[Book Review] The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

On Christmas Eve five years ago, 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 then she died.

Now she's stuck working for the top-secret company Project Scrooge--as the latest Ghost of Christmas Past.

Every year, they save another miserly grouch. Every year, Holly stays frozen at seventeen while her family and friends go on living without her. So far, Holly's afterlife has been miserable.

But this year, everything is about to change. . . .

* * *

 This was the cutest Christmas story! I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this book because the synopsis made it seem a bit cheesy but I had a really great reading experience. Especially since I listened to it on audiobook.

The characters were hit or miss for me. Holly, who is an awful person at the beginning of the story but gradually evolves into a better person as the story goes on, has a great character arc. When the story skips in time after Holly's death I liked that she was still not a great person, but she had improved some from her pre-death personality. Because I knew I wasn't gong to be able to handle a whole book where the character was that unlikable. I was rooting for Holly, but I didn't love all of her decisions and she often frustrated me. I didn't like Stephanie, or really anyone on  Project Lamp. Stephanie was supposed to be a 20 year old college student but she acted way too young. However, I am not sure if this is a writing thing or the narrator's voice for Stephanie. Holly points this out multiple times, so it was purposely, but it drove me a little nuts. Everyone else on Project Lamp were a bit boring for me. Maybe also a bit annoying. I really loved Boz, who was a strict but incredibly soft mentor who I would have loved to be in more scenes. I also would have loved to get to know both Dave and Blackpool more. I found the love interest, Ethan, to be okay but nothing super unique. I liked Holly's connection towards him because of how much she could relate her own past life to his.

The plot had me the most interested. I am typically more of a fan of character drive plots, and though I didn't mind the characters overall, I was mostly motivated to keep reading because I needed to know what would happen next. I was hooked from the get go. I loved the unique idea and how the story in A Christmas Carol is used to make this really cool story idea come to life. I didn't even really mind the romance. It was cute and the dialogue between the two characters Holly and Ethan was witty and often time romantic. 

The writing was okay. It didn't blow me away but I fund it to be digestible and easy to fly though.  I think it takes a lo to write a Christmas story and have it not dripping with cheese but I think Cynthia Hand did a good job at making it more heartwarming than cheesy. It had it's moments where I felt like it was cheesy but it's a Christmas story so that is to be expected. 

Overall, if you're looking for a fun Christmas story to read to hype yourself up for the holidays I highly recommend it. It was so much fun to read and I think anyone could enjoy it. 

 

Thanks for reading!