Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Hereafter by Tara Hudson


Published: June 7th, 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: Hereafter, Book 1
Rating: YA 13+
Format: eGalley
Source: NetGalley
Amazon ❘ Goodreads ❘ Website


Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

Thrilling and evocative, with moments of pure pleasure, Hereafter is a sensation you won't want to miss.

**This Review is based on an ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy). The final text/cover may be different**

Hereafter was a sweet and heartfelt love story with sorrow, anger and mystery. Tara Hudson has made the world of ghosts come alive with the description and emotion in her debut novel. AH-ma-ZING!

I really love the concepts of ghosts in this paranormal book. I haven't read one in AGES (the last being The Mediator series by Meg Cabot) and it's so good to read something other than the "norm" for supernatural right now. 

The first chapter really catches your attention– we're brought to the point of Amelia's nightmare and the beginning of a mystery...how she died, as she can't remember anything from her past life. As the story continues and she gets clued in of the afterlife and her past from Eli, the sexy ghost haunting her, everything falls into place. Not to mention there's a whole group of grandmas out to get her...

What IS 'hereafter'? According to the dictionary it means 'from now on'. I guess, like the movie with the same title (loved it!) it's the afterlife in other words. It's where people go from there point of death. Now all Amelia has to do is to choose what she wants– and with certain consequences.

Amelia's character was quite the emotional one. As she remembers things from her past, and remembers family and what happened on that night, it just builds up more so. I love her anger though, when she finally snaps and then it's just WOAH. You seriously don't wanna be messing with this girl, I'll tell you that. Love, Love, LOVE Joshua. Totally loved him from the moment he was introduced into the book. He's just so sweet and so...loveable! I also found his sister, Jillian, hilarious and a good ice-breaker through the book. She's such a drama and popular-obsessed person, but she can be sweet and nice to people at times. She's just such an amazing supporting character.
Eli, the baddie of this story is bleh from the beginning. I hated him, although he's supposed to have that "dark and hot" appeal, but NO SIR-EE. I was repulsed by him from the moment HE came on. He didn't even have that bad-boy attraction thing going on! He was just a major psycho.

What I didn't find that good about this story however was the fact that the main action only starts like around halfway to 3/4 of the book. I mean, I guess, it's a cute ghost paranormal story, but the mystery and stuff only happens when the relationship between main characters have been established and only then do things start going on faster. But hey, I ain't complaining. It's a good story throughout and enthralled me the whole way through!
I just hope that the second book will explain more and bring in more deadly (pun intended) action to the story, making it more focused on mystery and action, and still have that adorable romance to it as well!

Hereafter is a one-of-a-kind paranormal, which readers will dive into and get lost in the world of the living and dead. Move over angels, vampires and werewolves–ghosts will take readers by storm. Can't wait for book 2, Arise!

If you like this, try...

• Shadowland by Meg Cabot (Amazon ❘ Goodreads)
• The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (Amazon ❘ Goodreads)
• Die for Me by Amy Plum (Review ❘ Amazon ❘ Goodreads)

Other Covers:

(German)