A review by hellobookbird
The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

4.0

"Everyone started sniffling at that point. Everyone, that is, except me. I never did the crying thing. It would have ruined my makeup."

On Christmas Eve, Holly was visited by three ghosts who showed her how selfish and spoiled she'd become. They tried to convince her to mend her ways. She didn't and continued on being a horrible person. So she died and woke up in her own personal version of hell: working for Project Scrooge as their newest Ghost of Christmas Past.

Five years later, she's still there. Still seventeen. Still her own selfish self. Then the latest Scrooge is picked—a hot, teenage guy who Holly discovers she has a lot in common with—and things start to change.

4.5 stars! This was an impulse buy for me because the cover was so simplistically well-designed. I'm aesthetically driven and I happened to go to school for commercial graphics so I have an appreciation of such things.

I definitely didn't expect to like this book as much as I did! I went into this thinking it would be just another Scrooge story: learning the error of your ways and becoming a better person. The concept is great but I'm actually not that much of a fan of [b: A Christmas Carol|5326|A Christmas Carol|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1406512317s/5326.jpg|3097440]. However, the excerpt on the back cover made me hope it would be sufficiently snarky to get through it.

Holly was definitely sufficiently snarky for me. She starts out as a truly horrible person—the kind that you love to hate. After she dies and joins Project Scrooge, she's a little better (after all, she isn't able to indulge in her materialistic impulses and must work for her board), but she's still the same unrepentant selfish Holly of before. And she's hilarious.

He was playing tennis, wearing black gym shorts that hit him about six inches above the knee and a simple polo, and he was sweating a little.
Thank you, universe.

I also truly loved Project Scrooge itself. It has a Monsters, Inc. feel when it comes to sifting for memories, it connects to the classic story in a super modern and unique way, and it has the barest hint of the paranormal to make it all work.

And finally, the romance itself was light, the banter was good, it wasn't over-the-top, and it didn't consume the story.

"Because I'm like the opposite of Cinderella. My ball only starts after midnight."
He looked down at my flip-flops. "I don't see any glass slippers."
"Glass slippers are so last season."
"So you're expecting me to be Prince Charming?" he asked.
I put a finger to my chin like I was thinking. "Are you a prince?"
"No."
"Are you charming?"
"You tell me."

While the ending was a bit bittersweet for me, it was perfect. I'll definitely be looking for other Cynthia Hand books in future!

Recommended for readers that want a light, silly, humorous read. No holidays required!