Hereafter (Hereafter, #1) in And So It Begins Reading Challenge

Nov 14, 2010 Nicole rated it really liked it

Shelves: ghosts

Find more of my reviews on my blog, The Reader's Antidote

I went into reading Hereafter with pretty low expectations. It wasn’t receiving the best reviews, and while I don’t hate ghost stories (my review of Anna Dressed in Blood is a testament to that), they’re one of the hardest paranormal creatures to write about. Hereafter wasn’t perfect. I enjoyed the story, but some things seemed a little farfetched. The romance was sweet, but Joshua was a little too accepting of it all. It didn’t make sense Find more of my reviews on my blog, The Reader's Antidote

I went into reading Hereafter with pretty low expectations. It wasn’t receiving the best reviews, and while I don’t hate ghost stories (my review of Anna Dressed in Blood is a testament to that), they’re one of the hardest paranormal creatures to write about. Hereafter wasn’t perfect. I enjoyed the story, but some things seemed a little farfetched. The romance was sweet, but Joshua was a little too accepting of it all. It didn’t make sense that he would believe in her so quickly, since he always thought his grandmother was crazy for believing in ghosts. But on that note, I can’t wait for more of Amelia and Joshua. I can’t remember if they already said “I love you” to each other, but I still enjoyed their romance.

The idea of the river being evil and basically a gateway to hell makes total sense. I believe that some places just have bad luck, whether it be raging ghosts or some bad voodoo. Amelia’s story was a sad one, but she couldn’t remember any of it until she basically woke up. She was used to floating along this river, and then the nightmares came, a replay of her final seconds of drowning in the river. As the book progresses, we learn more and more about Amelia’s death, and how it wasn’t an accident. Not even close.

Eli was the perfect bad guy. It’s like Warner from Shatter Me or Valentine from The Mortal Instruments. They think they’re right. They don’t know they’re evil (or they do, but still think that their plan isn’t), and can so easily convince people to believe what they believe. When Amelia finally wakes up after saving Joshua, Eli tries to get her to join him in ferrying souls through this ominous black hole under the bridge. Amelia isn’t going for it. Even when he threatens to take away her ability to walk among the living, and to ever see Joshua again. On top of that, Joshua’s grandmother is part of an exorcist group (read cult), and she has it out for Amelia.

It was an interesting read. There was some heartache over Amelia’s old life (she didn’t just die, it’s been years), but there’s also a blooming romance and a ghostly mystery. Luckily for me, this one didn’t keep me up at night. I just don’t do scary, people. Overall, if you’re into ghost stories, definitely pick this one up. If you’re a scaredy-cat like me, give it a shot. It’s worth it. Not I can’t wait for Arise! ...more

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