What do you think?
Rate this book
Afterlife #3
Whereafter
How far would you go to get your life back?
Stuck in the afterlife on an island encircled by fire and hunted by shadows bent on trapping them there forever, Irene and Andras struggle to hold onto the last vestiges of their physical selves, without which they can never return to the land of the living. But it’s not just external forces they’ll have to fight as the pair grow to realize they have different goals. Irene still clings to the hope that she can somehow return to her old life—the one she had before she died—while Andras would be only too glad to embrace oblivion.
Meanwhile, Jonah, worried about Irene, desperately searches for a way to cross over to the other side, even if doing so means his death. His crossing over, however, is the one thing that could destroy Irene’s chances of returning home.
Too many obstacles, too many people to save, and the thing Irene most desperately wants—to return to her old life—seems farther away than ever. Only one thing is clear: moving on will require making a terrible sacrifice.
Stuck in the afterlife on an island encircled by fire and hunted by shadows bent on trapping them there forever, Irene and Andras struggle to hold onto the last vestiges of their physical selves, without which they can never return to the land of the living. But it’s not just external forces they’ll have to fight as the pair grow to realize they have different goals. Irene still clings to the hope that she can somehow return to her old life—the one she had before she died—while Andras would be only too glad to embrace oblivion.
Meanwhile, Jonah, worried about Irene, desperately searches for a way to cross over to the other side, even if doing so means his death. His crossing over, however, is the one thing that could destroy Irene’s chances of returning home.
Too many obstacles, too many people to save, and the thing Irene most desperately wants—to return to her old life—seems farther away than ever. Only one thing is clear: moving on will require making a terrible sacrifice.
345 pages, Paperback
Published March 15, 2016
40 people want to read
About the author
Terri Bruce
14 books261 followersTerri Bruce has been making up adventure stories for as long as she can remember. Like Anne Shirley, she prefers to make people cry rather than laugh, but is happy if she can do either. She is the author of the paranormal/contemporary fantasy "Afterlife" series, which includes Hereafter (Afterlife #1) and Thereafter (Afterlife #2), and several science fiction and fantasy short stories, including "Welcome to OASIS" ("Dear Robot" anthology, November 2015), "The Well" ("It's Come to Our Attention" anthology, Third Flatiron Press, February 2016), and "The Lady and the Unicorn" (NH Pulp Fiction "Live Free or Dragons" anthology, Plaidswede Publishing, Fall 2016). Her third novel, Whereafter (Afterlife #3) releases March 15, 2016. Visit her on the web at www.terribruce.net.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 19, 2016
4 Stars
Full Review:
*I received a free ecopy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.*
In my reviews of the first two books, I mentioned that though I enjoyed the books, the pacing was a little too slow for me. Well, this time, the pacing was much better and the book was much harder to put down, mostly due to, drumroll please…
Jonah’s point of view!
I didn’t even know I wanted Jonah’s POV, but it turned out to be the perfect counterbalance to Irene’s adventures. At this point, Irene was basically just wandering around the afterlife, and she got into trouble, things happened, there were interesting takes on afterlife things, she learned and grew, etc., but Jonah’s POV brought some much needed life to the story, literally and figuratively.
But Jonah’s life was not all sunshine and rainbows. I felt terrible for Jonah because he really spiraled downward since the first book. It was almost painful to read sometimes, like watching someone drown in two feet of water because they don’t realize all they have to do is stand up. His part of the story also handled some heavy topics, like depression, but thankfully not in a hit-you-over-the-head-with-it kind of way. It was just part of his character and his story. And there were some entertaining, less heavy moments too. He was definitely complex, and I enjoyed seeing him develop and grow some throughout the story, though I’m still not sure yet what path he’ll end up on.
I also really liked Irene and Andras’s friendship even more this time. It seems like all of Irene’s friendships turn out to be fairly unique and thus interesting to read about. These two butted head a lot, but they still genuinely cared about each other and had some fun teasing each other. And Andras himself started to show a softer, more playful side that I loved. Also, he had this gem of a quote that is just too funny taken out of context:
The only thing I really disliked was a certain aspect of the ending. *POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT* *END SPOILER ALERT*
Overall though, this book continued to show a really unique take on all things afterlife with great character development, and the alternating POVs between Irene and Jonah really amped up the pacing and pulled me in!
Recommended For:
Fans of Books 1 and 2 in Terri Bruce's Afterlife series. Anyone who likes books about the afterlife, books that make them think, and unique but sweet friendships between characters.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
Full Review:
*I received a free ecopy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.*
In my reviews of the first two books, I mentioned that though I enjoyed the books, the pacing was a little too slow for me. Well, this time, the pacing was much better and the book was much harder to put down, mostly due to, drumroll please…
Jonah’s point of view!
I didn’t even know I wanted Jonah’s POV, but it turned out to be the perfect counterbalance to Irene’s adventures. At this point, Irene was basically just wandering around the afterlife, and she got into trouble, things happened, there were interesting takes on afterlife things, she learned and grew, etc., but Jonah’s POV brought some much needed life to the story, literally and figuratively.
But Jonah’s life was not all sunshine and rainbows. I felt terrible for Jonah because he really spiraled downward since the first book. It was almost painful to read sometimes, like watching someone drown in two feet of water because they don’t realize all they have to do is stand up. His part of the story also handled some heavy topics, like depression, but thankfully not in a hit-you-over-the-head-with-it kind of way. It was just part of his character and his story. And there were some entertaining, less heavy moments too. He was definitely complex, and I enjoyed seeing him develop and grow some throughout the story, though I’m still not sure yet what path he’ll end up on.
I also really liked Irene and Andras’s friendship even more this time. It seems like all of Irene’s friendships turn out to be fairly unique and thus interesting to read about. These two butted head a lot, but they still genuinely cared about each other and had some fun teasing each other. And Andras himself started to show a softer, more playful side that I loved. Also, he had this gem of a quote that is just too funny taken out of context:
"I am not afraid of butterflies. It is demons disguised as butterflies that worry me."
The only thing I really disliked was a certain aspect of the ending. *POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT* *END SPOILER ALERT*
Overall though, this book continued to show a really unique take on all things afterlife with great character development, and the alternating POVs between Irene and Jonah really amped up the pacing and pulled me in!
Recommended For:
Fans of Books 1 and 2 in Terri Bruce's Afterlife series. Anyone who likes books about the afterlife, books that make them think, and unique but sweet friendships between characters.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
December 31, 2016
Sadly, I was disappointed by this book. For the first half, nothing is really happening. The magic of the "afterlife" felt much more gimmicky and unnecessary. When it does finally pick up, it feels more forced than anything. Even Irene's arc felt like it was happening to her more than she wanted it to happen, and I had been waiting for it since Hereafter. There was a deus ex machina moment that turned me off, and many of the characters felt one-note. On a technical standpoint, there were also a lot of proofreading errors that made me wonder if this was rushed. I wish I had been able to enjoy this one the way I had Hereafter and Thereafter. It just missed the mark for me.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews