Review: Afterlife (The Dark Gifts) by Willow Cross

Goodreads Synopsis

Two hundred years before the battle of the fortress, a young man named William Townsend had to die.

William had big plans. He would become a valiant soldier, fall in love, have a family, and die. In fact, he was certain it would happen in that exact order. But fate is a fickle taskmaster and things almost never go as planned. And sometimes, just sometimes, your true destiny will greet you after life.

From the first page of ‘Afterlife’, I laughed out loud “...Balls!...”. This immediately impressed me and gave me that warm fuzzy feeling; the one that tells me that I won’t be disappointed. And hurray, I wasn’t in the slightest.

‘Afterlife’ is a ‘Dark Gifts Series Companion’ short. And as such, it lays out the background and history of a few of the characters that we meet in the novels ‘Birthright’ and ‘Inheritance’ (the latter of which I’m yet to read). Since I have read Birthright, my eyes lit up in joy at the backstories that run through ‘Afterlife’. It really helps to understand the sequence of events and allows us to get to know the characters Angelica and William so much better.

During my reading of ‘Birthright’, I immediately warmed to Angelica’s character, so having this additional knowledge of her in ‘Afterlife’ really helps to form a well-rounded character: one that I truly enjoyed getting to know.

What is refreshing with this short, is that it can be read as a prequel to the series, or, as I have done, during the process of reading Willow Cross’s superb series. Either way, it is substantial to read and enjoy without the prior knowledge that I have. A very enjoyable short!

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