Review: After the Night by Linda Howard

After the Night by Linda Howard

Publication Date: November 24th 2009 by Pocket Star

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the book:

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:

After the Night was my first Linda Howard book, and I absolutely LOVED it!  It’s a riveting read, with a stormy and sizzling romance!

Faith Devlin has come back to Prescott, Louisiana after twelve years away. She was cruelly thrown out of her home at the young age of fourteen.  Though it was no fault of hers, Faith suffered the disgrace her mother, Renee, had brought down on them. Being regarded as white trash and suffering the stain her mother’s reputation made Faith determined to never be like any of her family so she made something of herself, but has never truly been able to move past the jarring events of the past:

At the age of fourteen she had literally been thrown out into the night like a piece of trash, and she had lived with that pain ever since.

Where is her mother and her mother’s lover, and why did they leave never to be heard from again? Their actions left two families very nearly destroyed, and Faith is back to find out some answers and closure. However, bringing up the past doesn’t sit well and soon Faith is facing threats and danger that may silence her forever.

Faith fell in love with Gray Rouillard, the admired son of the most powerful and wealthy family in Prescott, from afar when she was just a little girl.  Unfortunately, the years have done little to diminish her attraction, but if Gray Rouillard thinks he can bully her out of town again, he’s got another thing coming! Faith is no longer a little helpless girl, and I loved her determination.  Even in the face of her blinding attraction to Gray, she didn’t let him distract her from her goals. 

I adored Faith! She was a woman who came from nothing with zero advantages and still managed to have a strong, positive spirit without being overcome by bitterness over the past.  The cruel way in which Faith was treated because of the action of others angered me so much!  At first I hated Gray! His actions tore Faith’s life apart in such a humiliating way I wanted to kick him in the teeth!  But after getting some of his perspective I eased up on my feelings.  Be patient with Gray and you’ll fall for him every bit as much as I did!

Gray can’t help the attraction he feels for Faith.  At the age of fourteen she possessed unmatched beauty; as a grown woman she’s gorgeous, but she’s the image of her mother and reminds Gray of the pain heaped on his family.  Still, he can’t help himself; can’t stop pursuing her to the point of obsession. Even though I wanted Gray and Faith together, I was happy she didn’t just fall for him or let her guard down even though she was wildly attracted to him.  I love a smart heroine!  Faith kept her goals in place, and her resolve meant that Gray had work to prove himself, to gain her trust.  Their romance was hot, lusty, and tumultuous, and I loved every battle they fought! 

Linda Howard wrote an epic, captivating story, and soon after finishing After the Night, which by the way, was published over sixteen years ago (!!), I went through her backlog of titles and added several to my TBR.  I highly recommend her addictive writing!

As a side note, I bought the Kindle/e-Copy version and then added the audio version for an extra $3.49.  It was totally worth it because Natalie Ross' narration is excellent!! If you're cramped for reading time like I am this is an excellent way to read a book by switching back and forth between e-copy to audio. I listen on my commute back and forth to work, when I'm getting ready and when I cook dinner.  

5 Suns