I love it when a debut author throws caution to the wind and delivers a hard-hitting genre mashup like Daria Lavelle has in Aftertaste. I admire their courage and appreciate their faith in readers’ capacity to connect with their dark humour and satire.

Wait a minute? If you are thinking the book I’ve just read sounds less fluffy than the publisher synopsis would at first suggest, then you are spot on. Don’t get me wrong… the marketing copy is not technically misleading because there are a lot of humour and pop references woven into this engaging storyline. Plus, it will make foodies salivate. But, it is appealingly salty rather than sweet.

The fuel that propels Aftertaste is grief and anguish. Death is discussed liberally – natural, accidental and intentional – with the latter quite vividly depicted.

So, trigger warnings for those who value them aside, I found Daria Lavelle’s impactful literary writing style highly absorbing.
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And, you cannot help rooting for Aftertaste‘s hapless underdog lead Kostya.

Lavelle’s scenes and characters come alive on the page (even those that are not!). They feel achingly real, their emotions are messy. This book actually brought back memories of reading Kayla Rae Whitaker’s The Animators in that respect.

While I have reservations about this novel’s ending, I cannot deny its emotional and literary gravitas. If you enjoy reading impactful and thought-provoking writing, Daria Lavelle’s debut Aftertaste is well worth adding to your reading menu.

The Story 4 / 5 , The Writing 4.5 / 5 -- Overall 4.25

I've never read a book that's as unique as this, it's a genre of its own. The writing style flowed with such ease and I really enjoyed the food references being a foodie!! I was routing for DUH and the concept, i'd love to experience this kitchen! What an epic novel i'm so glad I read this

◦ Aftertaste ◦ by Daria Lavelle ◦
★★★★★

◦: plot :◦
Kostya can summon spirits through food and opens a restaurant serving closure. But as his dishes disrupt the Afterlife, he must face his past—and a psychic who may be his undoing.

◦: my thoughts :◦
A masterpiece. I don’t use that word lightly, but this book truly earned it. I’m not the same person I was before reading this. This book completely consumed me for a couple of days.

What makes it even more special is that it’s a story I know my partner would love too. It’s moving, groundbreaking, and offered a reading experience so unique, I doubt anything will ever replicate it. The pacing and flow of this book was well done too.

The plot twist halfway through left me reeling and reshaped everything I thought I knew about Kostya’s journey.
The subtle romance was beautifully done- honest, believable, and deeply human.

A huge congratulations to Daria Lavelle. You’ve created something extraordinary, and I can’t wait to see what you do next.

◦: reminds me of :◦
✧ The Bear
✧ Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Grams

A really emotive and visceral experience of grief, told through food. Not particularly my cup of tea but can see the strength in the writing

I can't really rate this book. The electronic version I got had some lettering issue, blanking or replacing certain sets of letters with abstract symbols - which made it hard to read.
The story was well written, literary, detailed, with a close first-person view, but the issue was driving me crazy and I couldn't go beyond the first 5%.

rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

ok first of all... what a cool (and refreshing) concept! A dishwasher who can summon spirits by cooking their favorite meals? sign me up right now haha - so original and kind of haunting (in a good way). I loved the way food was tied to memory and grief—it made for some really emotional and bittersweet moments. This book is classified as literary fiction, and that is a genre I don't really read a lot of. So the pacing and the way the story was told was really new to me (there were so much food terms/french words(?) that i honestly had to look them up on google). But that being said, i enjoyed the journey. It’s soft, reflective, and a little magical in the best way.

...this is definitely one of those books that leaves you thinking (and craving comfort food).

What an amazing read. One of my best reads so far this year…. Magic, food, urban fantasy. Absolutely fantastic writing from the author. I keep thinking about it between reads. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.