Review: Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Title and Author: Hereafter, Tara Hudson
Format: Paperback
Pages: 404
Release Date: June 7th, 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins

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.

Hereafter is the first novel by début author Tara Hudson, and I must say, she did quite an alright job with it. The cover and summary got me interested right away. I had to read it. But I found myself a little bit let down by the end of it all. My high expectations were too high but that didn't necessarily mean Hereafter wasn't enjoyable. It was. It just wasn't as remarkable as I hoped. 

{Characters}

The characters, honestly, weren't anything special. I couldn't really connect with any of them including Amelia, the main protagonist of our story. Amelia's situation was probably the best, most interesting thing about her. She was essentially a ghost who doesn't remember anything of her past and is seemingly doomed to haunt the site of her death, a river, for the rest of eternity. But beyond that, I found she was annoying and a bit selfish in some parts of the novel and no matter how much I tried to like her, the irrational and irritating decisions she made really got on my nerves. 

The love interest here is a somewhat normal boy named Joshua. Joshua is not the best love interest I've read about and he was kind of boring, really. He's popular and good-looking and even though he can have any girl he wants, he finds himself instantly attracted to this ghost of a dead girl. Creepy? I think so. Hudson didn't really  bother to go below the surface with Joshua and he ended up seeming really superficial. 

My favourite character out of the whole lot was probably the villain. Eli was what I call an interesting character.   He had some depth and history that made me sympathise him and feel more emotion than the book as a whole could make me feel. I don't think he was really evil at all. His intentions weren't exactly 'I'll murder you and your whole family and kidnap your children.' He was just an unfortunate guy who died and was thrown off the right path.

{Plot}

There was nothing original with the plot. But I suppose, at least there was a plot. Most of it was really kind of predictable but nevertheless I did enjoy it. I'm not really sure what to say that won't give anything away, mainly because all the plot devices were so simplistic, you'd probably be able to guess what happens in the book right now without having to read it if I gave you a clue.

{Romance}

This was, to be frank, a definite case of insta-love. This was one of the cases where it annoyed me. I mean, Joshua over here is in love with the ghost of a dead girl he saw in a lake when he was about to die. That sounds a bit more like horror-movie stuff than fluffy romance. If I was Joshua, I wouldn't come back to see the ghost again. I'd probably run away as fast as I possibly could. What was it about each other that they liked so much? To me, their romance felt a bit shallow and under-developed. Hudson could have pulled it off better in my opinion.

Honestly, this book wasn't horrible. It just wasn't great either. If you don't mind insta-love and enjoy paranormal romances with under-developed characters, by all means give Hereafter a go. It just really wasn't for me. I'll probably read the sequel but I won't be losing sleep waiting for it to come out. 

Review: Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Title and Author: Bloodlines, Richelle Mead
Format: Paperback
Pages: 421
Release Date: August 23rd, 2011
Publisher: Razorbill

Sydney belongs to a secret group who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the world of humans and vampires.

But when Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, she fears she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. What unfolds is far worse. The sister of Moroi queen Lissa Dragomir is in mortal danger, and goes into hiding. Now Sydney must act as her protector.

The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one...

Bloodlines is a spin-off series of the of the popular Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. Truth be told, I think I loved Bloodlines more than the first book of VA (the only book of that series I've read). It was all kinds of amazing, really. Mead is an exceptional author with amazing talent and it definitely showed in this first instalment of what looks to be an amazing series.

{Characters}

Because I have yet to read the other books of the VA series, I hadn't come by characters like Jill and Sydney and Adrian before. They were all kind of new to me. I've got to say, Sydney was pretty fantastic. She was so easy to relate and so normal. Her reactions were realistic because, I mean, if I had been brought up my entire life being told vampires were evil, evil, evil, I probably wouldn't want to be in close contact with them either.

Adrian is awesome. I fell in love with him right from the moment he was introduced. The banter between Sydney and Adrian was really cute and I have high hopes that it will lead to something more in future books. Jill, Micah, Eddie and Trey were all lovely additions to the cast. Some not-so-lovely people like Keith were still super-interesting to read about. I could go on and on for pages and pages about Richelle Mead's wonderful characters but that would take far too long. 

{Plot}

The pacing of the story was perfect in my opinion. I've heard from some other that it was a bit annoying to have to wait for Sydney to play catch-up but I guess since I hadn't read the VA books before, that didn't apply to me. I was always on the same page as Sydney and the big twist at the end left me stunned. I can honestly say I didn't see that coming. 

This is definitely a favourite for me. There will be six books in the Bloodlines series and the next one, The Golden Lily, will be released June 12th. I honestly can't wait to see what happens to Sydney and Adrian and the rest of the gang. This is a must-read, even for those who haven't yet picked up a VA book.

Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Title and Author: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor
Format: Paperback
Pages: 418
Release Date: September 1st, 2011
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.
Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.
When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

(Four and a Half Stars)

To describe this word in three words, I'd say: creative, refreshing and enthralling. Oh Laini Taylor, you are an absolute genius. This book was everything I hoped Fallen and all those other angel books would have been. From the very first page, Daughter of Smoke and Bone had captured my interest and I immediately realised there was something special about it.

{Characters}

I'll begin with our leading lady. Karou is probably one of the best heroines I've ever come across in my recent escapades with YA. She's got attitude, awesome blue hair and this mystery that you can't help but be drawn to like a moth to flame. Despite being so not normal, Karou was so easy to relate to. Her thoughts and wishes were exactly what a teenage girl's would be in the same situation. Living two very different lives, the reader gets an insight in to both worlds. Karou can't help but feel like she doesn't really belong in either but she doesn't know why. Truth be told, she doesn't really no much about herself. I'm telling you now, she's not like any other character you've seen before.  

Akiva, the love interest is what a love interest should be. This is definitely a fine specimen that everyone can't help but fall in love with. The other characters including Zuzana and Mik and Brimstone and Issa were all just as interesting. Laini Taylor should be congratulated on creating such a diverse and imaginative range of characters.

{Setting}

Daughter of Smoke and Bone had quite possibly one of the best settings I've read about for a while. The way Taylor described everything and showed rather than told was absolutely amazing. The vivid imagery helped me see everything as it happened and all the worlds were so different and well thought-out. I loved it. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

{Plot}

I don't know what I can say here because I absolutely refuse to spoil anything for you. I'll just say that I loved the mystery in the storyline. He pace was brilliant, not too slow or too fast. I felt like the reader is always on the same page as the characters and we didn't have to wait for them to play catch-up. And ohmigod, the ending. I remember wanting to scream something along the lines of 'No, it can't end there!' and if I remember correctly, proceeded to slam my head against the wall for an unknown amount of time. In short, there's a cliffhanger. I detest and love cliffhangers at the same time and this one left me so conflicted. 

{Romance}

I don't have an issue with insta-love usually. I mean, it's bearable and even if some development would have been nice, I wouldn't let it ruin the whole book for me. The relationship between Karou and Akiva though, even if it could be described as insta-love, felt so right, their really speedy attraction was perfectly fine. Their characters had brilliant chemistry and how Taylor gave us a peek from both parties was wonderful. The mystery of who or what Karou really is plays a huge part in the romance in the book and honestly, it was a twist I didn't expect. I love these two together and will be cheering them on until the very end.  

If you haven't yet, pick this book up right now. You won't be disappointed.