Customer Reviews

Afterlife: An Evernight Novel

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Claudia Gray is tying up all the loose ends in the conclusion to her Evernight series. The book picks up as Lucas is about to rise from his first death to start his second life as a vampire. Lucas' internal struggle with becoming the very thing he was taught to hate, isn't his only battle. Now he has to fight the hunger. And live with the stigma of Black Cross among his previous prey. Bianca is still learning what it means to be a wraith, along with her own issues about being dead. Lucas, Bianca, and our favorite side kicks all journey back to Evernight. Along the way Lucas will face his mom, we find out exactly what Mrs. Bethany is up to with all those ghosts and if love really can transcend all obstacles.

The highlight of Afterlife was the supporting cast. Vic and Ranulf stole the show. Ranulf's backwards old english translations never failed to make me laugh. Patrice, Dana, and Raquel also join the mix and proved what real friendship truly is. There are some tough family issues as well. The overall message is what are the limits of love. Gray explores quite a few variations within different relationships.

Some low points. Unfortunately I can't say the highlight was the love story. The romance is why I read and followed the series. But they were more like an old married couple than star crossed teenage lovers. Bianca's constant repetitive blaming of Lucas' undead state on Balthazar. I can understand why she's upset, I just wish every time Bianca complained about it that it would be phrased differently. It was worded exactly the same each time. And became redundant. Unfortunately she harped on it a lot. I also didn't care for the end. It was neat and tidy, all my favorite people lived, but I found to be a bit of a let down. It was safe. Sweet. Tame. Normally I don't like tragedies, but Afterlife needed something messy and imperfect. It needed something more profound. Even though Bianca and Lucas were going in opposite directions individually their relationship seem to be working just fine. Almost like they had worked though all the major obstacles in the previous books. Afterlife was really focused on their separate struggles, when readers like me are more interested in their couple troubles. I guess it needed more angst. Maybe the ending would have sat with me better if there was more drama in their relationship during the book.

Afterlife was OK. It was entertaining. But it didn't move me as much as some of the other books in the series. The romance was lackluster, anticlimactic. The end was sufficient but nothing I'm going to swoon over. I think it's a toss up either your going to love it, or feel stood up. The best part of the ending for me was the full page announcement of a spin off featuring Balthazar.

Oh my goodness, the sappiness and cheesiness that comprise these books! They have always been this way, but I think they have been getting worse as they have gone along. I laughed out loud several times at the 'romantic' scenes. Are you wondering, why does she keep reading the Evernight series if she thinks it's so bad? Well, I really can't say. Once I read the first two books in a series, I generally feel compelled to finish (although I gave up on the House of Night books by the Casts). Besides that, my only other reason is that I make bad choices sometimes.

Okay, so I'm assuming that if you're reading this review, you either have already read the previous books and are acquainted with the plot or that you have no intention of ever reading them, so don't care about spoilers. At the opening of the novel, Bianca and Lucas are both dead; she's a wraith and he's a vampire. But (big surprise) being dead cannot stop their love (seriously, I'm so moved), as they keep reminding one another every three pages.

Of course, maybe they don't love each other as much in this situation. There is that human girl that Lucas befriended. Could just be me, but, had events transpired differently, I could imagine them getting along really well, if you catch my drift. Besides, Bianca said this: "It wasn't that I loved him any less for being dead--how could I?--but I knew that his life was something I loved about Lucas, and it was gone" (89). Really? I'm buying it. You don't love him less; you just loved him more before. That makes perfect sense. This is true love that lasts forever folks.

Best moment of the book, in my humble opinion, resulted from some poor editing. The final chapter begins with this awesome sentence: "I flashed myself to the small group of people huddled around Lucas's fallen form" (231). I assume that this is supposed to refer to some form of ghostly transportation method. However, what it actually says is that Bianca took off her ghostly jammies and gave everyone a little peek after the big battle. How awesome is that? This book needs better editing.

I enjoyed the first book very much. The second was ok and the third began to drag on. At this point I no longer care about the characters. It's sad but the story should have been wrapped up while it was still smoking. If the author couldn't do that then while it was still steaming? Now it's gone cold. Save your money. Even if it's free at this point I'm not interested. Sorry.

I just finished reading Afterlife this morning and I really don't know what to say. I have mixed feelings. I really loved this series, it was an interesting take on vampires, which we have seen so much of lately. The world, Bianca's relationship with her parents and the people she met throughout the series, her growth into a heroine, are all examples of what got me to like the series and what attracted me to it to begin with.

I usually judge a book by it's ending. In my opinion the ending is the most important element of a story. What gives you the lasting impression of a book you just read? It's the ending. The feeling of whether your satisfied or you want more or it just wasn't for you or it was perfect or you flat out hated it, really depends on the ending. Going back to my earlier point I have mixed feelings about the ending. I liked Bianca's ending, just not Lucas's. Let's leave it as the ending wasn't for me. The book's pacing at the beginning was also very slow.

What I did like is seeing old characters come back. I love a close nit group of friends and family. I also enjoyed reading about some of the new characters introduced such as Christopher and Skye. This series really didn't have much characters compared to others, and I liked that. It gives us more room to get to know the current characters. Lucas and Bianca's relationship grows a great deal in this book, probably the most out of the entire series. We see just how far they are willing to go to stay together and how much they deserve it.

I really enjoyed this series and I'm a little sad to see it go. Balthazar will be released sometime in 2012, which is a spin-off book of this series from, obviously, Balthazar's point of view. I know many are excited for it, but I'm not as excited as maybe I could have been. Balthazar isn't one my favorite characters.

I rated Afterlife as a three because as I said, the ending just wasn't my kind of ending. I know people had mixed feelings about this some loved it and some hated it. But I still enjoyed this series as a whole, and would recommend people to give it a try.

This was a good read. It picked up right where the last book left off. The way she ended things with Lucas and Bianca was just slightly disappointing but besides that it was a very enjoyable story.

4.5 stars

I read Afterlife knowing a little bits and pieces about what happens in the rest of the series and I can honestly say, I really enjoyed this book, and I didn't feel lost as to what was going on. I know I'm reviewing this series back wards, but that's the way I read it. I've heard for awhile now what a great series The Evernight Series, and I regret I hesitated so long in picking the series up.

Afterlife has some fantastic twists, turns and a shocking ending. It wasn't hard for me to get swept up into the story as there's some awesome action scenes, a great romance and of course a bit of drama. Claudia writes a great story with some engaging paranormal characters, being vampires and wraiths. It wasn't just the main characters Bianca and Lucas who I enjoyed getting to know, as well as Balthazar, but I loved Ranulf and Vic, as they provided more than a few laugh out loud moments for me.

I liked Claudia's twists on her paranormal characters. I've not read a lot of stories with both vampires & wraiths in them, but I really enjoyed this one. Claudia made it work and talk about a unique love story. Not to giveaway spoilers, but Lucas and Bianca's relationship can't seem to catch a break, and they definitely do all they can to make it work. I am a sucker for the unwavering love they both have for each other, and let me say, the ending completely took me by surprise! Talk about a sacrifice.

Afterlife is an example of another awesome way to wrap up a series. I am really looking forward to reading more of Claudia's books including her next series with Balthazar. Don't wait as long as I did to read this series, I would definitely recommend picking up next time you're at the store. Don't miss our interview we recently posted with Claudia as well as her tour dates here.

The final installment couldn't have ended the series better. It was a perfect ending to the star-crossed romance, the friends and family, and the story. I have loved this series since the first few pages of "Evernight" and I couldn't have asked for a better ending. :)

**If you have not read the first three, don't read below**

Afterlife starts off exactly where Hourglass left us, Bianca is a wraith and Lucas has now been turned into a vampire. Lucas has a tough time adjusting, especially since he never wanted this. They decide the best thing is to return to Evernight Academy with the whole gang: Balthazar, Vic, Ranulf, and even Patrice. While at Evernight, Bianca learns more about being a wraith, Lucas learns about being a vampire, and what they must do to be together. While fighting their own demons, Mrs. Bethany is still in the mist and no one knows where her loyalties lie.

In this final installment, all your favorite characters are back and a few news ones as well. I have loved Bianca from book one and watching her grow and change through out the series has been such a joy to read. There's also Balthazar, he's always been such a great guy and you can't help but love him and feel sorry for him. I'm so happy he's getting his own book and I can't wait to read it! Finally, Lucas. Lucas was probably one of my first fictional boyfriends that I fell in love with. I adore his golden hair and dark green eyes... it's my favorite combo. But, Lucas is so much more than that. He's a fighter, and a protector, and his love for Bianca is unlike anything.

I am so so sooo happy with how this series ended! This series has been one of my favorites and I loved every second of it. It was a perfect ending to a fantastic series. Thank you Claudia Gray! :)

The first 2 books in this series of books were FANTASTIC. The 3rd book took an unexpected and, I'm sorry, unwanted turn. I thought about it before I ordered this last book in the series because I just didn't think there was any way for the story to turn out in a way I'd be happy with. I went ahead and ordered it because I'm a glutton for punishment and had to finish the series. Unfortunately, I was right. Even with my expectations just in the middle, I'm still disappointed. Bianca seemed selfish and angry throughout most of the book. (Understandably, I just don't want that from a main character. Lucas handled his situation much better than Bianca did.) Lucas was willing to go through hell for her and in return she was just... a brat. At least for the most part. She redeemed herself at the end of the book and the resolution for Lucas and Bianca's relationship was satisfactory but nothing special. I enjoyed previous character's coming back around and getting a fairwell of sorts. I always like that even with background characters. The absolute best part of the whole story was Balthazar. Can't wait to read his story!!!

I'm an avid reader of teen fiction mainly because I teach high school English and am always looking for books to put on my shelf! This series started off exciting and the romance between Bianca and Lucas is also what kept me "hooked" to the series. However, this last book has failed to meet expectations. I'm going to be honest, I didn't even finish it! I kept finding myself skipping pages and skimming to find some sort of action or drama and every time I found some, it was redundant! Some out there I'm sure will have more patience than me to read it...I've just read so many other great teen books that this one failed to keep me interested.

I read this book (last in a series) with no expectations. Standing well on its own, the author effortlessly weaves in tidbits of previous scenarios without overwhelming the present story. Told in first person (difficult to do without becoming too `one-voiced'), the author depicts every nuance of teenage love and angst. As a vampire story, I really enjoyed that the author deviated from standard supernatural fare. No werewolves here, just wraiths with their own set of afterlife problems, as well as vampires who learn to restrain themselves from killing (to drink). Don't try to figure things out: suspend any preset notions and just enjoy the story. The most positive thing about this group of kids is how all sorts of them are best friends: vampires, humans, wraiths, along with any number of subsets. It reminds me of our newest generations who see neither color nor religion to make prejudices.