Hereafter

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. 

Title: Hereafter
Author: Tara Hudson
Published: June 7th 2011
Where to buy: Barnes and Noble, Amazon

Review:
Overall, I'm disappointed. There was a lot of hype that surrounded this book and I thought that it was a no brainier, this book was going to be excellent. Boy, was I incorrect.

Hereafter gets no love from me. In the very beginning we get full swing into the action, but I was still skeptical and I could not put my finger on what exactly was bothering me.

After continuing, I found out quickly what it was...the romance. I mean Great Scott, is that all books are good for now? No, the answer is NO. Romance is great, it should be something that we get, but it must be in addition to the excellent story and well thought out plot. It should not be the driving force. Seriously, romance, get out of the front seat and let something with more substance take the wheel. 

Everything is set up in the biggest, most cheesiest manner possible. This book was pure sap. Joshua is the perfect dream boy, that can do absolutely no wrong. Amelia is the love struck teenager that truly believes her life/afterlife should really revolve around a living boy. Also, I have to say I think Amelia is a coward. I know that may be harsh, but  why else should she be so afraid. She upsets me and so does Joshua's perfect star shinning life. 

Of course this book is set up so there is going to be a sequel or a series, who knows, but I do know that it should be a pure waste of time. There should be a warning label on books like this, saying "If you have an allergic reaction to bull fairy-tale romance, RUN NOW!" I would have respected that, but I am done reading books where everything is thrown away for a significant other, whose emotions for one another can only be described as puppy-love, and even that may be to deep for this "romance." 

This is an excerpt direct from the very beginning of the story:

"At that moment his eyes opened.
He looked to the left and the right, taking in his surroundings. Then he looked at me. He looked right into my eyes.
I froze. Could he...see me?
He smiled, and then suddenly reached out his hand to place it upon my cheek. I felt his skin, warm on mine. Without thinking, I put my hand over his. His smile widened when I touched him.
He did see me.
He saw me, he saw me, he saw me.
My still, unbeating heart soared. And then so did his."

That is the very first time they meet, underwater I might add, because he is drowning, although, for some reason the boy has a momentarily unlimited air supply. I guess the very beginning should have been my tip-off, but I bought the book, and had heard such positive things. I wanted it to turn out great so I pushed through,unfortunately so did the overdramatized love story.

I would really recommend adding flaws to these characters and adding more interesting factors, like a more developed villain instead of Eli, who unfortunately, had no more annoyance then a bug that wont go away. I would agree that he had a sadistic mind set, but what did he really do in the present? The truth is, he did nothing in the present. It was all mind games, and the scariest thing he ever did, was in the past. He did attempt to recreate the past, but that was during the climax of the novel and it didn't turn out the way he had intended. I felt he was a front, a fake, a fraud, i felt cheated by him. And our other antagonist, Ruth, was really no threat at all, she might be build up for the novel to follow, maybe she will show more power there, but for now she did not have it. 


Overall the story didn't grasp me, it didn't have enough quality in the characters, and the story in general. I read the entire book and nothing was there that could qualify as a legit reason this book was phenomenal. 

I wish luck to everyone that wants to read this. My opinion is that it isn't worth the time, but you might feel differently. 

Rating:


No Stars