Life After Love by Lorraine Cover
For Kate Covington, grief has been a constant companion. Since losing her husband Paul — to whom she was married for 20 years — nothing has felt the same. Her daughter is finishing her final year at college, her friends are dating, and Kate is struggling to figure out how to move on from losing her greatest love. Quotes that seem perfectly tailored to her situation keep popping up around her, and it feels like the universe is telling her that it’s time to embrace her future. With a little optimism and great friendships, Kate realizes that it’s never too late to find Life After Love in this heartfelt, intimate and bittersweet debut novel from Lorraine Cover.
Romance Novelist Searches for Inspiration
Kate always dreamed of being a romance novelist. But life gets in the way of our dreams sometimes, and we accept it. After losing her husband three years ago, Kate decides to embrace her grief, letting it coexist with her, rather than hinder her dreams.
She has high hopes for her collection of steamy adult fiction stories, which she dreams of being “realistic and edgy enough to inspire her readers to want to have an amazing sex life”. Unfortunately, another publisher has rejected her, and she’s not sure what the problem is — until Giacomo “G” Amici, her friend since childhood, tells her that she’s far too inexperienced to write wild, imaginative stories filled with steamy sex. After all, this charming player and Kate’s closest confidante knows her best…
Kate’s predicament leads her to embark on a European cruise with her other best friend, Claudia. Kate and Claudia are prepped to spend the five-night cruise meeting plenty of eligible bachelors to spice up their sex lives and give Kate the things she desperately needs — to reinvigorate her sex life and finally be able to “write what she knows”. There’s only one problem. The cruise they’ve mistakenly booked is a seniors’ cruise, and at 47 and 48, they’ll be the odd ones out among the grey-haired crowd setting sail for Spain.
A last-ditch effort to enjoy themselves before being trapped aboard with the elderly leads Kate to a heated makeout in a club with a DJ that regrettably ends too soon. So when that same DJ, Luca Bell’Angelo, shows up to assist the cruise’s ballroom dance instructor, Kate knows she’s ready to finish what she started. But Luca has his own troubles with love, and needs Kate’s experience, just like she needs his. Their agreement is this: “For the next four days, you help me figure out my love problem, and I will help you steam up your book.”
Feeling the heat yet? Think Dirty Dancing on a cruise ship, and you’re only halfway there. Life After Love pairs Kate and Luca as their dance lessons turn into a burning connection. With a stable companion in Claudia and some sneaky complications from a jealous G, will Kate re-discover her passion and find the inspiration to write her perfect story? And will Luca turn out to be the man who can fulfill her deepest desires, or will she find satisfaction elsewhere?
Compelling Main Character and Real-Life Inspiration
In Kate, Lorraine Cover has crafted a compelling, complex and realistic main character. Better yet, she writes a character approaching 50 with care, diving into her intricacies and flaws. Cover doesn’t hesitate to tackle the reality of Kate’s grief, and she certainly doesn’t shy away from Kate’s desire for sex and intimacy, even in the wake of her husband’s death. Live After Love tells a passionate, touching and honest story, interspersed with a careful balance of humorous and somber moments.
It is likely that Cover drew inspiration from her own life and experience with ballroom dancing, enjoyment of romance novels and resilience in the face of life’s greatest challenges. Life After Love is for anyone who enjoys a passionate love story, of course, but especially for those of us who know what it means to be human — to grieve, to be vulnerable, to find connection in the most unlikely places. And don’t fret — since this novel ends in a surprising twist — Lorraine Cover already has a sequel to Life After Love in the works.
About Lorraine Cover:
Lorraine Cover, a fan of all things romance, includes steamy sex in her debut novel, Life After Love. Having re-invented herself many times, Lorraine learned what it means to thrive in the life you have, not bemoaning the one you thought you were supposed to have. In addition to writing, Lorraine loves ballroom dancing, traveling around Italy and cooking. She was a finalist in the When Words Count Manuscript Contest in 2022. Lorraine lives in Jacksonville, FL with her husband and dog and is currently working on short stories as well as the sequel to Life After Love.
