In Arise, the mesmerizing, romantic sequel to YA paranormal novel Hereafter, Tara Hudson takes the story of Amanda, a ghost girl adrift between the worlds of the living and the dead to New Orleans. Amanda has found love with Joshua, a human boy. But as powerful as their love is, it may not be strong enough to break the barrier between life and death. Evil spirits have been threatening Amanda. She is terrified they will hurt those she cares about, especially Joshua. When Gabrielle, a beautiful girl Amanda meets at the Conjure Café in New Orleans, offers Amanda the possibility of a different life, Amanda agrees to meet her in at the St. Louis Number One Cemetery at midnight. There, Amanda finds a Voodoo circle. Once she steps inside, everything will change.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Entertaining!
By Amanda Welling
First, let me state that I did not read Hereafter, the first book in this series. So, as it may be, I am a Hereafter Virgin. With that said, I had no expectations with this book. I liked the synopsis of it and it seemed like a fun read.Let me explain. At first I thought this would be a great idea. Jumping into the middle of the series can be a great, refreshing point of view for any title. Expectations from the previous book in a series can mar expectations and opinions based on the outcome of the first title. Although, those expectations can be important, they can play a heavy roll to how fulfilling the conclusions from the first book were.The problem is, after reading the reviews through Goodreads, to see what I was missing, Arise seems to suffer from middle book syndrome. To be fair, I did not experience this probably because I did not read the first installment. I can appreciate the frustration though. Multiple other book series have this issue at some point in the series. Since I was coming into the middle of the series, I felt that Arise was fun and new.So please, bear that in mind. In fact, I may ask you to reference other reviews as well.Arise is a fun filled novel with a confusing romance plot line. I gather that the two main characters, Josh and Amelia, are madly in love. But through a good chunk of the book, they tend to spend a lot of time apart and, what seems like some fighting and arguing was going on. I'm not a big fan of romance, insta-love books. I do appreciate how, though the characters still love each other, they spend a good deal of time in turmoil. It's a bit sensationalized, but more realistic compared to real and built love stories. Nothing is ever perfect.The cast of characters were amazing. The author does a great job introducing each and keeping everyone in line. Being a second book, I really had no trouble knowing who was who. I'm guessing Joshua and Amelia were better explained through the first book, as well as Josh's sister and family. I had no trouble following along with who was who and how they fit into the story. Kudos to the author. That takes talent coming into the second book.Speaking of talent, I want to touch on her writing style, which is to say it works very well. The entire book flowed smoothly and had pretty darn good transitions. Coming into the series with a blank state, again, I had little trouble following the story line. This is good news to those that jump into this book accidentally, or for those who don't feel like reading the first book.Her use of imagery is amazing. I loved the Netherworld scenes and the images of the demons. Authors sometimes lack in any real detail or imagination. I will often read a passage describing a green and pretty field but I won't feel as if I'm experiencing it. Mrs. Hudson does a pretty good job setting her scenes.What I wasn't too fond of though was the essence of the character plot though. I can't say I was too fond of some guy falling in love with a ghost, something or someone completely intangible to anyone but him. The idea didn't really spark my imagination. Throughout the book Joshua was talking to Amelia and the other people around him didn't think he was going nuts? No one noticed him talking from the corner of his mouth or whispering into thin air? The idea just didn't flow well with me.At any rate, I did warn you that I hadn't read the first book. With that being said, I jumped into this one with relative ease. Mrs. Hudson has a way with words that just works. Her plot lines flow smoothly like a cool summer spring. And, despite me not getting into the whole ghost thing loving thing, the story was interesting and entertaining.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Even Better Than Hereafter (which was a TOUGH act to follow!)!!
By YA Litwit
Let's just start with the cover, because I always feel I should comment on that first, to get it out of the way. This cover is gorgeous and goes well with the cover of book number one, Hereafter. It's no secret that I think HarperTeen rules the publishing world when it comes to covers, and this is a prime example. Beautiful, eerie, and relevant to the story. Another win by the cover people at HarperTeen.Now for what is between the pretty covers... I loved this book's predecessor, Hereafter.. Arise was one of my most eagerly anticipated sequels of 2012, and I was beyond thrilled to get an advance copy of it (Thanks, HarperTeen!!). Hereafter ended with a lot of answers to the mysteries surrounding Amelia's life, death, and afterlife, but it also left me with a lot of questions... My biggest question was, "How do a ghost and a living human manage to have an intimate, fulfilling relationship without people thinking he is crazy?" Well, Arise answers that question and many more as the story within takes us from Oklahoma to the most haunted city in the United States, New Orleans...I'm pretty certain I liked Arise even more than I liked Hereafter, and Hereafter was a pretty tough act to follow. I've always been a fan of ghost stories, and I've always been fascinated with the practices of Voodoo and the way religion is so deeply intertwined. Arise picks up right where Hereafter left off, and the story and the mysteries within intensify as Voodoo is brought into the mix. We meet some new characters and we get to know some of the characters from Hereafter a little better, for better of for worse. In fact, one of the things I liked about Arise was that you never REALLY knew who to trust... Were the good guys really good, and were the bad guys really bad? It all sorts out in the end, but you never know until then. All the same, I still liked all the characters, even the baddies usually had some quality that redeemed them in my eyes to some degree. What I liked best though, were the strong bonds of friendship that formed in this book and the romantic element. I'm usually not for the sappy romance in books, but it was well done here. No love triangle, just two people (even if one of them IS dead) who love each other intensely and at all costs. The love story element was beautiful.Hereafter was a quick read for me because I didn't want to put it down. It was one of those books that kept me turning the pages because I had to have answers. Arise was no different. It was definitely a 24-hour read, and I have to say that I wasn't even a little bit pissed about the lack of sleep when I was finished! It was a spellbinding, intensely romantic, thrilling, and intricately woven tale of love, loss, family, and friendship. I can't wait for the release of the third book, Elegy, which should release sometime next year. I can firmly state that, after reading two of her books, Tara Hudson has solidly earned my fandom.For more YA book reviews and giveaways visit YA Litwit at [...].
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
A Game Changer
By A Book Obsession..
Relationships for the living are hard enough, when one of the two is a ghost, things seem doomed from the start. Amelia afterlife has gotten much better since she met Joshua and battled back the demons who would have claimed her. But their relationship isn't easy as they can't ever get physically close without risking Amelia's dematerialization. As they seek out help they find some answers, but those only lead to more issues, making Amelia start to really question their longevity, and Joshua all the more desperate to hold on to her.The relationship between Ameila and Joshua really comes to a head in Arise, both in a good and bad way. There are so many insecurities on both sides, and yet their love is so powerful, almost to the point where neither one knows how to handle it. For Amelia, the realization that Joshua will never have a full life while he is with her really hits hard, especially as he continues to give up so much for her. She starts to drift away from him even as it kills her in order to protect him. Of course this makes Joshua desperate to hold onto her and makes him do something a little rash that will have irreparable consequences for both of them. My heart went out to the both of them, but honestly, I think a lot of their problems would have been solved, or a least greatly lessened by just a little more communication.When I first read the description for some reason I read "Gabrielle" as the male version "Gabriel" which made me think a dreaded love triangle was coming. Of course that went out the window once I realized Gaby was a girl, or ghost for that matter. Her character really added something to this trilogy, filling the vacuum of the confidant Amelia so greatly needed. She's quirky and a whole lot of fun. Trust me, Gaby couldn't have come around at a better time in Amelia's "life" as she needed the support more than ever in Arise. Granted, I'm still not all that sure about the half-life status Gaby has and what that means for Amelia, but that's really a separate issue entirely, on that I won't talk about in avoidance of spoilers.I had enjoyed Hereafter, but Arise just takes things a step further, in fact it was a serious game changer that really shook things up. I was really impressed at how everything flowed, and just how realistic Amelia's emotions were this time around. I felt like I was completely in her head and felt everything right along with her. The ending while not a cliffhanger, definitely left me wanting more and I cannot wait to get my hands on the final installment. After everything that went on in Arise, I'm honestly not sure if we are one step closer or further from the happy ever after I crave for Amelia and Joshua. Either way, I'm sure it will be one exhilarating ride to get there.
