Review--Afterlife by Merrie Destefano

WELCOME TO YOUR NEXT CHANCE.

Chaz Dominguez is a professional Babysitter in New Orleans, helping to integrate the recently deceased into their new and improved lives. Though Fresh Start has always been the only game in town, resurrection isn't all it's cracked up to be. Nine lives are all a person can get--and a powerful group of desperate, high-level Nine-Times will stop at nothing to possess the keys to true immortality.

Now the only hope for Chaz and his family--and the human race--lies in the secrets locked away in the mind of Angelique, the beautiful, mysterious Newbie he must protect...

I managed to do a one day read! Really surprising since my little niece was home today, being her usual loud self! Love her to death, but she hasn't learned the meaning behind inside voice yet.

Anyway, I read Merrie Destefano's debut Afterlife and it wasn't too bad. It was another different read for me. Other then the idea of resurrection there wasn't too much supernatural involved. But the cover was wicked awesome so I couldn't pass reading this.

The book was told in multiple points of view, which gets a little confusing sometimes, because as you're trying to get into the swing of things with our first narrator it changes to someone else and it took awhile for me to realize he was someone we just saw.

But by having multiple points of view, we're able to know what these people are thinking and how they act. We learn fairly quickly who's good and who's not so good.

The concepts were a little tough to understand as well, the book doesn't really have a futuristic quality to it, but the science behind it obviously is in some ways and it was hard for me at least, to pick up on these things. Like the deal with being resurrected into a new body and get to live 9 lifetimes.

It takes awhile to fully understand all of it and having finished I can't say I understand it all 100% either, but it was still a fairly good read. It was interesting to be in the minds of different characters and learn about their nefarious plans if they were evil or what they were thinking and desiring if they were good.

The pace was well set as well, for soon something shocking happens. One major event happens early on which was devastating and then it soon gets worse, which really amps up the pacing and action.

There wasn't a lot of romance. Hardly any at all, there were feelings to be had, but not much acting upon them. And while the ending was good and somewhat final, I don't know if this is a planned series or just a stand alone, either could be possible at this point.

Overall I give it a 3.5/5 stars. It was a decent read, albeit confusing at some times because somethings just didn't get readily explained or explained in enough details, which made it harder for me to understand what was going on in certain points. But still a good read!