AMAZING BOOK! I had to pause reading just because I didn’t want it to end. I’m so excited to finally leave a review for this one! The characters are incredibly rich and the humour is absolutely on point. Daria, you really know how to make us cry, laugh, and fall in love all at once! There’s so much emotional depth packed into this story—and I almost forgot to mention how hungry it made me. The food descriptions were mouthwatering!

If I had one piece of feedback, it would be about the ending. The world-building got a little complex in the final chapters, and it felt like a lot was packed in at once. Still, it didn’t take away from how much I adored this book. Thank you for writing it!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!

This book has been on ALL of the summer "must read" lists! That's no surprise with such a unique story idea. I love the concept of Kostya bringing back a loved one through food, and that not turning out exactly as he envisioned.

However, I felt like there was a lot going on to add to the intensity - maybe too much. I think the book could have been just as compelling with fewer stories (threads?) to follow. I found myself wishing the book was about 50 pages shorter.

Overall though, this was a good read that kept you wondering how things were all going to work out in the end! This is a fun twist on a ghost story.

4.5 stars. Holy cow this is a special book. It deserves all of the hype and I hope it gets it. So many books these days, though they may be sweet and well written, just follow the exact beats you are expecting, this book is just wholly different.
Aftertaste tells the story of Kostya, the child of Ukrainian immigrants, who yearns to be reunited with his dead father. Throughout his early years he experiences these aftertastes, he can taste fully formed meals and flavors that someone else has eaten. By accident he realizes he can summon the ghost of a person’s loved one through these aftertastes. The way he explores his powers and his relationship with a mysterious woman named Maura form the bulk of this story.
Aftertaste is a clever and funny story that explores friendship, love, loss and longing but also a story of rising to your potential and finding a way to use your talents for good.
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an advanced copy of this book.

Wow what a wonderful crazy book! Definitely not my normal read but I absolutely devoured it and left no crumbs behind! This is a must read!

Aftertaste is a ghost story, a love story, and a food story all in one. Kostya can taste the favorite meals of nearby spirits—and soon discovers he can use this gift to reunite the living with their lost loved ones through food. But as he dives into the cutthroat New York culinary scene, his search for purpose stirs up more than just flavor, putting both the living and the dead at risk. I enjoyed this book, different from what I normally read!

Thank you to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster and the author for an e and physical copy!

I was able to receive and eARC thanks to Netgally. On my feed, there were several people who recommended this book! The synopsis had me very intrigued, but I did not expect for there to be so much culinary aspects involved. You could tell the author had done extensive research and it showed through. This was an easy read, I enjoyed.

This book wasn’t anything like I was expecting.
It was kinda sad and depressing. It seems like everyone else really liked it but me.

WOW - such an original concept for a book!! Kostya has the supernatural ability to taste the favorite food of the dead. And with this ability, when he cooks that food, the departed spirit appears, a ghost! He believes that he is able to help both the departed and the living to "move on". He falls in love with Maura who's sister died as a youngster, and he is able to bring forth the sister's spirit. Through the opening of a restaurant, and with the love and help of Maura, Kostya desires to satisfy souls, but he finds that he might have been misdirected.

This book is so fascinating! I've never read any story like it, and was totally immersed in it from page one! It is well written with unusual characters and an odd plot. I didn't love the ending, really hoping for a different outcome, but I suppose it had to end the way it did. It left me with a concern that other readers might try to do the same bizarre thing that Kostya and Maura do - perhaps there should be more warnings regarding that.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Aftertaste.

Did this book just become one of my favorite reads of the year? I think so.

This book is contains so much: atmospheric literary fiction, with beautiful moments of humanity and laugh out loud quips throughout. I found myself completely caught up in the story and truly could not put it down. I loved the very visceral experience of food, along with all of the nods to NYC life, in particular the experience of working in a restaurant in the city. The cast of characters are incredibly well written and each of them contains so much heart.

I truly love stories of grief so much, and I love the multitudes that Lavelle was able to hold within this story. I also loved the Ukrainian cultural story components, and the fact that Lavelle's personal life informed this. I think this book contains so much heart and human experiences, and that many people can relate to it.

One aspect that I truly loved was how Lavelle portrayed the After Life. I found it refreshing to have it purely be spiritual and all of the details around the ghosts were very well written.

I ended the book with tears in my eyes and full of all the feelings. This is one that will absolutely stay with me for a while.

The last thing Kostya says to his father, a ten year old left wanting attention when his dad must tend to responsibilities, is said in anger, bitterly.

How was he to know his grief would be tarnished by this unkindness said to the man he loved most in the world? That it would shape everything to come?

As an adult, Konstantin Duhovny is haunted. Truly, actually haunted. And while he can’t see the ghosts, feel the ghosts, he can taste them on his palate - a dish that was important to them - when in their presence. And if he can recreate that meal, Kostya finds he can reunite loved ones, for the length of the meal, with their beloved departed. A gift he knows so many will want.

So he decides to lean in. He’ll become a chef and help people deal with grief by reconstructing each meal. And maybe see his father one more time.

When Kostya meets Maura, a woman full of her own spirits and secrets and unfulfilled desires, she warns him: nothing good can come from summoning the dead.

Maura, integral to his success, is also integral to his heart.

But as Kostya falls into the cut throat culinary scene in NYC, he loses sight of everything, a man determined to reach the unobtainable.

It’s a story about ambition, loss, and grief, and about all the ways a person can hunger, searching for something to satisfy heart, body, and soul. It’s a love story with many facets.

It’s The Bear with a helping of Ghostbusters and a smidge of Beetlejuice.

What a fantastic and fantastical trek through one man’s singular desire - to speak to his father one last time - that branches off into an adventure, a dark comedy, as seen through the preparation of food.

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonandschuster for the opportunity to read this ARC. This one is out May 20, 2025 and might be one of the books of the summer!

It's a popular question, an icebreaker in classes, an exercise in thought during an interview, a bit of fun with friends: If you could have one last dinner party with anyone alive or dead, who would it be. Daria Lavelle takes this question to a whole new level in Aftertaste.

Main character Konstantin (Kostya) Duhovny lost his father when he was ten. Kostya has been able to taste him ever since. But not just his father, Kostya can taste the meals of many of the ghosts that haunt New York City. When Kostya discovers that he can, with exquisite detail, replicate the meal of a departed loved one, he opens a unique restaurant where during each service, one lucky guest will have a loved one return so that they can share a final meal. As life, and death, would have it, there is a price to be paid for such a gift and Kostya learns the hard way that there are some tastes better left unshared.

Aftertaste is a ghost story, of the lighter shade of dark variety. the humorously snarky antics of Kostya, Maura (they psychic) and Frankie (the best friend), keep the tale of love, loss and the afterlife from from imploding on itself. It is a fun, quirky, mystically unsettling and provocative read that honestly deserves to be a movie (a la Bradley Cooper). Kostya is rude, crude, and often unapologetically unlikeable. Frankie is the upbeat sidekick who sucks the marrow out of life, and Maura is the angsty goth woman with secrets of her own. In a world of fiction where every character has to be likeable or redeemed, Lavelle's characters are unapologetically who they are and she doesn't try to soften them. I happen to like this a lot. The people in this book are sad and shaped by grief and longing. It fits the character of the book.

I recommend the book to anyone who lies a bit of light with their darkness, snark and sass with their grief, and a taste of what the afterlife might e like had Beetlejuice gotten his way.

A young Ukrainian immigrant discovers that he can connect the Dead through food.

Konstantin loses his roots when his parents move to the United States. He loses his family when his father dies and his mother withdraws from everything, leaving the ten-year-old boy to care for her and himself. Kostya is bullied at school, neglected at home, and miserable working soul-destroying jobs as a delivery person and a truck driver. The one thing that brings him any happiness is the taste of his father's favorite liver and onions which fills his mouth as a fleeting Aftertaste when he feels most bereft. While working as a dishwasher at a bar he accidentally learns that preparing and serving the cocktail he tastes to a grieving widower brings the man's dead wife back for a brief visit. Soon, Kostya realizes that he can produce the same miracle when he recreates the Aftertaste of whatever food or beverage the spirit of a dead person gives him. This realization leads him to become a chef who sees his mission in life as bringing comfort to the bereaved. He will learn that his gift comes with a terrible price.

Aftertaste might be one of the most imaginative and well-written books I have ever read. While it took me a couple of chapters to see Kostya as anything more than a sad boy, I soon became enthralled with his story.

Don't read Aftertaste if you're starting a diet - the luminous descriptions of everything from a snack of foreign street food to a goumet meal to a simple peanut butter cup will make you drool! The characters - Kostya, his friend, Frankie, and his beloved Maura - grabbed hold of my attention and wouldn't let go. Some parts almost made me cry. Others made me hungry!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for grnting me access to a free advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Tried something very out of my norm but just didn’t work for me. I did love the way the author wrote about and describes food and flavors. The perfect book for any foodies who also love fantasy/sci-fi/magical realism!

Thank you netgalley for my eArc!

I loved the premise of this novel, the writing style, and the descriptions that made the dishes come to life. There were bittersweet moments throughout the narrative that weaved together the power of grief, memory, and love in such a beautiful way. You could imagine yourself as one of the diners longing to connect with a loved one because that desire is universally felt. The last part felt a bit rushed (everything involving DUH’s opening night), but I still found the novel enjoyable overall. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Aftertaste is a book you experience! It was truly unlike any book I’ve read before. A unique concept that was carried out so well and the ending was shocking and redemptive. Thank you to @simonaudio for my gifted ALC. The audio was done so well, I couldn’t stop listening. The book is so beautifully written and just got optioned for a film! I think it would translate so well on the big screen! I loved the setting of New York City and the characters were so likable! I loved how she associated food with memories, because there are so many things that take me back to my childhood or a certain memory! Congratulations to Daria on such huge success with her debut! Can’t wait to see more from this author!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.5. Thanks to NetGalley and the author for an ARC. I really liked the premise of this story and actually thought it was so different and original than anything I have read. I just didn’t love how detailed and long the descriptions of all the food and recipes were. I found myself losing interest during these parts but wanted to keep reading because I was invested in the story and what was going to happen. Some mixed feelings about this, didn’t love or hate it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted copy of this novel!

For starters, I’ll say that I went into this one pretty blind, only having a short conversation with a friend about the blurb that seemed interesting. Although it’s not my usual read, I knew almost immediately that this is one of those stories that is going to stay with me for a long time to come. The writing was masterfully done, and I could almost taste all of the delicious dishes depicted by our narrator. This novel also touches on deeper topics such as grief, and honors them. I thought all of the characters were well-developed, as well as the backdrop where I could almost picture myself alongside the MCs. I read most of this one in a day, and didn’t have any concerns with the pacing. Ultimately, I highly recommend this incredibly impactful story, even if it’s not something you would typically read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Aftertaste follows Konstantin "Kostya" Duhovny, whose ability to taste a ghost's favorite food allows him to temporarily summon them for a reunion with their loved ones.

This turned out to be a much more interesting book than I thought it would be. It toed a line between cozy and stressful that few books I've read have ever toed, and I loved the engaging and bittersweet way it ended. Kostya wasn't the funnest main character to read from -- as the reader, we start learning of the consequences of his actions far longer than he does -- but I think all my issues with him were resolved in the way his character arc ultimately resolved. Besides that, I liked how this book dealt with grief. There was sentiment, but it wasn't overly sentimental, and it was nuanced and felt deeply realistic. I think this is a book much more for speculative readers than anything else, and it's a read I'll be thinking about for quite some time.

Imagine having the ability to reunite mourning individuals with deceased family members, always over a shared meal that serves as the catalyst for the supernatural encounter.

That's the premise of AFTERTASTE, a hearty blend of romance and urban fantasy that takes place within the world of upscale restaurants and cuisine. This features characters to care about and share their ups and downs wholeheartedly.

There are a few novels that I find it difficult to do justice to within a review, not because it's hard to describe but because I'd rather not spoil the experience and the discovery of the wonders within this story. In every situation, those are the novels that deeply touched me and evoked numerous sentiments both sad and joyful. AFTERTASTE joins that small company within my favorite reads, among the books that I want to share so much that I end up buying copies for friends.

This is a great debut novel, not flawless but really close to it. Daria Lavelle knows how to immerse readers into her romantasy world and touch their hearts. I'm grateful to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing an advanced digital review copy.

Unique, thought provoking and haunting. Aftertaste tip toes between many genres such as horror, romance, the supernatural, and fantasy. What if you could eat one final meal with someone who has passed away? What would you eat? This is an interesting concept. What if you could eat one meal and have a unique experience? Would you, do it? Food is so many things to people. It is nourishment, it provides a culinary pleasure. People turn to food out of boredom, to ease heartache, to celebrate, to show love. Who hasn't tasted something, and it takes you back almost like music does to another time in your life? The scents, the flavors, the aroma, the texture, etc. are all so important when enjoying a meal.

Konstantin Duhovny has been haunted by ghosts since he was a child. He can't see them, but he can taste their favorite foods, flavors, and aromas. As an adult, he decides to do something about the Aftertaste that he experiences. He sets about to reunite loved ones with the deceased people that they loved.

This was such a unique book, and I have been all over my place with my rating for this. I loved the originality and uniqueness of this book. I enjoyed the focus on food, love, loss, grief, and longing. The writing was interesting and the descriptions of food many have you wanting to eat out or at least find your way to your own kitchen.


As I mentioned this book gives food for thought. Should the bridge between the living and the dead be traveled so to speak? What happens when you do just that?