I tried a few times to read this book, however couldn't get myself into the narrative as much as I hoped for. I DNF'ed around 10%. The writing style is incredibly descriptive and well written, just not for me. Maybe I'm not hungry enough to resonate with the culinary sense. Unsure but giving it three stars since I think this likely is just not a good fit for me as a reader vs it being anything about the book itself

AFTERTASTE was not for me. I truly wanted to like this one, but after reading about half of the book, I decided to put it down. I am sure this will find an audience. However, the writing and the characters didn't pull me in.

This is such an interesting concept. Kostya can "taste" ghosts. He gets an aftertaste of some kind of food creation and that leads to a reconnect with a loved one and the person they have lost. We all have those foods that take us back to someone special. He just doesn't realize what bringing back the dead will cause. There are always consequences to our actions. The one person he wants to bring back is his father.

He gets a restaurant and a girl and maybe life is looking up but it is only causing trouble. The ending is so incredibly sad and beautiful all in one. Wonderfully written and full of emotion, it is a very good book and one that takes you on quite a journey.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an advance copy for review.

“But letting go doesn’t mean you forget me. Just that you don’t let the memories hurt you anymore.”

Aftertaste follows Konstantin Duhovny, who after his father passed away at the age of ten, is haunted by spirits from the afterlife ever since. Rather than seeing or hearing these ghosts, Kostya is able to tastes their favorite meals. One night when he recreates one of these meals that graces his tongue, he quickly realizes he’s able to reconnect the living with their loved ones who have since passed.

Truly one of the most unique premises I’ve ever come across. Daria Lavelle was able to showcase something I personally have never seen before when it came to reconnecting someone with the dead. Utilizing her masterful writing, she was able to showcase grief with such a gentle hand and allow the reader to come as close to tasting each meal Kostya manages to cook up as possible.

While there were some moments that dragged on a bit longer than I would have liked, I do know that I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for gifting me a digital ARC of this debut novel by Daria Lavelle. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Konstantin is still haunted by his father's death when he was ten, made worse by the fact that they argued the last time they were together. Food was always important to Kostya and his dad, and since his death, Kostya can taste the favorite foods, down to the specific ingredients, of those who have died. One night, he acts on what he's tasting and everything changes.

Wow - this book is so intriguing and covers so many different genres, from speculative fiction, to horror, to romance, to the paranormal - and of course, food and drink. At its core, though, it is a book about grief and longing, and how food is wrapped up in all that. Who doesn't taste or smell a food and get instantly transported to the past and to a person? Is it a stretch to think that those smells could pass into other worlds as well? I loved the ghost story plot and it will make you think about the dangers of exploring the supernatural. Set in the food scene of NYC, this book is a feast all the way around, and is an amazing debut.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well that was just delightful. I wasn’t sure ghosts and seances and food and professional kitchens would really go well together but the author made it work. The breakdown and naming of the chapters was fun and quirky and intriguing. The only negative I’d say was that the first part felt like it had a much more somber deep tone while the rest of the book got was more playful, not necessarily bad but unexpected. I’m really pleased I got to read this one.

“Food could do that. It could tell stories."

“What would you give ... for one last meal together?”
--
The way I savored every page of this book - and yes pun intended! Truly an AMAZING book! Aftertaste will make you laugh, will have you pouting, will make you think of your loved ones and even make you hungry. It is a reminder of closure, moving on, and letting our loved ones go. Yet, at the same time, it reminds us to appreciate those special memories.

LOVED the NYC setting, fine dining atmosphere, and bar/restaurant mentions. The snippets we get from the afterlife were entertaining. Certainly enjoyed the mouthwatering food writing! The chapter names were on point, most named after a bar or culinary term. And the ending.. perfection.

Add this debut novel to the top of your TBR! I can't wait to read what Daria Lavelle brings next!

A few more quotes.. because this novel was just ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

"To eat was to celebrate .. food was love. It was how the Living coped .. the Dead ate to forget. To let go .. Only a record that they might leave. A recipe .. A way to never really die."

"I love you like salt."

This one as a dark read for sure. I think I wanted something more, it felt kind of trapped between 2 genres. I would have preferred the audio version of this I think

Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle

Summary:
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.

A food story to binge.
A ghost story to devour.
A love story to savor.

Konstantin Duhovny is a haunted man. His father died when he was ten, and ghosts have been hovering around him 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 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.
Review: 3 Stars
While I’d enjoyed the book it was one I could walk away from for weeks, had trouble connecting with the characters and it was the storyline that kept me coming back to this story. The editing was spot on and one of the reason I wanted to finish the book and not do a DNF. To me the emotions weren’t captured those making the characters dry.

Conclusion:
Would I recommend this book to others NO
Would I read other books by this author YES

🍛Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle is a one-of-a-kind book. Its unique blend of loss, love, and grief within a magical realism setting will stay with me for a long time. Our bodies store trauma, they keep the score, and our memories often tie themselves to the visual, to fragrance, to taste.

Kostya has an unusual gift. He can taste ghosts. He begins cooking meals inspired by the dead, offering them to their living loved ones in an attempt to bring closure to both. But while these acts of kindness serve their purpose briefly, the afterlife is not something to be tampered with lightly. Kostya’s choices set off a chain of events that demand the greatest sacrifice of all.🍛

🧁How do I even write about a book like this? I’m still contemplating my own grief and how food has carried my memories, too. Grief is not something we simply move past; it lingers, etched deep within us. The sorrow of Kostya and the others evokes such deep compassion. The author has taken the ingredients of grief, food, and love, and blended them into a tender, unforgettable tapestry called Aftertaste. It might just stay with me forever.🧁

Thank you, Simon and Schuster and Simon books , for this moving read.

Content Warning: This book includes themes of grief, death, and trauma.

Have you ever wished to share one more moment with someone you loved? Someone who left before harsh words could be taken back? I think we all have. Konstantin Duhovny wishes so. Losing his father is hard but losing his mother to her grieving is also hard on him. Until one day he tastes his fathers favorite food and wonders why. He knows that food can connect him to those who passed . Can he make things better with his father? Should he dabble with the supernatural? His friend Maura warns him against it.
This is less of a ghost story and more of a story of loss and love. It's a beautiful read. I imagine this book will stick with me for a long time.

Thank you Simon and Schuster and Simon Audio for review copies.

There is a reason so many people are raving about this book, making claims as a top 2025 read already....it's an impressive feat of storytelling, plot development, magical realism, and engaging and memorable characters.

Aftertaste is a beautifully written debut that surprised me in the best way. Speculative fiction can sometimes feel too abstract or distant for me as a reader, too innovative and not perhaps meghan as a reader friendly, but Daria Lavelle anchors her story in something deeply tangible—food, memory, and longing. She evokes feelings with her story, plays with senses and memory and taste in fascinating ways.
With a vivid New York City backdrop (a favorite setting for me!), quirky yet heartfelt characters, and themes of grief, connection, and the unknown, this novel blends fantasy and emotion with striking storytelling. I found myself particularly drawn to the sensory richness—how taste and memory are so powerfully intertwined. Konstantin is a standout protagonist, and I have to say that the powerfully produced audiobook really made this a standout book for me.

Aftertaste was evocative and interesting. It had a tasty, dark love story with grief and ghosts. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to more by the Author.

We all have a favorite meal that we have shared with someone that is important to us. Something that an Aunt, Uncle, Parent, Grandparent or maybe Best Friend has made for us that instantly brings us back to that moment in time. Sometimes just the smell of it or a taste close to it brings it all flooding back so bittersweet. I wish I could go to my Grandma's get pizza and go to blockbuster to pick out a movie. Go home eat said pizza while sipping a cold Dr. Pepper from her fridge and watch movies until I got to have my icecream bar from the variety pack she kept in the freezer. Or maybe her Award winning Cinnamon Rolls that she never gave anyone the recipe too. Just imagining those things brings her vividly to mind (not that she is ever far from my mind anyhow).How I wish I could see her one more time.

For Kostya those tastes are very real. After the death of his father he begins to taste his fathers favorite meal exactly as his dad liked it cooked. Sometimes he could even taste other meals, things that he has never had in his life that he doesn't even know how it is that he can name every ingredient, and exactly how to make it. One night after a clearly grieving man comes into the bar that Kostya is closing for the night he gets an Aftertaste and instinctually knows exactly what to use and how to make it. When the man begins to consume the beverage something starts to happen. The mans wife appears before him, there to let him know he needs to let her go, she wants to move on and wants him to do the same.

Stunned Kostya begins to wonder exactly what he can do with these Aftertastes and if he can help the ghosts that come to him through taste. Upon meeting a woman named Maura he is warned that he shouldn't be messing with the otherside. Speaking from expierience she warns him that eventually the other side takes notice and things can turn quickly. A hunger that has followed Maura since she died one night and ate food from the Hall of Food in the otherworld then returned to life has haunted her. She hasn't been able to satiate that hunger that is until she meets Kostya. Maybe its his connection to the dead but he makes her feel full.

As she warned him though there are unforseen consequences to these skills of his and the veil has been torn. Now they must find a way to return hungry ghosts to where they belong.

I want to thank #Netgalley for the chance to read #Aftertaste by #DariaLavelle in return for a fair and honest review.

Meet Konstantin "Kostya" Duhovny. Ever since his dad passed away when he was a kid, Kostya's been haunted – not by spooky apparitions, but by tastes. He can taste the favorite foods of the deceased, even if he's never had them before. It's a secret he's kept bottled up for years, but one night, he decides to actually do something about it. He discovers he can reunite people with their lost loved ones for one last meal, prepared by his own hands. Talk about a unique catering service!

This discovery sends Kostya on a wild journey through the high-stakes, often brutal, New York culinary scene. He's trying to master his cooking skills, all while grappling with the emotional weight of bringing spirits back, even temporarily. But as you can imagine, messing with the afterlife isn't exactly simple, and things get complicated pretty fast, especially when he falls for Maura, a party psychic with her own mysterious connection to the other side.

Lavelle's writing is just chef's kiss. The food descriptions are incredibly vivid – seriously, prepare to be hungry while reading this! But it's not just about making your mouth water; the food is deeply tied to memory, emotion, and the profound connections we have with those we've lost. The story is beautifully structured, with chapters that feel like courses in a meal, each one revealing more layers of Kostya's past and the intricate rules of this magical world.

Aftertaste is a slow-burn kind of book, but it's constantly engaging. It dives deep into themes of grief, identity, and the power of memory, all while maintaining a really engaging pace. There are twists and turns you won't see coming, and the emotional impact is definitely there. While some of the afterlife mechanics might require a little extra thought to keep track of, it's a small price to pay for such an original and moving concept.

Overall, Aftertaste is a truly impressive debut. It's a blend of magical realism, romance, and culinary adventure that's both poignant and surprisingly funny at times. If you're looking for a book that's fresh, thought-provoking, and will leave you with a lingering, well... aftertaste, then you should absolutely pick this one up. It's a solid 4-star read that I'd recommend to anyone who loves a story with heart, a touch of the uncanny, and a whole lot of deliciousness.

I absolutely loved this book. The story was so unique, emotional, and provocative. I fell in love with the characters, and also, as a foodie, it inspired me to want to cook and eat.

I've heard a lot of praise for this book, which is fantastic, but it's just not my thing. I'm realizing that if a book doesn't appeal to you, there's no need to finish it. I made it through about 30% before deciding to stop reading.

I'd only heard great things about this book, and wow did it live up to the hype. What a haunting and hypnotic book. Exquisitely written. Heartbreaking throughout. But with a biting satirical look at hip/cool restaurant culture.

Highly recommend.

Quite simply, this multi-faceted, intricately nuanced, spectacularly unique, and utterly gorgeous novel spoke to my soul. It is a highly unusual exploration of grief, forgiveness, love, and moving on. And it felt deeply personal.

Konstantin Duhovny is weighed down with grief. He unexpectedly lost his dad as a child; a time when he was too young to fully understand or process his emotions. He’s haunted by their last conversation which was tinged with anger and disappointment—and is haunted by the feeling that his beloved dad died displeased with him.

Kostya soon discovers that he shares an unlikely connection with the dead. While he can’t speak with them, he can taste flavors of food meaningful to them. These aftertastes were his secret until he unexpectedly recreates an aftertaste and reunites a man with his deceased wife. This propels Kostya into the culinary world with the hopes of giving people the opportunity for one last meal; one final chance to say goodbye.

The rest of the story must be experienced by the reader. It is a brilliant journey, entirely unexpected, and completely satisfying.

I understood Kostya; his regrets and his aching. My dad died when I was 13-years-old and our last conversation was a contentious one over a movie he would not give me permission to see. That’s a heavy burden to carry along with debilitating grief and sorrow. I often wished (still do) for the opportunity to have a different last conversation; for our final words to be ones of love and not teenage angst. Well crafted stories give the reader a chance to lose themselves in the pages and Daria Lavelle certainly provided that for me with this book.

I promise you’ve never read anything quite like AFTERTASTE and you won’t soon forget it once you do.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Aftertaste is a beautifully original debut that blends food, memory, and grief in a way that feels both fresh and deeply human. The story centers on Konstantin, a Ukrainian-American chef with a quiet but uncanny gift—he can taste the favorite meals of the dead. As he cooks for the grieving, offering them a unique kind of closure, he’s also navigating his own losses and emotional wounds.

Lavelle’s writing is elegant and evocative, especially when describing the food—it’s rich with sensory detail but never overwrought. What I loved most was how she uses cooking not just as a plot device, but as a true emotional language. The novel explores how food connects us to memory, family, and love, without ever feeling heavy-handed.

If you enjoy stories with magical realism, culinary themes, and a heartfelt emotional core, Aftertaste is a quiet gem that lingers with you long after the last page.

Recommended for: Fans of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake or Like Water for Chocolate.