Review - Arise

by Tara Hudson
publisher: HarperTeen
date of publication: June 5, 2012
format: digital review copy
pages: 246
source: Edelweiss


From Goodreads:

Amelia—still caught between life and death—must fight for every moment of her relationship with the human boy Joshua. They can hardly even kiss without Amelia accidentally dematerializing. Looking for answers, they go to visit some of Joshua’s Seer relatives in New Orleans. But even in a city so famously steeped in the supernatural, Amelia ends up with more questions than answers…and becomes increasingly convinced that she and Joshua can never have a future together.Wandering through the French Quarter, Amelia meets other in-between ghosts, and begins to seriously consider joining them. And then she meets Gabrielle. Somehow, against impossible odds, Gaby has found a way to live a sort of half-life...a half-life for which Amelia would pay any price. Torn between two worlds, Amelia must choose carefully, before the evil spirits of the netherworld choose for her.

Even though weeks have passed, Amelia is still in much the same situation as before.  Struggling to keep her relationship with Joshua going and trying to figure out the cause of her random dematerializations is a lot for one ghost girl to handle!  When Amelia tags along to Joshua to his family's Christmas celebration in New Orleans, she finds a surprise waiting for her, one that could mean big changes for Amelia.  All is not as it seems, however.  There is yet another threat that could put both herself and Joshua in danger and provide the demons with something they will stop at nothing to possess: Amelia.

When I read Hereafter, I completely flipped over Amelia and her story.  I enjoyed everything from her voice to her background.  For some reason, however, I wasn't quite feeling it this time around.  I don't know if it was her reticence about her relationship with Joshua or her wishy-washy attitude over what needed to be done in the face of certain danger, but I just could not get into Amelia's story in Arise as well as I did in Hereafter.  I did enjoy the new characters that were introduced, however.  I was especially intrigued by Gaby and wish she had come into the story a little sooner.  She helped bring back the some of the spark that made Hereafter such a fun read for me last year.

I really enjoyed that there was a change of setting for Arise.  The extra feeling of mystery that was added by its new New Orleans setting made Arise a fun book to read so far as scenery goes.  I have to say, though, that I felt as though the pace lagged a little bit and I found myself getting distracted while reading, something I wouldn't expect from a book set in one of my favorite literary settings.  The descriptions were very well rendered, though, and I have no complaints about the ways in which the atmosphere was portrayed.

My reaction to Arise really surprised me.  Knowing how much I had enjoyed Hereafter, I was expecting to be blown away once again.  Unfortunately, it just didn't quite happen for me.  While I enjoyed the premise, there were a couple of snags that kept me from getting completely lost in the story.  I definitely plan to continue with the series, however, as the ending left me with the impression that there are amazing things to come in book 3.  Overall, I liked Arise, but I just didn't fall head over heels in love with it.

Buy Arise at the Following Locations:

Amazon / IndieBound / B&N / The Book Depository

Obligatory legal statement: This digital review copy was provided to me free of charge by the publisher via Edelweiss. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.

Waiting on Wednesday: November 9, 2011

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event from Jill at Breaking the Spine. To participate, simply share that book(s) you are eagerly awaiting the release of and report back to Breaking the Spine with the link to your post. Clicking the image above will take you straight to her post and widget. (Special note: The nifty button above comes from Lindsay at The Violet Hour. Isn't it pretty?)

This week I am waiting on a sequel.  The cover and synopsis were very recently released and I am even more excited than I was before.  The book I am speaking of is Arise by Tara Hudson, which will be released on June 5, 2012 by HarperTeen.  Feast your eyes on another gorgeous cover!

From Goodreads:

Amelia—still caught between life and death—must fight for every moment of her relationship with the human boy Joshua. They can hardly even kiss without Amelia accidentally dematerializing. Looking for answers, they go to visit some of Joshua’s Seer relatives in New Orleans. But even in a city so famously steeped in the supernatural, Amelia ends up with more questions than answers…and becomes increasingly convinced that she and Joshua can never have a future together.

Wandering through the French Quarter, Amelia meets other in-between ghosts, and begins to seriously consider joining them. And then she meets Gabrielle. Somehow, against impossible odds, Gaby has found a way to live a sort of half-life...a half-life for which Amelia would pay any price.

Torn between two worlds, Amelia must choose carefully, before the evil spirits of the netherworld choose for her.

Review: Hereafter

by Tara Hudson
publisher: HarperTeen
date published: June 7, 2011
format: hardcover
pages: 416
source: purchased
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N

From Goodreads:

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.

What I Thought

Hereafter is unlike any other book I can recall reading. The story is told from the point of view of the ghost of an 18 year-old girl named Amelia, which made for an interesting read and a departure from what I typically read. Amelia is stuck in a continuous cycle of wandering and reliving her death. Unfortunately, she doesn't remember much from her life. She does not know her last name, her birth date, what year she died, what year it is, or even how she came to die. All she knows is that again and again she loses consciousness and relives her death before awakening in a graveyard. She continues in this cycle until, one day, she saves the life of a boy who has crashed his car into her river. She knows not how or why she is able to save him, but from that point on, she feels a connection with him that will test the limits of her acceptance of her afterlife.

This is an incredibly bitter-sweet love story and is expressed in truly lovely prose. As Amelia and Joshua's bond grows ever stronger, she begins to yearn for a true life. However, she is happy with whatever vestiges of a relationship with Joshua she can get. As the two grow closer, Amelia gathers the courage she will need to find out about her past, brave the ire of Joshua's grandmother, and face off against a frighteningly possessive ghost who has plans for Amelia. The result is a riveting plot that provides foreboding, romance, and intrigue. I read chapter after chapter in my need to know what was going to happen next.

The characters found in Hereafter were captivating to behold. Amelia, who was definitely my favorite, is no push-over. She rarely leaves her displeasure unvoiced and does a wonderful job of standing up for herself. Joshua, while perhaps not the most riveting male lead character I've read to date, is a very likeable character that will leave you rooting for him and he tries to support Amelia as she rediscovers herself and stands up to Eli. Eli, one of the antagonists of this story, is a seriously creepy individual. I suspect that if he weren't a ghost, he would have been an even worse human being. As it was, he was an obsessive individual with a propensity for sneaking about and stalking Amelia. His actions were truly despicable and I disliked him immensely. The only thing worse than Eli were his bosses, which I am afraid you will have to find out more about by reading the book. I wouldn't want to give away the denouement.

I will end by saying that Hereafter wasn't what I was expecting. It was, in fact, much better. I enjoyed everything from the point of view to the settings of the story. Now that I have read Hereafter, I am very much looking forward to continuing the series and can not wait for 2012 to roll around. I give Hereafter 5 hoots for its fascinating concept and intriguing plot.