books. This is slightly different from her usual stories, but it’s equally well written, warm and unputdownable.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Publication day: 17/3/22
Ebook
Audio
Paperback

With thanks to #Netgalley and #RandomHouseUk for a digital arc of Lucy Dillon’s After The Rain.

I will start with how much I enjoyed this book. It's a cosy read, easy to get into and with easy to follow characters.
I think many people can relate to the characters and will feel the emotional lows and funny highs.

Tara is a 30 something one half of a twin, her twin brother who she mostly gets to hear about via his Instagram account lives in America. They are bereaved having recently lost their mother and have lost touch with their father after he walked out on them as children.
Tara is currently working as a therapist at Longhampton's therapy centre and has also been volunteering to help rebuild the community having suffered catastrophic flooding providing free practical help and therapy for those in need,
All is not well in Tara's life though, she is living in the family home fearing she may need to put it on the market to pay for her brothers half and her boyfriend seems to have disappeared dumping his cat Mable on her whilst the builders are at his house., there's a new very successful therapist David at the centre and to top it all, her father turns up!.
Tara is a likeable character, immature for her age, she listens to others for a living but doesn't listen to others when she really needs to. She carries the bitterness of her past and has made up in her own mind what the truths are without listening to what the truths may really be. She has the type of messed up family that I could relate to and probably many others can too.
She does learn the truths and the truth from her mum's best friend who says 'female friendship is magnificent and complex. It's spiritual'
It does have a positive ending and she learns a lot about herself and her new found family.
It's a book about love, self development, families, rebuilding the community hall as well as relationships and of course it's about the love of animals. This book wouldn't be complete with Mable the cat and Lloyd the dog.
Great book for escapism in women's fiction.
#AftertheRain #NetGalley

What a lovely read, some lovely charecters it was easy to get to know and love all wrapped around a great storyline, loved it

This follows Tara who is a counsellor helping helping in her local area following devasting floods. Her mum has recently passed, and her dad turns up out of the blue - bringing with him a number of family revelations. The first part of the book touches on estrangement and put it felt a bit like Lucy had dipped in my own head and put my thoughts onto paper in a way I've never been able to do so I really felt engaged, but then the introduction of the storyline with David really just threw me off. It was a bit too 'woo woo' for me...

Overall I found the book a little too drawn out, but overall still relatively enjoyable.

Thanks for the chance to read this ARC!

This book touched more than I thought possible. I identified with Tara on so many things, her ability to squash old memories and push down uncomfortable feelings. It was refreshing to see her work through it all and come out the other side, to see that she had the strength within her to do it. David was also a great character, I loved his ability to connect with animals. His friendship with Tara was sweet, he supported her and saw her strength even when she didn’t.
This was a wonderful story about friendship, self care, family and over coming difficulties. I loved the added twists and turns thrown in along the way. The whole book flowed easily and I was quickly swept up in it.

The story is set after devastating floods have caused havoc in the area Tara lives in. She is a freelance counsellor, but has spent a great deal of time looking after people affected by this event and is also part of the team sort things out.
Her mother has recently died and her twin brother lives in the USA with sporadic contact. Her father left when they were ten and her mother has always appeared fragile on that note, not ever remarrying or having a relationship. When her mother had a serious fall when Tata was about to go travelling, she abandoned her plans and stayed with her mother.
When her father turns up out of the blue and offers help for the reconstruction of a vital village hall, she is angry with him, for assuming, as she see its, that they will be able to pick things up from all those years ago.
As time goes by she comes to realise that her own life isn't as cut and dried as she thought and that memories have a habit of being a bit skewed .
This is an interesting book as it explores family relationships and why people do the things they do.
It's not preachy, but very readable and I devoured it.

A very slow moving book with too many characters for me and not one character you could gel with, I struggled to get though it.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

As always Lucy writes a compelling tale. Complicated family dynamics, career situations and raw feelings. All combine to keep the reader fixed on the page and the next one till the last page.
Not going to give away any spoilers but you want to give Tara a cuddle and tell her it will work out in the end. Enjoy i did.