Why I Read It: Because Kristie loves it so much, I just had to read it.
Synopsis: Faith Devlin: A poor, outcast child in Prescott, Louisiana, she'd always adored the town's golden boy from afar. But he called her white trash that sultry Southern night when his rich, respected father disappeared, along with her pretty Mom. Now Faith wanted to hate Gray Rouillard...not to feel a powerful surge of desire. But she couldn't quench her passion, any more than she could hide the truth about the past she had waited so long to unravel.
Gray Rouillard: Even when he raised hell, he did it with style. Reckless, charming, and backed by Rouillard money, Gray controlled the town of Prescott -- and Devlin was a name he never wanted to hear again. But when he gazed at Faith Devlin, all he saw was a swirl of tangled sheets and her silken flesh beneath him. To care for her was impossible, unthinkable...because Gray Rouillard planned to use all his power to ruin her.
My Thoughts: Ms. Howard has done it again. She’s written a novel that’s touched on a lot of my emotions in some way. She just has an incredible talent for writing strong characters, and After the Night is no exception.
I was immediately drawn to Faith ~ the unfairness of what’s happened to her in her life. How she didn’t have a childhood because she was too busy trying to take care of everyone around her. How she was labeled as “trash” because of the actions of her family. How heartbreaking it must have been for her to take care of her little brother, Scottie, and watch him slowly fade away day after day. And through it all, she became a strong, resilient woman.
Now, Gray. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure if I liked Gray up until page 248. How he treated Faith as a child, and then to revisit that all over when she moved back home. How unfair it was for Gray to hate Faith as much as he did ~ punishing her for the sins of her mother (and of his father, I might add). Why? That question just keep popping into my head. Why the fierce hatred for a woman who never did anything to anybody? Like I said, I just wasn’t sure I liked him. Until the boathouse. And then yowza. And then the bathroom in the courthouse. I was laughing one minute and heating up the next. Yowza again.
And then to my surprise, I discovered Gray actually had a sense of humor. Under his hard exterior was a man who genuinely cared for this woman. I loved their playfulness, their joking, their passion. Once the two characters finally came together it was a wonderful, wonderful ride.
Along with that was a small little murder mystery ~ which didn’t really play a large part of the story, but was there nonetheless. I had this one pegged right away, so the resolution came as no surprise.
All in all, I thought this was a Very Good read. This is another one for my keeper shelf and I look forward to revisiting my new friends in Prescott Parish again sometime in the future.
Labels: Contemporary Romance, Linda Howard, Very Good
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At 4:29 AM,
Kristie (J)OK I missed this post earlier :-0 haven't been on the computer as much the past couple of days.
So now that I've rectified that - I'm so glad you liked this one!! Isn't Faith great! I know what you mean about Gray. A lot of readers think he's too mean, but if Faith could forgive him then how could the reader not? Because Faith is one of the strongest, most well-put together heroines I've read. And I think Linda Howard did a wonderful job of making us somewhat understand where he's coming from and why he is the way he is towards Faith.
This one made it into the top 5 all time books and it's one I've reread many a time. -
Yay, another blogger who liked After the Night :D This is definitively one great book!! and yeah, Gray can be a jerk, but he can be so nice... and sweet... and arrogant LOL :) Anyway, sure, the whole situation was very unfair for Faith, but then, when you look at it... you can justify Gray's reasons.
By the way, I wished this book had a longer epilogue/ending... it was just way too short :P
Oooo. Looks good. I haven't read a Linda Howard for a very long time. I may have to bump her up.