Saturday, February 6, 2016

After the Rain by Rita Gerlach

After the Rain


ABOUT THE BOOK

It's 1908, a year in the Edwardian Age, the year J.M. Barrie’s play 'What Every Woman Knows', premiered in Atlantic City and the first Model T rolled off the assembly line in Detroit. It is a year when the world faced one of its worst disasters in history, when the New Year would heal the wounds of loss.

Louisa Borden lives a privileged life in Chevy Chase, Maryland, a new and thriving community on the outskirts of Washington, DC for the well-to-do. Against the wishes of her domineering grandmother, she retreats from the prospects of a loveless marriage and instead searches for what she hopes is her calling in life.

When her horse is spooked along Rock Creek, she is thrown from the saddle—an embarrassing situation for any affluent young lady. Soaking wet, bruised and humiliated, she is carried up the muddy bank to safety by Jackson O’Neil, a stranger to the city, who changes the course of everything, including the lives of all those around her.
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MY THOUGHTS

Gosh, I don't know what to say except that I loved the story. 

What a weird way to meet your future husband!  I think I would be mad and embarrassed too! But they say things have a way of working out.  Where there's a will, there's a way. But, most often it's God's will of working things out.
That Mr. Eastcott was mean, mean!!!! Beatrice was just as bad. They did everything they could to hurt Louisa but I believe it made her a stronger person and more compassionate towards others especially the children no one wanted.  I'm glad Louisa stepped in for the children in Chestnut Creek.  I'm glad someone stood up to that old bat. Someone in that town should have stood up for those children long ago. 
I loved Louisa's two Aunts. They made me giggle towards the middle of the story. I hope I'm like them when I get older except I don't want a stubborn mule. I think I do enough of that myself.  
It also kind of made me mad when Lousia's papa just up and left without no word on when he would return and if he would return. My feelings on that is that if he were home, I doubt that her grandmother would've treated her so badly. I think that she judged Louisa unfairly. Judge ye not unless ye want to be judged. God tells us not to judge others but love them as he has loved us. I know that for some this is extremely hard to do. Especially those in the upper class. In some ways, I am so very glad that I was not born in the upper class society!! What a bunch of snobs. Even then, we still have some middle classmen that think they're above their station in life. I'm used to doing what I want to do, not as others would tell me what to do. I am as stubborn as Louisa but not quite. My motto is; if you respect me, I'll respect you. 
Rita, your story was delightful! !! I especially loved the ending!!! You sure kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen!!! This was one of the best books you've written so far, and I would definitely recommend it to others

More About the Author

Biography

Rita Gerlach lives with her husband and two sons in a historical town nestled along the Catoctin Mountains, amid Civil War battlefields and Revolutionary War outposts in central Maryland. She was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in a large family in the Maryland suburbs.

"Romantic historical fiction that has an inspirational bent, is one way people can escape the cares of life and be transported back to a time of raw courage and ideal love," she says. "The goal of my writing is to give readers a respite from a stressful world and give them hope."

In many of her stories, she writes about the struggles endured by early colonists, with a sprinkling of both American and English history. Her genre - Inspirational Historical Romance / Drama.

Rita is a breast cancer survivor, and incorporates into her newer fiction what she learned through her journey --- courage, faith, and the precious gift of family and friendship.

Currently she is writing an Edwardian era novel set in Chevy Chase, Maryland, a historical community on the outskirts of Washington DC, leading to a fictional village in the western Maryland mountains. She is also co-authoring a historical series with bestselling Christian author Gilbert Morris.

Visit Rita's website at http://ritagerlach.blogspot.com/

Her Blog 'Inspire' http://inspire-writer.blogspot.com/ 

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