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

This was obviously well written but the reaper bit was too much for me to deal with at the moment sadly which meant I couldn’t keep on with it

Nothing about this was quite as I expected, but it turned out to be just my cup of tea: a very contemporary love story with just a twist (albeit quite a large twist) of the paranormal. Beautifully written with great characters, and I loved the Brighton setting.

This book destroyed every emotion I have and then put it back together again. The love, the relationships, the ups and downs - sheer perfection!

THIS BOOK. WOAH.

Afterlove is split into two parts; before and after. The before section explores Ash and Poppy's relationship, from their first meeting up until the night Ash tragically dies. And what a beautiful relationship it is. These two girls have an instant connection and it was easy to fall in love with and root for their relationship despite already knowing how it would end due to the synopsis of this book. I wasn't expecting to get so much backstory (the part described in the synopsis doesn't start until about 150 pages in) but I am so glad we did. In previous books I've read dealing with grief, such as History Is All You Left Me and Who I Was with Her we learn about the deceased character and their relationship in hindsight, after they've already died. But it definitely helped to be able to see Ash and Poppy's relationship as it was forming, and that made the tragedy hit so much harder.

Even though I knew it was coming, Ash's death still hit me really hard. But it also allowed us to move onto the next stage of the story, where she becomes a reaper to help guide souls to the afterlife, even though she's still mourning the loss of her own life. To help her in this journey we meet her fellow reapers, Dev and Esen, and I love them both so much. They're total opposites, with Dev being a sweet little ball of sunshine, and Esen providing a much more snarky, serious view of things, but they work so well together and the bond between the three of them is something that I really enjoyed.

Another thing that I absolutely adored is that both Ash and Poppy are lesbians and they! actually! use! the! word! lesbian!! It really means a lot to see the word being used more often in books, even though many books still skirt around using it.

This book ripped my heart out in the best way, I genuinely don't think a book has made me ugly cry so much before. It hit all the right emotional notes and I highly, highly recommend it. The only criticism I can think of is that there are quite a lot of Harry Potter references, but as I read an ARC I'm hoping that these won't be included in the final copy in light of JK Rowling's transphobia.

A sweet read about love and death through the eyes of teenagers.

This book feels like two stories. One a sapphic love story of two girls from different backgrounds falling hard and fast for each other. The other, a paranormal story of teenage reapers, helping the souls of other teenagers who die suddenly pass on to wherever they go next.

Both of these stories have great concepts, but I felt like we didn't get enough of either. After a hint in the prologue, it took almost half the book to get to the paranormal element of the story that was hinted at, and the pacing felt off. I was left wanting to know so much more about this hidden world of the reapers.

Recommended for fans of contemporary romance. There is still much to enjoy from this heartwarming story.

'Afterlove' by Tanya Byrne has the most interesting premise - it is a shame that the execution is muddled into something less enjoyable than it could be. For the first 40% of the book, we follow Ash and Poppy as they fall in love. Don't get me wrong, it is a heartwarming and sweet romance but I was waiting for the more supernatural storyline to start.

This is definitely a book of two vastly different halves with the sudden shift. In the second half, Ash is tragically killed and becomes one of Brighton's reapers. There are some intriguing moments in the second half of the book, particularly regarding the rules of the afterlife and reaping. I also thought the character of Essen was a nuanced character - I appreciated her growth and how she is always honest with Ash (especially when Ash is making ridiculous decisions!).

Unfortunately, the supernatural stages of the book felt rushed. It was a good premise and sweet storyline but the uneven pacing meant the potential of the idea was left unrealised. 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.