A story with all the feels... After the Rain by Brandy Bruce (Review, Excerpt & #Giveaway) @singlibbooks



Welcome to my tour stop! Read my review and an excerpt, and enter the tour giveaway below...

After the Rain
(Sequel to The Last Summer)
By Brandy Bruce
Christian Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 232 Pages
February 4th 2019 by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas

Summary

Debra Hart is moving on. Maybe. Hopefully. One day.

As a radio show host, Debra spends her mornings as Miss Lonely Heart on air, empathizing with all the broken hearts in the Denver metro area. She spends her evenings watching old musicals and trying not to think about the guy who broke up with her and subsequently fell in love with one of her best friends. Alone in a new city, Debra questions where she belongs and who she is now.

When she stumbles into the indie music scene, Debra meets singer Ben Price. Rock star appeal, with a day job as a worship pastor, Ben is everything Debra wants to avoid. But he’s determined to be her friend, and it so happens she could really use one. Because try as she might, nothing seems to erase the anger and betrayal she feels.

It’s time for a new dream. But how does she start over when she doesn’t even know what she wants anymore?

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My Review

AFTER THE RAIN was a beautiful, bittersweet, emotional roller-coaster romance. Inspirational romance readers will fall in love with these characters and connect with the heroine's journey to find herself. Highly recommended.

Goodness. This story. I loved these characters! Loved them! Except when I wanted to shake and yell at Debra. She was so scared and stuck sometimes that she kept sabotaging herself. Drove me crazy! Ben was a saint. He put up with it all and hung on when there were so many times he could have quit. I loved some of his lines the best, like "If you love me and I love you—please stop breaking up with me." That one totally cracked me up. It was so Ben and so what Debra needed to hear. I did get frustrated with Debra being so devastated after her breakup. I get it to a sense, but I feel like too many girls put their happiness in someone else's hands. Maybe that was part of the point. I was happy that Debra worked through things and figured it out—or at least enough with Ben's honesty and willingness to push when he needed to so that they could have their happily-ever-after. Or whatever version was best for them. Sometimes we have these dreams and we forget that dreams can change or can be the same, but look different than we'd planned and that doesn't make them any less. I appreciated that this story wasn't just about the romance, but about Debra figuring out who she was, what role God would take in her life, and what she wanted. Those are all things all of us struggle with at one point or another, if not on an ongoing basis.

One of my favorite quotes:
"The difficulty with happiness being tied up in another person is that we have no control over that person. So they have the power to destroy our happiness."

In the end, was it what I wished for? This story was full of so much heart. Great characters, genuine faith-filled moments, swoon-worthy romance, and all the feels. I loved it!

Content: Clean
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the author through Singing Librarian Books, which did not require a positive review nor affect it in any way.

Excerpt

Deb, I miss you. I think about you. Just wanted to say it again.

I read the text from Lillian—Lily—Spencer as the elevator doors opened. Then I tucked the phone into my small purse. I walked toward the exit of the condominium building I called home now, catching a glimpse of myself in one of the mirrors on the wall.

This woman—with short hair, ringlets barely brushing my shoulders. Dark colors, chocolate-colored eyeliner—nervous about a simple thing like going to a coffee bar. I didn’t recognize her.

I stopped mid-hallway and leaned against the wall, my heart hurting.

I’m starting all over.

No.

I closed my eyes. I’d cried all the tears already. None were left. But the pain didn’t stop. A reminder of how much I’d loved Luke Andersen. How ready I’d been to link my story to his for forever.

But he’d chosen my friend Sara.

Quiet, lady-like, sophisticated, predictable Sara.

“Debra?”

My eyes opened. Cassidy and Jake, my neighbors, stood in the hallway, looking worried. I must have seemed ill. With one hand, Jake carried a baby car seat, inside it their five-month-old daughter, Gilly, slept soundly.

I pushed myself off the wall. “I’m okay,” I said without eye contact. I walked straight out of the building, to my car, and drove downtown.

About the Author


Brandy Bruce is a mom to three kids, a wife, a writer, a book editor, and someone who really loves dessert. She and her family make their home in the beautiful state of Virginia.


Tour Schedule

February 11
Mindy Houng
Remembrancy
Among the Reads
Cover Lover Book Review

February 12
Library Lady’s Kid Lit
Reading Is My SuperPower
The Power of Words

February 13
Book by Book
Paulette’s Papers
The Green Mockingbird

February 14
Jorie Loves A Story
Pause for Tales
Maiden of the Pages

February 15
Wishful Endings
Life is What It’s Called


Tour-Wide Giveaway


Giveaway includes the following:
  • Print copy (or e-copy if winner chooses)
  • Umbrella
  • After the Rain guitar-pick necklace
  • DVD of Grease
  • Beatles quote mug
  • Coffee warmer
  • Earbuds
  • After the Rain bookmark
  • Notepad
  • Candy
Giveaway is subject to policies HERE.

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