After the Rain by Laila Ibrahim was a heart-breaking and gripping story.
The writing was so captivating I couldn’t stop once I started.
This was the book that took me out of my reading slump.

Thank You NetGalley and Storm Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Laila Ibrahim's After the Rain expresses a Christian mother's struggle with figuring out how to love her son as he becomes his own person. The story is told in each characters thoughts giving the reader true insight into their individual emotions. It is a rewrite of her novel Living Right. I found the two novels to be very different because of the unique take on the prayer life of all involved in After the Rain.

It's an interesting story about a very religious family who are faced with difficult choices. The book is entirely permeated with prayers.

This is a gripping emotionally draining read. In parts this is teally disturbing. It deals with the issue of coming out as a homosexual Christian in a strict christian family. It deals with diatrubing treatment camps ,suicide and prejudice.. sadly although this seems stuck on the past it can be true to life. It deals effectively with the complex relationships and the ideas of different people. It is a compelling very read nd i could imagine it to be true in some places.
I think it was good that its should tge battle of strict out of date values and the cutrent climitate and must be viewed at the year it was set. This is a 4 star read but needs to gave a warning about the issuses covered.
Thank you netgallery and publisher and author for this 4 star tead.

I am familiar with Laila Ibrahim and have read, and enjoyed, every one of her titles. She is a talented writer who skillfully and solidly scores points in favor of social justice and human rights. This fictional story takes place twenty years ago. Thankfully, we have made significant progress for LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance over the last two decades. However, many Evangelicals still hold these same rigid ideologies which are so damaging, detrimental, and deadly. This book is ideal for the “Coming of Age, Family Life, and LGBTQ+” genres, and is a great read for parents and teens alike. It should be available in every library. Thanks, Laila, for sharing these real struggles with your readers. You are making a positive difference in our world.

After the Rain is such a thought provoking story and is a must read, i really enjoyed it.

It was such a heartwarming, heartbreaking and gripping story and i honestly couldn’t put it down.

Right from the very beginning this book pulled me in and just wouldn’t let me go. It kept me gripped and made me keep turning the pages so that i could find out what was going on.

I'll begin by saying that if I knew how much religion played part of the plot of the book, I don't think I'd have requested it. I nearly gave up reading several times within the first quarter of the book.

I'm glad I persevered though because it made for interesting reading. Part of me can't believe this is set only twenty years ago. It was barbaric. It was an infuriating to read at times and I hated Jenn for most of the book. She was awful, putting her faith before her struggling child's wellbeing. I wanted to scream in frustration several times. The hold that religion had on her was scary and for somebody who isn't religious somewhat fascinating.

I probably will read more from Laila Ibrahim in the future, After the Rain was just a little different than I was expecting.

After The Rain
By: Laila Ibrahim

4 Stars

This is a story of a mother battling to come to terms with her changing son as well as the everchanging world around her. Coming home from church, Jenn was not expecting to find her son nearly dead. The cause is even more of a shock.

This was a story that is meant to move and shock. I grew up in a pretty religious home in the south, so some of the arguments that arise in this book, I have heard before, but it does not make them any less shocking. Maybe it even made it a little more real, as Josh is only 1 boy from a story, where I can only imagine that many suffered the same treatment. The conversion therapy was something that I had heard of, but knew little about, especially the church involvement and the families. It was hard not to be moved to tears, yet I found myself so angry by this story. The pain from Josh and his whole family is palpable. I could say so much about this story, the characters, everything, but I will leave it by saying it was an awesome book. Well worth the read. I'll just add that I am glad the ways of thinking have become more accepting.

*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Review

Thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and the author Laila Ibrahim for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of After the Rain. My review is voluntary, and reflects my honest opinion. I will be honest; I found After the Rain a challenging read at first. It is the story of an evangelical Christian family torn asunder when their sixteen year old son and brother reluctantly shares that he may have SSA. I was at odds with the parents' reaction as I sincerely believe in an all- loving God.
Initially I thought I might not finish the book, however I am glad that I did. Laila Ibrahim tells a moving story of faith, family, hope, forgiveness, acceptance, reconciliation, redemption and love. There were times I wanted to shake the mother in the book, yet I appreciated that she was struggling and her reactions were faith-driven. Some of the family's prayers were beautiful, I especially enjoyed the inclusion of The Serenity Prayer.
After the Rain is a fast-paced novel with believable characters; it provides a satisfying read. 3.5 stars.

This had a good storyline but has a heavy religious presence throughout. These did put me off a bit, and I can’t say I enjoyed reading these parts either but because I was enjoying the storyline I continued to keep reading.

It is written well and flows along nicely. It was quite a quick read for me and I found I was reading quicker because I wanted to know how it would all end. I liked that the ending was how I wanted it to be!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a well written short book.
I didn't enjoy it due to a heavy religious presence.
I'm sure others will like it much more then I did.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

This book was well written and I liked the views of Josh and his mother, but it’s very religious and wasn’t what I usually read. This book is set in 2004 so it’s a bit dated about the subject.

Josh tried to commit suicide as he’s gay, his parents think by talking to god it will help him. Jenn annoyed me, she thought her pastor knew best for everything and what he said she did.

An ok read, but not for me.

I have read a couple of Ms Ibrahim's books previously. I enjoyed them immensely. I was happy to see this new book with a theme that is so relevant to our times.

The subject of the story is Josh, a teenager who is trying to hide his homosexuality from his very religious family. Religious is the keyword. I did not expect religion to be front and centre in the story. We sit through family prayer time at breakfast, the mother goes to pray in her room right after breakfast, she prays when she hears on the news that marriage licenses have been issued to homosexuals in San Francisco. The prayers go on and on.

The storyline was actually good. I think the presentation of it could have been done differently. Religion could have still played a large part without prayers on almost every page. I can only imagine the strife a family in this position would go through. And Josh's inner turmoil is devastating. But, I cannot imagine a mother choosing religion over her own child. I realize that it happens but, to me, that borders on cult-like behaviour.

The story takes place in the early 2000s. Even though society still has a long way to go, it is heartening to see that progress has been made in the last 20 years.

I'm sorry that this book fell flat for me. The subject matter had promise but I could not handle the praying. I have rated it 2.5 stars, raised to 3 stars because of the storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

Despite the four-star rating, I must admit, this book was not for me. This was 100% my own fault, though--so, four stars for the beautiful writing! I missed the cross on the front cover, indicating this might be Christian fiction, which I don't normally read. Otherwise, the blurb and categories, didn't signal Christian fiction to me. I don't have anything against this genre, it's just not for me, and I feel it's important that readers know what kind of story they will be getting.

I'm afraid I have to agree with other reviewers in that I just couldn't seem to connect with Jenn. As a parent, I was confused by a lot of her actions, but maybe that's the point--to make me think. Anyway, for readers looking for a story that delves into the complexities of family and acceptance in the context of the Christian religion, this offers a thought-provoking read.

This was a hard read for me. I really struggled with how Jenn felt about her son, Josh. He attempted suicide because he was gay and he knew she wouldn't be able to accept it.

This book was very religious. Not in a way trying to convert you, but a lot of biblical talk and mentions of church, God and scripture. That's not super familiar to me so I puttered through, trying to understand.

What I'll never understand is casting your child out. EVER!! No, his family didn't exactly cast him out, but Jenn did not make him feel welcomed. Sure, Josh's family was shocked by his admission and had to figure out how to come to terms with it, each in their own way. But, just because you disagree with how someone loves & lives doesn't make you better than them. I feel no sympathy for Jenn and how she treated her entire family.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of After the Rain by Laila Ibrahim due to be published March 22, 2024.
Jenn Henderson came home from brunch with her family and went to check on her son, Josh. She found him barely breathing. Jenn is relieved when Josh recovers but has a secret that he is afraid to share with her and the rest of his family. Can Jenn learn to accept her son and love him no matter what and still hold on to her faith?
Oh, my goodness – this book. It made me angry, furious, anxious – every emotion possible. What people do in the name of being a Christian (yes, I am one) is sometimes unfathomable and unbelievable to me. It was both heartbreaking and heartwarming and one book I will not soon forget.
Thank you, Laila Ibrahim, for tackling a subject that needs to be tackled and for doing it so lovingly and eloquently.
#NetGalley #LailaIbrahim #StormPublishing #AfterTheRain

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm publishing for the ARC for my honest review.

I picked up this book just based on the author having read and enjoyed her books in the past. I was cringing through most of the first half of the book when you have a mother who has ultra conservative christian beliefs and she has just found out that her son is gay. It made me sad to see all the turmoil that this family went through and many families may still go through. Even though this book was set in 2004 hopefully people are judging others less and are more accepting of people. In my opinion it isn't our place to judge and maybe someone can learn from this book on how to be accepting of others even if they have a value that isn't in line with their beliefs.

Ooh I had so many feelings about this book.

It starts with sixteen-year-old Josh being found one morning by his mother, Jenn, barely breathing after a suicide attempt. After being nursed back to health, Josh shares a secret he’s been keeping from his family. A truth he’s found so shameful it nearly ended his life. Now Jenn’s perfect world is unravelling, and she’s starting to question everything she holds dear – the life she’s created for her family, her faith and whether she can truly accept the son she loves, no matter what.

The contention point between Josh and Jenn is that Jenn is a Christian Conservative, and Josh has realised that he is gay. The majority of the book centres around the family trying to 'cure' his homosexuality, a subject matter which is incredibly hard to read. What was happening in the book was bringing up some very negative feelings - mostly aimed towards Jenn - to the point that I had to pause reading for a moment to read up on other reviews, to check which direction the book would ultimately go towards.

Overall, this book took me on a JOURNEY. It is one that I will absolutely be recommending to others, and I am absolutely keeping Laila Ibrahim on my author radar going forwards. The only thing I felt was slightly lacking was developing the dynamic at the end of the book - I would have loved to see more of Josh/Jenn as they were at the end of the book, after all the revelations, to rebuff some of the very destructive interactions they had throughout the book. However, I would be absolutely fine if Laila has a sequel planned with some of this included..........please???!

Not really my cup of tea. The premise of this book sounded promising, however the characters fell flat and were one dimensional. Overall, predictable.

Received an ARC via Netgalley for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I am a very strong Christian woman. That being said this book was like nothing I have ever read. Laila Ibrahim is an amazing author. She had me hooked from the first page. It is well written, it flows well and the subject matter is something that everyone has either faced or knows someone that has faced it.

Jenn and Steve are raising their three children Sara, Josh and Rachel in California. One Sunday when Rachel,Jenn and Steve came home from church Jenn went upstairs to check on Josh as he had stayed home from church due to being ill. When Jenn walked into the room she noticed vomit on the floor and thought he had missed the trashcan that she had left beside his bed. Upon further inspection she went up to him and tried to wake him but couldn't. He flopped around like a jelly fish. As she dialed 911 she screamed down the stairs for Steve to go to the corner and wave down the ambulance. He asked what was going on and she tried to explain and talk to the 911 operator at the same time..
Further in the book they find out that their son is fighting the urge of being gay. This doesn't sit well with the families life style. Being Christian in this family means living a complete Christian life. Giving all to the life. They send Josh to a special retreat to get the homosexual feelings and temptations out of him. I will not give away the end but will say that this is so worth the read I was left with new perspectives on all of the different sides.