Blog Tour: Renee Carlino's "After the Rain."

The Hopeless romantics book blog are pleased to be a part of the Blog Tour for Renee Carlino's "After the Rain."

Amazon UK:    http://amzn.to/1o9lmtW

Amazon.com:   http://amzn.to/1A3LETN

Synopsis:

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a deeply emotional contemporary romance about the second chances waiting beyond the shattered dreams of youth.

Under the bright arena lights of a rodeo show, young Avelina Belo falls for a handsome cowboy with a larger-than-life personality. After a whirlwind courtship, she happily moves away from her family in northern California and settles into married life with her cowboy on a seven-thousand-acre cattle ranch in Montana. One freak accident later, Avelina’s hopes for the future come to an end.

Nate Myers graduated from UCLA medical school at the top of his class, ready to follow in the footsteps of his father, a superstar cardiothoracic surgeon. Six years later, Nate’s career is being ruined by a malpractice suit. Questioning himself for the first time, he retreats to a Montana cattle ranch to visit his uncle and gain perspective. There, he meets a beautiful young woman named Avelina who teaches him more than he ever knew about matters of the heart.

Review: Surj Harvey

Renee Carlino… you keep doing this to us and we fall for it every time. You paint this wonderful picture of a perfect life for your characters, where they have everything they could possibly dream of. You distract us, making us lose ourselves in their world. You make our hearts swell with joy and happiness, where excitement about what the future holds keeps us on the edge of our seats. In fact we are so completely blindsided by this perfection, that we just don’t see it coming.. you know… that sledgehammer that smashes it all pieces, leaving a trail of devastation in its path. Yup, this author really knows how to deliver the best kinds of sucker punches to her readers and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I absolutely loved “After the Rain.” It was emotional, impactful, heart breaking and so completely heart warming all in the same breath and I read it in one sitting. 

Eva and Nate were two characters who had suffered unimaginable loss but through very different circumstances. Nate was a cardiologist performing ground breaking surgery, saving lives, quite literally fixing hearts that were broken. But when a surgery went horribly wrong, he was forced to take a step back and reevaluate all that he had ever known.

I was a terrible surgeon. I was a f**k up. I was a murderer.

Eva was only young when she met Jake McRae but she knew straight away that he would be the love of her life. What this couple shared was beautiful, all consuming, intense ... It was what most people dream of but in the blink of an eye it was gone and Eva was left dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy. She went through so much at such a young age and the guilt and self loathing she felt as a result, left her withdrawing from all those that loved her. She pretty much became a recluse, living only for her horses. 

"Looking death in the face and begging, that's how old she is."

My heart broke for both characters because they both seemed so lost. It was like they were scratching to find answers that never came and instead they were left with the same thoughts going around in their heads... misdirected self blame and self hatred.

Eva's character was so complex but it was still difficult not to be affected by all she had been through. At her age, she Should have been our there living her life, her hopes and dreams a bright light calling to her. Instead she hid from the world feeling she was to blame for all that had happened. She was angry, hurt, heart broken and I completely understood why she felt this way. I think you will too once you read the book. The events leading to her feeling the way she did were not as cut and dry as you may initially think. However, the further I progressed into "After the Rain," the more I wanted to shake Eva because she wouldn't even entertain the prospect of moving on with her life, instead digging her heels in when opportunities to move forward presented. I wanted her to grab the bull by the horns but time and time again, she pushed away.

The pain ran so deep in me, though I remained quiet and still on the surface, 

like an eerily calm lake. no life to ripple the water, no colour to show the depth, just a black void.

Nate, my beautiful fixer of broken hearts... The question was : would he be able to fix Eva's? I loved how selfless this man was and I admired his persistence when it came to this woman. Trust me, there were times she made it difficult to like her. When. Others told him to run a mile, he dismissed the advice and instead pushed forward, following the feelings that were ever growing within. The question I kept asking myself was, with all that each of these characters had been through, could they possibly heel one another? I wasn't so sure. I felt both had some souls searching to do. Neither had ever really found thier place in the world, instead following in the expectations of others.

"I'm not this guy. You make me feel..." He searched for the words. 

"You make me feel. that's it. I haven't felt anything for anyone like this."

The secondary characters in this book were just brilliant, all playing their parts in how this story unravelled. I loved how they each connected the two main characters and I for one wanted to be a part of that family... Old man and all.

Renee's writing was just perfect for the story that was told. The simplicity of the words, the fact that there were no exaggerated explanations for emotions that were felt made it all the more impactful. I could hear the characters speaking in my head and it felt so right for who they were and all they had been through. And to add to that, the visuals that were incorporated into the story line meant I could picture the setting for the whole book and it was beautiful. I wanted to be on that ranch.

This author really has written another fantastic story and I cannot wait for you all the read it. I have a feeling you're going to love it. "After the rain" was about letting go of the past, healing, finding your place in the world and looking to the future. My heart ached, it swelled with joy, I laughed and of course there were tears. The character development was perfect and I loved the way both Nate and Eva grew both as individuals and as a couple. 

in all my years, I've learned that life delivers many storms for us to weather. 

Some will be slow, brooding, quiet beasts, and others will be loud, thunderous and frightening. 

But if you're willing to look close enough, no matter how devastating the storm may be, 

after the rain you'll always find new life sprouting in the aftermath.

This was an emotional ❤️❤️❤️❤️ read for me. 

 Author Bio:

Renée Carlino lives in Southern California with her husband, two sons, and their sweet dog, June. When she's not at the beach with her boys or working on her next book, she likes to spend her time reading, going to concerts, and eating dark chocolate.

To learn more, visit ReneeCarlino.com.