Review: Arise - Tara Hudson

Release Date: June 5th 2012
Hardcover: 404 Pages
Publisher: HarperCollins


Amelia—still caught between life and death—must fight for every moment of her relationship with the human boy Joshua. They can hardly even kiss without Amelia accidentally dematerializing. Looking for answers, they go to visit some of Joshua’s Seer relatives in New Orleans. But even in a city so famously steeped in the supernatural, Amelia ends up with more questions than answers…and becomes increasingly convinced that she and Joshua can never have a future together.Wandering through the French Quarter, Amelia meets other in-between ghosts, and begins to seriously consider joining them. And then she meets Gabrielle. Somehow, against impossible odds, Gaby has found a way to live a sort of half-life...a half-life for which Amelia would pay any price. Torn between two worlds, Amelia must choose carefully, before the evil spirits of the netherworld choose for her.

Arise was a worthy sequel to Hereafter, every bit as unputdownable as the first one. Hudson really had an original idea with this series and it's always good to know that the author won't fall into the ordinary with the next novels. Arise had everything one looks for in a novel and I'm sure the next one will be just completely amazing.

The Plot: Arise begins right where Hereafter left off. I loved the concept of voodoo and that Amelia became half-alive. Furthermore I think that Hudson writes with the right amount of everything: romance, action and sad moments. There were many twists and turns that were, though predictable, really enjoyable. I never thought I would enjoy a ghost story so much! When I finished this novel, I was sure of one thing: Arise was completely enthralling. 

The Characters: Amelia still is this careful but brave person. She cares for everyone and tries to do the right thing, always, even if it would hurt her. I like her very much, and I liked her even more after she met Gabrielle. I think Gaby gave Amelia a new edge. The new characters were all really easy to welcome and I hope we will read more about them in the next and final installment. And we can't forget Joshua, the totally swoon-worthy and sweet love interest. He cares a lot about Amelia and their relationship seems to get more mature.


Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. I wasn't expecting it to be this good and I certainly wasn't expecting the voodoo aspects and the awesomeness of the new characters. I hope that Hudson will keep this up and that the third novel will be just as great as this one. If you haven't read Hereafter yet, you certainly should! 

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Tara Hudson graduated with a degree in law, mostly because she believed all the horror stories about English majors and their careers in the food-service industry. Luckily, she soon remembered how much she loved telling ghost stories, particularly to her girlfriends who liked visiting abandoned cemeteries as much as she did. Tara currently lives in Oklahoma with her husband, son, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets.