mrtvavrana 's review for:

Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife by Deston J. Munden

3.0

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I would like to thank NetGalley and Bindery Books for providing me with a free e-ARC of Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife.

It took me quite a while to put this review together. I have to be honest, I had to pick the book up again and go through it to refresh my memory a little. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it did make me think about the story and characters in a new light.

Rottgor, an undead orc knight, is forced into retirement after centuries of protecting the necropolis. For a very long time his only purpose was to fight, and now he is faced with new, unexpected challenges. Mainly, he now needs to build a life for himself, guided by his heart.

He decides to open a restaurant, a place for the dead and undead members of the community. As he tries to make his plan a reality, he befriends a group of unexpected beings – skeletons, elves, vampires and a young orphan girl, Astra.

As Rottgor learns about Astra's ancestry, he is faced with yet another challenge: he needs to face his past and forge new alliances in order to protect the orphan and his community.

What captivated me the most about Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife was the description. Unfortunately I do have to say that in the end, the story did not resonate with me as much as I had hoped.

I loved the dark and mysterious atmosphere, I loved the rich and beautiful descriptions and the world the author crafted. But the story just did not click with me.

The pacing felt off. Despite this novel being a cosy fantasy, I couldn’t help but think that even the “action” parts of the book were slow and lacked more dynamic. The story was nice but a little too predictable. Up until the very end I kept hoping to see more of the “ordinary” everyday life and the restaurant. That being said, the ending did not exactly meet my expectations either. It was a little underwhelming.

The characters, on the other hand, were incredible. I loved their dynamics; I loved seeing the relationships develop and fall into place over the course of the book. The characters were all pretty unique and beautiful. It was really easy to connect with them. I only wish the author spent more time on them; I feel like that, apart from Astra and Rottgor, the characters were underdeveloped.

I think that while Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife might not have been a perfect fit for me, I quite enjoyed the book. I might eventually come back and reread it to see if I feel any different. And, hopefully, I will get to read more of Deston J. Munden's work in the future too.