Afterlove explores the huge themes of first love and death. Really a book of two halves, Byrne follows the life of Ash as she unexpectedly meets the love of her life on a school field trip. Written with a YA audience in mind, Afterlove is funny, touching and realistic in tone set against the vibrant background of Brighton & Hove. As a lesbian of Guyanese heritage Ash has a lot to contend with, hiding her true self from her father and extended family. Poppy on the other hand is her opposite; confident privileged and 'out'. As their relationships blossoms a decision on New Year's Eve will cause a chain reaction of events with disastrous consequences.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I was intrigued by the concept of this book, and it was definitely enjoyable. The idea of grim reapers living in a vaguely alternate reality right next to our own is interesting, and the LGBTQ+ aspect was also really good. Poppy did seem a little manic-pixie-dream-girl but Ash was fully rounded, and its discussion of death was good. I just would have preferred a little more world-building and explanation.

Well, this was a book about a dead lesbian that I actually volunteered to read, so that's something. However, it was somewhat disappointing, and felt like there were too many gaps in the story. First, I'm not a fan of instalove, and after a while Ash and Poppy's romance was cloying. Second, after her death, it didn't seem like Ash actually cared about anyone she loved—not her family, not her best friend, not her girlfriend—even though we are told later that she did miss them. The story went from Ash's life being so rich with all the people she loved to them being wiped out of existence. Third, the ending was far from satisfying.


SPOILER... SKIP TO NEXT PARA:
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There was no real resolution about what happened to Ash, to Poppy. We already knew that nobody knows where Charon takes dead souls, so the ending felt a little pointless.
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SPOILER OVER

(Review copy from NetGalley)

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review – thanks so much to Netgalley as always for sending this to me!

This book follows Ash, who’s in the flush of new love with her girlfriend Poppy. Ash thinks she’s found her soulmate and her happily ever after – until a tragic accident on New Years Eve leaves Ash dead at the stroke of midnight, and the timing of her death dooms her to become a reaper, guiding the souls of the dead to their final resting places while unable to follow in their wake. Ash is trapped, incapable of moving on – and incapable of letting go of the love of her life.

The characters here are compelling and well-written. Ash and Poppy are very sweet and likeable; Essen, one of the other reapers, was a total knockout, and reminded me of Esther from the Giant Days series. This was the main thing that carried me through the story.

However, I personally felt that the rest of the book was fairly weak. Firstly, I found it to be poorly paced in terms of the plot, which was very uneven and seemed to take forever to deliver on its promised premise. For the first forty percent of the book, we’re getting to know our main character and her love interest, building the emotional attachment that makes Ash’s death meaningful to the reader. I understand why it was constructed this way, but the result was that I felt bored as it seemed to take forever to get to the point of the book, aka the death and the grim reaper plotline. For me, it would have worked better if this had been dual timeline, switching back and forth between the present, with Ash dead, and the past, giving us insight into the things she left behind. I felt that the more standard chronological structure didn’t really work here and it made the initial events of the book drag on forever, to the point that I almost DNF’d the book before Ash had even died.

In addition to this, the ‘worldbuilding,’ for want of a better term, struck me as pretty weak. The explanations of how reaping worked, why they were there, and everything surrounding that aspect of the plot was very surface-level, and while not everything supernatural requires an explanation, I feel like the author never really fully engaged with that aspect of the premise, leaving me dissatisfied with the vagueness of it all.
Finally, the ending did not at all deliver what I had wanted from this book. I was anticipating something along the lines of The Lovely Bones, where the character learns to let go of the past and move on, and her family subsequently get their own closure. If anything, the opposite was true here, and it felt pretty dissatisfying and a little trite too.

I appreciate what the author was trying to do here, but I honestly found this book to be pretty disappointing and finishing it was a struggle. It wasn’t poorly written in terms of the writing style, but I found it a frustrating read and I never really got invested. 2.5/5 stars.

I think I hyped this one up and so I was bound to be disappointed. I feel like the blurb gave too much away and so i spent the first part just waiting for the thing to happen, and didn't really immerse myself in the story. I think when I re read I may take more from it

Afterlove comes at you strong and fast with a sickly-sweet romance that I completely adored.

This 400-page novel passed in the blink of an eye as I was completely drawn into the romance between Poppy and Ash. It is primarily a romance novel, with half the book dedicated to building the relationship between the girls and ensuring the inevitable heartache is that much more painful. So, thank you, Tanya Byrne, for the emotions. Afterlove truly stirred by heart and I dare anyone to try and resist its charms.

Our main character, Ash, is Indo-Guyanese and proud of it. The first section of Afterlove gives us an insight to her life: her friends, her family, her romantic whims. Byrne did an incredible job of making it feel cosy, real, and familiar, despite my own background being vastly different. I felt welcomed into Ash’s family and my only wish is that these characters — her family and best friend, Adara — had continued to make an appearance once Poppy entered.

I felt incredibly seen in Ash. Her attitude to love spoke directly to the hopeless romantic within me and, honestly, it was a relief to realise that other people get it. That I am not the only one living this life full of feeling and dreams.

The romance is, simply put, adorable. Despite the length of the book, the plot feels incredibly fast which I suppose reflects the teenage dream of a whirlwind romance that takes your breath away. And it certainly does. We see Ash struggle with past heartbreak and the fear that Poppy isn’t truly interested in girls, but not for long. Soon enough the pair are spending all of their time together, and you cannot help but sigh dreamily as they explore the streets of Brighton falling more and more in love.

But, the inevitable must come. Ash must die and our minds must fill with questions about what it means for her and Poppy, how Ash’s family coped, what everyone is doing now. Only some of those questions get answered, which is a little disappointing given how much I grew to love the other side characters. Nevertheless, the second section of Afterlove brings in the fantasy element of reapers, who collect souls of the recently deceased and bring them to Charon’s boat to continue their journey.

I would have liked more time spent on Ash being a reaper: after all, the blurb implies this is what the story is about. Instead this is almost an aside, something to ensure the resolution of the romance but lacking in detail otherwise. It’s an interesting concept and deserved a little more time in the limelight. Again, the plot moves very quickly here, and even the end felt somewhat rushed. The resolution wasn’t given time to truly simmer and instead a jump of eleven months suddenly sees the end we knew must be heading our way.

If you have read teen romance or contemporary novels before, you will probably find yourself, like me, predicting most of the plot. But the sweet and beautiful romance is so worth the journey that it’s almost nice not to have any nasty surprises along the way. Byrne’s writing is flowery and perhaps a little excessive for some, yet I only found that it spoke to me, and reminded me of the way I enjoy writing: lots of dramatic metaphors and romanticism.

If you are looking for something to ignite that wild passion in your soul, Afterlove is the novel for you.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I had heard a lot about it and usually my high hopes are not met - but not this time.
A wonderful story with really beautiful writing, Byrne has crafted a story and characters that stay with you long after reading

'Afterlove' is a very original blend of contemporary and paranormal fantasy - with such an intriguing synopsis and stunningly sapphic cover this was one of my most anticipated 2021 reads! (On that note I wonder if my slightly deflated feeling post-reading is more to do with my hype for this book rather than the book itself.)

Interestingly, the plot went very differently to what I'd expected from the synopsis! To me the essence of it leaned much more towards contemporary than fantasy. The plot pacing was a little slow initially but once Ash becomes a reaper it picks up. There's a pivotal scene that I can't specify because it's spoilery, but it was utterly epic - so tense, emotional yet somehow hilarious at times.

The way the grim reapers work was fascinating, especially with that twist on what happens next, and while it was frustrating that they seem just as clueless about the afterlife as us regular mortals are, it does feel quite realistic. That said, I'd love to know more about Deborah (who's sort of like the reapers' regional manager, sends them details on where/who to reap etc.) and Ash's fellow reaper Esen. I think the lighter touch on fantasy world-building works fine here though, as the focus is more on Ash and how her relationships change after death. The vividly depicted real-world setting of Brighton grounds the story well too.

My favourite parts of 'Afterlove' were its family relationships, both with Ash's family and her found family with the reapers and her best friend in life, Adara. I absolutely loved the dynamic Ash had with her parents and younger sister, it made me laugh out loud yet broke my heart too. I also really liked how different social issues are pointed out through Ash's interactions with and memories of her immediate and extended family, such as colorism and racism towards non-white healthcare workers (Ash and her family are British Indo-Guyanese). This addressing of social issues was a running theme in the book, whether subtly touched upon (such as Poppy's dad feeling threatened by her mother's success) or obviously highlighted, for example lesbophobia and Ash being devalued by straight or closeted girls.

Ash's character felt so real, flaws and all, and I wish I could have connected to Poppy a bit more. I did like her though! Her backstory was compelling and one of my first thoughts post-Ash's death was about how she was doing. The romance was a tad insta-love, probably because it's a bit tell-heavy, but I think conceptually it was also quite beautiful in its giddy fervour, an eternal undying rush that will never fade. Sometimes I could really feel the emotion of their love and sometimes I was a bit more detached. I was the same about Ash's monologues - they were often absolutely amazing but at other points would take me out of the story.

I don't know about you but I love reading Author's Notes/Acknowledgements (and the dedications too). They remind me of how these stories come from real people. I found the Acknowledements here so emotional and they give an extra layer of perspective on 'Afterlove', so if/when you pick up this book I'd definitely encourage reading that part too!

Overall there's a lot to love about this book and if you like reading about family bonds, first love, fantasy elements in contemporary stories, and F/F romance, I'd definitely recommend this!

This book was sweet, tragic, heart wrenching, and heartbreaking, and I really enjoyed it! It felt like "Annie On My Mind" by Nancy Garden meets the tv series "Dead Like Me," with some interesting post-death concepts about people becoming reapers and getting "assignments" by Post-It (I'm pretty sure this is directly from "Dead Like Me"), with the tragedy of being separated from someone you've just exchanged "I Love You's" with, and some exploration of class differences and privilege of being born a rich white girl (Poppy) vs. Ash's Guyanese family living in Brighton, UK.

Extremely readable, quick, and pulls on the heartstrings. Definitely give it a read for a nice, sort of sad, queer YA romance.

A beautiful and haunting love story that has dogged my thoughts since finishing. Unique and original with lyrical prose - I loved it.

Beautifully written with well rounded characters, an interesting premise and a great romance, Tanya is back with a bang!

I don’t really know how I feel about this, tbh. I really enjoyed the first 40% and then… I don’t know, I didn’t really mesh with the rest? Like, it was an interesting a unique story, but maybe just not for me.
I really enjoyed the first half of the book, with Ash and Poppy falling in love, cute banter,
But I feel like knowing the twist from the blurb, of Ash dying and turning into a grim reaper, kind of ruined it for me. I definitely would have enjoyed this more if I went into it without knowing that. Plus, the whole "join a clan of fierce girl reapers" didn't really feature that much, to be honest. I would have loved to see more of Dev and Esen, they were fierce, and they were kind of just background characters. I wanted to see more of the actual "fierce girl reapers" doing their jobs and how they "lived" their afterlives.
Also, the barrage of HP references really didn't sit right with me. Just seems completely unnecessary.
All in all, a really unique concept, but I feel like the second half could have been expanded upon more.

My thoughts on this are mixed. Overall, I felt that the book was pretty good. The writing was solid, the characters were well-developed and compelling, and the plot offered something different than a typical YA contemporary romance. I was also intrigued throughout and couldn’t put the book down.
However, after I finished this book, I felt so sad and hopeless, and consequently my enjoyment of the story was pretty low. I haven’t read many books that focus on grief before, and while I knew this would be a tragic read, it hit me a lot harder than I expected, and ultimately it wasn’t really my thing. I also found some of the romance a little cringe-worthy and the pacing definitely felt a little all over the place as well.
Despite that, my lack of enjoyment was definitely a me problem, and not the book. I would still recommend it as I think a lot of people, especially those looking for a contemporary with a twist, would absolutely love this.

Content Warnings: death, death of a loved one, bullying, racism and colourism, phobia of open water and panic attack, homophobia, car accident, absent parents, mention of stabbing, mention of suicide, mention of drug overdose, mention of drowning, mention of falling from a great height

This book was a beautiful lesbian love story. I did my usual, requested it on Netgalley and didn’t really read the blurb that well. I then didn’t really put two and two together with the title. So reading that first chapter, and figuring out what was going to happen to Ash, I found it heartbreaking to read the ‘before’ chapters. They were so full of love and happiness. Poppy and Ash had the perfect “meet cute” and love story.

This book was filled with equal parts of love, joy and heartbreak! Byrne’s writing style is simple, easy to read and just beautiful. I just couldn’t put it down and was completely addicted to Ash and Poppy!

This must be added to your TBR like now. It’s pitched as “the lesbian love story you’ve been dying to read” and it really is.

I really enjoyed the first half of the book, with Ash and Poppy falling in love, cute banter,
But I feel like knowing the twist from the blurb, of Ash dying and turning into a grim reaper, kind of ruined it for me. I definitely would have enjoyed this more if I went into it without knowing that. Plus, the whole "join a clan of fierce girl reapers" didn't really feature that much, to be honest. I would have loved to see more of Dev and Esen, they were fierce, and they were kind of just background characters. I wanted to see more of the actual "fierce girl reapers" doing their jobs and how they "lived" their afterlives.
Also, the barrage of HP references really didn't sit right with me. Just seems completely unnecessary.
All in all, a really unique concept, but I feel like the second half could have been expanded upon more.

This truely is the lesbian love story I not only wanted but needed! An absolute fantastic read! This book will certainly take you on an emotional rollercoaster of love and heartbreak, it messy, beautiful and choatic all at once!

Thank you to netgalley for a digital ARC I can’t wait for this book for be published!

I received a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Books.

This was so sweet and heartbreaking at the same time! I loved the whole concept of this book! I have to admit, I was a bit wary at the beginning as it’s not something i’ve read before.

It is split in 2 parts; before Ash dies and after Ash dies. There is a chapter at the beginning which is set late in the book but it really confused me as I didn’t understand where it fell in the story until it actually happened later on.

Ash and Poppy! Oh my god, their story! Their relationship was so bittersweet! I absolutely adored them!

I would love a short story set directly where this book ends - I need to know what happens next!!

WOW WOW WOW
I don’t even know where to begin with how much I LOVED this book.
It make me laugh, and cry like an absolute baby.
The live between these two young women is so heart-warming. And the very unique spin in the story was genius and really took the story further into the five star region.
I couldn’t stop thinking about this book whenever I put it down, and somehow got through it in just a few days because I just couldn’t get enough.
Please read this!
One of the most wonderful female female romance reads I’ve ever read!

‘Afterlove’ by Tanya Byrne really was ‘the lesbian love story [I’ve] been dying to read’. What initially drew me in to this story was not only the fact that it was a lesbian story, but the premise of the main character becoming a reaper in the afterlife – this really piqued my interest and I’m so glad I got the opportunity to read such a story.

I wasn’t expecting so much backstory before Ash inevitably became a reaper, but I’m so glad that there was. The ‘before’ portion of the story follows Ash with her family and most noticeably her new-found romance with Poppy Morgan. The romance between these two is one that I think can accurately represent teenagers in love. I loved reading about them and was constantly intrigued.

Then, Ash gets into an accident, inevitably leading her to become a reaper. We are introduced to a new cast of characters here (the other reapers) and I quickly fell in love with them. This part of the book would definitely appeal to those who enjoy reading about the ‘found family trope’ as I think this is what we see here.

Overall, Byrne writing style is beautiful in ‘Afterlove’ and makes the reader grow attached to each of the characters, and manages to keep constant intrigue with the plot. I gave this book 5/5 because of these reasons – I just couldn’t put the book down!

At first I wasn't really certain about this book, it felt like it was mixing two very different kind of things in a story, but the characters were amazing and I ended up still enjoying it a lot