Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Who: Tara Hudson
What: Hereafter
Where: Harperteen
When: June 7th, 2011
Why: Ghost Story
How: For Review

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.

Hereafter was a enjoyable and light (and somewhat cheesy) ghost love story with villains that are going to creep you out! Hereafter is about a girl named )) who died next to bridge and is when forced to wander around the place as a ghost. Until a boy named Joshua almost dies there, and they meet! When the book starts, you're immediately sucked in by Amelia's story and the writing! Her vivid nightmares, her confusion, and her pain made Amelia a real --albeit dead--character in my head. Joshua was adorable, kind, and a charming hero without all that bad boy nonsense!

But then, Amelia sort of dimmed, for me. She became much less of the vibrant main character and more of a follower of whatever Josh happened to be doing. And it stays like that for most of the time, which put a damper on reading. Most of the book is based on Joshua and Amelia's romance, with parts thrown in of her trying to find out who she is. They were a sweet couple, and while their romance was definitely instalove, I found myself less annoyed with it than I usually am.

And then you get to the last fourth of the novel. This is where I really started loving it! Eli is a villain that is unpredictable, scary, and someone you're going to love to hate. And he really takes it up a notch at the end of the book. Plus, it finally pushes not only everyone around him, but Amelia, to her limits and really propels the story to what I had been looking for-- a crazy supernatural read!

Overall, for fans of paranormal romance and don't mind a bit of instalove on the side.
Happy Reading!
-Harmony