This book was messy. The plot jumped around and some of the storylines made no sense in the context of the rest of the novel.

A swirling novel about a Chicago stage designer thrust into violence, "Right After the Weather" is literary fiction at its densest. Around Cate revolves a kaleidoscopic cast of dramatic characters who bounce off each other like billiard balls. Inner Chicago, in all its messy beauty, is brought gloriously to life. And in the background lurks seedy, capricious evil. Carol Anshaw's pen is wonderfully streaming and a coruscating sense of humor pervades. I enjoyed "Right After the Weather" immensely, even when the plot lost traction as the novel inched towards an ambiguous climax. An author to watch.

I’d never heard of the author before, but the blurb intrigued me, so I decided to give it a shot. I really wanted to know what Cate saw. When this is revealed, I was disappointed. It’s not that it wasn’t shocking, just rather obvious. I was hoping for something different, though I’m not sure what. Also, the assault which is stated as a gig deal in the blurb is very understated, a link and you miss it moment. The book is a detailed character study, and this just didn’t work for me. The assault Cate sees is the only actual event in the book. The rest is an exploration of different characters which got dull after a while. It felt like this was two books, before and after the assault. I enjoyed before the assault, but the book just falls apart after this. I liked the premise and great potential but it doesn’t work for me.

This was an enjoyable book about friendship and the challenges that a difficult situation can present. The characterisation was fascinating.

At a key moment in her life, Cate is suddenly confronted and called upon to act against her usual instincts and ideals. When that adrenaline fueled moment is over she is forced to review her life, looking beyond her usual life as a creative professional, living in tolerance in the world of theatre in Chicago and New York. She is confronted with the fact that other people will have little or no respect for the lives and possessions of others and has to come to terms with this.

Much of the novel is driven by an observation of other people and the range of human behaviours we see in everyday encounters, but described with an affectionate tolerance ans showing how those behaviours are responded to by a careful observer.

It has taken me a while to think all this through and the novel is still echoing with me, some weeks after reading, so it comes highly recommended.

This book is a really detailed character study, set against the backdrop of Trump’s successful Presidential campaign in 2016. Cate is a set designer in her forties, but in some ways seems younger than her years. She is in a long term relationship with a woman whilst having an affair with someone else who is completely unavailable. In fact all her relationships are complicated and unfulfilling. She has a group of very liberal friends and an ex-husband still living in her spare bedroom. She works, while still taking money from her parents to make ends meet. However, none of these characters really take hold and become three dimensional. They don’t drive the plot in any way.

The book is split into before and after Cate’s friend Neale suffers a violent assault. I did like the way the author intersected Cate’s story with the brief insights into the mindset of the two criminals Nathan and Irene. We realise that their lives will intersect with Cate’s in some way, but it takes a while. Also, this feels like the only real ‘action’ in the novel. The rest is solely about character and while Cate is interesting, I didn’t feel her character’s growth in any way, She is still wrestling with the same problems at the end of the novel as she is at the beginning, and they’re all within her control. She could make changes to her complicated love life but she doesn’t. There were humorous moments, particularly around her mother, but again they are just moments. I would try her writing again because I think she has interesting things to say, but this one didn’t grab me,

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.

Cate works as a theatre set designer. Neale is a yoga instructor. They have been friends since junior high school. Nathan and Irene are drug addicts. They prowl the streets .looking for the opportunity to thieve. Cate pays Neave a visit, only to find her getting brutally assaulted by Na5han and Irene. Cate goes to help her friend. But she's full of rage and adrenalin. Next thing that Cate is aware of is that she is in the police station, being interviewed by a detective. Cate can't remember what had happened.

Just as Cates life is going well, the violent confrontation she had changes her forever. It affects her friends and relationships. She has to live with the outcome of her actions. The story examines the myriad ways an act of violence can bring. I did like the authors writing style. The pace is slow. Although this isn't what I would call a gripping read, it did keep my attention.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin Books (UK) and the author Carol Anshaw for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading Right After the Weather by Carol Anshaw which is about Cate and her relationships with her friends, her ex-husband, her girlfriend, her parents and her coworkers.

A novel with a unique premise but one which ultimately left me feeling flat.

Cate is single and in her forties working as a set designer in Chicago. She's been married to a man who is now living in her spare room but she has come out as gay. She's having an affair with a married woman but also has a new girlfriend. I admit I didn't know what to make of this woman. What is she doing with her life? Sadly we find out as a horrific event soon tests her and a friend.

This change in the novel I thought was going to be the catalyst for change and for character depth but I didn't feel that this fundamentally changed those it affected. The novel seemed to gloss over that and instead focus on the fact Cate is offered a new and exciting job in Chicago as a set designer.

What I eventually got from the book is the story of Cate's thoughts, actions and work as a set designer which did seeem very interesting. This would have been better on its own to be honest without the side strands. Her life as a gay woman didn't even seem to bring much to the plot. Living in Trump's America would have brought some interesting thoughts and feelings I would think!

Cate wasn't a character I felt changed at all during the book. I'm not sure if I've missed the point of this book or not, but it was confusing on many levels for me.

The themes of set designer in Chicago though were very interesting. More of this please!

I think its probably just me, but I found this book really hard to get into. I enjoyed the opening, but I found my interest waned very quickly and I simply didn't really care very much what happened to the lead character carol at all. It may be that this is simply not the book for me - it is more than decently written. Just not one I was going to enjoy.

Right After the Weather is a novel about trauma, decisions, and connections, set around Chicago in 2016 and 2017. Cate is a fortysomething stage designer who is hoping her relatively new girlfriend will allow her to achieve her Plan C in life and who feels like someone who hasn't quite grown up. When her best friend is attacked, Cate finds herself part of the violence, and suddenly her world doesn't feel the same, even with work opportunities and romantic complications.

This is a novel that is enjoyable in some ways and feels slightly lacking in others, particularly how the narrative ends. Cate is an interesting character, frustrating in some of her choices and in need of getting out of her rut. The way the narrative is centred around the attack yet it only makes up a very small part of the novel is also notable, though it doesn't quite feel like this comes together at the end. Overall, the prose style is decent and you do want to know about the characters, but then it doesn't quite deliver.