Phil Stamper is one of the best YA writers out there - writing layered, complex characters who express the complex emotions of teenagers, rather than the one note characters that can often appear in YA.
Afterglow made me nostalgic for a simpler time of friends and parties - yet a time that was constantly complicated by hormones, emotions and longing. Gorgeous

This is a pretty decent sequel novel. It follows on shortly after Golden Boys finished and has similar lines. However, I felt it lacked the heart that Golden Boys had. Several of the boys' POVs just felt lackluster for me, particularly Heath's which was disappointing as his narrative was my favorite in the first book.

Afterglow was well written and remained true to the characters and set premise and plot. It's a good book and ties everything together nicely. However, it just fell a little short for me.

*DNF but not due to the book itself*

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with an eArc in exchange for my honest review. I adored Goldenboys when I read it and was so excited to see where the story led to next.

Unfortunately the layout of the book was messed up for me and even though I tried really hard to push through it and read the book, the layout made it more confusing.

I do not blame the publishers for this but I believe that if I tried to finish the book in this style I would not have been able to give the story my honest review.

I will be buying the book hopefully soon so I can read, enjoy and support the author as I do love Phil Stamper and it was unfortunate that the layout made it difficult to focus on the story.

i didn't read The Golden Boys and I will surely do it as I loved this story. The author is a talented storyteller and the characters are well rounded and realistic.
There's a great cast of characters, a compelling plot, and a poignant story that kept me hooked.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I liked following these four characters again as the finish their final year of high school. It followed on nicely from book 1 and it was great seeing their arcs expand. Their stories overlapped more in this one , which was nice and created a fulfilling wrap up to each of their stories - evenly though I could read more books with them!

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this advanced copy.

Afterglow was a great companion to Golden Boys. I thought this book was crucial for the first book and I really enjoyed the 4 boys finally found what they wanted and loved.

Thank you to NetGalley UK and Bloomsbury for providing me with an e-ARC of Afterglow in exchange for a review.

4.5 ⭐️

I didn’t want this book to end. It made me smile and made me sad in equal measures. This book, and its predecessor, really capture what it’s like to be in high school, to deal with love and friendship and heartbreak in its most concentrated form. It feels so familiar, so authentic, that it made me love reading this book so much.

What I really appreciated about this book, and about Golden Boys, is how the author manages to give each character such a unique voice. In a book with four main characters, each with their own POVs, it can be tricky to stop them from blending into one another. But it’s clear how these four boys, though they have things that bond them together, they are very different from one another. Afterglow builds nicely on Golden Boys, continuing to develop the characters and making me love them even more than before!

Appropriately, since the book ends with the boys leaving high school, not knowing where they or their friends will end up, I feel the same about the characters journeys into the future! I feel sad not getting to know, but that is how life goes. I wish them the best!!! I’ll miss them!!!

tldr; sweet, nostalgic, hopeful. made me laugh, made me cry. very sad it’s over ♥️

Unfortunately the format of the arc on both my netgalley shelf app and on my kindle was all over the place and this made it virtually impossible to read

I’m gonna give a high rating to not effect the average and buy when it’s released. Can’t wait to read :)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Afterglow' by Phil Stamper.

'Afterglow' by Phil Stamper continues to prove why Stamper is a big time favourite author of mine. His work is beautiful and it feels effortless to read, no matter the topic. He humanises his characters and makes them feel more than just a word on a page, I feel as if I'm watching Sal and Co in real time and it is utterly perfection to me. If you enjoyed 'Golden Boys' , like I did, you'll certainly enjoy this accompaniment.

After being challenged to read the first book in this duology by a student I was keen to see where the story went. Stamper writes the characters and their friendships well and it often feels like eavesdropping on their conversations. The pace and narrative hold interest throughout and I suspect this will be a hit in our older YA section of the school library.

I really enjoyed this sequel! It was nice to see the struggles that follow the happy ever after. It was realistic and I liked that not everything was resolved perfectly by the end. Thanks for the opportunity! My only complaint was that it was a little predictable at times.

What a turnaround. I loved this SO much.

If you've seen my review of Golden Boys, you'll know already how intensely I disliked that one. And honestly? I fully went into Afterglow expecting to not enjoy it as well.

Wow, wow, wow, was I surprised. This story felt like such a step forward. It was the same characters and still has four narrators. I hated that element of Golden Boys as it just felt like four completely separate stories mushed together. This absolutely wasn't the case with Afterglow.

It felt so much more cohesive. It felt like all the characters were telling their version of the same story. I followed it way easier than with Golden Boys. I'd even go as far as saying I was hooked.

The characters seemed to have much more unique voices in Afterglow, and I think because their stories were so much more intertwined, and because they had so much more interaction together, it became really easy to get invested. I have to say I loved and was rooting for all of them here.

Whereas I couldn't wait for Golden Boys to end for all the wrong reasons, I didn't want this one to end. Despite this, I couldn't put it down and was so invested in what would happen next. The plot was a great, fairly low angst, fairly easy read that just felt cosy all the way through.

I also adored the LGBTQ+ representation in this book. It was handled perfectly and felt so real and so relatable. If I'd had this book when I was a teen, I'd have probably felt like I could do anything or be anyone I wanted to.

I'm so impressed with this. Hats off to the author for pulling off what I can only describe as a miracle of a turnaround. He's won me over with this, and I'll be sure to check out his other books now.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. This is my honest review.