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A review by sdb27
Hereafter by Tara Hudson
3.0
Hereafter was one of those books where I could understand the appeal as I was reading it, but for some reason I could not get into the story completely. One part ghost story, two parts teenage romance, Hereafter had some beautiful parts, as well as some parts that I found rather dull or not contributive to the plotline. Amelia’s been a ghost for as long as she can remember—which isn’t much, considering she can’t remember anything except her own name. But one day she sees a boy drowning in the same river where she died, she knows that she has to help him, somehow—so she wills him to live… and he does. But suddenly he can see her—a ghost!—and suddenly Amelia’s life (or death) is turned upside down.
I really liked the idea of the unique romance between Amelia and Joshua. The fact that Amelia’s a ghost already presents so many obstacles, but when you add that to a seriously dangerous ghost who wants Amelia all to himself, and an equally dangerous and powerful witch who also happens to be Josh’s grandmother… let’s just say that Amelia and Josh have their work cut out for them if they want to be a couple. I was really surprised by how well Josh seemed to handle the whole “I see dead people” thing, but I suppose given how he was raised, it makes sense. Amelia was a really likeable narrator, with a fierce protectiveness for those she loves and an inner resilience despite all that she’s been through.
I think that the reason I did not like the book as much as I could have was because many of the ideas that were presented were only half-baked and didn’t really get fully explored in the book. I understand that this is a book series, so I can only presume that some of the mysteries that were brought up in this book are actually explained in the next ones. However, I felt like a lot of details that were meant to sound ominous could have presented interesting plot twists had they been introduced earlier in the book and explored more fully (for example, Josh’s grandmother and his special heritage, the significance of the bridge, the other, sinister world which only ghosts like Amelia can see and navigate, etc…). The ending was also underwhelming and I felt like it wrapped up way too neatly.
This book started off really well, but my interest tapered off by the end because not much happened to keep me engaged while I was reading. I did really like Josh and Amelia’s relationship, but the saving grace of the book was probably Eli and his seductive, yet sinister personality. I only wish that he could have been a more significant part of the book. I definitely have a thing for bad boys, even though Eli had a few screws loose. His motives, however, made very little sense.
I wish that Hereafter lived up to its potential, and in a way it did, at least in the romance department. However, as a paranormal/ghost story, I felt like it was severely lacking in follow-through, or at the very least, explanations.
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For more book reviews, visit my blog The Bookshelf!
I really liked the idea of the unique romance between Amelia and Joshua. The fact that Amelia’s a ghost already presents so many obstacles, but when you add that to a seriously dangerous ghost who wants Amelia all to himself, and an equally dangerous and powerful witch who also happens to be Josh’s grandmother… let’s just say that Amelia and Josh have their work cut out for them if they want to be a couple. I was really surprised by how well Josh seemed to handle the whole “I see dead people” thing, but I suppose given how he was raised, it makes sense. Amelia was a really likeable narrator, with a fierce protectiveness for those she loves and an inner resilience despite all that she’s been through.
I think that the reason I did not like the book as much as I could have was because many of the ideas that were presented were only half-baked and didn’t really get fully explored in the book. I understand that this is a book series, so I can only presume that some of the mysteries that were brought up in this book are actually explained in the next ones. However, I felt like a lot of details that were meant to sound ominous could have presented interesting plot twists had they been introduced earlier in the book and explored more fully (for example, Josh’s grandmother and his special heritage, the significance of the bridge, the other, sinister world which only ghosts like Amelia can see and navigate, etc…). The ending was also underwhelming and I felt like it wrapped up way too neatly.
This book started off really well, but my interest tapered off by the end because not much happened to keep me engaged while I was reading. I did really like Josh and Amelia’s relationship, but the saving grace of the book was probably Eli and his seductive, yet sinister personality. I only wish that he could have been a more significant part of the book. I definitely have a thing for bad boys, even though Eli had a few screws loose. His motives, however, made very little sense.
I wish that Hereafter lived up to its potential, and in a way it did, at least in the romance department. However, as a paranormal/ghost story, I felt like it was severely lacking in follow-through, or at the very least, explanations.
____
For more book reviews, visit my blog The Bookshelf!