After the Storm - Jane Lythell

After the Storm by Jane Lythell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Some secrets destroy you.

Rob and Anna have only just met Owen and Kim. Now they've boarded their handsome old boat to travel to a far off island in the Caribbean.

With only the four of them on board, it should be paradise: lazy afternoons spent snorkelling; long nights enjoying the silence and solitude of the sea.

But why does Owen never sleep? Why is he so secretive about his past? And why does Kim keep a knife zipped into her money-belt? Anna can usually get people to talk... but this time, does she want to?



This book has been really difficult for me to review. I really wanted to love it. From reading the blurb it sounded right up my street, travelling and a bit of a thriller, I was there! Unfortunately I found it very slow and very hard to finish, it has taken me weeks and weeks to read and that was just not as enjoyable as I had hoped. This was my first experience of Jane Lythell as an author and although I really wanted to read 'The Lie of You', I haven't yet got my hands on a copy. I wish now I had started with that book as it has had really great reviews.

So about the story: English couple Anna and Rob are travelling around South America, this really appealed to me as I really love to travel, especially in South and Central America. They meet Kim and Owen, an American couple who are on their way back to Florida after months of sailing. They offer Anna and Rob the chance to sail with them for the remainder of their holiday in exchange for some dollar, they take a risk by doing this. Although Anna is not keen and slightly worried about spending the last part of her holiday with two strangers on a boat, Rob manages to convince her.

So far, so good, I was really enjoying this story and I couldn't wait to find out about the journey and these 2 couples living with each other in tiny surroundings. However this is where I suddenly found the story slow, I understand that tension needed to build between the two and the story is about the developing relationships and the secrets they keep. It is a slower burner, that is the only way I can describe it. During this time we find out about the different characters and how they have made them the person they are today. I thought this was going to be more interesting than it was and I was just left wanting more.

I thought there was going to be more thrill in the book and although it was beautifully written and is very descriptive I was just left feeling a little disappointed. I thought that after all the slow burning of the plot developing that it would have been an almighty shock at the end, however I found it to be a bit of an anti climax.

Although I did find the book disappointing I would still be keen to pick up Lythell's other book, I feel that she is able to create believable and well rounded characters, the relationships between them felt real and the description in the book was good. Although I found the book too slow in pace, many will love this.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.