Customer Reviews

After The Loving (Arabesque)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

With AFTER THE LOVING by Gwynne Forster, we are once again thrust into the world that is the Harrington brothers of Eagle Park, Maryland. In Once In A Lifetime we were introduced to this brooding group of brothers and their sassy cook, Mr. Henry. This time as the story opens, eldest brother Telford and Alexis, the former house manager, are preparing for their wedding, however AFTER THE LOVING centers on the middle brother Russ and Velma, Alexis' sister.

Alexis has arrived in Eagle Park to serve as a witness to her sister's marriage and is once again drawn to Russ. Russ is the brother who is engrossed in his work as an architect and has never dealt with his ill feelings towards his wayward mother, thus he will not allow anyone, especially a woman, to steal his heart. However, Velma has managed to get under his skin and when she stays in Eagle Park to keep Tara, Alexis' inquisitive five-year old daughter, Russ guards his heart with an ironclad fist, which makes for a strange courtship between the two. Once again little Tara is the voice of reason and she is a child who endears herself to those around her.

Gwynne Forster has developed a rich storyline of not just romance but other human emotions that make you take stock of what and who is important. Forster has managed to exhibit Russ' classic middle child tendencies with compassion and empathy. The imagery used of inner city Baltimore and the countryside of Maryland is vivid and arresting. The dramatics, foresight and understanding the characters bring to the pages can be classified as romance at its best. This second installment of the Harrington brothers and their significant others is an interesting tale simply because Russ and Velma both have uncomfortable issues and misunderstandings that prevent them from fully committing to their yearnings.

Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

I enjoyed this story very much. Being a plus size woman myself I could relate to the feelings of low self esteem that Velma had. If you have never been overweight, handicapped or suffer some other physical disability you wouldn't know what that person is feeling on the inside. Velma was lucky that that she found Russ, a man who loved her just the way she was, A beautiful, voluptuous woman. Having a sister that is tall, thin and beautiful had to have an effect on her psyche. I enjoyed this sequel that begins at the wedding of Alexis and Telford. Thanks Gwynne and I can't wait for Drake's story and more of Tara, Henry, Alexis and Telford in September 2005.

Patsy Nelson

In After The Loving by Gwynne Forster, we explore the budding attraction between Velma Brighton and Russell Harrington. Velma is a full figured, educated caterer with a growing business and growing insecurities due to her weight. Velma's weight issues hit their peek the day she watches her sexy and thin sister (Alexis) walk down the aisle to the man of her dreams.

Russ Harrington is the strong silent type. Russ was raised as part of a loving and open family but he always remained the loner that is until Velma enters his life. With Velma, Russ is able to laugh and enjoy life. He even begins to envision himself with a family of his own. Things would be perfect if Velma would stop obsessing over her weight.

Will Velma find the true root to her weight obsession? Will Russ be able to stand by Velma as she struggles through her weight issues? You will have to read to find those answers.

After The Loving was a sweet romance story with interesting character's made real in true Gwynne Forster style. I applaud the way Forster depicted the struggles many plus size women experience through out their lives. Velma's weight insecurities were never underplayed. Velma's character was real, with real life issues and feelings. And Russ was the man of every woman's dreams. As a plus size women myself it was nice to see the strong handsome man that truly loved the woman with curves.

Reviewed by Desiree
for BBW Reviews

After reading, After the Loving, I was sad the story was over, I wished that I could have continued to read the story of Russ and Velma. Two terrific characters that Gwynne Foster obviously took some time with.

This book was good. This was my first time reading a book by this author, but it WILL not be the last time. This book showed a lot of family love. The family shared so much love, I was truly touch. In my opinion there was alot to be learned from this book. Velma had to accept who she was to move on happily in her life. The feeling Russ had for Velma were so unconditional. He accepted what Velma would not allow herself to do. I recommend this book to all. I enjoyed it.

AFTER THE LOVING, the sequel to Once In A Lifetime, continues with
the saga of the Harrington brothers. I immediately thought of the
popular ballad, 'After the Lovin', by Englebert Humperdinck, "So I'll
sing you to sleep after the loving," because the story raises issues
about the aftermath from emotional entanglement versus physical
dalliance.

Russ Harrington, an enigma of sorts even to his brothers, is a
loner who has always been afraid to love. Because of his laconic
nature, his friendly reaction to Velma, the sister of his brother's
wife, is untypical. But even Russ, who capitalizes on lustful
interludes, knows Velma is different. She makes him wonder how
strong his feeling would be, after...

Velma uses her flirtatious nature to best Russ each time she visits
her sister. She is attracted to him, but her plus-sized figure gives
her no false hope; men prefer tall slim women. Russ is attracted
to Velma, all of her, but he hates her lack of self-confidence. What
he doesn't know is that Velma's insecurities run deeper than her full
figure or even men. They stem from the belief that her parents did not
love her or her sister. Russ wonders if he's up for the challenge of
changing Velma's perception of herself, and I wonder if they can
override their insecurities and find what happens the morning after?

AFTER THE LOVING is a wonderful exploration of the lives and loves
of two people overcoming their blind spots. Ms. Forster again displays
her talent for writing a believable storyline and human bcharacters,
especially the children who literally steal the stories.

I just got this book, and usually it takes me about two days to read a book. It is day 5. I have read a number of books by this author and each time I am disappointed.(you think I would learn my lesson) I picked up this book because it featured a full fiqured woman, and a nice seeming man. However, the story is boring and extremely long. They hardly paid any attention to Tara in the beginning of the book, and the kisses that were hot often fizzled into no where. There was typos all over the place. I wish Velma would get a backbone and for the her personality you would think she would not care that she is a bigger woman. Lastly, My theory is if a man don't love and respect his mother, he won't respect you. Just not worth the time, long and boring.

When I read the preview of the book and discovered the female lead character was a full-figured woman I bought the book instantly, since I am a full figured woman also. This book was simply unrealistic, boring, and just all around not good.

Russ and Velma's story was wonderful. Russ won over Velma by just letting her know he cared and truly wanted to be with her,no matter what her size was. And Tara is such a sweetheart. I can't wait until September 2005 for Drake's story.

I was so looking forward to reading this next offering from Mrs. Forster; Boy was I disappointed. I liked Velma except when she interacted with Russ. She wants to feel the love she sees him give the other characters in the story but he only has conditional love for her. It seemed that whenever Russ was put into the situation with her she became the poster woman for a doormat. How could a woman brave enough to burying her Mom, raise her sister, then start her own business have no opinion of her own and no backbone. I was further disappointed in the people around her who encouraged her to tame her spirit,hold her fellings and emotions and mold herself to his moods.I was surprised that her sister didn't recognize Russ' abusive nature based on her horrible experiences with her first marraige. What is the deal with a grown man, a successful businessman at that, using brownie points to grade a woman he is supposed to be interested in. ARE YOU SERIOUS. Velma, even with her dismorphia had much more to offer Russ than he had to offer her. I found Russ to be nothing more than an emotionally unavailable, abusive, egocentric, control freak whenever he was around Velma. How is she to open up to man who is so inconsistent and emotionally stunted? I put this one down easily several times. I kept pickin it up because I wanted to see velmas Light bulb moment.That didn't happen. It would have been nicer if the baby was his and he married Iris. That way Velma could have met someone patient who loved her out loud. I wont harp on the typos and inconsistent dialogue. I did enjoy Mr Henry and Tara again, they were highlights. I know all artist and authors have misses and hopefully the next book in the series is a hit.