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A review by nairam1173
Aftermath by Clara Kensie
Sigh.
Some of this was very, very good. Brutal, but good. The author did a very good job of giving Charlotte some goals to chase while she recovered, and the implosion of her family was believable and heart-wrenching. Over the course of the book the author does a very good job of clarifying that the problems all the characters are having are definitely not all the fault of one of them. It's a good exploration of how people deal with grief and guilt. I also really appreciated Bailey's presence.
Unfortunately, in the last eighty pages or so, events started feeling more and more...contrived. Like the only way to make this book keep working was to keep intensifying the pain. But it felt less like a natural outcome of where we'd been before and more like the author decided "okay, if I don't make it worse my readers will lose interest." The characterization of just about everyone started to feel uneven and/or overdone. Overall the ending disappointed me in where we left most of the characters (although I thought the arc with her dad was nicely wrapped up) and emotionally, although plot-wise it was pretty solid and believable. I didn't need the characters to be /fixed/ by the end, but I wish I had believed the arcs and where they landed a bit more.
Some of this was very, very good. Brutal, but good. The author did a very good job of giving Charlotte some goals to chase while she recovered, and the implosion of her family was believable and heart-wrenching. Over the course of the book the author does a very good job of clarifying that the problems all the characters are having are definitely not all the fault of one of them. It's a good exploration of how people deal with grief and guilt. I also really appreciated Bailey's presence.
Unfortunately, in the last eighty pages or so, events started feeling more and more...contrived. Like the only way to make this book keep working was to keep intensifying the pain. But it felt less like a natural outcome of where we'd been before and more like the author decided "okay, if I don't make it worse my readers will lose interest." The characterization of just about everyone started to feel uneven and/or overdone. Overall the ending disappointed me in where we left most of the characters (although I thought the arc with her dad was nicely wrapped up) and emotionally, although plot-wise it was pretty solid and believable. I didn't need the characters to be /fixed/ by the end, but I wish I had believed the arcs and where they landed a bit more.