💫 Book Review💫

The Love Of My Afterlife by @kirsty_greenwood

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Publication date: 20 June 2024

Synopsis:

If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. She’s entered the afterlife wearing the sort of pyjamas you don’t want anyone to see and finds herself face-to-face with the most handsome man she’s ever encountered. And he’s smiling at her.

As they start to chat, everything else becomes background noise – until someone comes running out of a door, yelling something about a huge mistake, and sends the dreamy stranger back down to earth.

In a twist of fate, Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to her previous life and reconnect with the mysterious man she’s sure is her soulmate.

The challenge? She only has ten days to find him.

Ten days to make him fall for her.

Oh, and he has no recollection of them ever having met…


Thoughts 💭

Oh my goodness me what a book. I heard about this book a while ago and was so excited to have received an ARC. It’s like nothing I’ve ever read before and it felt like such an original story. I’d describe it as The Good Place meets The Little Mermaid meets Bridget Jones.

It had a perfect mix of humour and drama and lots of romance tropes. I was rooting for Delphie so much and desperately wanted her to stay alive. This was my first Kirsty Greenwood book but I’ll definitely be reading more ☺️

Thank you so much to @kirsty_greenwood and @netgalley for a copy of this book. It’s definitely up there with my favourite books of the year so far.

This book has it all. Humor, heart, and a heroine I was desperately rooting for. Kirsty Greenwood has a new fan.

the love of my after life - kirsty greenwood


firstly can we take a moment to appreciate this cover?
like it is the perfect cover for lounging on a beach/by the pool/ on the sofa. that cover screams summer read to me - which is pretty perfect actually because this is a hilarious romance set during a heatwave one summer in london.

like most romances, this has a great meet cute - only this one happens in the afterlife when delphie ends up dying in an embarrassing way at 27 and bumps into jonah, who in an admin error has ended up in the lobby. he’s actually just under anaesthetic, not dead, unlike delphie. the problem? they might just be soul mates. delphie manages to get sent back to her life for a second chance but it is all dependent on her finding jonah and getting him to fall in love with her. what ensues is funny, charming, sometimes cringy and has everything all our favourite romances does: cute romances, endearing characters and getting a second chance.

this is easily one of the funniest books i’ve read this year - it’s whimsical, romantic and has all my favourite tropes all in a neat little package.

the love of my afterlife is out 20th june in the uk and 2nd july in the us (perfect for anyone wanting a summer romance to show off in the sunshine!). thank you @netgalley for the early copy!

**ARC READ**
This is now one of my Top 5 Rom-com books. I LOVED this!
This book was wholesome, funny, exciting and just good-vibes overall with good-vibes characters! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
As mentioned in the book, it's got all of our fave tropes - enemies to lovers, forced proximity, bed sharing, fake dating.....everything you want, it's in this book!

I highly recommend this one if you're after something fun and good vibes!

What a joyful book! It was an easy read with a plot completely different to what I've read before. A great Summer Read and a great reminder of how important our time here is.

I wanted to read this because I thought the plot sounded really interesting. And boy was I happy with the way it actually played out! I don't want to spoil much by going too into detail on any parts of the plot but 25% of the way through I started to hope that the plot was going to go in a certain direction.

I thoroughly enjoyed going through Delphie's adventures throughout London trying to track down the mysterious Jonah. Her quest turned into a story of not just romance and soulmates but also self realization as she starts to look back at her short life and think about whether or not she was truly happy and fulfilled.

There nothing I love more than a time limit, growing and infepth well developed story and characters, Delphi’s was the most relatable I kinda want meet her like rn. The concept of the book means she has ten days to kiss a boy after dying in her boring life and she makes good use of her time, reevaluating herself and just having a good tone

Delphie hasn't really been living, no friends, never going out, not letting anyone into her life. However when she ends up dead, she is not ready for it. So she makes a deal to find a guy she doesn't know and get him to kiss her within ten days, to stay alive. She can't do this alone, and she had nothing to lose. Hence the next ten days full of more adventure and people than she has had in years. Sometimes makes you cringe, however the characters and general plot are great. The characters have real depth and excellent back stories so you can forgive the over the top moments.

Adorable, cute and quirky. If you're looking for a lighthearted, engaging easy read to keep you occupied when you're taking some time out this summer, grab yourself a glass of something cold and dive right in.

After choking on a burger poor Delphie Denise Bookham is no more. Waiting to meet her in the afterlife is her whacky guide/therapist called Merritt. The two of them are soon joined by recently deceased Jonah and as soon as she sees him Delphie realises she's finally met the man of her dreams. Only there's been a mistake, Jonah didn't die and just as quickly as he arrived he's whisked away again, back to the land of living.
Merritt loves a bit of romance so she makes a deal with Delphie, she'll let her go back to her old life for ten days, if Delphie can find Jonah and get him to kiss her in that time she can stay.

The Love of My Afterlife is heartwarming, adorable and a little bit ridiculous all in one. Its a lighthearted romantic comedy and it delivers, a good one to take on holiday. My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy

Sadly I couldn’t get into this story I found it dragging in many parts. I will give it another chance though!

wow i don’t know what i was expecting but it wasn’t this!
i loved this book, it was a ride which i didn’t want to get off.
it brings together an unlikely group of friends, a love story and a twist i did not see coming! a greta fun read

Delphie leads a very himdrum life. When she dies it proves to 3 just as dull. However, an over enthusiastic therapost from the other side hives her s cjance at life if she can get her just-found soulmate to kiss her in the next 10 days.
There then follows a series of catastrophic events which I thinl are meant to be amusing.
Only at the half way point fid I think it would be worth seeing it through to the end.
One os meant to ppitp Dphie because of past bullying and an offhand mother but it just ses so slow and repetitive.

I was very excited at the plot but after the first 20% ish the plot became predictable and thus I lost my interest. I was hoping very much to like it or at least keep me entertained enough so I detach from my mind a bit but oh well.

In this story we follow Delphie when she unexpectedly dies and is sent to the Afterlife where she meets her soulmate! Unfortunately for Delphie he isn’t actually properly dead yet, just visiting for a brief moment, so she manages to strike a deal whereby she is allowed to return to life on the proviso that she meets her soulmate and kisses him within a set timeframe, or if she doesn’t shell die for good. Sounds easy right? She just has to find the guy, share a true loves kiss and live happily ever after!

What ensues is a humorous romcom adventure filled with quirky characters, absurd situations, and a dash of fantasy. The book offers a light and entertaining read, the pacing is swift, and it keeps the reader engaged as they eagerly anticipate what antics Delphie will find herself embroiled in next. However, while the narrative is undoubtedly entertaining it’s hard to fully embrace Delphie as a protagonist. Her lack of self-awareness and penchant for making questionable decision sometimes hinders the readers ability to fully connect with her character. I think her choices made her age and maturity seem younger than mid 20s and this did challenge me as a reader at times. Additionally, some of the situations veer into the realm of absurdity, stretching the bounds of believability even with the fantasy element of the book. One of the books shortcomings also lies in its portrayal of the endgame relationship. Without giving away spoilers, I did find it challenging to buy into the authenticity of the relationship and the depth of feelings accumulated in such a short time span (10 days) which leaves the reader questioning whether the relationship would endure beyond the pages of the book.

Despite these drawbacks the book does remain an enjoyable and fun read overall. It’s whimsical premise and humorous tone makes it a perfect choice for readers in search of a light-hearted romcom with a slight supernatural twist.

I received and ARC copy from Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, I laughed out loud so much reading this book my kids kept asking what was going on, it is hilarious and with some of the funniest characters I've read in a long time. The premise of the book is brilliant, and the unveiling truth of the reality of self-proclaimed "lone-wolf" Delphi's life was heartbreaking.
When she's forced to not only reach out for help, but embrace the friendship of strangers and step out of her comfort zone, amazing and unexpected things happen.
Covering grief and loneliness it also packs a punch of truths about how we live our lives disconnected and what the true value of living really is.
Uplifting and entertaining, heartbreaking and romantic, this really is a special book.

By the end of the book I was pleased with how the plot had evolved, and as far as light-hearted romance reads go this is an okay choice. The second half of the book far outweighs the first though in my opinion, in terms of the dedication to the character development and the loss of rather twee pop culture references. The latter half held a much deeper level of emotion in the characters and their backstory, which was a relief as it lacked hugely earlier in the book. It felt like the author got into the swing of the stories towards the end as we navigated multiple character arcs and side-plots, and from here on I enjoyed it.

Overall, it purposely plays on the romance tropes and as this satire becomes apparent, it seems clever. However, took too long to get into and will not likely be a unique enough story to remember.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, I really loved it! It was so funny and sweet with just a touch of magic. I thought Delphie was a fab character and I related to her a lot. This really made me laugh out loud and I liked the slight twist of an ending. Really looking forward to reading more from Kirsty!

Delphie Bookham dies very unexpectedly at age 27 much to her outrage and annoyance! To add insult to injury, Delphie meets Jonah - her soul mate - in the afterlife waiting room - only for him to be sent straight back to the Land of the Living as he wasn't supposed to die yet!
Her afterlife therapist Merritt offers Delphie the chance to go back to the Land of the Living to try and find Jonah, but she only has 10 days and she must persuade him to kiss her. If Delphie succeeds she will stay alive! The only catch is that Jonah won't remember meeting her and she doesn't know his last name..
I really enjoyed this book, it was funny and very entertaining and a real page turner. I will definitely be seeking out other books by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the review copy.
#TheLoveOfMyAfterLife #NetGalley

Ahh, now this is exactly what I needed to read. 5* hands down.
This book will make you laugh out loud and will keep you reading until the small hours in the morning.

When Delphie chokes to death on a microwave burger whilst wearing rather tatty PJs her main reaction is embarrassment that she could die in such a plebeian fashion. When she comes to, she is in a surreal 'waiting room', which looks very much like a laundromat, with a young woman called Merritt. Whilst trying to wrap her head around the idea of being dead and simultaneously in a laundromat, Delphie accidentally runs into another person, a devastatingly handsome man called Jonah who seems similarly smitten by Delphie. However, Jonah hasn't actually died, he is just in a very deep sleep caused by dental anaesthetic, and soon disappears. Horrified that she has met her soulmate only to have him taken away, Delphie and Merritt come to an agreement, Delphie has ten days to find Jonah and get him to voluntarily kiss her, if he does she can stay, if he doesn't then she must return and help Merritt test her dating service for the recently deceased. The catch is, she doesn't know his last name and he will have no recollection of their meeting.

Returned to where she came from, at first Delphie thinks it was all a surreal dream, until Merritt sends her a number of sharp messages abut time running out. With only ten days left on earth, Delphie realises that she has let childhood bullying (admittedly by her BFF) ruin her life, so much so that she has no friends, no love life, in fact she has only kissed one man (and that wasn't very good). Her only sort-of friend in Mr Yoon, the non-verbal elderly Korean man who lives in the same block of flats, who she drops in to visit daily to make sure he hasn't left the gas on or a burning cigarette in the ash-tray.

Initially this felt very like slapstick comedy (I'm not a fan) as Delphie runs from one bizarre situation to another trying to meet the elusive Jonah, but along the way she starts to make friends and/or enlist the assistance of a motley group of people she encounters along the way and the humour calms down. I loved Delphie's grumpy downstairs neighbour who gets roped into helping with the quest and demands a favour in return.

Overall this was a fun romance.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.