Release Day Review of Hereafter (Shadowlands, #2) Hereafter (Shadowlands, #2) by Kate Brian

Title: Hereafter (A Shadowlands Novel)
Series: Shadowlands
Classification: Young Adult Fiction
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy
Format: Hardcover; 320 pages
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion (October 1, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1423164849
ISBN-13: 978-1423164845
Notes: Received an ARC at BEA

Rory Miller and her family were the victims of a serial killer. While trying to get away from the madman who'd set his sights on Rory, they'd been killed, only, they didn't know it yet. They'd entered an 'in between' realm that was neither heaven or hell, but the first stop most souls encountered before reaching their true hereafter. Some would refer to it a purgatory, but unlike the biblical rendition, those who got left behind for extended periods of time aren't being punished, but rather they've been selected to escort/usher the dead to their final destinations. Good or bad, the Lifers, as they called themselves, take the souls of the dead to heaven or hell. Not deciding their fate, only making sure they reach it. If a soul has unfinished business or issues, they'll linger for a time in the 'in between', but never for very long.

The story begins with Rory being told that Juniper Landing is, as she suspected, not a normal town. She's been chosen to be a 'Lifer' and she won't be leaving the realm any time soon, if ever. She won't be joining her father and sister in their final journey, nor can she tell them that they've been killed, because revealing that fact prematurely to someone would guarantee they'd end up in the one place no one wishes to go--the Shadowlands.

As Rory starts to learn about what being a Lifer entails, she begins to notice all is not right with this seemingly 'new' world. Something strange is going on and things that shouldn't be happening are. She begins to question whether a soul could end up in the wrong place.

They say the coins of fate are never wrong, that they know who should be sent to the Light and who should be sent to the Shadowlands, but what if they're wrong? What if they're terribly wrong? They say no one ever comes back from the Shadowlands once they've been sent. With her father's and sister's fates still hanging in the balance, she hopes they're right. 

This is the second book in the Shadowlands series and if you haven't read the first book in the series, I'd urge you to do so. This book starts up where the last book, 'Shadowlands', left off and Rory finally gets the answers she's been seeking. She was right that something was off about Juniper Landing and its nothing she ever could have imagined.

In 'Hereafter' we get alternating view points of Rory and some mysterious Lifer who is creating chaos and mayhem in a desperate attempt to find a way out of the limbo of Juniper landing. The mystery of who the Lifer is was rather fun. I'm still not sure if the person implicated at the end truly is the culprit or they've been framed. I'm guessing they are the guilty party, but I'm not 100 percent sure. Plus, this book ended in such a huge cliffhanger and while we get a lot of information at the beginning, we don't get a lot of answers at the end. Ah, such is the way of books in a series.  

Overall, I gave this one 3 1/2 out of 5 roses. It had a good pace to it and kept my interest, but it didn't manage to fully ensnare me within the story's pages. The fact that we get the thoughts of the unhappy Lifer kind of spoiled a little of the mystery of it all and I kind of wish the author had just gone with Rory's point of view, but it was still a very enjoyable read. 

Order of the series:

Hereafter (Hereafter, #1) by Tara Hudson

• Title: Hereafter
• Classification: Young Adult
• Genre: Paranormal Romance
  
• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen; First Edition edition (June 7, 2011)
• ISBN-10: 0062026771
• ISBN-13: 978-0062026774

     "The black water seized and scrambled and found a purchase anywhere it could. I kept my lips pressed together and my eyes shut tight, though I desperately needed sight to escape this nightmare. Yet the water still entered my mouth and my nose in little seeps. Even my eyes and ears couldn't hold it back. The water wrapped around my arms like shifting fabric, tugging and pulling my body in all directions. I was buried under layers and layers of slippery, twisting fabric, and I wasn't going to claw my way free.
     I'd struggled too long, fought too hard, and now my body was weakening from the lack of oxygen. The flail of my arms toward what I assumed was the surface became less exaggerated, as if the invisible fabric around them had thickened. I literally shook my head against the urge to breathe. I shouted No! in my head. No! 
     But instinct is a slippery thing, too-ultimate and untrickable.
     My mouth opened and I breathed.
     And as I always did, except for the first time I'd experienced this nightmare, I woke up."

Amelia is trapped in an endless cycle. She wanders aimlessly, not being able to  touch anything or be heard or seen by anyone. Then inevitably she relives her death waking up in her own grave. She doesn't remember her past or what events led up to her death. She doesn't even know how long she's been wandering around. She only knows she died and that is a scary reality to face. Then one day she comes across a boy who is in the midst of drowning in the same river as she did. She tries to help him but her ghostly body is useless in her pursuits. His heart beats for the last time and stops. Only seconds later he opens his eyes and sees her. The first person to be able to do so since she died. When the two touch his heart soars and starts beating again. Miraculously once he is safely to shore he can still see her. When he was taken away by ambulance she figured she'd never see him again. She was wrong. That was the day her life, er, afterlife changed...

This was a fun story. It had a slow pace to it, but kept my interest. I liked the bond that developed between Amelia and Joshua, the boy who it seemed she saved. The romance that blossomed between the two was rather sweet. I must say, Joshua was much more at ease than one would expect about having a relationship with a dead girl.

I liked the complications brought on by the mysterious Eli. Eli is a ghost who shows up shortly after Amelia "awakens" from her state of disengagement from the world. Eli believes Amelia should be with him and raises doubts about Amelia's relationship with Joshua. Plus, Eli knows things about being a ghost and has some type of connection to the "hereafter". He also may know a little something about Amelia's life prior to her death. The problem with Eli is he has a sinister vibe about him. Emily isn't sure she can trust him.

Joshua's grandmother adds another interesting dimension to the story. She is a 'Seer', a person who can see the supernatural, and believes all "unclaimed" spirits who wander the earth are evil. She belongs to a coven which exorcizes ghosts. She does not believe people should have relationships, friendship or other wise, with ghosts.

Overall I liked the book. I liked Hudson's writing style and how she described Amelia's death and post death experience. I liked the mystery of discovering what happened to Amelia and the events which led up to her death. I felt the book could use a little more world building when it came to the "hereafter", but realize we will probably get more of it in the sequel. The story kept me entertained and I liked the characters. I gave this one 3 out of 5 roses. This is definitely the right time of the year to read this story.