by: Daria Lavelle
Goodreads Synopsis:
What if you could have one last meal with someone you’ve loved, someone you’ve lost? Combining the magic of Under the Whispering Door with the high-stakes culinary world of Sweetbitter, Aftertaste is an epic love story, a dark comedy, and a synesthetic adventure through food and grief.
Konstantin Duhovny is a haunted man. His father died when he was ten, and ghosts have been hovering around Kostya ever since. Kostya can’t exactly see the ghosts, but he can taste their favorite foods. Flavors of meals he’s never eaten will flood his mouth, a sign that a spirit is present. Kostya has kept these aftertastes a secret for most of his life, but one night, he decides to act on what he’s tasting. And everything changes.
Kostya discovers that he can reunite people with their deceased loved ones—at least for the length of time it takes for them to eat a dish that he’s prepared. He thinks his life’s purpose might be to offer closure to grieving strangers, and sets out to learn all he can by entering a particularly fiery ring of Hell: the New York culinary scene. But as his kitchen skills catch up with his ambitions, Kostya is too blind to see the catastrophe looming in the Afterlife. And the one person who knows Kostya must be stopped also happens to be falling in love with him.
Set in the bustling world of New York restaurants and teeming with mouthwatering food writing, Aftertaste is a whirlwind romance, a heart-wrenching look at love and loss, and a ghost story about all the ways we hunger—and how far we’d go to find satisfaction.
Lavelle’s debut is a multi-course tasting menu of a book that will sate, delight, excite, comfort, and inspire even the pickiest of readers.
Helen says: 🤓🤓🤓 1/4
This book plot sounded like a bizarre premise to me. I am not usually keen on magical realism, but this turned out to be a very original and enjoyable read. The author deserves accolades for her creativity. It was definitely unique. Did I love it?? Meh..I liked it enough and it kept my attention. There was an undercurrent of a predictable love story that seemed a bit cheesy…kind of a turn off.
Holly says: 🤓🤓🤓1/2
Wow, this book wins the creativity and originality prize of the month. The book is strange, downright weird, but I read it in three days. If you are not a fan of books that delve into the supernatural to a degree (think Alice Hoffmann or The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake), then you might pass on this one. I was a hard “yes”. Read it for something original and different.
Helen and Holly Hit the Books 