Originality is rare, but Aftertaste delivers it in spades.

In a world where most stories borrow pieces from others, Aftertaste stands out as something entirely fresh and unexpected. I was genuinely blown away. This is Daria Lavelle’s debut and what a debut it is!

She’s crafted a genre-blending, emotionally rich, and wildly original tale that’s unlike anything I’ve read in a long time. The story centers around Kostya, a man with a haunting and beautiful gift: he can summon spirits through the lingering aftertaste they send him. He recreates the dish, serves it to someone they loved, and (just like that) they appear.

This book made me laugh and cry in the same sentence. I was fully immersed in the kitchen, at the table, tasting every bite.

It’s part paranormal, part romance, part mystery, and wholly about love, grief, and the memories we tie to food. Lavelle explores how a single bite can bring back a person, a moment, a lifetime.
Aftertaste is stunning. A story of life and death, flavor and feeling. Beautifully written and deeply moving.

Congratulations to Daria Lavelle on an unforgettable debut. Thank you so much to @simonbooks #simonbooksbuddy for the free book. It will be adored on my shelf.

There’s an interesting venn diagram of some of my recent reads, this one falling into “afterlife” and “taste/hunger” overlap.

I don’t think anyone can deny that food can bring about important memories. Meals are one of the most universal parts of family and community. From weeknight family dinners to church fish fries. From summer carnivals to wedding receptions. From “girl dinner” to neighborhood potlucks.

Aftertaste is a unique spec-fiction where Kostya is able to perfectly recreate dishes tied to memories shared between someone and their deceased loved one to the point of bringing back the ghost of the deceased.

It is a somber reminder of our loved ones and the, often, imperfect memories we share. It encourages reflection on how we hold onto those we have lost, even to the point of our own destruction.

What a unique read! Aftertaste, which has apparently already been optioned by Sony, is a story about food and ghosts, grief and letting go. The protagonist, Konstantin, is haunted by his father's death when he was a boy. Ever since then, he has been haunted by the flavors and tastes of ghosts. It takes him a long time to figure out his life and how to use his unique supernatural gift, which consists of uniting a loved one with the ghost of the person they most miss by cooking their favorite meal. (Yes, this is convoluted to write about but is a little clearer in the novel!) Konstantin was not the most likable of characters, and the love story in the book was too much tell and not enough show, and a little cheesier than I can get behind. That being said, I was riveted throughout the book and I thought the ending was especially well done. Thank you to Simon & Schuster for a digital review copy.

4.25 stars - Ever since his father's death, Konstantin Duhovny has been able to taste the dead - their favorite foods to be exact. For years he kept these ghost flavors - these aftertastes - a secret, but one night, one drink, changes everything. Konstantin discovers that as long as people are eating their loved one's favorite dish, a dish he alone can prepare, they can be reunited for one last meal.

First of all, the descriptions in this book were gorgeous and exactly what you'd expect, and need, for a book about food. Lavelle does a wonderful job of bringing the reader into the world of professional chefs, but through the eyes of someone who started on that path later in life and completely fell in love with all it had to offer. Konstantin was such an interesting character, flawed and scarred and still so easy to root for. I loved him and the found family he surrounded himself with. The relationships between the characters added so much soul to the story, fleshing out an intriguing concept into something magical and a tiny bit heartbreaking. Finally I adored the New York City setting. The city that never sleeps was truly the perfect place to bring this book to life. There's just something otherworldly about somewhere so filled to the brim with people, memories, and *life.*

Whether you're a foodie, a lover of magical realism, or simply a reader looking for a new world to escape to for a bit, I recommend giving AFTERTASTE a go. It's a beautiful story of love and loss and absolutely left me hungry for more from Daria Lavelle.

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

I absolutely loved this book! I would give it six stars if I could. I was crying big tears with full goosebumps by page 43! This is a 320-something page book, and I was having that reaction at page 43. This was one of those books that I couldn't wait to get back home to pick back up. I loved it and think everyone should read it. So beautiful and original. I have never read anything like this before.

Thank you to Simon Books and Daria Lavelle for my advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Aftertaste

This is probably going down as one of my FAVOURITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR! I’m putting this right at the start, so that if you check out early and don’t make it to the end here, you read this much: this book is like nothing else I’ve read before, such a fresh, cool, ORIGINAL concept. I laughed, I cried, I drooooooled over the visceral food descriptions … and this a debut!?! If I could rate this more than 5 stars, I would.

A friend put this on my radar late last year when they called it one of their top reads of the year, and the blurb spoke to me, so imagine my excitement when the publisher was generous enough to gift me an early copy. I like to pretend to be an amateur foodie, and this book spoke to my food-loving soul. The passionate way the author describes cuisine, the way she describes Kostya’s dishes… this is a book that will make you Hungry too. I absolutely loved the way she equates food to memory, to times of our lives. I think EVERYONE needs to know this book.

I'm still debating on how to classify this one - as it dipped into horror, romance and some fantasy as well as culinary/food culture. Unfortunately, despite the unique premise I don't think it went far enough into any of them to be truly satisfying. I didn't love the romance between Kostya and Maura, but there were still aspects of this I enjoyed - specifically the initial concept of sharing a meal with the ghost of someone special and the recognition of how food and dining play such a meaningful role in our lives and memories.

4.25 (posting a review tomorrow on bookstagram)

4.25⭐️

Thank you Simon Schuster for a copy of this eARC and physical ARC.

The best way to describe this book is that I’m hungry and depressed. Reading the synopsis, I knew I was bound to shed a tear or two. After reading the first few chapters, I wanted to call my dad and give him a hug. The trauma 😭✋🏼

I know it was early in the book, but that part was written so well. Daria wrote about the experience of immigrating to a new country so well, all the way down to being judged and bullied for having different foods for lunch at school, silently wishing you had a hamburger like everyone else. Now, I’d kill for a bowl of sinigang and would not care if my classmates made fun of me for its “stinky smell”. And the fight Kotsya and his dad had with each other before he died? TRAUMA. I’m having flashbacks 😭

I will have to say that for some, the writing style may be at a slower pace. I know I found myself at times wanting it to pick up a bit more or the interchanging timelines to be confusing. Once you get the part where Kotsya begins training as a sous chef, or even when he makes the first man a Spectral Sour, it really takes off.

Beautifully written. Thank you for allowing me to read this!

Aftertaste is a beautifully written book, one of love, loss, grief, and what it is to finally find closure. I love how it is written in such a creative way, incorporating food and spirits. At first, the book was off to a rocky start. I could not see how food and its aftertaste could mesh with seeing spirits and bringing back the dead. But as I continued reading, I became intrigued. This is such a unique concept, and the way it is written, it becomes more and more beautiful with every page. By the end, I found myself in tears. I would highly recommend to anyone wanting a great read!
Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Daria Lavelle for this ARC. It's an outstanding debut, and I am looking forward to Lavelle's future works of art!

Aftertaste is a rich, inventive debut about a chef who can taste the favorite foods of the dead—and serve comfort to the living. With sharp writing, emotional depth, and a dash of the supernatural, Daria Lavelle serves up a story that’s equal parts heartwarming and haunting.

I was so excited to read this book. Between the fascinating and unique synopsis and all the hype I've seen, I was ready to be deeply immersed in this book. While the book absolutely kept my interest and attention, it really wasn't what I was expecting from the synopsis. For whatever reason, I expected a beautiful, poignant, heartwarming read. I expected really emotional scenes between the living and their deceased loved ones. I expected to be moved to tears and to have a lot of big feelings when reading this.
Unfortunately, my expectations were all wrong and unmet. It's not fair to blame the book for that; I misinterpreted what the book would be. But I still feel it's important to share my review for anyone else who might be expecting the same thing.
While there were a few short scenes that gave that warm feeling I was looking for, that was such a small percentage of the book. I loved the concept of the "aftertastes" and how the main character used those aftertastes to give the living a chance to have one last visit with someone they had lost. However, the book took a really dark turn that I didn't love. At times it was a bit confusing to me, and there were plot points that felt totally unnecessary to me (the gangster restaurant owner, for one).
The kitchen scenes, with all their intensity and fancy cuisine, did remind me of watching The Bear. However, I found myself getting bored with the detailed food descriptions at times. I understood and enjoyed the breakdown of the aftertastes, but I could've done without things like the extensive and detailed list of all the spices the main character had to acquire. That's just one example, but there were several times the food descriptions got so detailed that I found myself skipping paragraphs without it having any bearing on the plot.

I know this review makes it sound like I didn't like the book at all, but that's not the case. I do wish I had gone into it without incorrect expectations, because perhaps I would've responded to it differently. But even with the things I didn't love, I did still care enough about the story to see where it led, and I did care about the characters. I would still recommend this to others, but would also want them to know that rather than a beautiful, poignant magical realism story, it's more of a genre-bending magical realism-paranormal-light horror story.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was a book that I know is going to stick with me and will be one that I recommend to everyone! It's unique and sucked me right in. A foodie, ghost book that deals with grief and memories through the meals tied to them. I loved the perception of the afterlife created in the story. You also get a glimpse into the cutthroat world of kitchens (fans of the TV show The Bear would like this book). Read it!

Enjoyable read! This story had all the feels for me. The ending had me in tears.

Konstantin Duhovny, or Kostya, lost his father was he was just a kid. He has grieved him every since. He's been wandering aimlessly through his life trying to find his place in it. His taste buds have been haunted by ghosts ever since, he can taste their favorite meals. Flavors he's never tasted before just burst over his tongue. That's how he knows that a ghost is present.

When he figures out that he can reunite a loved one with a ghost to get closure, it becomes his mission. It brings him joy to see people get closure. But the ghosts he brought back were now tethered to him instead.

When he meets Maura, who's sister had died, she figures out too late what she pushed him into. Now they must fix what happened on the other side of the veil before it's too late.

*I received a complimentary copy of this ARC via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Just like when a good meal can evoke emotions and memories of the past, when a book makes me feel anything, especially when I cry multiple times reading a book, I am going to love it.

And this book is a masterpiece in that sense. I love the normal idea of food evoking memories of loved ones and both good and negative things from the past. But Lavelle took that concept and ramped it up to 11 with the paranormal and allowing for people to get closure with their loved ones and set them free to the afterlife. The execution of this concept and the twist that throws it on its head are phenomenal.

There’s a part where a character is asked just how much they would pay for the chance to see their loved one that they lost again and that resonated. I would give quite a bit for the opportunity to see my grandma again and if that opportunity came in the form of a delicious meal, you bet I would pay whatever it takes.

On top of all of this there is a beautiful love story that also contains its own twists and turns, ups and downs and sex so good that one of them may just die a little. The ending of this left me shattered and broken, just like the barrier between to the afterlife and as I was picking up the pieces of me that were scattered about, I found so much beauty in the way this story was told, in the way that Lavelle wrapped it all up. I reread the ending before writing this and I am in tears again. I wish I did not wait so long to pick up this ARC. I would have been screaming about this one for months.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @simonbooks for the ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved the idea of this book. A chef who tastes a spirit’s most meaningful meal and then can cook it and when the spirit’s loved one eats it, the spirit will be able to cross the veil and talk to their loved one.

Unfortunately, the book fell a little flat for me. It was trying to be romance and paranormal/horror, but for me, it didn’t really hit either properly. The romance between Konstantin and Maura felt like insta-love. There wasn’t enough development of it on the actual page. I really liked the world of ghosts when it was first introduced in the story, but I kept waiting to understand it more, but as more was explained, I just got more confused (this may have just been a me problem).

The other thing that wasn’t for me in this book was the ending. I knew the book would deal a lot with grief so I was expecting parts of it to be sad, but I was hoping for a happy ending and for me the book didn’t deliver on that. In my opinion it was more a bittersweet ending.

I did love the cooking aspect of the book and all the different recipes that were talked about. I also thought Konstantin was a strong character and I enjoyed reading about him.

THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD. Easily one of my favorite things I’ve read this year. Here are five things I loved about this 5 star read:

The premise is so unique. It borders on kind of ridiculous at times but is so well balanced that it feels real and believable.

I fell in love with every single character in this book. They are very well developed and complex, and I couldn’t help but root for all of them and care deeply about what was happening to them.

The writing, especially about grief, is incredibly profound and moving. I cried several times. Also the descriptions of food were so vivid and made me so hungry that I basically became a hangry ghost myself

The pacing and way the story was divided allowed me to fly through this. I couldn’t put it down! It was so easy to read this in one sitting.

That ENDING. Oh my god. It GUTTED me. It’s EXQUISITE.

Aftertaste comes out 5/20 and is sure to be at the top of many end of the year reading lists. Don’t miss out!

Thank you to Simon Schuster and Netgalley for this ARC!

This is genuinely one of the best books I have ever read! I am so so thankful to have received an arc. The entire premise was just so unique and creative and the writing was perfectly executed. Konstantin’s beautiful unique story gave such a fresh perspective on love, loss & dealing with grief. I felt every single emotion while reading this. This is genuinely now one of my favorite books and I will never stop recommending it. What an amazing debut novel from Lavelle!!!

I absolutely loved the magical realism premise of this: a man can connect with the dead by tasting their favorite meal. The descriptions of different foods is truly mouth-watering, and these characters all felt fully fleshed out. However, at the end of the book, I felt like I couldn't give this five stars. First, it felt like there were multiple plot points that didn't really serve the overall storytelling (and which led to the book being slightly too long), and then there was the ending. The ending leaned way too far into fantasy for me. Magical realism always has to have a strong foundation in real life; we believe these things are possible because they happen in a grounded, realistic way. By going full supernatural for the ending, I felt let down by the time I reached the conclusion of this book. I'm still giving it four stars because it kept me captivated, but I'm disappointed that this one wasn't a slam dunk for me.

This book was probably one of the most unique reads of the year. The book focuses on a chef who has the ability to “taste” a passed souls favorite meal and when he cooks it he’s able to bring them back to gain closure. The chef himself is still holding on to his father, who died in an accident after a fight and he sees his abilities as a way to find closure himself.

I loved the characters, especially Frankie and Maura, as well as the whole concept of this book. And the ending… so well done without it being predictable.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

If you’re looking for an insanely bizarre read that will make you question the afterlife, feel some things, and make you hungry, this ones for you 🙌🏼 This was by far one of the most unique plots I’ve come across in a while and I loved watching Konstantin test the limits of his talents and gifts.

⚡️ 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝:
- the dark humor
- the kitchen scenes - it reminded me of The Bear, and if you’re a fan of the show, you’d like Aftertaste

⚡️ 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞:
- it felt a little long winded in some parts and the overly drawn out food descriptions lost me at times (AND I LOVE FOOD)
- non-MC perspective it switched to regularly confused me because the narrator wasn’t clear
- Maura

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this advanced copy!