3.5/5 stars
HarperTeen, 2012
404 pages
YA Paranormal Romance
Source: Picked up from the library for review.
Last year I read the first book Hereafter and discovered that I kind of like ghost love stories; actually ghosts are probably my favorite kind of paranormal creature, way ahead of the oh so popular vampires, werewolves, and zombies. Thus I requested my library stock this second book and hurried to pick it up to find out what happened next for Amelia and Joshua.
Admittedly I couldn't remember much about them although some details came flooding back as Hudson dropped tidbits to remind the reader and my own memory kicked in. Still though I had trouble connecting with the characters whose love story I had previously been so invested in. Much as I love ghost romances, they are very impractical and wrong. Amelia will always be as she is while Joshua should grow up and change. Plus there are some dark forces after her, prompting her to attempt to leave Joshua.
However first they meet Gabrielle who promises them that she can do something to help them. What she does is far beyond what I expected and changes the rules of the game leading to the big confrontation of this book. Once Gaby got really involved in the story, it was so much better but that wasn't until about halfway through and I was more than a little disengaged by that point. So my biggest criticism is how long this book is. I really felt those 400 pages and when I love a book, I don't.
Gaby is a kick! She has mysterious powers and opens Amelia to some new possibilities. As I mentioned, I felt the story perk up once she became involved. There are also some other new characters in Joshua's family but, except for one, I didn't think their roles were that important other than as just pieces of the plot. By that I mean, they didn't have personalities that imbued the plot, they just did things.
Overall: First half would get about a 3, second half a 4, averaging to a 3.5 in the end.
Cover: I do like the cover. I feel like it connects to the first book and I love the change in colors as we explore the voodoo world and the white dress is actually what Amelia wears so I always give points for accuracy. Plus Amelia is more solid, for good reason.
I want to read this so badly to see what happens with Amelia and Joshua. I really don't remember the first book being so long, but I will give it a try. Great review.. :)
ReplyDeletesorry it wasn't as good as the first. That's never fun when it happens! I do want to try and read more ghost stories though.
ReplyDelete-Lauren
let's get beyond tolerance
I haven't read the first one, didn't know there was a second one. Sad that it's a let down, but at least it was OK enough and had a character like Gaby to get you through!
ReplyDelete- Jessica @ Book Sake
I really love ghost books too. I think it's partly because it's a paranormal subject that is real. I mean I believe in ghosts, but vampires- er, not so much.
ReplyDeleteI liked this book quite a bit but I didn't love the romance if I remember correctly. I just didn't feel the vibe. I really loved the setting of this one though!