Once Upon a Twilight!: Blog Tour: After the Rain | Renée Carlino

Welcome to our stop on the AFTER THE RAIN blog tour for Renée Carlino.

After the Rain
Author: Renée Carlino
Reading Level: Adult Fiction
Genre: Contemporary Romance | Chick Lit
Released: November 11th 2014
Review Source: Atria Books

In AFTER THE RAIN (Atria Paperback; November 11, 2014), eighteen-year-old Avelina Belo meets a charismatic cowboy the summer before her senior year of high school, not knowing that accepting his invitation to dinner will lead to a whirlwind marriage three months later and an exciting new life on a Montana ranch. She also doesn’t know that, in a few short years, fate will send everything crashing down around her.

A thousand miles away and fresh out of medical school, Nate Meyers is poised to become UCLA’s next superstar heart surgeon. His laser focus is the key to his success, but it’s also his greatest liability. When a routine surgery ends in disaster, derailing his career, he’s confronted with the hard truth: there’s no one waiting for him at home, no one to help him pick up the pieces.

Regrouping on his uncle’s Montana ranch, Nate meets Avelina, a beautiful but mysterious young woman who keeps to herself and barely speaks a word. As he discovers the details of her devastating past, Avelina teaches him more about matters of the heart than he ever knew before. But can they trust each other enough to put everything on the line?

I am going to start off by saying that Renée Carlino is a writing GOD! I have read all of her books leading up to this stand-alone and I just cannot get enough. Renee takes us on the most amazing journeys with each book she writes. After the Rain was another captivating, heart wrenching, beautiful journey. The feels I got while reading this book were magnificent!!

Ava being raised on a cattle farm in California, found joy in competing in the rodeo. She meets Jake, a handsome cowboy and quickly falls in love. After being married just a short time, they move up to Montana to work on a ranch. They have a beautiful marriage until Jake is in a tragic accident. Feeling sorry for himself, he treats poor Ava very badly and then the unthinkable happens.

Nate is trying to follow his father’s footsteps as a cardiothoracic surgeon. He is not one for relationships because he is always buried in his work. How else will he be like his superhero father? Nate let his head get to him and as a result, a malpractice suit is filed. Nate’s father sends him up to Montana to help out his uncle and in hopes to clear his head.

Nate is drawn to Ava the second his eyes fall upon her. Ava on the other hand wants nothing to do with Nate. Loss and self-blame keep Ava in a state of denial for affection or any emotional connectivity. Nate slowly starts to break down that wall Ava is hiding behind. What Ava doesn’t realize is that she is helping Nate overcome his fears as well. Will Nate ever be able to break that wall completely down? Or will he have to keep stepping over it?

After the Rain was an AMAZING book. I wish I could give it a higher rating. I felt so immersed into the story while reading this that I never wanted to come up for air. While the story is about love, it’s also about loss and recovering from loss. I absolutely loved the characters. There were some pretty hot scenes in this story as well. I cannot stress enough how beautiful this book was. I sure hope each and every one of you picks up yourselves a copy today!

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.