Arise (Hereafter #2)

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Author(s)

Tara Hudson

Publisher

Harper Teen

Genre(s)

Paranormal

Age Range

14+

Release Date

June 05, 2012

ISBN

978-0062026798

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New Orleans

Saint Louis

Number One Cemetery

A night there can change a life . . . or a death.

Increasingly worried that dark spirits will carry out their threats and hurt the people she cares for most, Amelia is ready to try anything to protect them. And for his own very different reasons, Joshua has come to this cemetery at midnight to join her in a powerful ritual.

Both know that once Amelia steps inside the Voodoo circle and the beautiful girl from the Conjure CafÉ begins the ceremony, everything will change.

Tara Hudson's enthralling sequel to Hereafter escalates the danger and excitement, bringing a new dimension to her already mesmerizing story of a haunted love.

New Orleans

Saint Louis

Number One Cemetery

A night there can change a life . . . or a death.

Both know that once Amelia steps inside the Voodoo circle and the beautiful girl from the Conjure CafÉ begins the ceremony, everything will change.

Tara Hudson's enthralling sequel to Hereafter escalates the danger and excitement, bringing a new dimension to her already mesmerizing story of a haunted love.

Editor reviews

2 reviews

Better Than Book One

June 05, 2012

Overall rating

3.7

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ARISE continues the story of the ghost Amelia and her Seer boyfriend, the very much alive Joshua. This time, Amelia is on the run from demons who want to forcibly drag her into the underworld and use her for their own purposes, and she's worried the demons will hurt Joshua and his family in order to get her cooperation. The bulk of the story takes place over Christmas break in New Orleans, where Joshua's family has a large reunion to celebrate the holiday.

Amelia still has the habit of doing things without being aware of them (like walking through a crowd of people and somehow ending up outside a club without realizing she was moving at all because she was distracted) and we still get crucial pieces of the action fed to us in a "somehow, I managed to do __fill in the blank__ and get away" which cheats the reader out of experiencing every breathtaking moment of danger, heroism, and victory. There are a few important pieces of the plot that feel extremely convenient rather than authentic. We also have a plot hole involving a new character (Gaby) violating the rules of being "risen" (as far as who can see her), and that isn't addressed.

BUT, those things aside, this book is much stronger than book one. The narrative is tighter, the plot flows much better, the stakes make more sense, and Amelia does less wringing her hands and more taking definitive action. The setting of New Orleans is fully developed and adds a lovely, atmospheric dimension to the story. The additional characters are interesting, the villain is creepy, and though I do want the action scenes to be as unhurried and specific as the romantic scenes, I can honestly say I enjoyed reading the book. Once again, Ms. Hudson has set up some strong continuing conflict for a third book, and I hope to see Amelia coming into her own and taking the bull by the horns in her afterlife. :)

CJ Redwine, Site and Staff Manager Top 10 Reviewer 406 reviews

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A needed 2nd book for the series...

July 15, 2013

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3.0

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Arise is the second book in the Hereafter series by Tara Hudson. The first book, Hereafter, was amazing. I loved it. The story of a living boy falling in love with a ghost was so fresh (at the time) that I found myself completely caught up by their romance.

I found myself still caught up in the story of Amelia and Josh in Arise, but this time it was for different reasons. The setting of Arise moves from the some state that begins with an O (see how much that setting did not impress me) to New Orleans. New Orleans is the perfect setting for a ghost story, don't you think? While I don't think Tara Hudson did a fantastic job of making the city feel real, it still worked for the book. She focused on the tourist sites that were pretty easy to describe (Café du Monde, Jackson Square, etc.) instead of making the culture of the city come alive through the characters and their interactions. (Minor drawback) If you have read the Beautiful Creatures books, you'll know what I'm talking about when I say creating setting through character interactions. (Even though I find those books way too long for the story, the settings are top notch.)

Adding to the new setting, the new characters also made the story more interesting. We now have more ghosts and Seers. I was a little disappointed by how flat the new characters were. I never felt like I learned anything substantial about them-- or made a connection to them. I did, however, enjoy Gaby's brief role. I'm pretty sure she will reappear in Elegy, so I'm looking forward to that. I'm also pretty certain that some of the newer characters will reappear in Elegy and help tie up the loose ends I felt were rushed in Arise.

One thing I hope I do not find in Arise is Amelia being so annoying and wishy washy. I started skipping parts of Arise-- whole paragraphs at the time-- because I got sick of reading her thoughts. They never changed and they were tiresome. I'm not sure how many times she has to mention her dilemma and rehash it. It was very Bella via New Moon.

While Arise wasn't as great as Hereafter, it was a necessary book in the series. It helps set the stage for the final book, Elegy. If you skip this one, you probably won't understand the role some of the newer characters have in the final book.