747 reviews for:

Aftertaste

Daria Lavelle

4.15 AVERAGE

bryn_cavin's review against another edition

3.75

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

theinkwyrm's review against another edition

5.0

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This is like Before the Coffee Gets Cold meets The Kamogawa Food Detectives meets Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng (with a balance between cozy and horror that falls right near lit fic) and I liked this way more than any of the comp titles, which surprised me because ghosts aren't generally my preferred horror creatures. I loved the way this was written with interludes from the dead at the beginning of each section that feels almost like a chorus in a play and makes them feel much more like people than you would expect. The love story element was complex and not always sweet and balanced out the story really nicely. Overall, a great debut and I look forward to reading more from this author.

rlk7m's review against another edition

3.25

emotional lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

andrea2428's review against another edition

3.75

emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

rae7612's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

lblattttt's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

suekinaz's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Potentially my favorite book of the years.  Magical realism speculative fiction, foodie, life-and-death-and-love. Incredible descriptions of the NYC restaurant scene, gritty aspects of cooking your way to fame, loss of a parent.  So much more.  Above all the magi of food, whether it depicts your culture, your family traditions, the way food triggers memories and emotions.
Hard to believe this is a debut novel.
Disclosure - I received an ARC for review purposes; opinions are my own.

heyshannonhall's review against another edition

2.0

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Aftertaste is a book with a very strong premise that I ultimately very strongly disliked. :( I love food and I love ghosts, but the characters fell flat for me and the magic system/world building was confusing and kind of cheesy. If I had to read one more food idiom like “spill the chai” in a book that’s supposed to be serious? Idk this just was not for me even though on paper it should have been!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC. 

vicki_v_sanders's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

meg_nico's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated