I’d never read anything by Kirsty Greenwood before this. And it’s safe to say, I will defiantly be reading more!

First things first, I couldn’t put it down. I read the first chapter and I was hooked.
The style of writing, the characters and the humour just slot together nicely, it’s such a fun, happy, fast paced but warm read. I enjoyed the mix of characters and the community. I cannot say too much as I don’t want to give anything away, just trust me, if you like a romantic comedy, this is for you.

Overall, a really loved this book. Just what I needed. I cannot wait to pick up a physical copy of this one. I will definitely be recommending it to anyone that will listen!

Thank you to @netgalley for allowing me access to a copy of this read in exchange for an honest review.

Pub Date 20 Jun 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this copy in return for my honest review.

A quirky rom com that had me laughing out loud! I devoured this within the day and the author now has a new fan! Can’t wait to read more of their work:

Wow. The Love of my Afterlife is a masterpiece. My first ever ARC and I am truly honoured to have read it. Kirsty Greenwood is a sensation.

The Love of my Afterlife takes a stunning look at the fragility of life and the importance of love and community. Themes of grief, love, friendship, community and gratitude weave themselves beautifully into a truly life-affirming tale. It encourages its readers to embrace the people around them who may have been trying to play a role in their lives but who have been shut out, even in a big, scary, cold city in London. In contrast, it also teaches you that it is okay to release those people who are undeserving of your time. A quote that I will be saving for a rainy day: "If people want to go, sometimes it's easier to just let them."


My favourite thing about this book is definitely the multitude of characters, from such different walks of life who all brought me so much joy.

Merritt is one of my favourite characters of all time. She is chaotic and romantic and optimistic. She sees the beauty in both life and death, and truly wants the best for everybody (added bonus if she can mix some drama in there too though).

I think I could probably talk about Delphie all day. I am sad to say that a large part of me relates to her. There are so many quotes that I highlighted that were truly tragic but that hit home for me so intensely, particularly "All your days looked exactly the same as each other. You were so alone." With that being said, the hope that I felt throughout the story as Delphie began to involve herself in her community, make friends and fall in love is second-to-none. The irony is that I sat home tonight and devoured this book instead of going to see my favourite band because I was afraid of going alone. The New and Improved Delphie would never have done that. Merritt would be heartbroken to see me do that.

Greenwood's ability to make me root for Cooper even though I knew that Delphie falling in love with him could potentially kill her was exquisite. I found myself genuinely writing notes saying, "Don't go to Jonah!" and "I swear if Delphie goes to find Jonah, I'll sue." At the end of the day, am I happy with how it all worked out? Of course, but there were definitely some moments that had me yelling at my phone as I read.

My only cons: some of the dialogue was slightly stunted in parts, particularly when a character was talking to themselves. In those instances, you'd expect the dialogue to be less formal, which wasn't the case. Also, though his true intentions turned out to be honourable and innocent, Aled creeped me out a fair bit at first. There was a clear breach of GDPR with him texting Delphie and that ain't cool.

I am truly in awe of The Love of my Afterlife. I will be recommending it to everybody, and I cannot wait to purchase my own physical copy as soon as it is released. Thank you so much to Penguin Random House UK and Cornerstone for this opportunity.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Views are my own.

This story uses all the romance tropes liberally - let's see how many you can count! Normally I'm not a fan of tropes but the author uses them so cleverly and deliberately to further a story, that it's a delight.

Delphie is a young woman who seems to have given up on life and on her painting. She goes to work and she checks in on her elderly neighbour, but that's about all she does. One day, she chokes on her microwaved burger and finds herself in a white room resembling a launderette where a cheerful woman named Merritt tells her she's her afterlife therapist. Before she can quite grasp that she is dead, another person arrives - a beautiful man who she feels drawn to in a case of insta-love. Before he can tell her his full name he is pulled back to Earth as he was only unconscious from dental sedation. Merritt allows her to return to Earth for a second chance and creates a contract that if she finds Jonah within ten days and gets him to kiss her, she can stay alive.

Enter Cooper, her grumpy neighbour, whom she hates but harangues to help her with finding Jonah (Enemies to... that's the one). The two spend more and more time together as a consequence of fake dating and forced proximity tropes. We even get the having to share a bed and love triangle scenarios, as Delphie is still hellbent on finding Jonah and getting in ever more strange situations to do so, ranging from a live drawing class to a dance event to gatecrashing a posh charity ball. The more she forces herself to do, the more friends she makes, and she even confronts her childhood bully. We also find out why Cooper is so grumpy - five years ago his twin sister died and he hasn't been able to write books since.

But such is the persuasiveness of Merritt that I was also fully fixated on finding Delphie's soulmate who most definitely is not Cooper!

This book is everything. It is choc full with quirky, lovable characters, it is extremely funny and very emotional. There were twists at the end I didn't see coming and that made me cry - that hasn't happened in a while. I read this in one sitting. You will have a ball - solid five stars. This is my first Kirsty Greenwood book, but it won't be my last!

"... being alive is about experiencing the full gamut of emotions. If you’re not feeling pushed and pulled and scared and delighted instead of just safe, then you’re not doing it right."

Delphine dies, and when she meets the one in the afterlife, she is given the opportunity to return to earth and find him. If he kisses her, she gets to stay.

I don't want to enter into too much detail to not spoil the book, but this was an absolutely adorable read! Delphine is a bit too quirky for me, but I loved everything else.
The story has a great cast of characters, it’s lighthearted and fun.

It’s the true definition of a romcom! Absolutely recommended for the fans of the genre!

<i>I would like to thank Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I loved loved loved! this book. Sharp and witty, loved the main character. The book includes many of the well-known tropes in rom-com literature, but I thought it was very well done and based on a sufficiently different premise.

My main caviat is the "virgin to slut" conversion within a couple of chapters, which feels very far-fetched. Who seriously enjoyed sex THAT MUCH the first time? I wish we normalised more common first-time sex experiences in literature/movies/arts to avoid creating such expectations.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.

The premise of "The Love of my Afterlife" was quite appealing as it promised an interesting angle of meeting "The One" in the afterlife and then returning to the living world to find him not only to find love but to evade death as well. Not very seasoned readers will quickly grasp the romance tropes that the author utilises - enemies to lovers, hotel room with just one bed etc. but what Kirsty Greenwood does is toying with them and an awareness of their cheesiness is noted through, making "The Love of My Afterlife" a bit meta.

The trap that Kirsty Greenwood (an many other romance novelists nowadays) fell into, was the point in which a lighthearted romance turns, albeit for just 2 or so chapters, into explicit erotica borderlining porn. Not only is it cringy (am I the only person out there fed up of portraying characters so uninterested in sex that they have an instant ability of explosive orgasms the moment they're penetrated?) but also so off the narrative that it basically feels copy-pasted from entirely different piece of work. I'm aware that this is the market expectation that the romance novels would include raunchy scenes but writing them so they're still in character and match the narrative style poses a huge challenge to authors who simply are not skilled in writing sex scenes, and this includes Greenwood. If she would've abstained (pun intended), I would've easily given this book 4 stars as otherwise it was quite a fun read.

This was my first read of Kirsty Greenwood's, and it did not disappoint! I loved the fast paced, sharp and witty writing style Kirsty has, and I cannot wait to add this book to my collection!

Immediately loved the characters - they were flawlessly written, so relatable and were definitely an eclectic mix!

After accidentally checking into the arrivals room in the afterlife (thanks to a cheap micro burger!), reclusive Delphie is tasked with redeeming herself worthy enough to return back to her life but only IF she completes a task! Getting a potential soulmate to kiss her of their own free will!

Pushing herself wayyyyyy way out of her comfort zone, she plucks up the courage to venture out and track down the love of her life - meeting lots of colourful characters along the way.

This is THE perfect summer romcom read! It had me howling, then teary eyed, then "awhh'ing" all the way through. Would highly recommend this to everyone! It's a beautiful, funny, heartwarming love story I didn't want to put down.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the ARC of this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and finished it in a day. It had a really interesting and new-to-me premise: Delphie arrives in the afterlife, and whilst she's there, she meets her soulmate, Jonah, who is quickly sent back to the real world as he had arrived by accident. Delphie strikes up a deal with her Afterlife Therapist who loves romance stories, and gets another 10 days on Earth to find Jonah and get him to kiss her. She enlists the help of her grumpy downstairs neighbour, Cooper, and she tries to find Jonah in London. It was impossible for me to put this book down: it was a joy to watch Delphie's character development throughout the novel, and I loved all of the characters. The book had humour and romance and unexpected turns. I really enjoyed this book.

A very cute, heartwarming read. Some tough topics but I felt they were dealt with in a quite sensitive way. This is a book that doesn't take itself too seriously, and I quite enjoyed reading something so easygoing

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the DRC!

Great romance, easy to read and very entertaining. The story develops as expected but it does throw in a twist for good measure which is a welcome surprise and with well developed characters it even gets a few laughs out so definitely a joy to read!

I didn't really connect with this book .I think it was my fault for requesting a book that was not my usual read, and I found it to be too different from my usual thrillers or dystopian reads. I expect that fans of this genre will probably enjoy this book, so don't take too much notice of my review it is not my genre.

A great found family rom com with a cast of wonderful characters and a quirky mc.
I would definitely go into this one with as little info as possible (hence the vague review) as I feel you will get the most enjoyment from it that way!

The Love Of My After Life
Genre: Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pub Date: June 20

"Delphie Denise Bookham , died just as she lived alone and perplexed."
She's been living her life alone with no friends and family and pushing people away.
Preferring to be deemed harsh rather than getting attached and hurt that's until, she experiences a near death experience that flips her world upside down.
Delphie went to the land of the dead 'Evermore' where she met her soulmate which happened to be accidently there BUT she's given a chance to go back and find him and feel love for the first fime. However, she only has 10 days and he has to kiss her of his own free will or she will be sent back to Evermore.
What Delphie didn't know that while she was searching for the love of her afterlife she will find the love of her life in the least expected place.

#TheLoveOfMyAfterLife is a story about second chances, exploring life and enjoying it.
It discuss a very important question, have you truly lived? Or did you waste your life hiding and being afraid?
It also talks about the importance of friendship, forgiveness, love , and family and how connections and doing the things you love make a great impact on your life.
It's truly a magnificent novel that everyone should read.
Thank you so much @netgalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC of #TheLoveOfMyAfterLife in exchange for my honest review.

Xoxo💋

This was such a fun, lighthearted read! I absolutely adore Delphie and in a lot of ways she reminds me of me.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading chapter after chapter to discover the fate of Delphie and Jonah, but also loving how her relationship with Cooper blossoms. I just wish there was more of Cooper in the beginning.

I am a firm believer in ‘the right book at the right time’. The Love of my Afterlife came at exactly the right time for me. I had been in a bit of a reading slump and needed something bright and funny to grab my attention. It did exactly that.
Quirky and lighthearted, it made me laugh and cheered me up, even when I had a little cry towards the end. It is touching, quirky and heartwarming.
I loved the heroine, Delfie, but it is the supporting characters who take all the awards. Her neighbour Mr Yoom, the women at work, her new friends Alex and Freda and Merrit in heavan were all so likeable and adorable.
I definitely recommend this book for a beach, for an afternoon by the fire or when you need the kind of read that will cheer you right up.

I absolutely loved this book. I loved the good place so when I read this blurb I knew it would be for me.

At parts the book was cringey but that was to be expected - she’s supposed to get a guy whom she’s never met on earth to kiss her in 10 days or she’ll die. The slightly embarrassing moments did not detract from the book. If anything, it made the main character more likeable.

It was overall a really heart warming and inspiring book. I really adored the aspect of by trying to keep her life she finds a completely new one. It had everything in it: love, making new friends, confronting childhood bullies, drama…

The only downside is that I wish Cooper had been in the book a little more from the beginning.

I really enjoyed the writing style. It was really easy to read and I didn’t want to put it down. I devoured this book in 2 days. The short chapters were also a bonus.

I will 100% recommend this book.

The writing and premise read really fresh. I particularly liked all the characters and how different from each other they are, they make this quite a unique book. I did see where the plot was going from the start, which took out quite a lot of tension out of it for me, but I don't think romance readers will mind, enjoying instead the originality of the journey and the depth of the main characters.

a delightful rom-com with a heavenly twist. Delphie's afterlife takes an unexpected turn when she encounters a charming stranger who could be her soulmate. However, a cosmic mix-up sends him back to Earth. Offered a chance to return to her previous life and win his heart in ten days, Delphie dives into a whirlwind mission. With humor and heart, Kirsty greenwood crafts a tale of second chances and serendipitous encounters. Readers will root for Delphie as she navigates love and destiny in a race against time. A whimsical and uplifting read.

Lovely love story!
The names are a little kitsch but I don’t mind makes you love the characters more!
I loved princess diaries and this is like the adult version with no princesses 👸