Review - The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker by Lauren James

 

 

 Title: The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker

Author: Lauren James

Pages: 426

Publisher: Walker Books

Release Date: 3rd September 2020

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

“Congratulations, new kid. Welcome to the afterlife.”

What if death is only the beginning?

When Harriet Stoker dies after falling from a balcony in a long-abandoned building, she discovers a group of ghosts, each with a special power.

Felix, Kasper, Rima and Leah welcome Harriet into their world, eager to make friends with the new arrival after decades alone. Yet Harriet is more interested in unleashing her own power, even if it means destroying everyone around her. But when all of eternity is at stake, the afterlife can be a dangerous place to make an enemy.

 

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My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Walker Books and NetGalley*

When university student Harriet Stoker falls to her death in a derelict building on campus, she finds herself in the afterlife with a group of other ghosts.

The ghosts - Felix, Rima, Leah and Kasper - welcome Harriet with open arms into their group, but when Harriet learns that everyone develops a power upon becoming a ghost she becomes obsessed with discovering what her power is.

As Harriet's obsession strains her new friendships she will have to decide what is more important, having power or friends.

Going into this I wasn't sure how much I would like it as I was disappointed by the author's last book and the premise for this one didn't excite me overly. However, as a fan of some of the author's previous books, I decided to give her new release a chance.

I didn't find Harriet to be a likeable protagonist, but I don't think she wasn't meant to be. Harriet's relationship with her grandmother was complicated and reflected the way Harriet treated people herself, which was quite interesting.

Rima was my favourite character and I liked the relationships she had with Felix, Leah and Kasper.

The plot was a bit mixed for me, with times where the pacing dipped, but there were several things that happened that I didn't expect. However, these unexpected plot points didn't have the intended shock value and some scenes didn't have the intended emotional impact because I struggled at times to connect with the characters.

The book is told from several point of views and there were times when the point of views changed too quickly for me, making the story a bit jarring at times.

While I did enjoy the book overall, it didn't grip me or have me eager to keep reading.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.