CATCHALL
Hereafter was a lovely, if bland, book. For the most part enjoyable and exciting, it was a read with action and romance. The blurb grabbed me from the beginning, and the cover is absolutely gorgeous. I had to have it. I should've known better than to fall for a cover after Fallen.
This review will contain minor spoilers.
THE HEROINE
Sadly, I did not like Amelia. I really wanted to. However, she was so annoying and selfish that I realized early on that nothing would ever make me like her. So I tolerated her and her annoying decisions. So she can't remember anything from before her death-fine. Then stop bringing it up every twenty seconds. She did have her good points, but mostly I couldn't stand her. She has such an empty feel to her (no pun intended) and even after this long book, I still can't picture her. Or hear her voice.
THE LOVE INTEREST
Joshua was not the best male lead I've ever read of. From from it, in fact. He sort of gives me the creeps, actually. Reading about him actually made me yawn. Of course he has perfect-boy good looks, of course he's popular, and of course he is oh-so-special. Seriously, what am I supposed to like about him? The description of him never goes beyond the superficial. I'd love to hear something deep about Joshua, and then maybe I'll rethink him. But for now, he's so shallow if he was a pool I'd let my newborn cousin swim in him. And I love my cousin like you would not believe.
THE VILLAIN
Eli was the only interesting character is this freaking book. He actually has depth, and a background story. My heart ached for him, and yet Amelia remained so cold. This I did not find realistic. Hating someone without knowing them, and then continuing to hate them even as you get to know them better even when they have legit reasons for the things they do, always comes across as unrealistic to me. He is, in reality, less of a villain than a character who kept me from throwing this book across the room. He's also very hot, but I'm not being biased. Eli had a sob story, but that's not why he told it. He wasn't really evil. More like thrown off the right path when he died. But wouldn't dying do that to anyone? Imagine dying, and then being offered immense power. Would you really turn it down?
THE ROMANCE
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce a spectacle of the YA phenomenon I like to call… insta-love!!!!!!! What exactly do Amelia and Joshua like about each other? Is it their eyes, maybe? Or maybe their lips? Seriously, the only thing they know about each other are each other's age. They never actually get to know each other and the romance that occurs between them seems so false. I just didn't get it. There was no love; just lust. There's absolutely zero chemistry. Frankly, I hated this romance, and I usually live for romance. and just when you thought it could be any more cliché, its forbidden.
THE PLOT
Where was the plot of this book? Sure, Amelia was supposed to avoid being exorcised, but I was sort of hoping that would happen. It would've improved the book by many degrees. However, all joking aside, it was always obvious that wasn't going to happen. So, then, again I ask, what was the plot? The closest I've come to perceiving a plot is the fact that Amelia is trying to regain her memories of her life and death. Nothing actually happens. She wanders around town with Josh. Then she discovers she can touch things only at heightened stages of emotion, which I found ridiculous. She can either touch things or she can't. Either way, please make up your mind.
THE WRITING
Told from Amelia’s point of view, Hudson's writing was not my favorite. It was bland and impersonal. It was very rarely enjoyable and usually just plain insipid. Amelia's voice is empty and irritating. As it was a debut novel, I'm willing to cut some slack, but there still need to be improvements made in order for the writing to be more enjoyable to me. Her voice is so annoying naïve and frankly, hard to listen to without screaming. She sounds like she's either four or forty. It's absolutely ridiculous.
THE ENDING
The ending was anticlimactic and boring. Nothing of interest happens, and there's no real signs of future activity. Amelia and Joshua basically have a pointless romantic scene. I may read Arise, but I may not.
FINE.