Thank you to @berkleyromance and @prhaudio for the gifted print and digital copies of this hilarious and heartwarming book that I loved from the very first page - below is my honest review.

Delphine dies alone in her apartment after choking on a microwavable hamburger, only to awaken in the intake lobby for the afterlife. When newly dead Jonah also arrives, Delphine finally feels that spark of soulmate-level connection she’d wanted her whole life. Only now she’s dead. But through a clerical error, Jonah isn’t supposed to be there, and he returns to his (very much alive) self on Earth. Taking pity on Delphine, her romance novel-loving Afterlife intake specialist offers her a deal. Since her body has yet to be discovered, Delphine can return but only has ten days to find Jonah had have him kiss her of his own free will. If successful, Delphine can stay. If not, she must return to the afterlife. Thus begins a quirky, chaotic, wildly funny, and often tender series of misadventures in which Delphine discovers how to truly live only after she has died.

This was one of those books where, after the first chapter, you know you are going to read until you finish. I did not put it down but bounced between the audio and print versions. It was a wickedly funny, incredibly heartfelt story about how to reshape your life, decide who you want to be a part of, create your own family, work through loss, and discover the people who would love you were with you all along. I love it when a story can deliver complexity and hilarity in a way that augments both, and Greenwood 100% delivers with this book—I loved it.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I laughed out loud many, many times and couldn’t wait to see how it ended.

“The Love of My Afterlife” by Kristy Greenwood opens with an our main character, Delphie, dying while choking on a microwaveable hamburger. In the afterlife she immediately meets her soulmate, Jonah. Delphine bargains with her afterlife therapist to get a shot back on Earth with Jonah. Delphie’s life on Earth has been pretty miserable and isolating so this is her shot at a 2nd chance to change things around. But things never go as planned.

I really enjoyed this story. It was funny, heartwarming and reflective. Delphie is truly a quirky character; her isolation is self-inflicted after being burned many times by people she loved. I hated her and loved her throughout the books, yelling at her to get out of her own way. I loved the love interest too. I won’t go into details to stay away from spoilers. My only gripe is with a specific part of the ending that seemed to just be there to wrap things up more quickly. I also loved that Delphie was a “late-bloomer” and her love interest didn’t shame her for that. I didn’t love that some of female characters seem to same her or that once she had sex she thought it fixed all her problems. But again the end was rushed and maybe could have been flushed out more. None of that outweighs by overall enjoyment of the rom-don’t though. I will be recommending this book to all my friends and patrons at the library.

3.5 stars. Super cute magical realism romance. Not too predictable, and fun without being completely hokey.

The Love of My Afterlife is a unique romance filled with humor, heart and magic. I didn’t quite know what to expect, but this story exceeded my hopes for what this book would be.

Delphie finds herself in Evermore (the afterlife) after choking on a microwaved burger. She is assigned to Afterlife Therapist, Merritt, to help with her transition. After watching her life as a slideshow, Delphie is saddened to realize she wasted all her time on earth.

“Here lies Delphie Denise Bookham. She died just as she lived: alone, perplexed, wearing something a bit shit.”

In the waiting room, Delphie meets her soul mate- a gorgeous and kind man- sparks fly. Romance reading Merritt gives Delphie 10 days to find her soul mate and have him kiss her to remain living. (very Little Mermaid- esque)

The romance in this book kept me on my toes! I highly recommend going in blind. I don’t want to say anything more due to potential spoilers, but the romance was lovely.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was watching Delphie form genuine connections. She hasn’t had friendship since isolating herself after being bullied as a teen. At first, Delphie only involves others because she needs their help, but she soon begins to enjoy spending time with them. This element of the book reminded me a lot of I Hope This Finds You Well and The Collected Regrets of Clover.

There were 2 things that kept this from being a 5-star read for me. One, there were a ton of pop culture references (Lucy Score, Emily Henry, Clueless, My Chemical Romance, Sophie Kinsella, Trunchbull, Will Smith & many more). I’m a 35-year-old romance reader and got them all, but I think there were too many and depending on your age, may limit whether the reference hits. Secondly, Delphie was hard for me to like at first. I knew she had a big heart all along because of her relationship with Mr. Yoon, but sometimes her rudeness rubbed me the wrong way.

Read if you like:
•Magical realism with your romance
•Found family (Aled, Mr. Yoon- I love you both)

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for an early copy of this title; all thoughts are my own.

Not sure where this one fell off for me. I might be the odd one out, but I don't know how I feel about this! I loved the twist. I definitely didn't see that coming. And I was glad she didn't end up with Jonah. But I felt like all that she went through to not be with who she thought she was going to be with defeated the purpose of the whole book. That's literally the whole premise of it and why she died and came back. HOWEVER, I did enjoy the ending so I'm not completely at odds with it - which is why I'm so torn. I had a hard time connecting with Delphie and I wish we had a chance to know her a bit more. I typically don't mind the magic realism aspect of a plot, but this one was just meh for me. What I did enjoy was toward the last maybe 40% of the book we see her actually trying to make friends, and living her truth authentic self. Poor girl had to die and come back to enjoy sex for the first time (lol). I really liked how she made a decision to be happy and be with the person she truly was in love with.

This unique premise caught my eye but it was the quirky characters, humor, and my favorite enemies to lovers trope that kept me reading. Delphie hasn’t had a great life. Estranged from her parents, living a pretty solitary life, she now finds herself given an impossible task; to find her soulmate in a city of millions. Enlisting the aid of her co-workers and neighbors, she begins to follow his trail. As she does, she gets to know all of these people who have been in her life, but whom she has never allowed herself to befriend. I loved how these seven days truly changed Delphie and made her realize that she doesn’t want to leave this life behind and there are reasons to live.

This was definitely a quirky premise and these characters were often laugh out loud funny. This is the first novel I’ve read by Kirsty Greenwood and I’ll be looking for others with the hope she delivers on the humor again. It’s also worth noting that she delivers great relationships too. Delphie was a loner and her journey starts from scratch. She has to make friends, change her demeanor from sour and grumpy to open and welcoming, and she falls in love! This novel was transforming in a lot of ways and it was a lot of fun to read.

This was fun albeit predictable. It was like a Netflix rom-com. Two people who keep the world at arm's length, for different reasons, collide in a series of classic romance tropes. Faking dating, close proximity, one-bed.

Delphie and Cooper are both likable, and I genuinely enjoyed their chemistry.

The book isn’t anything outstanding or genre-defining but it’s easy, a little sexy, and a mostly enjoyable time. This book would serve perfectly as an easy-breezy summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

This book had all of the vibes of a great rom-com combined with the bittersweet loveliness of The Good Place. And sering as The Good Place is one of my favorite shows, I had.a feeling that this book would be right up my alley.

It is funny and comical, but it's also soft, poignant, and loving at the same time. Seeing Delphie finally living her life when faced with an ultimatum from the afterlife was touching and heartfelt. The people that she had in her life that she took for granted, but were always going to be there for her. And Cooper! He was already pining hard at the beginning of the book, and it only grew as the book continued, despite their continued sniping. I loved everything about them.

This book was delightful. I absolutely enjoyed it.

What started off as an enjoyable, fun, and quite unique read started to become a rather comical and even cringe worthy experience.

The premise of this story is unique. The concept of dying and meeting your soulmate in the afterlife only for him to disappear, so now you have a couple days to get him back with a chance of being back alive on Earth. I think what the author created is a fun concept that had a lot of potential, but it was all lost on the messiness the plot took.

My biggest issue with this is the expectation I had is nothing of what the book offered, and that’s usually a subjective matter, but in this case, we go into it expecting one thing and literally come out with another. I hate it when authors market a book a certain way only for it to be changed or completely different, nothing like how it started, and that is what happened here. I was expected to root for a romantic relationship that was never going to be the finality. I was expected to see Delphie find her afterlife soulmate only for her to…not. And this just pisses me off because it doesn’t matter who you root for; it’s the fact that we start off one way only for it to change completely. The blurb made me think I would be reading about Delphie finding Jonah, yet she and Jonah don’t meet until after the halfway point. And the author probably most likely wanted to make it this way for the reader to like Cooper instead, which would’ve been fine had that been the intention in the first place. I just hated the structure of this. I don’t like going into books expecting one thing and finishing the story with a whole different set up. You can say there’s a small love triangle but also not, considering Delphie spends most of the book looking for and pining over Jonah while Cooper miserably pines over her one sidedly. Again, this wouldn’t have been an issue had I expected Cooper but in no way was I prepared to forget about Jonah and root for Cooper. And it’s not that I don’t like the relationship between Cooper and Delphie, just that I wasn’t expecting it. And yes, I know this isn’t <i>just</i> a romance, but again, it is primarily marketed as a romance about a woman who meets her soulmate when she dies. In the afterlife. There’s other themes of found family and finding joy with limited time, which I think can create a bright message about taking advantage of life while you have it, but Delphie’s life was humoring, and not in a good way.

Delphie is described as quirky by a lot of people, and I agree. But I also found her to be a little bit childish. Again, I don’t know if this was intentional or what but her personality didn’t come off as appealing and instead was off putting in between different scenes. The amount of second hand embarrassment she gave me was truly outlandish. It’s honestly not common for me to get second hand embarrassment from characters because I think embarrassment is so subjective that people take these things too differently, but Delphie’s character was immature at times. Her dialogue was not funny or relatable but instead embarrassing. I cringed a few too many times. I just didn’t vibe with her. She’s 27 yet sometimes it was difficult to see that age in real life because she came off as a desperate, annoying teenager. Hell I’ve met teenagers way more mature than her, less annoying, and much more developed. Her actions and dialogue did not provide the necessary humor the author was trying to give, in my opinion.

I didn’t find this what many others did. I didn’t find it cute, funny, or entertaining. I was rather bored from the 30% mark, clearly on outlier island, wondering why this had to be a miss for me. I was excited, but now I’m kind of glad I got it over with. I also found the modern references to be way too much. I just wish authors would with the modern references, using real life as a way for bait. Actors, authors, tropes, musicians, etc—all used here that just made me roll my eyes.

This was the first book I've read by this author, and it definitely won't be the last! The premise is unique, and it was such an enjoyable read. I loved the characters, it was perfectly paced, and I was hooked from the beginning. I didn't want to put it down! This book had everything I wanted-laughed, I swooned, I had fun, and it was emotional. I can't wait to read her other books!
Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you Berkley for the ARC. This was such an interesting and unique concept. I love magical realism and time travel romances. The FMC was a bit annoying at first but she grew on me. I recommend to people looking for something different in the romance genre.

This was an absolute pleasure! I loved watching Delphie on her crazy adventure to get back to the land of the living. Greenwood writes grumpy characters well. The side characters in this were perfection and I couldn’t get enough of their fun personalities. I switched between reading and listening and would recommend either format and going into this one blind if you can.

I need people who liked this to comment below and explain

The premise of this is that some loner dies, goes to what is undeniably hell (I mean a laundromat???) and meets the “love of her life” and suddenly there’s some type of clause that allows her to return to Earth and find him. This is all within the first 6 chapters, which also has approximately 15 pop culture references… at 17% I was only on page 62, so allow that to sink in for a minute.

The FMC returns to Earth and has a whole journey to find this mystery guy but I want to make clear that she’s HOPELESS. Like she literally takes the “I’m such a quirky loner” to the extreme (she doesn’t even have a library card? What??) and she’s very socially awkward for no reason. Like she runs into the neighbour on the floor below (WHO SHE IS AN UNNECESSARY BITCH TOO all because he isn’t a loner like her) and is upset that this man doesn’t wanna help her? Like ma’am, you’re mean to him for no reason, and can’t understand why he doesn’t like you. Here’s a quote: “is his rudeness towards me personal, or is he like this with everyone… can’t be… he wouldn’t have women hanging about”. This was directly after she told him that her issue (which she explained as having to tell someone she gave him chlamydia) was more important than his actual job… babe, the call is coming from inside and you need to answer. And then when he said no, she goes “well don’t come knocking on my door for help”. You don’t get to be mad that he can’t stop his job to be bothered by you. Also she has a weird obsession with her childhood friend turned bully. Like WEIRD- the girl was in her “life flashback” because she’s like 30 and can’t get over high school.

Back to the pop culture references: the author is name dropping other authors left right and center and I don’t know if she thinks it’ll bring her clout, or what, but reading it made me roll my eyes so hard, I actually had to put my kindle down and take a nap.

23% in and she’s so drunk that the library guy has to help her into her apartment, but she is neither appreciative of it and somehow makes it the neighbours fault

25% and now she’s attempting to literally run into Jonah. She’s wearing a very tight sports bra and is upset that someone looked at the boobs she proudly put on display.., like you didn’t have an old T shirt???

29% and she went through her elderly neighbours things and is upset that he’s mad at her?

59% and she’s an embarrassment. She’s hunting for a guy and knowing she’ll see him, she goes and throws champagne on her high school bully because she can’t just move on, and expects the guy to actually wanna talk to her?? It’s been 10 years love…

62% and now they’re calling rain “apocalyptic”. On that same note, she’s learning some fucking empathy at her old age

The ending redeemed this for me slightly, but I was still rolling my eyes too hard at it all for it to be a good rating.

Delphie Bookham is so like many of us. She has past hurt that has caused her to isolate herself with no friends and no, well life, really. Then one night she chokes on a burger and wakes up in the afterlife. While she learns about what comes next, she unexpectantly meets someone who could very well be her soulmate, only he was there by mistake. To entertain the love of romance novels, her afterlife therapist sends her back to Earth with the condition she finds her soulmate and have him kiss her of his own free will within 10 days. Easy, right?

I loved this story so much! We are introduced to all of Delphie's neighbors, whom she is now getting to know much better. She enlists the help of the older Timothée Chalamet look-alike to find her soulmate. In the process, she meets new people and learns what it truly is to live and be surrounded by people who she generally cares about. In the process, she finds love and fights to the bitter end to save it. There's a fun twist that makes this tale even more enchanting!

The Love of My Afterlife has quickly become one of my favorite books, and maybe one day, there will be a movie!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions express are my own.

I loved this book! It was a little silly sometimes, but for the majority of the time, I had a great time reading this. The story was so fun and heartfelt. I think people will love this! Definitely will be recommending!

So fun, so quirky, so unique and so easy to love!! This was such a cute read!

Delphie has died and gone to heaven...or has she? Nope, she's ended up at the in-between and is given the chance to go back to earth to find her mystery man in hopes that he is her soulmate and kisses her. Oh yeah, she only has ten days to complete the task! Can Delphie pull it off and end up with the love of her life?

Grab this if you are in the mood for the perfect rom-com/ magical realism!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for my copy!

Delphie is a 27 year old woman who lives alone. She doesn't have close friends & has no interest in seeking friendships. That is until she dies in her apartment with no one to help her. (I never thought I'd be laughing at a character choking to death 😅.) She ends up in a waiting room in the afterlife, Evermore. She briefly meets a handsome & charming man who genuinely seems interested in her. However, he is sent right back to earth. Delphie makes a deal & is given the opportunity to find the gorgeous man. She only has 10 days to find him & kiss him or she will be sent right back to Evermore.

I had such a great time reading this book! I had many moments where I was cracking up at how ridiculous the situations Delphie got herself into in search for her soul mate were. The story is much more than just finding true love. We see Delphie step out of her comfort zone. She experiences new things & meets a wonderful group of friends along the way. It reminded me a bit of The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley.

I highly recommend if you want a fun read! It's also a BOTM add-on option for July!

I received a free copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group; all opinions expressed are exclusively my own.

This was a beautiful and actually funny rom-com, which is not easy. The author manages to make the main character snarky and offputting while still showing her to be a deeply kind and good person, Finally, the secondhand embarrassment, which is normally a really tough thing for me to handle, is done in such a way that while I might dread the scene, it doesn't go as badly as I dread in the end. I feel like I should have guessed the twist, but I didn't. Anyway, this review is very much rambling, but the main point is that this was an excellent book and I happily recommend it to romance fans.

For sensitive readers, there are depictions of choking, car accidents, death, death of loved ones, trauma, childhood neglect, toxic family relationships, bullying, alcoholism, and graphic sexuality.

The Love of My Afterlife by Kristy Greenwood
Narrator: Sofia Oxenham
Rating: 4.5
Steam: 1 chili
Pub date: 7/2

Kirsty Greenwood’s “The Love of My Afterlife” offers a fun blend of romance, magical realism, and a touch of the paranormal. The story starts with Delphie, who finds herself in the afterlife’s waiting room after an embarrassingly mundane death by choking on a microwaveable burger. Her mortification becomes something else when she encounters the most attractive man she’s ever seen. Just as they start to connect, a mishap sends him back to earth, leaving Delphie with an offer she can’t refuse—a second chance at life and love if she can find him within ten days.

This is my first book by Kirsty Greenwood, and it won't be my last! From its unique premise to its heartwarming conclusion, this book is a true gem.

Delphie is a wonderfully quirky protagonist. She’s grumpy, rude, and completely relatable. Her character arc is exceptional, as she evolves from a hermit hiding from life into someone strong and resourceful. Her interactions with Cooper are endearing as they navigate their unlikely partnership, and I was rooting for their love story from the start.

The side characters, especially Mr. Yoon, add depth and warmth to the story. Delphie’s evolving relationships with them highlight the novel’s theme of living life to the fullest and overcoming past trauma. Greenwood’s passion for romance novels shines through, with romance references that I immediately recognized.

I switched between my e-copy and audiobook for this one, and I absolutely loved Sofia Oxenham’s narration!

Overall, this book was sweet, suspenseful, and made me think. I loved it, and I can’t wait to see what Greenwood comes up with next.

Read if you like:
*magical realism
*opposites attract
*forced proximity
*complicated family relationships
*single POV

I expected this to be a cute, fun rom-com with magical realism elements, and I got all that but also much more. Witty and engagingly written, this runs much deeper than its quirky premise. It is the journey of a young woman who doesn't truly learn to live until after she has died, and it is full of heartfelt moments and laugh-out-loud humor. There are themes of taking chances, self-growth, grief, and found family.

Delphie is a wonderfully well-developed character, complex and flawed, with a heart of gold. However, due to her past, she has developed some self-protective behaviors and closed herself off. She is naive, socially awkward, and very endearing. In a literal life-and-death race against the clock, her character experiences tremendous self-discovery and growth. It's been a while since I rooted this hard for a character. She also made me laugh with her dry, sarcastic wit. The side characters were also great, and I especially loved Delphie's neighbors in her building. And the romance book/trope references that were woven in were a lot of fun.

This gave me a massive book hangover—part guilty pleasure, part hopeful reminder to live life to its fullest. I loved how unexpected, touching, and entertaining this was! A must-read!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for the free book!