Wow. What a cool story. Short, easy, synopsis. No spoilers.

Ever since he was a little child, Kostya can taste the favorite foods of the ghosts that are around him. He then takes on the trial of trying to create this dish. Maybe it's a little bit burnt, maybe is rich with peanut butter, etc. As he creates these ghosts favorite dishes, things start to change.

Okay, I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up this book, and I have to say that I ended it and was reminded why I love to read! What a cool story. The love of food and flavors, a dark comedy, and even the meaning of life were all explored in this book.

I think readers are really going to fall for this unique book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the gifted e-ARC of this book.

Warning: you will be hungry while reading this book!

I really enjoyed the concept of this one! Konstantin (Kostya, Stan) is able to connect with the dead by recreating their favorite meal for a loved one (Aftertaste). He helps to help settle unfinished business or questions about their death while also searching for answers of his own.

The book left me wanting more from the characters. They just weren’t easy to connect with and lacked some depth. The entire middle of the book felt like the same thing being relived over and over.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley & Simon & Schuster for the arc!

**3.75 stars** This was quite an interesting combination of grief and magical realism–I loved it!

We follow Konstantin Duhovny (Kotsya) who is haunted by many ghosts–both family and strangers– and has a unique ability to taste the ghosts’ favorite food. After one particular haunting and experiencing the ghost’s aftertaste, he decides to cook what he’s tasting and discovers he’s able to see the ghosts as long as he’s continuously eating the food. Thus begins his journey of becoming a renowned chef that reunites people with their deceased loved ones. But of course, dealing with the afterlife doesn’t come without its list of challenges. What do these many reunions cost–at whose expense?

I absolutely loved the premise. As a visual reader, I can literally taste this book. It was incredibly immersive. I loved how the author weaves in the grueling restaurant industry and ties it seamlessly with Kostya’s ability. It just works so well. The responsibility of holding such a powerful gift—being able to reunite the living with the dead—comes with the need to be mindful of its consequences. There’s a delicate balance between life and death, and the story explores that in such a deep and thought-provoking way. It offered a different, fresh perspective on grief, and it was beautifully written.

Although the writing is absolutely stunning, some parts of the story dragged slightly but that didn’t take away the emotional impact or the heartfelt connection between Kostya and his love interest. Reading Kostya’s journey of grief and resilience is so inspiring, if you loved watching “The Bear”, you will absolutely love this book!

How do I describe this book? For someone who works with words for a living, I’m almost at a loss. By the end of this book, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. This one is not the type I would normally pick up, but it was incredible. I’ve never read a book that made me feel so much. One that utilized all five senses in such an ineffable way. I could taste the food, hear the sizzle of it cooking, I could smell it, I could feel it, I could picture every little nuance like a movie in my head. For all of you MFA professors out there, this is the book you want your students to read when you’re trying to teach them how to use setting and world building and emotion to create a fully immersive reading experience.

This story is about grief and how we deal with it, but it also incorporates something a little different. It explores the question of how grief affects the ones we’ve lost too. There are some really heavy themes in this one, but they aren’t overused or some caricature of stock emotions. It’s real and it’s beautiful and it’s sad and it’s happy and it rips your insides out so you can see them. And yes, this story did give me an aftertaste. Mine isn’t for someone who has passed on, but they may as well have. Macaroni and cheese with shredded cheese flamed on top, fresh crawfish, minimally spicy, mint chip ice cream pizookie.

There was only one thing that really bothered me, and that was the scene in the tattoo studio. As the owner of a studio that has been around for 26 years, I can tell you that everything about it was wrong. First, we don’t tell our clients to use Vaseline. Please, for the love of god, don’t use petroleum products on your tattoos! It keeps air from getting to the tattoo, which keeps it from healing. It also harbors bacteria. Also, we don’t say, “Lots of lube.” No, no, no. Never. Use an unscented, non-greasy lotion and rub it in all the way. If it’s shiny, you have too much on. Also, ink reactions don’t happen like that. They’re incredibly rare, especially with the new ink formulations, which most studios use. On the rare occasion that a person does have a reaction, it doesn’t happen instantly, and NEVER like what was described. I’ve literally never seen anything like what happened in that scene. I hope that part gets edited before publication!

Other than the tattoo studio scene, this is truly one of the best novels I’ve ever read. I’m genuinely shocked that this is a debut novel. I chose it originally because I thought it might be a good comp, but now, I’m a little embarrassed at my own audacity. To compare my work to this would be like placing myself in a pedestal that I didn’t earn. I hope to write as beautifully as this one day. Daria, you have a lifetime fan in me.

Huge thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

WOW! I have never read anything like this ever before! This was such an interesting book. I loved the descriptions of food and cooking. I would have liked a little more meat to some of the characters. I know I will be thinking about this book for awhile.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with the ARC!

This is such a different book, I’m sure you’ll hear a lot about it. The main premise is that a young chef, Kostya, can taste ghosts — well, when the spirits are nearby, he can sense them via the aftertaste of a favorite or meaningful meal. And if he replicates that meal for a surviving loved one, the undead person will manifest while the meal is being consumed to possibly give closure. It’s not a horror story — the ghosts are mild-mannered and sentimental ghosts.

Kostya actually learns a name for his supernatural taste, clairgustance. The book is also a vivid look at the kitchens of the New York City restaurant scene, a foodie’s delight of multicultural dishes and spices, as well as foodie extremism: blowfish, ambergris and ortolan (all Google-worthy).

The plot stumbles a bit when Kostya tries too hard to make money off his ability with a ghost kitchen and when, as in many fantasies, the various world-building “rules” of summoning the undead are revealed. What triggers his aftertaste; what memories do the living have; was it a shared meal or the best experience? Once the meal,is shared, does the ghost move on?

Two first person POVs interrupt the narrative: There’s an initial tour-guide type narrator (“The Konstantin Duhovny Culinary Experience”) whose geographic NYC itinerary informs us that Kostya must have become some sort of famous. There’s also another italicized POV from the “Food Hall” who explains “the rules” — why some spirits linger through hunger and how appropriate the portmanteau “hangry” is. As much as Kostya is trying to find ghosts, the ghosts are also trying to find their version of an aftertaste.

I wanted to love this Flavors of the Dead story more, but Kostya is always a vert sad character who feels he must choose between exploring his talent or eventually pursuing a lover who wants him to stop. And, with most ghost stories, a lot of grief is written across the pages. I just felt unbalanced at times and couldn’t decide if I should finish or not (I did eventually). Anyway, for originality and the emotional mastery, 4 stars.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO No green eyes, but some greenish ghosts (also lilac and scarlet ones).
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Smell is also an exaggerated sense in this novel and the scent of flowers is also deeply experienced.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

This was one of my most anticipated books and I fear I built it up too much. I loved all the descriptions of food, the themes of grief, and the supernatural element but it seemed like the author was trying to do too much. The first 30% was awesome, the middle started to lose my interest, and the last 10% was just silly. I’m glad I read it but I was also glad to finish it.

Daria Lavelle's "Aftertaste" serves up a literary experience that defies conventional categorization—a ghost story told through taste buds, where the dead communicate not through whispers but through flavors. The prose lingers on your palate long after you've turned the final page, a sensory haunting that perfectly mirrors the novel's premise.

Lavelle's genius lies in her ability to transform taste into a narrative bridge between worlds. When Kostya tastes foods he's never eaten—signaling a spirit's presence—the descriptions are so vivid you'll swear your own mouth fills with phantom flavors. This synesthetic approach turns reading into a full-bodied experience, making the supernatural feel tantalizingly possible.

The novel's exploration of grief feels both achingly familiar and startlingly fresh. That universal yearning for one more conversation, one chance to set things right—Lavelle distills these emotions into something you can almost taste, bitter and sweet simultaneously. The narrative simmers with unexpected depth as it examines how we process loss and what true closure might actually require.

Kostya himself emerges as a beautifully flawed protagonist. His culinary gift—allowing the bereaved to commune with their dead while sharing a meal he's prepared—becomes a perfect metaphor for his emotional evolution. His desire to help others despite his own unresolved grief creates a character I couldn't help but root for, even as his actions verge on self-destruction.

What makes "Aftertaste" so distinctive is how it transforms the ghost story into something profoundly human. It's not about fear but connection—how the dead linger in our senses, memories, and the meals we share. Be warned: don't read this hungry, but do read it with your heart wide open.

I recommend the audiobook narrated by Ari Fliakos, Tessa Albertson, Andre Santana, and Kristen Sieh. Their full-cast performance breathes life into Lavelle's characters—particularly how Fliakos captures Kostya's emotional complexity through subtle vocal shifts. The narrators' delivery of the taste descriptions is so vivid you can almost sense the flavors yourself, making the listening experience utterly immersive from start to finish

Thank you, Simon & Schuster, Simon Audio, and NetGalley, for my free books for review.

My thanks to the NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

I am not sure how I feel about this book. Kostya brings people back from the dead, usually only once, so that those left behind can have closure for things left unsaid. But many of the dead become uneasy and want more from the here and now. Can he fix that? Possibly, with the help of his girlfriend, and his dead best friend.

I loved the story, but it just became a bit too unbelievable for me. That is the point of this book, though, to suspend belief. So, the fault is with me, not the book.

The descriptions of food and spices and cooking were beautiful and I could taste them all.

i loved this story! it was so unique and fun. What if you could have another meal with a passed loved one? I read this quick and enjoyed every second of it. Thank you NetGalley and Simon Schuster for this ARC!

I don’t really know how to properly write a review for a book like this, because anything I write pales in comparison to the skill used in this book to convey its message. This was honestly some of the best writing I have come across in a long time. The way in which Lavelle describes the food, not just the taste but the full sensation, it brings it to life in a way that is unbelievable. Truly, the food descriptions alone made this a 5 star read for me because they were THAT GOOD.

On top of that, though, we have a cast of relatable, fun and lovable characters. We get to see Kostya as a child whose family has immigrated from Ukraine, who then loses his father and cannot reconcile himself with the grief and guilt around that. Having lost a parent at a young age myself, all of this felt very true to life and struck home.

As Kostya tries to become an adult and find himself, he builds relationships, first with Frankie, who is incredibly charismatic and full of humor, and then with Maura, with whom Kostya experiences a deep love. The banter between Kostya and Maura in particular was witty and entertaining, and the depth of their relationship was beautiful.

Again, I would have been happy just reading endless descriptions of delicious food, but Lavelle skillfully delves into how our relationships with foods is tied to our relationships to people. As she states, “Food could do that. It could tell stories. Not just cuisines or component parts, but histories—of the people who’d prepared the dishes, the way they evolved them over time, the way they made them theirs. Leaving behind a recipe was a way to be remembered and savored and loved even after you were gone. A way to live forever.” This truly sums up the premise of the book and strikes so true to the human experience, especially when it comes to the loss of a loved one.

Without giving spoilers, I gotta say that the ending wrecked me. I understand why Lavelle did it this way, but man, I also resent it just a bit. Alas, it was a fitting end, if not the most satisfying for a hopeless romantic like me that always longs for a simple happy ending.

I have to end with one last quote that really rang true: “The Living, after all, ate mostly to remember. They marked their lives in food… To eat was to celebrate. Food was living, after all; food was love. It was how the Living coped. How they kept going. Shorthand for their entire lives.”

Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and Daria Lavelle for the advanced copy for review.

A literary feast for the soul.

Daria Lavelle’s Aftertaste is a richly imagined, genre-bending debut that simmers with grief, memory, and the strange magic of food.

When a young chef discovers he can taste the final meals of the dead, he embarks on a haunting journey of healing, legacy, and love. With prose as immersive as the scent of something slow-cooked and familiar, Lavelle explores how food becomes a language of loss and longing—how a single bite can bridge worlds, reopen wounds, or offer closure.

Emotionally resonant, deeply original, and unforgettable, Aftertaste lingers like a memory you can taste.


Thank you to Daria Lavelle and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!

This was a fun one!
AFTERTASTE is an original story about love and grief colliding.
Konstantin loses his father at a young age and drifts aimlessly until he stumbles into a professional kitchen and the girl of his dreams. Along the way, he discovers the flavors he’s tasted his whole life might be messages from the dead.
I really enjoyed the NYC restaurant setting. The restaurant and food descriptions make the story fun and engaging. The characters are likable and I was invested in their grief and how they dealt with it.
I look forward to more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with a eARC.

I didn't know what to expect going into this read. The description of this most definitely peaked my interest!
Basic question, if you were giving the opportunity to have one last meal with someone who died, especially a loved one, would you? Most of us would...so this book inadvertently does just that! It combines grief, love and food together...something that we as humans do at funerals. I loved the synopsis of this, though unfortunately this book has an extremely slow start. It follows Kostya (of Ukrainian descent) through his own journey of grief as he lost his father. During his childhood he developed the ability to taste dishes from the dead that were in his proximity. Throughout the years he kept it to himself and decided to be creative with his abilities.
This book touches on so many aspects of a person's grief process and the emotions behind it. Aftertaste has several references to Ukrainian dishes and other dishes and since this is heavily culinary based, someone with a passion for food/cooking would highly enjoy this. There isn't much of a horror/sci-fi nor fantasy aspect but more so ghostly appearances from time to time. I was hoping to have an equal amount of fantasy/scifi, culinary and love. The connection between Kostya and Maura could've been written in better instead of him seeming like an obsessive stalker and her some weird psychic. I did enjoy the bits of twists and turns that this book gave! But towards the end it definitely became a beautiful story.
Overall I give this 4.1 stars as it was lackluster in the beginning but ended up on a beautiful high note.

I picked up Aftertaste because the premise really caught my attention—it sounded intriguing, and I was curious to see where it would go. Honestly, I didn’t have many expectations going in, but what I got completely blew me away.

This book is an emotional rollercoaster. It’s raw, heartbreaking, and full of moments that genuinely hit hard. There were points where I had to stop reading just to sit with what had happened—it got under my skin in the best way. The twists, the tension, the depth of emotion... it was all so well done.

What surprised me most was how beautifully written it is. The characters feel so real—flawed, complex, and easy to connect with. The story balances pain and beauty in a way that’s rare to find. It’s touching without being overly sentimental, and the emotional moments feel earned, not forced.

Aftertaste is the kind of book that stays with you. It’s not just a good story—it makes you feel something deeply. The ending was bittersweet. I didn’t expect it to have this kind of impact, but I’m so glad I read it.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing an advanced review copy of this book via NetGalley.

This was an DNF for me at 70%. Frankly, I was just bored. Aftertaste’s basic concept is intriguing, and the novel is full of wonder. It’s a love song to those we’ve lost, and how missing them has altered the course of our lives. It’s a beautiful notion. But, the book was a bit haphazard and there were times when I felt lost (not in a good way).

The switch between the living and the dead wasn’t as smooth as it could have been. The Food Hall was confusing and a bit of wasted space. I understood all the references to death and food to drive the story, but it didn’t work, and felt cloying sometimes. Like I was being beat over the head with the idea.

Kostya was so naive, but it worked for the concept. He is fully realized as a character and the story and people orbited around him well. Maura was my least favorite in the ensemble. She felt like half a person for the first 30% of her time in the novel. Even Viktor was more well rounded , and he took up much less space in the book. Frankie, while over the top, was entertaining. Everleigh was only a minor player, but I didn’t care about her at all.

Overall, not my favorite book but not complete trash either. There was definitely the bones of a great story, from what I read, but there were extraneous aspects and the writing felt forced. It was definitely unnecessarily long as well.

As a side note, whomever did the cover art nailed it. It is absolutely beautiful, and so fitting for the story. Bravo!

What I Loved:
As a foodie, a person with Ukrainian ancestry + a fan of fantasy realism, I loved this book. I haven’t ever encountered a premise quite like it; if you are a fan of “The Bear” or “Under the Whispering Door”, this book is right up your alley, too! Whether it was the vivid prose, the eloquent language, or dynamic character interactions (all three of them for me), I was immediately engrossed with this story from the first page. The themes of grief and loss are both particular prevalent throughout the story, and this exploration was craftfully executed. Anyone who has experienced either of these sentiment will find themselves within the pages of this book. The ending was not one that I found to be completely predictable or expected, and I appreciated that a lot!

What I Didn’t Love:
If I have any criticisms to offer, it would only be that the alternating writing styles between chapters was a bit jarring and difficult to keep up with, though that might very well just be a matter of personal preference. Given some of the heavy subject matter featured within the book, I do feel it would have been beneficial to have a more comprehensive list of trigger warnings, as well.

Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A big thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for a honest review!

Unique is the best way to describe this book. Fantasy, Horror, Culinary drama - it was interesting however, faltered in all genres it was trying to reach. I wanted more of all of it. Its definitely a unique and new concept - a little far to reach for me. Theres is a lot to appreciate in this book. Its an acquired taste (no pun intended) but definitely worth a read.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved the premise of the his book. And I really wanted to love it but something about it fell flat for me.

Kostya has the unique ability to taste the favorite foods of ghosts. He discovers that he can have an effect on the people left behind by the ghosts. He tries to use this ability to connect the decedent’s loved ones, for the short time it takes to make this meal. But this all becomes too much.

The book was written in a very eloquent, floral language. The descriptions of the food is so well written. But I think that the concept became overly complicated to the point that it made me enjoy the book less.

I do feel bad that I could only give this one 3 stars.

I love books about food (cooking, eating) so I thought this book would be perfect for me. But sadly, I just couldn’t embrace it. I wasn’t a big fan of the ghost theme and I just didn’t love the main character. But I’m sure it would appeal to many others.