Afterlife by Claudia Gray

Afterlife:
Destiny awaits Bianca and Lucas . . .

Bianca and Lucas have always believed they could endure anything to be together. When a twist of fate not only transforms Bianca into a wraith but also turns Lucas into a vampire--the very creature he spent his life hunting--they are left reeling.

Haunted by his powerful need to kill, Lucas can turn to only one place for help . . . Evernight Academy. Bianca is determined to remain with him. But with the vampire leader of Evernight waging a war against wraiths, her former home has become the most dangerous place she could be, despite the new powers her ghostly transformation has given her.

A battle between wraiths and vampires looms, and Bianca and Lucas face a terrifying new reality. They've overcome every obstacle life has thrown at them, but is their love strong enough to survive the challenges after life?

This was a very character driven series and Bianca and Lucas: their romance, heartaches and triumphs will stay with me long after I turn the final pages. As the final book in the Evernight series, Claudia Gray tied up all of the plot lines beautifully, and left no unanswered questions about Bianca and Lucas. To me, this book completed the series nicely. I’d also love to see more of the secondary characters we met throughout this series in the continuation of Balthazar’s story. The beginning of the book picks up right where Hourglass left off, but was a little slow to start. After you get through the first quarter though it really picks up with action and danger, and I was ecstatic to see Bianca and Lucas get their happily-ever-after.

Returning to Evernight Academy seems like their only real choice.  Bianca is learning about her new powers and what it truly means to be a wraith—one that comes from being born rather than made—while Lucas is dealing with his bloodlust and acceptance of his new life as a vampire. What was supposed to be a safe-haven quickly turns into a deadly nightmare.  Mrs. Bethany’s dangerous secrets are revealed, and it hits closer to home than Bianca and Lucas could have ever imagined. Mrs. Bethany has discovered a cure for vampirism, but the price is one Lucas is not willing to pay. Bianca and her parents overcome their troubled past, including their aversion to Lucas, and work together with the help of her friends to defeat Mrs. Bethany.