I was really intrigued by the premise of Nearly Departed and appreciated the unique tone and dry humor Lucas Oakeley brings to the page. His writing style has a casual, observational quality that feels fresh and current, and there’s a definite charm in the way he explores themes of mortality, connection, and the absurdity of modern life.
That said, I personally struggled to connect with the characters. While they were distinct and often quirky, they never quite came alive for me in a way that made me feel emotionally invested. As a result, the story felt a bit flat at times, and I found myself more of a passive observer than an engaged reader.
Still, I can see this resonating with others who enjoy character-driven narratives with a darkly comic edge. It just didn’t quite land for me, but I appreciate what the author was trying to do.

Nearly Departed is a funny, heartfelt story about love, grief, and moving on. Joel is struggling after the sudden loss of his girlfriend Beth, but dating again gets even trickier when Beth’s ghost keeps showing up.

I really enjoyed how the book balances humour with tender, emotional moments. Joel is relatable in his flaws, and Beth’s ghostly presence adds both charm and depth. The pacing can feel a little slow in places, but overall it’s original, warm, and very engaging.

A lovely mix of romance, comedy, and heart.

‘Nearly Departed’ was a nice easy read and very relatable as a single young person in London! I enjoyed the overall message and liked the narrator’s voice, I’d definitely recommend this to people looking for a quirky love story and fans of David Nichols.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bedford Square Publishers for this ARC.

Londoner Beth Lewis dies in a car accident at 26. Three years on, her boyfriend Joel Foster thinks he is ready to date again - then Beth's ghost turns up to haunt him just as she said she would.

Joel is 28 and feels like a widower, something everyone else tells him he's not. He has friends but they only seem to come together now and then, and he doesn't even know whether Sam is still his best friend or not. His friend Alice randomly gets a completely superfluous POV too now and then.

The debut novel details his budding romance with Nina, ghost Beth always present. One visit to an art gallery is several chapters long and still, nothing much seems to happen, just Joel trying to come to terms with his life before he gets sectioned for seemingly talking to thin air.

This is a book about grief and moving on, written from a male perspective, in a strange literary writing style, with an unconvincing supernatural element. The characters feel quite real but Beth' mother is just weird. I'm sure that a lot of people will appreciate this unique approach to grief, but I didn't find it particularly engaging. I would have yeeted Joel too after he said the three year thing! Nina is honestly too good for him, but then, a man wrote this. Also, if you use big words, don't misspell them.

This was such an interesting read! Lucas Oakley narration style was something I don’t think I’ve read before, and I really enjoyed it! The chapters very fairly short and snappy, and the book kept me up quite a few nights in a row. It’s a perfect silly paranormal romance, and I really liked the main characters, although I wished that Joel’s motivation was a bit clearer. While we learn why it’s exactly 3 years he’s given himself to fall in love, it comes a bit too late and it’s very inconsequential. I have the same issue with the countdown, as it’s such a big part of the book… and then what?

All in all I’d definitely recommend the book to anyone in a mood for some romance and existential crisis that can only come from worrying about the afterlife.

A love story between Joel and Beth -with a difference - Beth has been dead for 3 years !
She is haunting Joel because he is having trouble moving on with his life and she want's to help him

A romatic emotional tale -get the hankies out !!

Thankyou NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honets review

A reflective perspective on grief and its manifestation within a male character; something in itself quite rare in contemporary literature. Profound yet humorous, at times cutting but incredibly relatable, the author’s creation of Joel and his support network, along with his depiction of the “nearly departed” Beth almost exclusively from Joel’s eyes, is what made this book so interesting. I also found the portrayal of male friendship, with its sensitivities that may not be as clear but are undoubtedly “there” when a loved one has lost a loved one, was very captivating.

Unexpectedly tender and quietly profound, Nearly Departed is a witty, warm and slightly ghostly exploration of love, grief and the messiness of moving on. Joel Foster is still reeling from the loss of his girlfriend Beth, who died in a tragic accident.

While he feels like a widower, a strange deadline looms as he must find new love before three years are up.

Just as Joel begins to believe he might be ready to open his heart again, Beth starts appearing, despite being very much dead. What follows is part love story, part ghost story, with Oakeley striking a perfect balance between humour, heartache and a touch of the surreal.

The result is a debut that feels fresh and original, offering a heartfelt take on modern dating, lingering loss and the way the past refuses to stay buried.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

First of all I would like to say thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really good debut novel, It was heartfelt, funny and also explored grief, healing and even the paths we sometimes have to take to find love again. I did feel like some of the character development was lacking and is probably one of my only downsides of this book, however as a debut novel this is expected and hopefully in future books the author is able to develop their skills.

This one’s witty, weird, and surprisingly tender. Joel’s grieving, dating, and maybe being haunted by his dead girlfriend and somehow it’s all hilarious and heart-breaking at once.

Nearly Departed follows Joel, who sets himself a deadline to fall in love again after girlfriend dies, but ends up being haunted by her instead.

Despite the serious topic, this was mostly humorous and lighthearted, with a fun cast of characters making for an engaging and enjoyable read. I loved how it showed the ups and downs of grief, reflecting on Joel’s memories as he tried to move forward with his life.

The central romance was cute, but I wish we’d spent more time on it, as I didn’t end up feeling very attached to the couple. I loved their dynamic initially, but this got a bit lost when Beth reappeared as a ghost. Also, I was very emotionally attached to Beth and was sad they couldn’t get their relationship back… this is definitely my own fault for shipping a ghost/human pairing 😂

Overall, this was a fun and heartwarming read that was perfect for summer (and autumn for the ghosts)!

Thank you to Bedford Square for the NetGalley arc.

TWO IS a coincidence, three is a trend – who would have thought that a new tradition in killing off characters would be one so, excuse the pun, pedestrian? The opening tragedy of Nearly Departed is the third cycling-in-a-city related death which happens in a work of romantic literature, that I can think of off the top of my head, and one can only think it is a device used to ponder on the vulnerability of love and whimsical road users.
Beth is a young woman in her prime, whose life is cut untimely short when the bicycle she is riding collides with a cement truck on her way to work. It is a senseless misfortune, a terrible tragedy which leaves her partner Joel adrift for the next three years.
His friend Sam, on a rare night out, persuades him that it is time to start dating again, that Beth wouldn’t want him to spend the rest of his life alone, pining for her. Joel, given the prompt, the permission, feels ready to start opening that door again, and so downloads the apps and begins the process of navigating modern love.
As is usual, it takes encountering a few freaky frogs before Joel meets Nina, a woman who makes his heart skip a beat the way Beth once did. After a flirty text exchange full of quick-firing banter they agree to go on a date with each other, and instantly click. But, nearing the end of dinner, Joel’s peripheral vision lands on someone in the crowd who is undeniably his dead ex-girlfriend, and promptly faints.
Brushing it off as a hallucination brought on by guilt in exploring the romantic world again, Joel tries to dismiss the incident, but it leaves him rattled, flustered. Not long after, Beth really and truly materialises in the apartment that they used to share, assuring him that yes, she’s back, yes, she’s still dead and no, she doesn't know quite what’s going on either.
Here is where an enjoyably witty love story aimed at Gen Z, following an amiable, well executed protagonist whose uncertainty about himself and his place in the world has him assuming the characteristics of those closest to him, becomes an enjoyably witty love story, with ghosts.
It has the air of a trendy London-based rom-com at times – you can imagine the character’s meticulously chosen fashionable outfits and fervently politically correct views. They are all under-30 and on the cusp of facing the reality of their positions in life, discovering that it’s not all working your way up the career ladder, but also time to think about mortgages and engagements and – gasp! – pensions.
It is concerned with a newly discovered sense of mortality, something many lucky people in their early adulthood haven’t had to or wanted to consider thus far in their lives. It is not just the prospect of living life to the fullest, lest it be thrust from your grasp, but also the reality of aging, of facing up to making big decisions to prepare for a potential, if assumed and hoped for, future.
There are some interesting conversations as well around art, a passion shared by both of Joel’s love interests, and with them questions on how many interests you should pretend to care about to relate to someone you fancy.
The changes in narrative perspective would work better if they were more consistent – omnipotent third person mostly hovers over Joel, but shifts abruptly to Beth or Nina at times, when, presumably, the author feels that the reader needs to know what they are thinking about him in that moment.
While the prose flows well, the author is fond of a creative simile – the story “spilled out of him like the open wound of a haemophiliac” is one particularly unique example that made me laugh and is in keeping with the sometimes-edgy flourishes amid the otherwise polite and genial narrative.
Nearly Departed asks if well-held memories are the true afterlife, and makes a good argument for it - no one who was loved is never truly gone. The plot is simple, the characters few, yet it still gives plenty of food for thought.

This was an interesting take on a familiar ghost romance-ish book. I've never read one from the point of view from a cishet man. I didn't tear through this book, but it had a comfortable slow tempo. The characters were super relatable to a British audience, with the depictions of London and the London dating scene being very accurate. I loved the twist! I loved how it really changed so much of the book looking at the events of the story retrospectively. For me the POS potential for this book is gorgeous. I'm picturing bookmarks with the portraits (if they're in the public domain) studded down the bookmark like a mini gallery.

A nice witty lit fic that isn’t too hard to get into! The beginning of the book really drew me in! I love a shocking moment like that to set me up for what’s to come! I would’ve appreciated more ghosts however that’s not to say there wasn’t a good amount! I really enjoyed how overcoming grief was a huge part of this although it wasn’t always obvious! It was very written in that respect! Super excited to see this on the shelves!

Feel very lucky to have received this as an ARC read, and it was a privilege to read.

When i've been in a long term relationship in the past, I have thought to myself "how long would they take to move on if I died? How long would I take? Would I want them to?" And I genuinely don't think there is a right answer. But would I haunt them as soon as they did look at someone else? Best believe I would.

Joel navigating life 3 years after Beths death is hopeful and promising, but gets flung in the air when he realises shes came back as a ghost.

The ending to this book gave me a small weep, Joel realising that the image he had of Beth in his mind during 3 years of mourning wasn't what he thought it was, and really resonated about how we never know the full truth of who we consider to be the loves of our lives.

Nearly Departed, the debut novel from Lucas Oakeley, is a refreshingly original blend of dark humour, romance, and ghostly intrigue that explores the messy reality of grief and the awkward chaos of modern dating. Joel Foster’s world is shattered when his girlfriend, Beth Lewis, is tragically killed. Still haunted by loss, Joel must navigate the impossible task of moving on.
Lucas masterfully captures the complicated emotions of heartbreak, grief, and healing with sharp wit and surprising tenderness. The novel’s honest portrayal of loss, paired with its unique supernatural twist, offers a profound yet often laugh-out-loud look at what it means to love again when your past refuses to stay buried.
Though some readers might wish for deeper character development, Nearly Departed is a story about authentic emotional depth and an irresistible charm. If you’re drawn to stories about love, loss, and the ghosts that follow us, this one’s a must-read.

It has been a very long time since I have seen grief and the navigating of it done in such a superbly passionate yet empathetic manner

Joel and Beth were together for five years before she unexpectedly died in a tragic accident. It is nearly three years later and Joel has vowed to himself that he will fall in love again. However he is struggling to move on and this is when the ghost of Beth appears, inconveniently while he is on a date with Nina for the first time.
Beth tries to guide Joel into moving forward and offers him dating tips. I found this quite amusing. She also has a confession to make to Joel, which I think is meant to enable him to move forward. I found this tore at my heartstrings. It seemed rather cruel and painful, an unexpected twist to the story. 

Nearly Departed depicts the rocky path of navigating grief while trying to move forward. It is sensitively drawn for the most part. 

I found the pace of the book rather slow at times but, as others have written, the chapters with Beth really added another dimension to the story. She’s sparky and interesting, far more so than Joel‘s character. Joel is rather gloomy and dull, albeit realistic; after all there are plenty of people just plodding along in life, not doing anything particularly dynamic or exciting.

As a debut novel I think this shows promise.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

sadly i found this book hard going. i loved the concept but it took me ages to get into and i found it slightly long winded.

An original and offbeat take on grief with moments of sharp wit and surreal charm. While the premise is intriguing, the execution didn’t fully come together for me. A decent read with flashes of potential, but ultimately a bit uneven.