“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.”
I was excited to get my hands on Hereafter, I’d heard so many great things about it. While it was a creative, original paranormal romance, at times it felt like every other one.
What bothered me most was how easy some things worked out for the heroine. Joshua accepts her claim of being a ghost without blinking an eye initially. No questions, no doubts, nothing. I know it’s a book, but in the real world even if the most accepting person was told this, they’d at least have a few questions. He does come to ask a few questions as time goes on, but the few moments around her admitting what she is kind of put a damper on the story for me. There were things I found interesting that were never explained, such as how she can feel his touch but can’t feel anything else. I’d have liked to have an explanation, but those were rare instances.
I felt for Amelia, she’s “living” this nightmare on a regular basis only to find a small sliver of salvation, a boy who can actually see her. I love how we find out about her past along the way as she remembers it. Joshua is the sort of nice guy who always root for, he’s a bit perfect. Joshua and Amelia’s romance happened quite rapidly, but for once it didn’t bother me much since it didn’t feel forced. I could feel the attraction between the two of them. I personally loved Eli, I know he was the villain, but I tend to prefer the “bad” guys. I felt like he had some humanity remaining, at least in his thoughts and actions even though he was definitely evil. Eli’s world and minions sound truly frightening and gave the story that little bit of creepy edge it needed to move beyond the simple romance I was actually expecting. I was pleasantly surprised by that.
Hereafter hits bookstores on 6-7 and is definitely worth checking out for all paranormal romance lovers.