Amelia Ashley is dead but lost. Wandering. Unable to touch or be
touched; unable to be heard or seen; unable to control her own appearances and
disappearances. And then there are the nightmares that aren’t nightmares of
drowning; reenacting the last moments of her death. Almost the only memories
she has of her life. It’s a lonely and miserable sort of half-existence, until
one night when the nightmare changed. Instead of waking up at the moment of her
death, Amelia opened her eyes to see the black of the river. This time someone
else was drowning.
Joshua’s car had run into the railing of High Bridge, throwing Joshua
out and into the river below. Amelia manages to save him (no, I won’t tell you
how) a bond is created between the two teens. Joshua can see, hear, and touch
Amelia. There is a reason that so many deaths occur at High Bridge, though, and
Amelia has just called attention to herself in a very big way. The bridge and
river are a gate to the netherworld, and the demons who collect souls at this
gate really want Amelia working for them. If she refuses, they’ll put all of their
power into making sure she is destroyed – along with everyone she’s ever loved.
Hereafter sets up the first battle with the demons and their first
emissary, begins Amelia and Joshua’s love story, and sets the tone for the rest
of the trilogy. Arise takes a few twists, breaking the whole “nothing good ever
happens in the second book” trend. Here Amelia (and Joshua and his ENTIRE
family) get caught up in some New Orleans voodoo and Amelia’s very existence
changes. Elegy finishes off the trilogy with the demons’ final gambit and
threat, Amelia’s heart-wrenching decisions about the future of her relationship
with Joshua, and another surprisingly good twist to the plot.
Throughout the novels Hudson stays very true to the characters she
develops in Hereafter. In fact, it’s Amelia’s inherent stubbornness and desire
to protect those she loves, even at her own expense, which provides much of the
suspense of the novels. You know she’s up to something, but you aren’t quite
sure what she has up her ectoplasmic sleeve. Another important facet of the
novels is the impossible love story. Even more impossible than a human girl and
a sparkly vampire is the relationship between a human boy and a ghost. From the
very beginning you know it won’t work out. It can’t work out. Can it?
Ooohhhh….is the author going to actually make it work out? Yeah, I’m not
telling you that, either.
The Hereafter trilogy is fairly unique in that I see no way for the
author to come back and awkwardly sneak in more books (yes, I’m glaring at you,
Mortal Instruments!). This series is done. Finished. It had a beginning, a
middle, and a very satisfying end. If you enjoyed Twilight, or if you enjoy
stories with teen angst and impossible romances that are fraught with sexual
tension, check out the Hereafter trilogy.
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