Home
/
Fiction
/
After the Rain
After the Rain
Oct 11, 2024 8:26 AM

Author:Lucy Dillon,Charlotte Worthing

After the Rain

Brought to you by Penguin.

After the storm it's time for a fresh start . . .

The powerful and heart-stirring new novel by the Sunday Times bestselling author of Unexpected Lessons in Love.

First, the clouds...

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.

Then the storm...

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.

And after the rain...

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?

Praise for Lucy Dillon:

'Bittersweet, lovely and ultimately redemptive; the kind of book that makes you want to live your own life better' Jojo Moyes

My heart is smashed and repaired for reading this wonderfully romantic and strong piece of fiction.' Milly Johnson

'Real, heartbreaking - I loved it'Katie Fforde

'No one tugs at the heartstrings quite like Lucy Dillon' Red Magazine

© Lucy Dillon 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Reviews

Beautifully written with humour and insight

—— Katie Fforde

Heartwarming and full of hope. Lucy Dillon brings warmth to every page

—— Sarah Morgan

Brimming with all the ingredients for the best of novels: love, community spirit, family, friendship and four-legged friends. I adored it!

—— Milly Johnson

A wonderful, wise, hopeful novel

—— Katy Regan

A joyous read about the power of new beginnings

—— The Sun

A lovely story

—— Bella

A gorgeous story of friendship and self-care

—— Fabulous

Lucy Dillon fans will be delighted with this heart-stirring story capturing messy and wonderful lives

—— Woman

Tish Delaney's writing is engaging and she has a strong eye for character and dialogue . . . Mary's story of finding love in the most unlikely of circumstances will draw readers in and you'd need a heart of stone not to be moved by the ending.

—— Daily Express

[T]here is much to admire about this debut, from the energetic voice to the way the Troubles are knitted through the timeline.

—— Irish Times

Must read

—— Sunday Mirror

Dolly Alderton's writing is incredibly intimate, tender, and observant. Ghosts is a fantastic novel about friendship, family, and love

—— Holliday Grainger

I loved it - Dolly Alderton has clearly mastered every form of writing. Which is a surprise to nobody

—— Candice Carty-Williams

This is a lovely, funny, modern comedy of manners. It's shrewd and sharp

—— Russell T Davies , Instagram

I love this book. It is wise, funny, tender and true, sharply-observed and utterly hilarious. Alderton's gift is always to give the mundane its beautiful due and in Ghosts, she manages to write a compulsively readable novel. Dolly Alderton's talent is phenomenal

—— Elizabeth Day

I loved it. Had me howling with laughter and recognition!

—— Bryony Gordon

You know a book has hit the spot when you've decided before finishing which friend you're going to pass it to. The writer's skill at dissecting love and relationships translates seamlessly into fiction

—— Evening Standard

This brilliantly observed novel will make you nod, laugh and cry in recognition

—— The Sun

Such clever writing, wonderfully funny; fab characters and delightful details. Divine

—— Nina Stibbe

If you've ever been disappointed by a man it will vindicate every mixed-up emotion you've ever had about it

—— Laura Jane Williams

Hilariously cutting, but also sad and insightful. Reading Dolly's writing is like having one of those glorious girls night in, where you drink till the early hours - laughing, venting, and feeling warm and seen

—— Holly Bourne

Whip-smart . . . a heartwarming tale of family and friendship

—— Evening Standard

So brilliantly perceptive, packed with pin-sharp observations on every page. Dolly is such a fantastic writer

—— Jill Mansell

Witty, tender, big-hearted

—— Sainsbury’s Magazine

A few years ago, Alderton seamlessly taped into our psyches with her 2018 memoir Everything I Know About Love. Now she's back with that same signature wit and blistering honesty in her debut novel, Ghosts

—— Cosmopolitan

Alderton masterfully exposes the hideous reality of dating in your 30s and how unfair it can be on women who enter the fray in honesty and hope. Hugely emotionally intelligent and often very funny. I adored it

—— Daily Mail

A fascinating, perceptive look at what it means to be a thirty-something woman right here, right now . . . Sharply observed, sometimes tender, sometimes tart, Ghosts will resonate with so many women

—— Red, The Best Books to Read this October

Dolly sums up life in your thirties with such wit, warmth and accuracy, you won't want it to end

—— Heat

Alderton balances heartrending emotion with keen-eyed satire, displaying a flair for metaphor and comic set pieces

—— Mail on Sunday

Funny and insightful, it's a brilliant look at the way we can be haunted by doubts, memories and home

—— Psychologies

Alderton has a talent for believability, realism and the knack to reach into the pages and pull out the characters onto the sofa next to you. Topical, relevant with a touch of tender humour

—— Weekly

As warm-hearted, wise and observant as her bestseller Everything I Know About Love. In this heartfelt, funny and insightful tale, Alderton cleverly explores the way memories, doubts and home can haunt us

—— Sunday Express

Alderton explores the ideas of relationships, friendships, love, memory and the way in which we live in a beautifully written and poignantly powerful novel

—— GQ

Stuffed full of insights and adroit observations . . . a masterpiece of modern manners. Alderton's life-enriching social anthropology will be the antidote for flagging spirits in the next lockdown' Spectator

—— Spectator

Achingly relatable. A darkly funny-melancholic novel about the rich variety of relationships in our lives - and the importance of showing up for them

—— i

This modern love story has lashings of arch humour and gentle wisdom, and slides down as pleasingly as a slice of cake and a nice cuppa

—— Spectator

Explores the ideas of relationships, friendships, love, memory and the way in which we live in a beautifully written and poignantly powerful novel

—— GQ

If you need a good rom-com escape, Dolly Alderton more than delivers in Ghosts. . . it's darker than Everything I Know About Love - but just as fantastically relatable

—— Vogue 12 of the Best Autumn Reads to Curl Up With Now

Stibbe is one of the all-time greats

—— Daisy Buchanan

Very few writers can find the delicate balance between heartbreak and hilarity like Nina Stibbe

—— Red Magazine

Funny, charming, odd-in-the-best-way and gorgeously uplifting! A delight from start to finish

—— Marian Keyes on ‘Reasons to be Cheerful’

Joyful. Stibbe's comedy probes what it means to become an adult

—— Daily Telegraph on ‘Reasons to be Cheerful’

Pitch perfect vintage comedy

—— Guardian on ‘Reasons to be Cheerful’

I love everything Nina Stibbe writes and this was my favourite of the novels. It's so sharp and painful and brilliantly funny. There are sentences you could eat for Christmas dinner. If you haven't read it already - you probably have but just in case - I really do think you'd love it

—— Katherine Rundell

Riveting drama packed with suspense and secrets

—— Woman & Home

Like drinking a pink Cosmo laced with arsenic . . . a fun, engaging and sometimes disturbing read

—— USA Today

Perfect

—— Hello

Fascinating and compassionate

—— Daily Telegraph

I loved every line of it

—— Louise Candlish

Funny and captivating

—— Closer

A cracking story cleverly told

—— Fabulous
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved