Review #48: Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Greetings my lovely, fantastic comrades! Here's my review of Hereafter! Can't wait

Hereafter is the first in the Hereafter series by Tara Hudson. Amelia is 18, and she's dead. A ghost haunting the bridge and river where she died, Amelia does not remember anything from her life, not how she died, except her first name and some very vague memories. One day, during her lifeless (ha, pun xD) existence, she encounters Joshua, a boy her age, drowning the exact same way she did. Amelia only knows she wants the boy to live and essentially wills him back to life. From there they begin a tenuous love story, one that might be halted by the malicious and evil ghost Eli, who wants Amelia all to himself, forever.

I adore this book lots. I devoured it in almost two days. That hasn't happened in a while. I was utterly hooked on Tara's writing, and utterly beautiful story. I haven't seen a YA Paranormal Romance that has dealt with ghosts as the creatures before. Vampires, sure. Werewolves, you bet. Faeries, them too. All except ghosts, so this was an interesting concept. Also, this book, like all of the books on my CR list, have been extremely hyped up in the blogosphere before it came out. It got great reviews and great praise. I can understand why. This book is just fantastic, and original and beautiful and just brilliant. 


This story was quite unique. Well, not entirely, since it IS a Paranormal YA romance after all. But the ghost element, as I've earlier stated, I haven't seen ghosts incorporated as the main PNR element before, therefore this book, at least in one aspect, is unique. This story spellbound me, I loved Amelia's story and her love for Joshua and her encounters, and later troubles, with Eli, that mischievous and malevolent ghost. Everything flowed nicely. Ok, I'll admit, the romance was a bit rushed, as the entire story occurs in about a week at most, but it wasn't insta-love. And for that, I thank you, Ms. Hudson. I loved all parts of the novel, especially one scene with Joshua and Amelia in Joshua's room. It is probably my favorite scene. 


Now onto the characters. Amelia is brilliant. I loved watching her journey from in the shadows and ignorant about who she is, what happened to her, etc, to a strong person/ghost who has found everything out, and stands up for what she believes in, even willing to fight for it. Her growth is fascinating, and I can't wait to witness even more growth in book two. I also loved Joshua, but not as much. I do wish he were real, because I'd want to be in a relationship with him. He's so loving and accepting (almost too accepting) of Amelia being a ghost. But then again it's in his nature, as explained in the novel. He's funny and sweet and caring, not at all obsessive or controlling, which I love. Man oh man, I wish he were real. Eli, now he was a malevolent being. Not on the level of Cain and Drake from Gone, but still pretty frightening. My throat closed up at certain points due to my being so scared. Also, characters such as Ruth or Jillian were fun to read about, even if I did want to smack Ruth in the face, despite her being A. fictional, and B. elderly. 


Good god, Ms. Hudson's prose is gorgeous. I mean that, it is gorgeous. Her prose is one of the reasons I read this book so fast. I love her writing style entirely, and can foresee Ms. Hudson having a long and illustrious career. Her descriptions, her world building, how she played the romance, just everything was gorgeous. That word is probably best describing this novel and the prose, gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. 


I can't praise this book enough. If you love YA, Paranormal, Romance or ghosts, you'll love this book. Pick it up in one way or another.


I'll next be reviewing Unearthly by Cynthia Hand.


Until next time comrades, viva la literature!