✨BOOK REVIEW: The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

5 /5

I don’t know where to start with this book. I cannot remember the last time a book made me laugh out loud as many times, if ever, as this one. I can’t remember the last time I felt my heart ache and lurch, throat close and have my eyes start watering while reading. I was hugging my e-reader and just staring into space after reading this book — one that had me hooked from the FIRST PAGE. First sentence even. I was caught between wanting to savour every page and not finish the book because I loved it so much to not being able to put it down.

This book gave me The Good Place meets the Dead Romantics with sprinkles of Ghost Whisperer and dollops of Bridget Jones. The way this book translated to such a rom-com in my mind — I could see it all like a movie. There were moments that made me go “Oh my god, Delphie” because my girl does not know what a foot in the mouth is and I loved her for that.

I am not a fan of pop culture references in a lot of books because they are never done well or in a way that doesn’t take me away from the book but all of the references about Emily Henry, Schitts Creek, Bridgerton, Sally Thorne etc were so well done.

Also, can I just say the TROPES in this book were so meta. This book gave us everything we could have wanted. Merrit is me, I am Merrit because, I too, would be playing puppet with people’s love lives if I had eternity in the afterlife. Creating your own ships and giving them all your favourite tropes? Count me in. Even though Delphie didn’t know, I love that as a reader, even I was a little thrown when I started to piece together who Delphie’s soulmate was and it did NOT disappoint, but the way it was executed?!? Ugh. Perfection.

I kept picturing Jonah from Superstore, haha. But also Cooper. Yeah. Me, too. Me freaking too.

I think this quote from the book truly sums it up:

“I'm surrounded by people. My people.
The ones I love and who love me back. The ones who will be at my side during the peaks and the dips and all the precious bits in between. Those who will be a part of those small everyday moments that might not make it into the poems and the grand paintings and the history books, but all together add up to something more precious than anything. A life, witnessed. A life, lived.”

Your life may not be a movie, but it is one that you get to write the script for, the one you get to make the memories for.

Thank you to Kirsty for writing this book. Just… thank you.


⭐️⭐️✨ = 2 stars and a consideration

⭐️ Delphie as a character in general was SO relatable to me. Actually, this book could have been about me. I have been struggling with exactly the lesson that Delphie learned throughout her little test of fate, at the moment. She was so funny and likeable to me because I UNDERSTOOD her. “It turns out after all these years, I might actually be a latent slut, just waiting for my opportunity to bloom.” Lmaoooooo, when I tell you I screamed. I get it, girl. I get it. I loved watching her grow throughout the book, from someone who hid from the world to someone embraced it, someone who NEEDED to… WANTED to live.

⭐️ Delphie’s relationship with Mr.Yoon, oh my heart. I absolutely adored seeing that dynamic. It was so heart warming to see her care so much about his well-being and how these two lone wolves had found a pack in one another. Their scenes were some of my favourite.

✨ Absolutely none at all — if anything, I want a sequel so bad. I want to see into the lives of everyone on that block. I fell in love with Delphie’s whole little family of people. Come through found family trope.

Thank you to Penguin Randomhouse Canada, Viking, NetGalley and Kirsty Greenwood for this ARC.

Pub Date: July 2, 2024

I really enjoyed this book and tore through it while on a plane recently. It was very entertaining and amusing. A description I read somewhare said it was for fans of The Good Place and I definitely agree. Delphie is a bit of a nutty character but it works. I’m glad it ended up having a happy ending, but the way the last quarter of the book was going, it had me a bit concerned. It was a very entertaining read and I will definitely be buying a copy once it’s released.

Delphie dies unexpectedly and arrives in Evermore to meet her Afterlife Therapist, Merritt. While panicking to get back to life, Delphie literally runs into a soulmate? Merritt, being a lover of romance novels decided to send her back to find him and get loves first kiss in 10 days, or she returned to Evermore for good.

Right off the bat the title grabbed me. This book was a fantastic read, I found myself smirking right at the begining of the book, laughing out loud a couple chapters in, experiencing some second hand embarrassment, and even crying in those last six chapters! Merritt is such a funny personality (I would read a book just about her), Delphie is relatable, as in she is just stuck in the routine of day to day and not actually living. If you love book tropes this book has them all; found family, enemies to lovers, friends first, love triangle, one bed, forced proximity, fake dating and probably many more. This is a perfect romantic comedy.

I don’t want to say too much because I think it book is so much better going in knowing less, but I highly recommend The Love of My Afterlife!

Thank you to Kirsty Greenwood, Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book.

Rounded up from 4.5
When she dies, Delphie meets Jonah in the waiting room of Evermore, and they hit it off right away. But Jonah was not supposed to be there yet. So when Merritt, their Afterlife Therapist, sends him back to his life, Delphie strikes a deal with Merritt, who is a sucker for a good romance: she will send Delphie back too. The catch? She not only has to find the right Jonah in a sea of Jonahs in London, but he has to kiss her (not the other way around) within the next 10 days. Otherwise, Delphie will die again and go back to Evermore. Desperate to find Jonah, Delphie strikes an arrangement with one of her very unlikeable neighbors, Cooper, who needs a fake girlfriend to appease his matchmaking family...
This is a fake dating, enemies to lovers, love triangle, forced proximity, found family, one bedroom/bed romance with magical realism. It was laugh out loud funny at times. It started strong, but I felt like dragged a bit in the middle. I would've traded the dragging in the middle for an ending that was a bit less rushed. At times, the references to romance books were really fun, but some other times, they took me right out of the story. But all in all, this book was an unexpected surprise and I really enjoyed it!
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood follows Delphie, who finds herself in the processing room at Evermore after a rather unfortunate incident involving a microwave burger. There, she meets her chatty "Afterlife therapist," Merritt. At 28 years old forever, Merritt loves spicy curry and even spicier romance novels. She's the complete opposite of Delphie, a socially awkward 27-year-old virgin with only one friend—her elderly neighbour, Mr. Yoon. Delphie's tendency to speak her mind without a filter often gets her into trouble.

The afterlife turns interesting when a gorgeous new arrival, Jonah, looks at Delphie as if she's the most beautiful woman he's ever seen—despite her embarrassing nightgown. However, Jonah's arrival is a mistake, and he quickly disappears in a shimmer of iridescent light.

Merritt then drops a bombshell: everyone has five soulmates on Earth. She believes Jonah might be one of Delphie's and invokes the rarely used clause, which allows Delphie to return to Earth. The catch? Delphie has ten days to find Jonah and get him to kiss her, or she'll die and return to Evermore forever.

What follows is a fresh, entertaining romp around London, filled with humour, quirky found family moments, and nods to popular romance tropes and authors. If you enjoy magical realism, this is an enjoyable beachy read you want to add to your out-of-control-to-be-read pile! I cannot wait to get a physical copy of this book to re-read it!

I just finished reading, The Love of My Afterlife, by Kristy Greenwood and to say that I laughed and I cried is an understatement. Romantic comedies are not usually my jam, but I can honestly say that I loved this book.

I don't want to give a synopsis of the story as that would be pure spoiler. But I love that lone wolf, Delphie, discovers along the way that life is worth living. That there is not only family but friends who become your community. I loved all the quirky characters that Delphie meets in the 10 days that she has to save her life and how they all come together to help each other.

This magical romance will leave you wanting more and was an exceptionally good read!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC for which I am gladly giving my honest opinion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

This book is ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. I have no criticism whatsoever. 5 shining stars.

Delphie is a true heroine of a FMC. She is grumpy, sad, lonely, traumatized and unloved. She is also incredibly strong, warm, loving, funny and self-aware.

Without risking a spoiler, I encourage anyone to pick up this book and read it.

If you're looking for the perfect rom-com, look no further! This was Bridget Jones meets Rebecca Bloomwood. It was a perfect balance which had me literally laughing out loud, while enjoying the knowledge and depth brought by the supporting characters. The life reflections and journey to self discovery was highly entertaining and a complete delight to read. The book is light and fun, an ideal summer read.

Many thanks once again to NetGalley for the ARC! I absolutely LOVED this book. I laughed, I cried, I stayed up way past my bedtime too many days absolutely hooked. I’m sad that it’s finished. I feel like this book needs to be made into a movie or a show!!!

This book is cute but rather tropey. It had really enjoyable moments and some slightly cringy moments as well. The ending was pleasantly surprising.

I absolutely loved this book!! I couldn’t put it down.
I just loved all the characters. I highly recommend this book.

What an unexpected delight. I thought it was going one way but it genuinely found ways to surprise me. It was also truly hilarious. I love lady goes on journey and improves her life trope and this had it in spades. I also really love a weird found family and I enjoyed the self awareness of this book to the tropes of romance and the prickly heroine.

I loved this book. It was funny but also had some serious sections. The characters are all unique and very interesting.
Delphie dies choking on a microwaveable hamburger. If that wasn’t embarrassing enough, she is wearing her “shine like a star” nightie.
Delphie meets “the one” in the afterlife waiting room, but he isn’t supposed to be there. Delphie gets a second chance at life (and love!) if she can find him on earth before ten days are up and get him to kiss her. She just has to find him somewhere in London.

4 Stars. ‘The Love of My Afterlife” is perfect for fans of Beth O’Leary, Sarah Adler or Ashley Poston. It has a fun unique premise and likeable characters, but was missing a little bit of the unexplainable spark to make it a 5 star read. I really liked the subplot with Mr. Yoon and all of the side characters, and the romance was sweet and well developed with a great twist at the end!

Things that suck: dying and your pesky virginity.

Plot in a sentence:
Delphie (FMC) dies a virgin after choking on meat. She meets her soulmate while in heaven and has 10 days to get a kiss from him.

Steam: 🔥/5
If you know me or have seen my reading history on here, you know how I feel about that.

Pros:
First and foremost, this book taught me an important lesson: I don't know what to do if I'm choking while alone. This book was feel good and had such poignant moments. The found family that Delphie gains while trying to find Mr. Heaven Sent really illustrates that (at least to me,) this isn't a "romance novel". It's a contemporary "coming of age" novel, that has love and romantic elements woven in. To this end, while the book wasn't dual POV (boo!), it makes sense - since it's a book about Delphie, not a book about Delphie's love life. You feel so many feelings, both laugh and cry, and have the opportunity to really assess what life means.
- Fake-fake dating
- Slow burn
- Found family

Cons:
If you are prone to second-hand embarrassment... take care. The book also starts off quite "frenzied" - for lack of a better term - and can give you whiplash.

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

Delphie is dead. An unfortunate accident leads to her waking up in the waiting room of the afterlife, otherwise known as Evermore. While there, she meets a man who can only be described as her soulmate. Turns out, however, he's not really dead and is sent back to earth leaving Delphie once again alone. And still dead.
Thankfully for Delphie, the receptionist, Merritt, is a romantic at heart and offers Delphie 10 days back on earth to find her soulmate and kiss him. If she does, her death contract will be terminated and she can go back to the land of the living with her true soulmate. If she can't do this then she will stay dead and spend the rest of eternity in the afterlife.

The premise of this story had me hooked right away. I hadn't read a contemporary romantic comedy in ages but I couldn't resist, and once I got into it I couldn't put it down! This is the funniest, cutest, and zaniest thing I've read in such a long time. Delphie is an incredible character - hilarious, self-deprecating and, let's face it, a bit of a bitch at times. I was rooting for her the whole time, even if she had me cringing at her ridiculous plans to find this man and make him kiss her. The rest of the characters were an absolute delight too: Meritt, Cooper, Mr. Yoon and Frida are all amazing and I wanted to keep reading to see what came of them too.

This book was honestly perfect for me. I laughed, I cried, I loved the romance as it blossomed. I can't say enough good things. 5 stars!

What happens when you meet your soulmate in Heaven's laundry mat...errr..waiting room, but he gets sent back to Earth? You beg to go back after him, that's what!
Delphie's "guardian angel" agrees to send her back, but she must get her soul mate to kiss her of his own free will in ten days, or be stuck in Evermore forevermore.
While fairly predictable, this book still managed to have a few tricks up its sleeve. Enjoyable characters, (especially most of the minor side characters,) shenanigans and laugh out loud moments made this a super fun read from start to finish!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

A delightfully fun read; perfect for the summer. Light and funny, with some adventures and twists. Grateful to have had the opportunity to read an advance copy!

A beautiful story of passion, self discovery and ultimately love.
Mina's desires come second to keeping the peace in her marriage, until her husband dies unexpectedly and she's forced to look at her life through a new lens.
The pacing was fabulous with before and after timelines. I COULD NOT stop reading!

I knew I was going to like this book as soon as I started reading. Delphie is a sweet and familiar character who evolves without realizing what's happening, but you trust that she's going to figure it out because of the writing. The mixture of characters is delightful and I'm so glad we get to learn more about Mr. Yoon, and that each person gets a little bit more character as the story goes on.
I was very happy with the growth Delphie showed, particularly where it come to her own relationships, emotions and her mother, and with herself.
The ending got a bit more complicated than I expected, but maybe Delphie needed time to grow a little bit more herself. I'd be interested to learn what she does next. Maybe Jan and Frida can get books too - or Aled, I'd read a book all about Aled.