Arise by Tara HudsonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
GENRE: YA Paranormal
THEME: Romance, Ghost, and Demons
RECEIVED:Received for Review for Tour(The Teen Book Scene)
AUTHORS BLOG: Tara Hudsons Site
BLURB:
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:
* This review may contain spoilers for those who haven’t read in the first book *
Arise by Tara Hudson is a ghost story filled with romance, suspense and twist that will keep the readers guessing all the way to the end. I’m a huge fan of books based in New Orleans and Hudson takes her characters to the most haunted city, which created a perfect setting for her second installment.
Picking up where Hereafter ended, Amelia is a ghost who loves a human named Joshua. He, his sister and their grandmother are the only ones who can see her and so this makes it difficult for the love that Joshua and Amelia have for one another. How can a ghost and a human be together? Well they try and Amelia is trying to find some answers and the best place to find them is in New Orleans. While Joshua is visiting family, Amelia considers what her future should be and thinks that it might be better to be with ghost like her. But dangers lurk at every turn and the netherworld is trying to track down Amelia and her new friends.
Amelia’s main issue is the fact she’s a ghost and that Joshua seems to be pulling away from his real friends for her. I liked how she could see what was happen to Joshua that even though she loved him so much she didn’t want him to leave everything “real and alive” in his life. She’s a ghost and their future doesn’t seem possible. I felt she had the stronger head on her shoulders than Joshua and was thinking more practical. But love can make you do crazy things.
Joshua acted a little immature, though I love his devotion for Amelia and how we get to meet his family full of Seers. All of who can either hear, feel or see Amelia too. This aspect brought a whole new intrigue to the story, plus the introduction to Alex who has a lot of unique charm. I liked the addition of another male who could connect with Amelia, gave a little competition for Joshua, for a bit.
The other great additions were Gaby and her brother, Gaby being a ghost and her brother who can see her. Her story line is extremely important and I don’t want to give away too much but it adds a major twist I didn’t expect that has to do with someone Amelia knows.
Overall this was an enjoyable ghost story, the romance is sweet and both leads are really dedicated to each other. Amelia has a lot happened to her that changes everything and it makes this series that much more exciting to read. The dark spirits are definitely here in this book and really do some major damage. If you enjoy a ghost story with sweet romance, this story is the one for you.
RECOMMENDATION:
This is a young adult story with minor dark elements that bring to life the haunting New Orleans. Fans of author Amy Plum and Tessa Gratton will love this second installment in the Hereafter series, Arise by Tara Hudson.
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