Boy do I have a special treat for you today! In addition to my review of Chasing Before by Lenore Appelhans, Lenore has so graciously shared what would have happened if there were indeed a third book in the series. To be clear, this series is a duology but for those wondering, find out below where the series would have gone had it been a trilogy. Here is my holiday gift to you!
Merry Christmas!!!
Chasing Before by Lenore Appelhans
Release Date: August 26, 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
ISBN: 978-1442441880
Source: Bought
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“I’m a ticking time bomb. And one day soon everything is going to explode.”
Felicia and Neil have arrived in Level 3 and are supposed to prepare for their divine vocations.
But during Felicia and Neil’s training period, a series of explosions rips through Level 3. Tension is high, and casualties are mounting. A rift forms between the pair, one that grows wider when Felicia receives memories from the Morati. The memories cast doubt on the people she loves the most, but Felicia can’t stop her curiosity. She has to know the truth about her life – even if it means putting at risk everything she’s worked for in her death.
Remember last January when I reviewed Level 2 and this past summer’s review of the novella, The Best Things in Death? Well, the sequel was equally satisfying! What a trip!
This is the first series I’ve read that’s essentially entirely set in the afterlife and I enjoyed every minute of it. The world building was great in Level 2 also known as The Memory of After but it’s taken to a whole new level in Chasing Before. It’s phenomenal. I mean, afterlife careers? Ha ha, I loved it. I marveled at this world. It really is quite something.
Yes, I really wish we found out how Felicia died! But it’s pretty funny to have been led so far into the afterlife and still be so puzzled. In fact, I especially loved this twist on the afterlife, a place that has all of the answers yet Felicia still had so many. Chasing Before is so incredibly thought provoking. It’s a fascinating look at the lengths people will go to get what they want and how blindly open people often are to letting others control them. It’s a mind blowing look at characters that easily resemble so many real life people with tunnel vision and conflicts struggling with denial and honesty, trust and withholding, letting go and moving on. Not to mention, betrayal, forgiveness, and acceptance.
When it comes to Felicia, there were so many revelations in the book but one of my favorites is without a doubt the connection she has with the Morati. All of that aside, I’m not going to lie, I was pretty bummed that Felicia kept pushing Neil to room with her after he already told her he didn’t feel comfortable doing so. She could very well be with this boy literally forever and she can’t respect his wishes to wait? Usually the “No means no” saying applies to girls saying it to boys so even though I wasn’t a fan of the predicament she was putting him in, I did appreciate the gender flip here. We don’t see that enough.
I also really liked how well developed not only the characters were, major and minor but how fleshed out the relationships were. They felt so real. So genuine, whether good or bad. I loved it. I knew something was up with Felicia’s best friend, Autumn and was excited to see this nagging feeling fully recognized in the end. I was not expecting there to be so much death in this book but Lenore is ruthless with her characters and it makes each and every moment so thrilling. Everyone is a suspect. Everyone is a victim. Every chapter hangs on a cliffhanger and glues you in your seat easily making this a day read. It’s a murder mystery in heaven.
Can we talk about the title for a minute? It’ SO fitting. I’m big on titles and I was very intrigued when it was announced that this series would be retitled (or at least the first book to fit the new direction for the packaging of the sequel) and I must say, Chasing Before is absolutely perfect. It matches Felicia and her journey as she navigates the present and wonders how the past influences her every move.
What an incredible journey she must go on to get to a place where she can grow to become a better person without making the same mistakes that plagued her in Level 2 and without letting other people’s thoughts and decisions determine her own. Without spoiling anything, sure, Felicia is pretty special but she still had a ton of growing to do even before all of that was revealed to her and she sure has plenty more to do. But that’s the beauty of this. She has forever to continue to figure it out. She was chasing before instead of after but she’s ready for after. That is gratifying. It’s been such a pleasure watching Felicia as a novice in this eternity in Chasing Before. What a solid sequel this was. So what exactly is entailed in the after? Read below!
Level 2 aka The Memory of After, its sequel, Chasing Before, and the novella, The Best Things in Death by Lenore Appelhans are available now.