This was only okay for me. I enjoyed the writing style well enough but the story otherwise didn't stick in my mind or leave an impression.

Mae Summers lives in New York City with her fiancé, Peter. She appears to have it all --- that is, until she wakes up one morning and discovers that Peter is gone. To make matters worse, it turns out that he is a Ponzi scheme crook. With an investigation underway, Mae’s assets are frozen, and all she is left with is Peter’s dog. Soon, she runs out of cash and is forced to return to her childhood home in Alexandria Bay, New York.

Gabe is Mae’s childhood friend. They haven’t seen each other in more than a decade --- not since Gabe left her and Alexandria Bay one night without saying goodbye. Now, Gabe is a divorced freelance cartoonist and writer. He doesn’t want to go back to Alexandria Bay, but one phone call changes everything.

Upon her return, Mae learns that her grandfather left her grandmother after a fight and lives in a local hotel. Her grandmother is not well and unintentionally reveals a few secrets that shake Mae’s life to the core. On top of everything else, Mae sees Gabe again and must deal with the feelings she still has for him. Over the course of the next few weeks, Gabe and Mae will have to make decisions about their lives and their relationship as more devastating secrets surface.

Full review available at: <a href="https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/ things-to-do-when-its-raining">Bookreporter</a>

This is a well written, character driven book. It is the story of a family with too many secrets and lies going back decades. Mae’s parents die when she is a child and she is raised by her loving grandparents. Gabe, a neighbour boy, is living with his single parent, abusive, alcoholic father. Lilly and George, Mae’s grandparents, decide to save Gabe from this situation and agree to raise Gabe in their home. Gabe and Mae grow up as childhood friends and fall in love as they become teenagers. Lilly doesn’t approve of the relationship and convinces Gabe to leave through her own manipulations and lies. George is aware that Lilly has kept important secrets from him throughout the years but doesn’t make her aware that he knows. Now Mae is in her thirties and has returned to her grandparents house following a personal scandal of her own. What she discovers is that her grandma has dementia and her grandfather, tired of the secrets, has left her. Gabe has also returned to their small town due to his father’s illness. As secrets and lies come to light between Gabe, Mae, and her grandparents so does the knowledge that mistakes made over the years have caused great anguish and grief for all involved. Each of the four have suffered from all that has transpired. I found this book engaging with very real characters. There are also little recommendations throughout the book as to what to do when it’s raining as rain is an important theme throughout the book.

2.5 stars, but I'm bumping it up to 3 because maybe it's me and the fact that I've recently read so many hard-hitting, angst-ridden, rip your heart out books. I struggled with this storyline. I had a hard time following it. For the longest time I had no clue what was going on. I had to work for understanding - and I hate having to do that with books I read. So many chapters where I couldn't tell who's voice I was reading. I started skimming, then putting it down and picking up other books, and that's never a good thing. I never really connected with these characters or the tale they had to tell.

Rating: 2.5/5

This story has a beautiful cover but for me the contents didn’t reflect this - it is probably a case of least said, soonest mended…..

The story concerns tragedy, lies and secrets that impact three generations. It explores friendship, hidden truths, guilt, heartbreak and aspects of living with dementia with a range of characters but I actually found it difficult to feel connected to them in anyway and this detracted severely to my enjoyment of the story. The story is told from different points of view and sometimes from different time perspectives, too. It is a sad, tragic tale with a slow,  character driven plot with the epilogue being the bright light at the end of the story. I admit I found myself skipping my way through it (and that’s not how I usually read at all) but I did finish it. However, I suspect some people will love it, so don’t let me put you off giving it a try - I hope you love it! I suspect it will appeal to people who enjoy trying to unravel melancholy, tangled messes created by so many lies and deceptions in a family orientated drama.

I requested and received a copy of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review after choosing to read it.

Thank you to Harlequin and Graydon House Books for sending me an eARC of this book for review! I also purchased a copy AND then won a signed copy in a contest, so I guess I'm set! 

This was my first Marissa Stapley book and I thought it was very good! It wasn't quite what I was expecting - I think what I wanted was something a bit lighter, something with a bit more resolution, and something that would stick with me a bit more. 

The first thing I will say is that I loved how this book was laid out - the different parts with the raindrops on the pages were so beautiful, and I loved the inclusion of Virginia's ideas of things to do at the inn when it rains. I also really loved the setting - I will always enjoy books that take place at inns or by water. I read this book in the winter, but it would be a great book to read in the middle of summer by a lake. 

I enjoyed the characters in the beginning but started to feel frustrated by them. This story is a perfect example of something that would be resolved if people would just talk to one another. Actually, when I finished reading, I couldn't help but think of lyrics from a song by The National that go "you said we'll only die of lonely secrets" because that seemed to be how everything was going - no one really talked to each other, so nothing was really resolved. 

I'm fairly certain that most people will love this book, but it just wasn't a book for me. I had a hard time really connecting with any of the characters, mainly because they drove me nuts for most of the book. Not only that, but everyone had their own story and with no one talking to one another, it just made for a very frustrating read. 

As I mentioned in the beginning, I won a signed copy of this book, but I also received a signed copy of Stapley's debut book, Mating For Life. This book might not have been what I was expecting and probably not my favourite of the genre, but I still enjoyed Stapley's writing and plan to read her debut book soon.

The Sisters were lost in the rainy, windy, lush coulee by themselves reading Things to Do When It’s Raining. It was just Norma and I walking in the coulee finding cover and then sitting under the lush trees with the wonderful rain pouring down on us looking at that list of recommendations for what to do when it is raining. We both really enjoyed the "Things To Do When It's Raining" recommendations that started off each chapter throughout the book and thought that it really contributed to the theme of the story.

THINGS TO DO WHEN IT'S RAINING by MARISSA STAPLEY is an easy, simple, and fast read that explores families secret pasts and ghosts that don’t stay buried. The characters are flawed and interesting with their own demons, secrets and conflict.

MARISSA STAPLEY delivers a well-written, engaging, and character-driven multi-generational family drama story here that was enjoyable, moving and entertaining read.

MARISSA STAPLEY does a great job creating a vivid atmosphere here with the descriptions of the St. Lawrence River and really set the tone for us with this story. We could feel the magic, the danger and the mystery to the river that carries a lot of history.

The ending was satisfying and pleasant! Would recommend!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, HARLEQUIN - Graydon House Books (U.S. & Canada), and Marissa Stapley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

All of our Traveling Sisters Reviews can be found on our blog:
https://twogirlslostinacouleereading.wordpress.com

I looked at the cover and was enticed. I read the blurb and got excited at the prospect of reading this book. I read the first few pages… I sighed. I read further… I was confused. Then I closed the book and thought back at the lines I have read. And I realized I understood parts of the story. Now what…? Go back and re-read or DNF…?

I didn’t want a DNF in the new year, so I went back into the book but with a new technique. I hopped, I skipped, I jumped on the stepping stones to cross the pond. And that’s how I finished the book. I read only the important parts.

Mae and Gabe loved each other as teenagers, till grandmother Lilly, drives Gabe away, believing him not to be good enough for her granddaughter. Lilly has her own secrets of her past, but suffering from dementia, she reveals one of them to her husband, George. George leaves her (BTW the grandparents are in their 80s) and stays in a hotel. There is a secret/mystery of their daughter Bae’s mother. Gabe’s father, Jonah, an alcoholic and abuser, dies. Gabe comes back home, Bae comes home after 17 years. And the story and secrets unravel….

My first book by Marissa Stapley, and probably my last. I didn’t like any of the characters. All of them were morose and living in their heads, rather than in real life. There was an aura of depression and guilt surrounding them. Instead of being thankful of what they had, their thoughts were all into what they had done or the injustice they had faced. None of them knew the meaning of Enjoy the Present or Count Every Blessing.

The narration of the story wasn’t clear, I got confused, whose story I was reading. And there was no gradual inclusion of characters. I stopped trying to remember who was who or their relation and just read about the 4 characters. I found the pace slow and the ending abrupt. The epilogue was better than the main story, not sure if it was because I was glad the story ended or the 2 main characters seemed to be in love.

This is the book, where I found one of the character telling the other I Love You, and the other replies Thank You, and it was supposed to imply that the other also loves. Did I get that? Nahhh!

A perfect book for whiling away a rainy day. A rich novel in the "women's fiction" genre. Perfect for fans of Hilma Wolitzer, Nancy Thayer, and Elin Hilderbrand.

Mae can't believe it when her boyfriend leaves her and presumably the country leaving only a note. He has committed a crime that Mae could also be involved with. After dealing with the police she goes to the childhood home of her grandparents to reassess her life. Her grandparents run an inn in Alexandia Bay and peppered throughout the book are the list of things to do when it's raining that her mother had written and placed on the wall for guests.

Mae's grandmother Lily is in the first stages of dementia but no one seems to notice. She has inadvertently disclosed information to her husband,a secret she has kept for years and he has left her because of it.
On her own she's not doing well but tries to cover things up until she goes missing.
Gabe, Mae's childhood sweetheart is back in the bay too but he has secrets and heartaches of his own to deal with.
Another book that I enjoyed, sad in a few bits and enough to keep me reading to the end. I think this is the author's second book and I would like to read her first one.

I have enjoyed reading this book. Will recomend it to anyone who likes a good story

A poignant and touching story, so lifelike with all the layered secrets and family drama its heart-wrenching.
It was impossible not get emotionally involved with this story and it surely is churning a lot of emotions from joy to sadness to despair to irritation to elation and even relief.
The story is beautifully written, resembling poetry in the way the words are twined together. It was easy to get lost in the tale, the need to know that everything would be alright at the end, that all the secrets would be gone, and the characters would finally find peace and happiness, the building of the momentum was the energy that kept me reading. The intensity of the emotions and the drama that was build surrounding all the feelings have the taste of Young Adult novels, understandably, as the story goes back and forth to the younger days of all the main characters.
In the story, each gets their chance to tell their point of view for the events that range from the time before the WWII to the present time. The point of view switches from the past to present, from person to person without indications, and it took me a bit to get into the rhythm and style of the book and writing until it started smoothly flowing.
The book tells the story of three generations of lives and loves, secrets, and betrayals. The fact that history repeats itself is proven repeatedly to be true. The frustration with the actions and withhold information, lies, and deceptions by Lilly and then by Mae, was overpowering at times. The way Gabe was treated in the tale, as a child, as a young man, and then as an adult broke my heart a bit. He seemed to be, in his pain and agony, the only one who had the courage to face his hidden truths, to go after his dreams, the one who had direction in his life, may it be to be with Mae.
An elegant tale with its beautiful writing, an alluring story with the lifespans of lies, a touching story of pain, forgiveness, and learning to love, a fascinating and frustrating family drama that goes on for generations and time.
~ Four Spoons

Powerful, poignant, and heartrending!

Things to Do When It's Raining is an absorbing novel that delves into the mental and emotional anguish that can be caused by underlying secrets, grief, guilt, family dynamics, friendship, first loves and loneliness and emphasizes the importance of closure and forgiveness.

The prose is smooth and well turned. The characters are consumed, troubled, raw, and authentic. And the character-driven plot interweaves the past and present of two multigenerational families as they learn to cope, survive, accept, support and love each other unconditionally.

Things to Do When It's Raining is ultimately an intelligent, evocative, pensive novel by Stapley that tugs at the heartstrings from start to finish.

Figuring the summary of Things to Do When It's Raining sounds like something I'd read by Sarah Addison Allen or even Samantha Chase, I requested it. While it wasn't my favorite book I've read this year, it also wasn't the worst. Mae's life as she knows it comes crashing down when she finds out her fiance was a crook. After she's questioned by the FBI, she escapes her life in NYC and retreats to her family's riverfront inn, where she knows she will be comforted by her loving grandparents. But when she gets there, she realizes they're having problems of their own; secrets have come out that change the way they viewed their sixty-seven years of married life. When Gabe, Mae's childhood best friend, comes back to his father's island to see him in the hospital, a romance of sorts begins again. Honestly, this story is the "romance" aspect present in Eloise at Christmastime mixed with a lot more secrets, a handful of frustrating characters, and an unsatisfying ending. For a self-declared feminist, parts of this book I found truly annoying.

I won't use a star rating, I didn't finish this book. I liked the book summary and I enjoyed the first few chapters. However, the book's layout was confusing, the story shifts perspectives without any warning to the reader and this continued for several pages. The main couple then the heroine's grandparents and I could not understand what was happening because the story didn't progress much despite the multiple perspectives.

I've sat here for a few moments chewing over Things to Do When It's Raining and really thinking about whether I loved it or I hated it. I think I hated it because it was just so real and brutal and hard, but I loved it because it was just so real and brutal and hard. People aren't simple and neither was this novel. It's one I'll be thinking about for awhile.

I tried to get into this book and could not. My apologies. www.fluffsmutandmurder.com

Thank you to #NetGalley and Graydon House for providing me with an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. I love rain, so I'll admit the title was the initial draw for me. I enjoyed this book a great deal, and ended up with only 4 hours of sleep as a result! The characters are well developed and the plot was interesting. I hadn't read her previous book, but I'm going to now. This has a bit of a mystery, love without being sappy and family issues that have to be dealt with. It's a good book, and I recommend it. .

What do you do when everything you know and believe turns out to be false? After Mae’s fiancée, Peter, disappears, leaving only an incomprehensible note, she heads home to the small town where she grew up and her grandparents. She’s shocked to discover her grandparents have separated and that her grandmother is losing her mental faculties. It seems everything in Mae’s life is in tatters. Even her teenage love, Gabe is struggling with his own demons. This was a beautiful story about finding a new normal, about learning to forgive and to love the people in our lives just as they are