Aftertaste: A Novel
May 2025 · Sold by Simon and Schuster
star
4 reviews
Ebook
400
Pages
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Eligible
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About this ebook
“Dark and delicious, sincerely moving and at times laugh out loud funny, a heady, bittersweet, beautiful novel about life and death, grief and closure, passion and hunger. A must-read.” —RACHEL HARRISON, USA TODAY bestselling author of So Thirsty and Black Sheep
What if you could have one last meal with someone you’ve loved, someone you’ve lost? Combining the magic of Under the Whispering Door with the high-stakes culinary world of Sweetbitter, Aftertaste is an epic love story, a dark comedy, and a synesthetic adventure through food and grief.
Some hungers never fade.
When Konstantin Duhovny cooks a dish tied to a memory of someone deceased, he can summon their ghost back for one final meal. But what begins as a thrilling gift quickly spins out of control when Kostya decides to open a restaurant that promises to reunite the Living and the Dead. (It turns out that messing with the afterlife comes at a steep cost.)
As the boundaries between worlds start to blur, and as Kostya falls in love with a woman with her own secret relationship with the afterlife, he must confront the limits of what can be reclaimed, and what we must let go, in order to move on.
Deliciously unique and deeply emotional, Aftertaste is an epic love story and a genre-blending adventure through eating, grieving, and the moments that make us feel alive.
Hungry? Come take your seat at New York City's most unforgettable culinary experience.
What if you could have one last meal with someone you’ve loved, someone you’ve lost? Combining the magic of Under the Whispering Door with the high-stakes culinary world of Sweetbitter, Aftertaste is an epic love story, a dark comedy, and a synesthetic adventure through food and grief.
Some hungers never fade.
When Konstantin Duhovny cooks a dish tied to a memory of someone deceased, he can summon their ghost back for one final meal. But what begins as a thrilling gift quickly spins out of control when Kostya decides to open a restaurant that promises to reunite the Living and the Dead. (It turns out that messing with the afterlife comes at a steep cost.)
As the boundaries between worlds start to blur, and as Kostya falls in love with a woman with her own secret relationship with the afterlife, he must confront the limits of what can be reclaimed, and what we must let go, in order to move on.
Deliciously unique and deeply emotional, Aftertaste is an epic love story and a genre-blending adventure through eating, grieving, and the moments that make us feel alive.
Hungry? Come take your seat at New York City's most unforgettable culinary experience.
“Dark and delicious, sincerely moving and at times laugh out loud funny, a heady, bittersweet, beautiful novel about life and death, grief and closure, passion and hunger. A must-read.” —RACHEL HARRISON, USA TODAY bestselling author of So Thirsty and Black Sheep
What if you could have one last m...
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Ratings and reviews
4 reviews
A J Moschette
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September 7, 2025
I loved the way Lavelle details the complexity and pairing of flavors and the feelings evoked in the taste. Konstantin’s rise from awkward, fatherless boy to an accomplished chef is inspirational and beautiful in spite of wrong turns and bad decisions. Aftertaste is an elixir of love and loss and the lengths we will go for “one more chance” at goodbye
Lorena Dinger
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August 15, 2025
A moving story of love, loss, grief, & longing; one of my favorite reads of 2025. It includes an epic romance but delves into many other forms of love. Ghosts play an important role, yet I wouldn’t classify this as horror. It’s a beautiful example of magical realism with a generous sprinkling of dark humor. Lavelle’s writing is brilliant and empathetic. With her vivid imagery, I felt like I was there. The characters felt real, flawed yet likable. The plot was surprising, & I loved the ending.
About the author
Daria Lavelle is an American fiction writer. Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and raised in the New York metro area, her work explores themes of identity and belonging through magic and the uncanny. Her short stories have appeared in The Deadlands, The Dread Machine, and elsewhere, and she holds degrees in writing from Princeton University and Sarah Lawrence College. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, children, and goldendoodle, all of whom love a great meal almost as much as she does. Learn more at DariaLavelle.com.
Daria Lavelle is an American fiction writer. Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and raised in the New York metro area, her work explores themes of identity and belonging through magic and the uncanny. Her short stories have appeared in The Deadlands, The Dread Machine, and elsewhere, and she holds degrees in...
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