March 2026: When the Rain Ends

karlimarie

karlimarie

Sweet Shoppe SugarBabe
This March we'll be reading When the Rain Ends by Mary Ellen Taylor

This contemporary fiction novel is about an artist who moves with her daughter to a farm in Virginia to start over after the death of her ex-husband and a diagnosis of progressive vision loss. The story tackles the themes of grief, healing, motherhood, resilience, and finding hope after loss as it follows their journey as they rebuild their lives, find new friends, and discover resilience in the face of immense change.

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This thread is for initial thoughts, expectations, assumptions, etc - I'll be back mid-month with a list of specific discussion questions for us all to dig into.

Just a reminder that book club is for everyone! Feel free to join us if and when you can - no pressure to keep up with every month... you can also pop in later in the year and catch up on the convo if you're a slow reader or had a long wait to get your copy. It's all very low-key.

Note: Even though I have access to multiple libraries, I wasn't able to find this book on Libby. I was able to find it through Amazon Music audiobooks however. So please let us know if you're having trouble tracking down a copy and we'll see what we can do to help!
 
kristalund said:
prime members get 1 free audibook/mo!!
Click to expand...

I've seen this but I have yet to be able to use it/find out how. How do I figure that out by chance?

**Edited to add- I did a deep dive on this for the last hour & turns out it's through Amazon Music- you can choose 1 free book for the month to listen to though the audible section of the amazon music app- but only if you subscribe to the Amazon Music as well. I was able to find this book that way & will start it when my current libby book is finished!
 
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I won't start this book until probably mid-month; otherwise, I won't remember details for the discussion. LOL
 
Now with our new forum, we can add spoilers!! Woo Hoo!! That means we can discuss the book without fear of someone not wanting to read it. All you have to do is click those 3 vertical dots. Then click the eye with a slash. Write your spoiler in between the two SPOILER tags, like this:
add spoiler between these tags
. They appear when you click "continue" after clicking the eye.
 
lizziej said:
Now with our new forum, we can add spoilers!! Woo Hoo!! That means we can discuss the book without fear of someone not wanting to read it. All you have to do is click those 3 vertical dots. Then click the eye with a slash. Write your spoiler in between the two SPOILER tags, like this:
add spoiler between these tags
. They appear when you click "continue" after clicking the eye.
Click to expand...
AHHHHH!!! This is so exciting!!
 
I'm into it a couple of pages with the character line up so far: Dani, Mother; Bella, Daughter; Rosie, Dog. I've been introduced to a few of Bella's friends. The setting is Outer Banks NC to a rural farm in Virginia. I feel like I can hear the ocean waves.
 
Liz, I have to go learn your new trick.

Where do I find those three vertical dots?
 
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THIS IS ONLY A TEST

If this worked Liz and Karli, YOU ARE SOOOO HELPFUL! Thank you so much. I would have never known without you.
 
I checked, and it worked! What I plan to do is say something like, "I just finished Chapter 4" before I start the spoiler so that others will know whether it's "safe"" to look at the spoiler.
 
Liz, that is a GREAT idea. Are you going to get started soon or wait until the middle of the month? I think chatting about a couple chapters at a time would really help me with comprehension.
 
Kim, I am probably going to wait until the middle of the month. I'm reading another book right now, and I want to start a book for Lent. It's short, so hopefully I can read it in a week or so.
 
No worries Lizzie, that way I won't have pressure on me; I like to be a slow reader and I reread quite a bit. Hahaha I am going to put in some spoiler tabs though because I want you to read them and give me your perspective.
I was just introduced to Jackson. I love romance and a love story so I'm happy about this. A couple of quotes I thought I would state: "An edited wardrobe is the most effective." Do any of you organize your closets in colors, short sleeves, long sleeves, etc.? Another quote I liked, "Don't be quick to judge this part of the world as boring." This quote is profound to me. I have found in my worst attitude about a situation, something always turns out to be a blessing. I'm wondering about the Mason jar Bella has found in the closet. Does it have something inside that relates to her family? Did her family live in this home in the past?
 
I was thrilled when Bella noticed a girl walking by sleeping Rosie. The girl had a shock of curly black twisted hair into a ponytail. A new friend maybe? The two girls had a conversation and then the new girl vanished! How could that be? Was she dreaming or wishful thinking? When one's in grief, our thoughts can be so powerful.
 
Kim Hansen said:
No worries Lizzie, that way I won't have pressure on me; I like to be a slow reader and I reread quite a bit. Hahaha I am going to put in some spoiler tabs though because I want you to read them and give me your perspective.
I was just introduced to Jackson. I love romance and a love story so I'm happy about this. A couple of quotes I thought I would state: "An edited wardrobe is the most effective." Do any of you organize your closets in colors, short sleeves, long sleeves, etc.? Another quote I liked, "Don't be quick to judge this part of the world as boring." This quote is profound to me. I have found in my worst attitude about a situation, something always turns out to be a blessing. I'm wondering about the Mason jar Bella has found in the closet. Does it have something inside that relates to her family? Did her family live in this home in the past?
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Wow, we have an option to hide spoilers now? Amazing!

I love your page, the photos, the kit and adding the book cover, beautiful!
 
So sad I seem not been able to find this/these book(s) in Dutch on my reading/listening app so far...
 
Page 136 "And if it rains again?" he asked. So this is where the title of the book comes from!
 
The things parents, siblings, friends do that they think protects one another! I'm talking about how they don't tell or keep secrets thinking they are protecting one another. It makes me livid! Tell the truth. ALL THE TIME! This is what keeps one safe and secure.
 
Kim Hansen said:
No worries Lizzie, that way I won't have pressure on me; I like to be a slow reader and I reread quite a bit. Hahaha I am going to put in some spoiler tabs though because I want you to read them and give me your perspective.
I was just introduced to Jackson. I love romance and a love story so I'm happy about this. A couple of quotes I thought I would state: "An edited wardrobe is the most effective." Do any of you organize your closets in colors, short sleeves, long sleeves, etc.? Another quote I liked, "Don't be quick to judge this part of the world as boring." This quote is profound to me. I have found in my worst attitude about a situation, something always turns out to be a blessing. I'm wondering about the Mason jar Bella has found in the closet. Does it have something inside that relates to her family? Did her family live in this home in the past?
Click to expand...
@Kim Hansen
Kimberly, I agree! I love romance and a love story. For the most part, I do not organize my closet in colors, etc., However, I do organize my slacks by color and all my jeans are together. That Mason jar is strange. I think it somehow relates to the Nelson family.
 
Kim Hansen said:
I was thrilled when Bella noticed a girl walking by sleeping Rosie. The girl had a shock of curly black twisted hair into a ponytail. A new friend maybe? The two girls had a conversation and then the new girl vanished! How could that be? Was she dreaming or wishful thinking? When one's in grief, our thoughts can be so powerful.
Click to expand...
@Kim Hansen
Something makes me think that the girl will not turn out to be a friend. I think she has something to do with the Mason jar. I think she's what Bella has been feeling that someone's behind her, but this time, the presence made herself known. She didn't like that Bella was going to the grief support camp.

I wonder if Juniper will somehow play a bigger role. Dani seems a bit jealous of her.
 
Lizziej, thank you for popping in. I can see your logic in your spoilers. It's going to be fun for you to find out. I'm smiling.
 
I started listening to this book, but March has been a crazy month and I just haven't gotten back to it. I enjoyed it so far.... so I look forward to revisiting this thread when I finish. :)
 
I just finished the audio yesterday. Overall, I liked it, it was okay. The audio had a male & female narrator which I like when reading the alternating chapters.
I like that Dani & Jackson got a happily ever after, but it was all a bit predictable. I wasn't surprised at all, and had already guess the ghost girl & that Jackson's jar was the same one Bella found. I also didn't really get the going blind plot line. It didn't add much in my opinion to the book.
 
Kim Hansen said:
Page 136 "And if it rains again?" he asked. So this is where the title of the book comes from!
Click to expand...
@Kim Hansen
I wasn't sure about that, because with the books that I've read, as I recall, the title appears verbatim within the book, and page 136 seemed too early to appear. Could have been foreshadowing that he would drive for her later.
 
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