The Afterward was an "okay" read for me but I would highly recommend to a younger audience. The storyline was very reminiscent of YA fantasy books I read and loved as a young teenager. If you're a fan of Tamora Pierce, or are looking for some LBGT representation in your YA fantasy, then I would highly recommend this book to you. For me, it did like something that I can't quite put a finger on. Character development was a little slow and the action could have been more exciting. The romance, however, was sweet. All in all, I would not pick this book back up but I am glad that I was able to read it and would recommend to a younger audience. Thank you to the publisher for the chance to read and review an ARC.