After reading 26% of the book, I am calling it quits. I still don't know where this story is going, but it is not taking me along for the ride. Cate seems to be the main character. She teaches and works in the set design field of plays, So far they seem to be gay plays which suits her as she is having a relationship, or at least the start of it, with Maureen, while trying to get past Dana, who appears to be stalking her and trying to get back into Cate's life.
Cate's ex hubby Graham has moved in with her after his third marriage failed.
Other than that, I have no idea where this is going, but I'm done.
thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this bittersweet novel about Cate, her girlfriends, her friendships, her ex-husband, and her inability to understand how she fits in each facet of her life. The writing is lovely and I found myself caught up in her constantly second-guessing her decisions as she is wary of change but also wary of life passing her by. Then when a life-altering event presents itself, she can't quite perceive the repercussions and consequences it will have on her otherwise-daily existence as a set designer. And although it ended quite abruptly, I appreciated the effect it had as life rarely gets tied up in a neat little bow!

I was very excited to be chosen to receive an early addition of another book by Carol Anshaw. I I really enjoyed her first novel “Carry the One”, hence I expected the same quality of writing. Unfortunately this book did disappoint me. . Vague Plot, I had trouble with the main character and her ability to stand up for herself. There seemed little resolution at the end of the block. All in all a disappointment. Thank you for my advanced copy.

I waited 7 years for Anshaw to publish another novel, and it was worth the wait. Her writing is simply beautiful. Her descriptions drew me into every scene. Cate, the center of the novel is intriguing and engaging. Every character is drawn with a tremendous level of likability, except for her villains, who are so cleverly inserted that the reader doesn’t realize that they will ultimately create the turning point in the novel.

Cate is just lovable, she is a gay woman who cares about all her friends, ex-husband and ex-lovers. She even manages to make the reader smile at the relationship with a large dog who has been foisted upon her.

It is the unexpected turn of events that causes this loving, kind and caring woman to commit murder that changes her self-perception and the relationships with those around her. I wish I could find out what happened to all these people after the close of the book because I felt so totally involved in the plot.

I thank the publisher, editor and Netgalley for giving me the pleasure of reading another perfect Anshaw novel. I know all my readers will love it and no doubt, it will be on all THE BEST lists for this year.

So well written so involving a contemporary novel a novel of friendship love loyalty coping healing after something horrible occurs. An involving novels whose characters come alive.#netgalley#atriabooks,

I was lucky enough to win an egalley on Carol Anshaw’s book, RIGHT AFTER THE WEATHER, through a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thank you for the opportunity, I looking forward to reading/reviewing it!

This book sounded so good in the description. I was really excited about it. But it was so slow. It took me ages to get through it. And by the end, I didn't really see the point. I did not enjoy this book. I'm sure there is someone out there who will like it... but totally not for me.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book sounded great in the description, but I could not figure out the point of it even after reading it. Was it a story of friendship, a love story, a mystery, a family story, or what. There was so much feeding into it, but little resolution at the end that I wanted to ask: what happened d, with her mom and dad, which lover did she choose, did they ever find the other attacker and what happened to her, etc. Another thing that was a bother to me was the use of two fonts. I'm read it on my kindle and because one of the fonts was smaller than the other, I would have to stop and change the size in order to see it. This book was a disappointment to me--however I will probably purchase it for my library as I think there is some commercial appeal to it.

This book was slow... I kept hoping it would pick up but the pace was steady throughout. I wish there had been a little more to the story - it was a little too true to real life, if that makes any sense.

An intriguing slice-of-life book that focuses on a six month period of the main character Cate's life.

It felt slow at the start, however, I became engaged in the book part-way through, and got hooked into reading more about the characters. I enjoyed how the book felt theatric, and how violence can change someone's life. The themes of resilience and tragedy were well presented.

The book left me hanging for more at the end.

Rating: 4/5

(This review will feature on my blog on the 17th of September)

Cate's life is a mess. She is barely getting by as a set designer. Her ex-husband has moved into her spare bedroom and is increasingly paranoid about government surveillance. She has a girlfriend, yet can't stop seeing someone else. And things are about to get worse... And the recent political climate!
Unfortunately, nothing seems to improve for Cate. The ending of this book echoes the feelings of many people in the world today - that things are hopeless, and there isn't any sign of anything turning around soon.

I'm struggling big time with my star rating for this book because to be honest, when I first started it I didn't like it at all. I almost DNF-ed it. It took me until almost 50% of the book to start liking it. But once I got about halfway through, I actually started loving it. To the point where I didn't want to put it down. And now I feel like if I were to pick it up again, I'd appreciate the first part of the book much more.

So, be aware that this book starts slowly, but that if you stick with it, it will pay off (at least it did for me). Cate is a set designer for theater and is currently living with her ex-husband (as he goes through another divorce), getting over her ex-girlfriend, dating a new woman, and spending time with her best friend Neale and her son Joe. There are little interludes featuring a man and woman breaking into houses. At first I thought these interludes were really strange, but they'll all make sense about halfway through the book when Neale is attacked.

While not a particular likable character in many ways, the more I got to know Cate, the more I really liked her. Emotionally, I feel like I have a lot in common with her, especially in regard to her thoughts on animals and observations on life. She's flawed, yes, but in ways I think many people can relate to.

Overall, I'm happy I stuck with this one and will likely return to it at some point. But first I want to read more by Anshaw!

Cate is divorced. It happened when she declared herself to be a lesbian. She has her ex-husband living in the spare bedroom of her place. The story has us seeing her live her life for about 6 months. She has a relationship with a married woman. Cate thinks she has found a perfect partner and is working on an off-Broadway show for a well known writer/director. Her job is designing the sets.when Cate lands this dream job she has a violent episode in her life. She must decide how she will handle its aftermath.

The novel was interesting but too slow for my taste. I suspect many people will enjoy her style of writing. It is a story that is aware of life’s complexities.

Carol Anshaw’s characters always resonate with me and after reading Aquamarine a few years ago I jumped at the opportunity for an early arc of this new novel. Set in the theatre world just post-trump debacle, Cate, a forty something lesbian in a dysfunctional relationship, is in Chicago, with a myriad of friends and acquaintances,, and like all of us, wants a more satisfying life . In a similar location not too far away, a parallel story develops. While we know the two stories will eventually merge, we settle into a novel of richly drawn characters that I suddenly really cared about and wanted to know in my life. Beautifully written. Nuanced small details make us grow or wither in our day to day lives and how we respond to major ones transform us.

This book was not for me. I thought, after reading the description, that I would genuinely enjoy it but sadly I did not. I found a couple of spelling errors and Cate seemed like a passive protagonist to me. However, I would definitely recommend this book to people who don't mind slow paced stories. I can also say that I greatly enjoyed the writing style and I just may pick up something from this author soon.

Right After the Weather by Carol Anshaw

Writing: 4/5 Plot: 2/5 Characters: 3/5

Cate is a single, forty-something, lesbian, set designer in Chicago whose friends and colleagues have largely moved on. It is 2016 — Cate’s ultra-paranoid, thrice divorced, ex-husband is shacking up in her extra room; she is struggling to end an ongoing affair with a married woman; and a new girlfriend she sees as her best shot at adult stability is exhibiting questionable ethical behavior. In this setting she simultaneously experiences the “worst event and biggest break”: she rescues a friend during a violent and traumatic home invasion and is offered the chance to work on an exciting off-broadway play.

The book is beautifully written and the characters (especially Cate) are portrayed with great depth. While being a lesbian is not the point of the book, Cate’s queerness (her selection of term) informs a great deal of her thoughts and actions. There is not a lot of action — the home invasion takes place about half way through the book and itself takes up few pages. Instead, it is a thorough portrayal of her life -- thoughts, actions, interactions, and world events — during a few months late 2016 / early 2017. I appreciated the scenes about her theater work (I wish there had been more) and the writing is really excellent, but for me there was not enough insight or character change to warrant the book length (without any compensating action). Things moved on in a very slow-paced, realistic, and ultimately unsatisfying, way. I found Cate to be a weak character, still struggling with the same issues (all completely under her own control) at the end of the book as at the beginning.

This book does have great lines — here are a few:

“Living casually in the moment seemed so vibrant, but has left her looking over her shoulder at a pile of used-up hours and days, hearing the scratchy sound of frittering.”

“She has come to understand that room temperature in the demographic she aspires to is a more personally controlled business.”

“The other customers exist somewhere else on the dining matrix, all of them in parallel, convivial but hushed universes.”

“Now, though, the cat’s out of the bag. Now the cat is hopping all over the place, demanding attention.”

“A heavy, standing ashtray is surrounded by a population of emphysemic ghosts.”

“Something delicious about all the secrecy. Now everything’s so in the open, we’re free from fear and oppression, but we’ve traded up for being commonplace. Queer’s as boring as straight now.

“She understand she has arrived on another side of everything. No one is over here with her.”

“Everything about him is aimed at the greater good, but in matters of personal kindness, he often comes up short.

“Her thoughts these days are not her friends. Which doesn’t keep them from stopping by, particularly at night when she is too tired to fight them off.”

This book is a prime example of why I struggle with a DNF pile. I wasn't really feeling it for the first little bit; I wasn't excited to pick it up when I had a chance to do some reading.

About a third of the way through though, I was hooked. The characters came alive for me, and I was interested to see their journeys through. Anshaw provides messiness to her characters' lives, some of which is self inflicted, some just the luck of the draw.

The turning point in the story is when Cate finds her friend Neale being attacked - the aftermath and how it affects them, individually, and as friends, was so powerful, slow (in the best building way), and realistic. Anshaw doesn't tidy everything up at the end, either - instead, she leaves a lot of doors open for readers to fill in the possibilities for themselves.

Right After the Weather was beautifully written, unique in its delivery and plot, and a definite must to add to your TBR list.

Right After the Weather is a unique story. It's not for everyone, and I didn't love it. It's okay but kind of slow and flat for my taste. I think it's good for the right audience, but it's not for me. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Cate is a set designer in Chicago. As she enters her 40s, she feels like she is running out of town to accomplish anything meaningful of a personal or professional nature. The woman she loves is unavailable, so Cate tries to form a lasting bond with Maureen, a costume designer with some questionable ethics. In the meantime, Cate's ex-husband is holed up in her guest room spewing conspiracy theories. When Cate gets a big chance with a Broadway play, she thinks things just might work out, but best laid plans seldom works out. RIGHT AFTER THE WEATHER is an intriguing slice-of-life book, with great characters that are easily imagined as friends.

I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't get involved in the story. Halfway through I gave up, and did not finish it.

It was well written, but I just felt like nothing was happening. I feel like this was a "It's not you, it's me" situation. There was nothing wrong with this book, I think we were just lacking that reading chemistry.

I do appreciate the advance copy from net galley.