Review: After Us by Amber Hart

 

Release Date: December 30, 2014

Publisher:  K-Teen
Pages: 368
Source: eARC 

ISBN-10:     1617731188

Rating: 5 Hearts

Book Description

"Sometimes secrets kill. Maybe slowly, maybe painfully. Maybe all at once.

Melissa smiles. She flirts. She jokes. But she never shows her scars. Eight months after tragedy ripped her from her closest friend, Melissa is broken. Inside her grows a tumor, fed by grief, rage, and the painful memory of a single forbidden kiss.

Javier has scars of his own: a bullet wound, and the memory of a cousin shot in the heart. Life in the States was supposed to be a new beginning, but a boy obsessed by vengeance has no time for the American dream. To honor his familia, Javier joins the gang who set up his cousin's murder. The entrance price is blood. Death is the only escape.

These two broken souls could make each other whole again - or be shattered forever. Our time will come. And we'll be ready."

Review

Short and Sweet:

I loved the first book in this series, and I loved the sequel even more! Swoony, actiony, and swoony!   

To Elaborate... 

Melissa is trying to forget about a lot of things like her cancer, her best friend who won't return her calls, and the boy she kissed once but can't stop thinking about. Javier's problem is that he can't forget. He can't forget what happened to his cousin, and he can't forget the undeniable drive he feels for vengeance. When he see Melissa again, he knows he has to enjoy the time he has with her before he takes the revenge that might take his own life. 

Amber Hart completely wowed me with the first book in this companion-y type series, and she's done it again with this one. Take action, romance, gang violence, and complex family relationships, and you have the unforgetable beauty that's in these books. The romance practically sizzles off the page with tension, but the emotional depth in all of the relationships in this book blew my mind. 

What I especially love about this book are the tough, need-to-be discussed issues it brings up. From families against cross-cultural dating to learning how to overcome nearly impossible distance between you and friend, this is definitely a book that will get you thinking. I really loved how Faith, a character in the previous book, stayed a big part in Melissa's story and how it showed the realistic aftermath between them with what happened in the first book. 

If you like deep, powerful YA contemporary romances, I can't recommend this series enough. The writing is absolutely gorgeous, as is the romance, and I can't wait for the next book!       

5 Hearts!