Customer Reviews

After The Rain

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Suzanne Paris is on the run, her ex fiancé Anthony deSalvo making her life miserable, when she makes a snap decision to get off her Atlanta bound bus in Walton, Georgia. Trying to find a ride into town, she encounters mayor Joe Warner, his 6 kids along with Aunt Lucinda, who insist she accompany them. Walton is a small town, not even boasting a hotel, so Joe finds a place for Suzanne to stay, and unknowingly ensconces her into his, and his family's life.

Suzanne is unfamiliar with children, but Joe's kids seem to grow on her as she does them. Joe, being the mayor, teacher and single dad, doesn't have much time left for relationships, and really hasn't considered once since his wife passed away. But as the story progresses, he and Suzanne have something going on between them that can't be ignored, and with the help of the kids and huge cast of secondary characters, manage to snag time for themselves.

Suzanne knows the day will come when her past will catch up with her and she will have to move on, but this is made more difficult as Joe and half the population of Walton entwine themselves around her heart. As Joe and Suzanne chip away at the armor surrounding their souls, and the local bully running against Joe for mayor try to make things more difficult for them, the reader can only hope that they get what they deserve in life, that being each other. This is an exceptional book!

Suzanne Paris is on the run. She doesn't care where just so long as it's away from her ex-fiance, Anthony. So she hops on a bus. She's looking out the window when it stops in a small Georgia town called Walton. She reaches for her necklace and reads the inscription on the back. R.Michael Jewelers.Walton. The necklace was a gift from her mother before she was placed in foster care at 14 years old. This could be Suzanne's chance to find out more about her. Suzanne has always been able to hold herself apart from others but the townfolk, and a certain mayor, are making it hard for her to guard her heart. And she'll put their generosity to test when her past mistakes catch up with her.
Suzanne doesn't make the greatest first impression with Mayor Joe Warner. But despite that he helps her find a place to stay. Being a widower for three years, Joe is very put-off by his attraction to Walton's new visitor. Joe's instincts tell him there is more to Suzanne than what she is letting him see. With the re-election coming up, Joe can't jeopardize his chances of winning. His opponent, Charles "Stinky" Harden, is not the most moral of character. Joe knows Stinky has ulterior motives for wanting to be mayor and suspects it's not in the town's best interest. Throw in his six children and that alone should keep him too busy to fall in love, right?
After the Rain is a great book about relationships, choices-right or wrong, and new beginnings. The residents of Walton are wonderful, making the town very three-dimensional. I couldn't wait to see whom Suzanne would meet next. And how they were going to make it harder for her to leave. I finished with the hopes that Karen White has already started writing the next book to take place in Walton.

Three years after the loss of beloved wife Harriet, Joe Warner meets a feisty out of towner who gets his blood running. He tries to stay true to Harriet, and has suspicions that Suzanne is hiding something from him. He helps get her on her feet, finding lodging at his best friend and brother in law's rental unit.

It turns out that Suzanne is running from her abusive ex-husband, Anthony. She stops in town because the necklace her mother gave her before she went into foster care has an inscription and a label of a jeweler located in Walton, Georgia. She never intended to get involved with the town's sexy and brooding mayor or his offspring and the townspeople. And despite both being reticent about getting involved with each other, they manage to steal a moment or two together and find themselves falling in love.

No small feat considering that Joe is juggling his job as a teacher, town mayor, raising six kids, dealing with his teenage daughter insecurities, and salvaging his re-election campaign to keep a progressive growth candidate out of office.

"After the Rain" is a great follow up to Karen White's excellent tear jerker "Falling Home," and provides follow up to the many colorful characters introduced in the first novel, which you must read first.

Photographer Suzanne Paris flees her unhappy past taking a bus to Atlanta. When the bus discharges passengers in Walton, Georgia, Suzanne makes an instant decision and disembarks.

Almost immediately, Suzanne finds a teen handing her an infant to hold for a second. Not used to chidlren, Suzanne struggles for a moment while the child wails that a stranger has her. Mayor Joe Walton, single father of six children, including the squirming kid arrives to take away the child from an uncomfortable Suzanne. Though Joe is busy with his work and raising his family he cannot stop his desire to know the visitor better. Suzanne has secrets and realizes she cannot stay much longer in the quietest town she has ever visited, but Joe is piercing the armor surrounding her heart.

AFTER THE RAIN reads like an old-fashioned love story starring two charming protagonists who deserve more in life and may achieve that if they can find a way to be together. The story line is a character study as Karen White enables the audience to see deep inside the souls of Joe and Suzanne. The secondary cast enables deeper looks at the lead duo. Contemporary romance readers will appreciate this regional captivating tale.

Harriet Klausner

A woman on the run, photographer Suzanne disembarks the bus on a whim, choosing to stay in Walton, Georgia. Unused to children, her comment regarding leash laws and children captures Joe's attention. Introducing herself as Suzanne Paris, she quickly learns that Joe is the town mayor who also happens to be the widowed father of six children. While she knows she cannot remain in Walton long without endangering her safety, Suzanne quickly finds herself falling in love with the citizens of Walton and their mayor.

Unlike the citizens of Walton who proudly cling to their deep southern roots, Suzanne is a drifter without ties to her past. Her alcoholic mother had disappeared when she was a teen, leaving behind only a necklace with the inscription, "A life without rain is like the sun without shade." Foster homes and emotional damage have exacted their toll, but Suzanne soon discovers the rain and the sun of Walton. Suzanne blossoms under the warmth of new friends and longs to linger in the healing atmosphere and near Joe and his remarkable children.

Author Lisa Plumley pens an elegantly enchanting southern novel in AFTER THE RAIN. Fans of FALLING HOME will welcome the return of favorite characters the beauty of Plumley's evocative prose. Indeed, readers will find themselves chuckling and tearful as the powerful characterizations sweep them into the marvelous small Georgia town and its memorable citizens. As the town conspires to protect Suzanne from threats of the past, she finds redemption and healing in the most unexpected of ways. Readers will be extremely reluctant to depart and will be clamoring for yet another sequel. AFTER THE RAIN comes very highly recommended.

This book which was written in 2003 is a Romance and nothing like her current novels. I found a few inconsistences in the plot and the formatting for Kindle is terrible. Given all that this book is not bad considering the price.

This is the first book I read by Karen White and I hope to see more from her. Her writing style is starkly and humorously descriptive. An example is when one of Joe's children hands Suzanne his toy airplane and "she reacted as though he'd handed her a large insect." Perfect! Wonderful. I can both see and feel that reaction. Just what I want from an author. Good story, not too sappy, not really that predictable, a little non-believable in parts, but an overall good read. I didn't realize this was a sequel and I'm glad I didn't. I like the mystery surrounding Suzanne and Joe.

I love it when I stumble upon a book by an unknown (to me) author and am blown away. Well, I did and this author is guilty of having blown me away. Completely and thoroughly. I'll not bother with the storyline as others have taken care of that detail. I just want to convey the depth of feelings that come from reading this book. I heartily recommend curling up in a favorite spot to savor it. Make sure it's a comfortable spot though as you won't be leaving it anytime soon.

This book is very emotional and touching. It's a about two people whose hearts and lives are empty and they come together because they both need someone in their lives.
Karen White writes with a light touch so that you feel for both characters and by the end of the book there is no doubt that these two people belong together.