Review: After the Rain by Daisy Harris

Posted February 11, 2014 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Henri’s list of bad exes is as long as his arm, but nothing prepared him for his latest, heart-stomping breakup. He thought he couldn’t feel more abandoned, until his ride for a group camping trip bails, leaving him stuck driving for hours with a guy who is absolutely not his type.

After breaking up with his girlfriend of five years, firefighter Logan is working up the nerve to explore his interest in men. He knows he’s gay. He just hasn’t had the guts to do anything about it…until now.

Henri’s big-city attitude and tight jeans push every last one of Logan’s buttons, and when he and Henri have to share a tent, Logan is thrilled. He should have realized Pacific Northwest weather would get wet—forcing them to strip naked.

Though the steam between them is thicker than coastal fog, Henri’s not sure he can let himself fall for another man. Not even the guy who finally treats him right.

Logan had been in a relationship with his ex-girlfriend for 5 years. He finally decided that the heartache he was causing both her and himself wasn’t worth it and admitted to them both that he was gay. He’s only 20 so can’t cruise bars for me so he’s not even made a move on a man. He finally decides to ask his co-worker, Tomas, out on a date but Tomas has a boyfriend. Logan is embarrassed but Tomas is easy-going and invites him to a queer camping weekend and mentions that his boyfriend’s friend Henri will be going as well.

Henri is a guy who’s made bad boyfriend choices most of his life. His last boyfriend took the cake though when he cheated on him and then told him he may have given Henri HSV2. Henri’s horrified but immediately goes to get checked out. He’s told his initial tests are negative but he needs to get checked out again in 3-6 weeks. He’s been looking forward to the camping trip but knows he can’t hook up with anyone because of the possibility of being found positive eventually.

Logan meets Henri in the parking lot at Walmart when they go shopping. Henri thought he’d be riding with his friend Michael, who he’d been staying with since he moved out of his boyfriend’s apartment, so he’s not thrilled when he finds out he’s riding with Logan. He’s kind of mean and frankly incredibly condescending to Logan but Logan tries to make the best of it. Despite Henri’s attitude Logan is hot for the guy.

When they arrive at the campground they find that there’s only one tent left so Logan and Henri have to share. Henri’s not thrilled but finds after some time spent with Logan that’s not a bad guy. Henri goes rafting with Logan and they have a great time. They get along better and better and soon wanting each other in a big way. Unfortunately with Henri’s predicament they can’t go far. Henri is upfront about it all, however, and Logan likes Henri so much that he’s willing to work with him. The big question comes when the weekend is over and they have to decide whether they like each other enough to continue and work on building a relationship or if they call it quits and move on.

I have to admit that I wasn’t thrilled when I first started reading this book. Henri just seemed like a piece of work that I wanted nothing to do with. He seemed high maintenance and too needy. He was full of himself and the way he acted toward Logan when he first met him, without knowing a thing about him, really rubbed me the wrong way. I was quite happy when Henri stopped being so full of himself and decided to try to be a nice person.

Logan was a sweetheart from minute one. He had been so confused about his sexuality but was now certain of what he wanted and was willing to admit it to himself. He did have a little bit of an anger problem at times but for the most part he was completely easy-going and laid back. I loved that he brought out the best in Henri and didn’t take Henri’s shit for long. Together they were a very cute couple.

I did have a problem with the speed of the romance. Because of the hooking up during the camping trip I found that I wanted more emotional involvement. Once they get back from the camping trip there’s just a short scene before it skips to three weeks later. I wanted so badly to know what had happened during those three weeks as it would have solidified in my mind that the relationship was a good one. As much as I liked the two men together I think I needed to see that to believe that they were a couple that would stay together in the long run.

Overall a good story that’s both sweet and sexy.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Daisy Harris 


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