Publisher:
K Teen
Release
Date: 30th
December 2014
Edition:
US e-proof,
NetGalley review copy
Other
Titles by this Author: Before
You
Sometimes
secrets kill. Maybe slowly, maybe painfully. Maybe all at once.
Melissa
smiles. She flirts. She jokes. But she never shows her scars. Eight months
after tragedy ripper her from her closest friend, Melissa is broken. Inside her
grows a tumour, fed by grief, rage, and the painful memory of a forbidden kiss.
Javier
has scars of his own: a bullet wound, and the memory of a cousin shot in the
heart. Life in the States was supposed to be a new beginning, but a boy
obsessed with vengeance has no time for the American dream. To honour his
familia, Javier joins the gang who set up his cousin’s murder. The entrance
price is blood. Death is the only escape.
These
two broken souls could make each other whole again – or be shattered forever.
Our
time will come. And we’ll be ready.
I was a little worried that After Us would be the a rehashed version
of the story of its predecessor, Before
You, and while it was to a certain extent, I also thought it was a lot
better.
Hart’s writing was as peppered
with clichés, plot-wise and the prose itself, as I found Before You to be, but as I was expecting that I was able to just
overlook it and I soon became accustomed to them. I think that with another
solid edit those could have been tamed and altered a little to feel a little
more authentic and it would have pushed it from an easy read to a solidly
written and enjoyable contemporary.
The characterisation of Javier
and Melissa was a lot stronger than Diego and Faith’s, for me. There was more
history, more depth and a much more believable connection between them; I just
fully bought into it in a way that I didn’t with Diego and Faith. Their
chemistry leaped off the page and I was itching for them to get over their
obstacles and just kiss already! I did feel a little uncomfortable with a
particular spoilery moment where Melissa uses the reason behind her scars to
try and guilt Javier into something – it made me squick. And off of the back of
that, I really had the impression that Amber Hart throws around trauma all willy-nilly
just to make her characters look deeper and more flawed and it just doesn;t
always come across as authentic.
And yet, even with all these
qualms, I still really enjoyed reading After
Us. It’s always nice to switch-off with a quick, light romance, and I’ll
definitely keep my eye out for more by Hart.
Thanks to K-Teen and NetGalley
for the review copy.
Sophie
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