Review: Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Title: Hereafter
Author: Tara Hudson
Series: Book One in the Hereafter series (second book released soon)
Pages: 404
Published By: Harper Collins (June 7, 2011)
Genre: YA Paranormal
My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Goodreads Description:

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.

My Review:

First off I have to say, you know I will because I am just a cover snob apparently, but, isn't the cover of this book just gorgeous?

Doesn't it just lure you in and make you want to pick it up and read it? Doesn't it just make you curious about what the story is like in such a book as this, with the gorgeous almost ethereal cover on the front?

Well maybe it didn't for you but it sure did for me. In fact I think I could blow the picture of the cover up and frame it and hang it on my wall..if that wouldn't be too weird of course, which, it probably would be.

It is gorgeous though, in all of my favorite shades of blue. *sigh

Okay, on to what you really want to know (at least I hope so since you are in fact reading this review).

What were my thoughts and feelings as I was reading this story that had me so curious from the first time that I read the synopsis.

Well, I can tell you I was pretty much hooked after reading the mysterious pages of the first chapter.

The story of how a girl dies and doesn't remember anything about it. Doesn't even really remember anything about herself. A girl who is now not a girl but a ghost. A phantom of what she once was yet is haunted by nightmares of a death she can't really remember.

A girl who's life or maybe I should say death, since she is after all now dead, changes forever when a young man is suddenly drowning in the very waters that had once taken her life. A young man who can not only hear her but see her as well.

A young man that in an instant changes everything.

Ah Joshua. Is it wrong to say I just might have a little bit of a crush on Joshua? He is such a cute, sweet character. Like the boy next door only better.

I couldn't help but smile while reading about him, he felt so familiar to me, like I already knew him and could picture him perfectly.

I really loved this book. It was something different and great and just wonderful.

I liked how Joshua brought out the best in Amelia and helped her discover who she had been and what she was now.

Their love story was a great one and I liked watching them as they went through their journey together and became stronger together and learned so much about themselves and what they wanted.

Don't get me wrong, this book isn't perfect but I think it was a great start to a series and I really think it will just get better from here. Tara Hudson shows a lot of promise and I can't wait until Arise is released to see what she has in store for Joshua and Amelia.