Gerri Hill

A woman sent to a remote detox ranch finds love and must choose: keep her new quiet ranch life with Mel or return alone to her workaholic ways.

After the Summer Rain

Jude Silberfeld

Melanie has been living on Stella’s land in New Mexico for seven years. Only women, most of them lesbians, most of them in their seventies. The youngest on the land at 37, Mel has moved here for reasons she doesn’t enjoy discussing. She needed solitude and while she gets lonely sometimes, she’s happy with it. In Houston, Erin has lost herself in work for the past year and a half and her family is worried. They manage to convince her to spend three months at Stella’s. She ends up staying with Melanie. The first few days are tough for both, Melanie trying not to resent Erin for invading her privacy even though hosting guests once in a while is part of the deal, Erin fighting her Red Bull (among other things) withdrawal and not being her sweet old self at all. But as time goes by, they get along then become friends, then more.

I know a lot of Gerri Hill’s readers love her mystery novels but I am first and foremost a fan of her romances. At Seventeen, Storms (which I translated into French, lucky me) or No Strings are some of my favorite. She keeps breaking my heart before mending it again, and it’s painful in the best way.

The scene where Erin is taken to the land reminded me of when I was a teenager and was sent to something akin to summer camp. I hated it, it was full of people I didn’t know (I’m not good with people I don’t know) in a place I’d never been to before (I’m not good with places I’ve never been to before) and I was expected to enjoy activities with others (you know what I’m about to write, don’t you?). I wasn’t a thirty-something woman in need of some sort of rehab but I can relate. That’s what I love most about Gerri Hill’s books: I feel everything the characters go through. When they hurt, I hurt. When they love, I love too. Like I wrote in my review for Beautiful Accidents by Erin Zak, it’s what I’m looking for in romance novels.

And I guess that explains why I got really mad at Adam at some point. I’m sure he was sincere and all but he took advantage of Mel’s aloneness, the only reason he got her to agree to anything is because she had no one else and didn’t want to hurt his feelings and lose him. I’ll stop here because I don’t want to spoil too much but WTF, man? Yeah, I guess I’m still mad. Even though I’m sure he didn’t mean to upset her or saddle her with guilt for so long. But she’s kind and caring and while she’s strong, everything she’s had to go through as a child has left her vulnerable too, and I hate that she was hurt. I know, I know, she doesn’t exist IRL but that’s how good Hill is.

Another thing I love is how the author’s love of nature and its beauties translates into her way of describing them. It’s like I’m there, wherever there is. Whether it’s the mountains and snow storms or the desert and summer rain, I can see it.

And of course I, now more than ever, wish I had space for chicken and goats.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Megan Cooper

4.25 to 4.5

Hard to believe, but this is the first contemporary romance by Gerri Hill that I've read.   Over the years, I've picked up some of her mystery and crime stories as those were the ones that caught my eye.  I enjoyed some, was disappointed with others but never really gave a second look at her romances.  Romance, schmomance.   What do you know, I just finished After the Summer Rain (devoured it in less than a day) and it turns out that I should have been reading her romances instead.

After the Summer Rain is a wonderfully heartfelt romance that avoids all the angsty drama-filled tropes you often find in romances.   This is all about the characters  and Hill brings Erin and Melanie to life with a remarkable level of maturity and honesty.

The novel begins with an intervention - Erin Ryder has spent the last 18 months driving herself harder and harder with work, allowing it to consume her by slowly destroying her health and her relationships with those around her.  Her father and sister issue an ultimatum -  Erin needs to take a complete break for three months or she will lose her job.  She's packed off to spend three months at an  isolated ranch in New Mexico run by a group of aging lesbians who had originally set up the 700 acres as Womyn's country and now offer guests an opportunity to stay in an environment that offers little distraction and lots of opportunity for introspection.

At 37, Melanie West is the youngest resident on the ranch.  When she arrived, she was looking for a refuge to heal, her life spiraling in a pattern of self-destruction, guilt and regret.  Seven years later,  she's established a life on the ranch with a small house and garden - living self-sufficiently and content with her own company.  Independent, calm and measured, Mel is a wonderfully solid character - but the ghosts of guilt and regret  fuel her need for privacy and isolation.  With some reluctance, she takes her turn in hosting Erin during her three month stay.  

The relationship grows organically with no hint of insta-attraction or insta-love.  Neither one is looking for a relationship or even a friendship - but with little outside distraction, both women begin to form a natural friendship based on sharing both physical labour of maintaining Mel's homestead and emotional support as they both examine and talk about   what has brought them to the ranch.  The conversations between the two are frank and honest.  There's a nice balance between the two women - Erin needs the quiet and calm of the ranch to realize what has driven her so hard and for so long while Mel needs the presence of someone who will listen and accept.    By the time that they begin to acknowledge an attraction there's a wonderful sense of intimacy and vulnerability between the two - they've shared so much emotionally that progressing to a more physical relationship is natural and wonderfully portrayed.   There's some trepidation and hesitancy  but the emotional connection is almost tangible.

The pace is relaxed, fitting with the setting, and Hill takes her time in building both the characters and their relationship - despite there not being a lot of exterior plot drivers I never found the story dragging or boring.  Mel and Erin were more than enough to keep my interest and Hill reveals more about each character's past as the story progresses.   I really enjoyed this one.

All in all - a really great romance.

Definitely Recommended

Thank you to Bella for providing an advance copy for an honest review.  This book will be released mid September 2019.

Carol Bailey

Tess

Workaholic Erin Ryder was on the fast track to self-destruction. Reeling after her lover walked out on her, she turned to booze and caffeine to make it through each day. After a family intervention, she finds herself on a remote ranch in New Mexico—on womyn’s land—to detox and heal. No cell service, no Internet—she’s convinced she won’t last three days, much less for the three-month sentence her father has mandated. Running from the chaos that had become her life, Melanie West moved to Eagle Bluff Ranch seven years ago. By far the youngest there, she embraced the compassionate, peaceful life that the elders espoused. Living off what her garden produced, her chickens and goats became her friends and confidants. Exposure to the outside world was limited to the handful of guests who stayed a few days at the ranch each year. This summer would be different. Melanie found herself hosting a young woman for three months. A young woman who wanted to be anywhere but there. As the days and weeks passed, their animosity turned to friendship as they helped the other heal from their past failures. Erin soon found herself loving life on Mel’s little farm. Loving life and loving Mel. Saying goodbye would be the hardest thing she had to do—saying goodbye to Mel…or saying goodbye to her previous life.

After the Summer Rain

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