The After of Us

Judge Me Not, Book 4

By: S. R. Grey

Narrated by: Lacey Gilleran

The After of Us is a standalone new adult romance novel and a spin-off from the Judge Me Not series.

Can the ending of one dream lead to the beginning of a new one?

Will Gartner made a lot of mistakes in the past, but he finally has his life together. Leaving his reckless teenage years behind, he's recently graduated from college and is all set to move from Las Vegas to New York to start a prestigious new job. But when an unexpected guest shows up at his farewell party, all Will's dreams are smashed to pieces. Suddenly, he's taking a crash course in how to be a father to the five-year-old daughter he never knew existed.

Will changes direction and heads to Harmony Creek, Ohio, and the only person who's ever really been there for him, his brother, Chase. Chase saved Will in the past, but will he rescue him yet again? Some lessons - like fatherhood - can only be learned by doing. Is Will up to the challenge?

And where does Emma Metzger fit into Will's suddenly upside-down world? Emma knows all about his troubled past and sees his hesitation to commit to his new daughter. How can she commit her heart to a man who doesn't know what the word means?

Chase always told Will, "Follow your heart. Always try to be a good man." But will following his heart be enough for his daughter, and for Emma?

The After of Us is a story about letting go of old dreams and, in the process, discovering that what you really needed to make you happy was right there in front of you all along.

©2016 S. R. Grey (P)2017 S. R. Grey

Let Your Dreams Lead You

If you could sum up The After of Us in three words, what would they be?

Follow Your Heart

Have you listened to any of Lacey Gilleran’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is actually the first time I have listened to Lacey Gilleran. I thought she did a pretty good job with both the male and female voices, but probably would have preferred a male narrator for Will if possible. He just sounded too young and not masculine enough. There were a handful of times that it took me a second to figure out who was speaking. Lacey's performance as Emma, however, was wonderful.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Let Your Dreams Lead You

Any additional comments?

This was a sweet single dad romance. I haven't read the prior books in this series, but didn't have any issues getting up to speed with all the characters. Overall, I enjoyed The After of Us, but found Emma a little too forgiving and a bit like a door mat. It's hard to imagine that moments shared at a wedding when you're 15 would turn into a lasting love for her, especially considering how that encounter ended. I both loved and hated Will at times. I understand that it was critical to Will's journey to make the decisions that he did, but it was still hard to swallow his back and forth/hot and cold behavior. I would have liked more push and pull between Emma opening her heart to him versus Will pushing her away whenever things got too serious or real for him. It just felt like Emma was taking any scraps that he was willing to give. The message of following your heart and letting your dreams lead you, however, was a wonderful one and I loved that aspect of the story. It really brought the entire book full circle. This was an enjoyable book/listen and I am interested in finding out more about Chase and Kay's history as well as more backstory on Will.

Great Story!

What a cute story. I didn’t really read the blurb so I went in blind. I thought this was such a good story it had funny parts, sad parts and I love the chemistry between Will and Emma. I enjoyed it all the way through. The narration was also enjoyable as well.

5 Heart Stirring Stars!!!

I have been a fan of S.r. Grey's for quite a while now and I can say unabashedly that each book she publishes I think is my favorite by her. I can unequivocally say, the other books have been moved a little to almost favorites as The After of Us has now moved into the top position. Thanks to the excellent narration this book came to life for me even more than when I read the words!!

I had all the feels with this book and there were a few times I was brought to tears by this story, but in a good way. This is the story of Will Gartner, his daughter Lily (whom he's just discovered is his daughter) and Emma Metzger, the girl from his hometown that he had a crush on when they were younger.

When this book starts. Will has just graduated from college, has sweet new ride courtesy of his mom and is getting ready to head to NYC for the job of a lifetime or so he thinks. All this changes the night before he's to leave when his ex-girlfriend from high school, Cass shows up with 5 year old Lily in tow. When they were together, Will and Cassie started to go down the road of drugs and alcohol and while Will got out of that world, unfortunately, Cassie did not and it sucked her in even deeper.
Hence the reason, Will is just now learning of Lily's existence. Cassie is doing the one and only unselfish thing she's ever done, by giving Lily to Will.

Well this throws all of Will's plans out the window and he does the one thing he thinks is the answer, he and Lily go to Harmony Creek, Ohio which is where his brother, Chase and his wife Kay live with their two children Jack and Sarah. Will thinks he can just "drop" Lily off and go to NYC to get everything setup for Lily to join him. What he wasn't expecting was how much he's already fallen under Lily's spell....

“Lily sounds so forlorn that something in me swells. I don't know how to explain it, but it's like my daughter's happiness is suddenly tied to my happiness. Weird. All I know is I really want Lily to feel accepted."

And so the adventure of getting to know what kind of man and father Will Gartner is begins....

Watching Will interact with Lily and how much she has soaked into his heart and soul was truly beautiful. Ms. Grey did an amazing job of drawing the pictures with her words allowing me to picture all the players in this book.

Especially little Miss Lily. I fell in love with this little girl. What I loved even more was how Will changed once he was in Harmony Creek and began to explore what it would be like to give up what he thinks is his "dream job." In reality, he has other dreams that if he listened to his heart he'd realize everything he's looking for is right in front of him.

Speaking of which, this is where Emma comes into play. She's Lily's pre-school teacher and she's never forgotten Will Gartner and how much she liked him. They've both changed since they last saw each other and their attraction is still there. Of course, Emma doesn't want to take that leap with him because he's planning on leaving and that's just not something she wants to entertain. But that doesn't stop her from trying to make Will's dream come true. She's quite ingenious in her methods...gotta love a woman who goes after what she really wants. Because as much as she's doing this for Will, she's doing it for her too.

She's definitely not the shy and quiet type of woman when it comes to having sex...she's quite the participant that's for sure. In one particularly hot and steamy scene Emma comes to a realization....

“This is the after of us from before, who we were, and we are becoming.”

As the book progresses, the story moves with such grace and ease that I fell more in love with these characters and what they mean to each other and how their lives could potentially be their forever.

Ms. Grey has a way with her words that draws you into the heart of the story which allows you to really "be there."

Beautiful Story!

I do not listen to many "coming of age" books, but this one was exceptionally well done. I loved how Will matured and learned to put his daughter first. Finding out he was a father was an eye-opener for him, but he made a commitment to do right. The author wrote some very endearing characters and realistic emotions and great imagery in this book. This book is a standalone listen. I was given this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. I thought the narrator did a very good performance, but didn't have as much distinguishable characters.

Great story and great narration!

what a ride! Loved this story. I did have to speed up the narration slightly but other than that I loved everything about this! I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.