After losing her father, Emma Bennett moves to her aunt’s small town of Westport to finish out her senior year of high school. Emma wants to forget the pain and loss of the past few weeks, finding relief in the company of Ben Parker—a local boy whom she has an instant attraction and uncanny connection with. When Ben seems a little too preoccupied with other responsibilities and has no time for her, Emma turns to the town’s hottest flirt—Lucas Crandon—for affection. Unfortunately, she realizes a little too late that, sometimes, bad boys really can be bad for you. Told from Emma and Ben's alternating points of view, Aftermath is a story about love that lasts more than one lifetime. Aftermath has the essential paranormal romance elements and an interesting take on the afterlife. One thing that really intrigued us about this story is Ben's point of view. To Emma, Ben seems like a normal boy, but he's really an undercover agent for the Afterworld's Bureau of Investigation. He's torn between doing his job—kicking butt and taking down evil immortals— and rekindling his lost love. Ben—who died many years ago, has been searching for his wife in the Afterworld for years. What Ben didn't realize is that his wife isn't in the Afterworld. She's on Earth and Emma just happens to be her reincarnate.
Sara's Review
After I had finished reading Aftermath, I wasn't sure what I wanted to say in my review, so I spent the rest of the afternoon doing other things as I thought about that. One of the first things that came to mind is that this is not a book that drops you into the action right away, and I wouldn't call it a book that's fast paced either. As I read further into the book, I came to the realization that's not the main focus of the story, nor is it meant to be action based either. It's more about two people, who loved each other, finding each other again.
Instead, it sets up the background regarding Ben and Emma, and their relationship in the 1940's, and Ben's attempt at finding the woman he lost on December 7, 1941. This is where the most interesting, to me, part of the book comes into play. It's a unique take on the afterlife, and I'd say goes deeply into the idea of reincarnation, immortality, and multiple lives.
It is this aspect of the book which I thought the construction was quite good, and I found myself intrigued by the concept. One of the things I found myself wondering at the beginning of the book is what the commander was, as there was a definite air of mystery about what he was. My initial thought was an angel of sorts, as it seemed to make the most sense.
As far as the two main characters, I didn't find myself drawn to either one as a reader initially, but by the end of the book, I found myself liking both characters. I think Emma made some bad choices relationship-wise, but I'm glad she eventually found that she had a bigger attraction to Ben after all as opposed to Lucas, the town's bad boy.
There is a lot in this book that revolves around high school, so it's very much a YA book. Overall, my rating is 4/5 platypires.
Instead, it sets up the background regarding Ben and Emma, and their relationship in the 1940's, and Ben's attempt at finding the woman he lost on December 7, 1941. This is where the most interesting, to me, part of the book comes into play. It's a unique take on the afterlife, and I'd say goes deeply into the idea of reincarnation, immortality, and multiple lives.
It is this aspect of the book which I thought the construction was quite good, and I found myself intrigued by the concept. One of the things I found myself wondering at the beginning of the book is what the commander was, as there was a definite air of mystery about what he was. My initial thought was an angel of sorts, as it seemed to make the most sense.
As far as the two main characters, I didn't find myself drawn to either one as a reader initially, but by the end of the book, I found myself liking both characters. I think Emma made some bad choices relationship-wise, but I'm glad she eventually found that she had a bigger attraction to Ben after all as opposed to Lucas, the town's bad boy.
There is a lot in this book that revolves around high school, so it's very much a YA book. Overall, my rating is 4/5 platypires.
