I love Nick Spalding's books! He is one of the very few authors who has me literally laughing out loud. This one was very funny at times, but also quite sad and poignant. Two bereaved people strike up an unlikely friendship and meet up at the graveside of their loved ones annually. The characterisation is brilliant, you can really empathise with both leads although they could both be far too stubborn at times.
I would recommend all of this author's books.

Love, loss, joy, understanding and acceptance....all old refrains but Grave Talk gave them new life.

Readers should be aware that Grave Talk deals with heavy themes of death and grief. Those sensitive to such topics may want to check their triggers before deciding to read this book.

The story alternates between two characters, Alice and Ben, who are each grieving the recent loss of a loved one. They develop an unexpected friendship, helping each other navigate the challenges of loss and the process of healing.

Given the delicate subject matter, critiquing the story feels challenging. While there are moments where Alice comes across as overly whiny and Ben occasionally frustrating, the emotions expressed in the book are raw, real, and deeply authentic. The story captures the irrational, unspoken aspects of grief and the feelings people rarely discuss, making it both a moving and relatable read.

Nick Spalding balances humour and heartbreak, blending laughable moments with emotional reflections. The alternating perspectives of Alice and Ben add depth to the narrative, highlighting the unpredictable and deeply human journey of mourning.

This is a compelling story, but its heavy themes won’t suit every reader. If you choose to read it, approach it with care and an open heart.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Note: Arc provided by Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A good story with a neat concept. A little repetitive, even at the start, use of the same words over and over. But it's a cute idea, and quite warming.

Grave Talk is an achingly beautiful and quirky exploration of grief, healing, and human connection. Heather Cooper manages to weave humor into heartbreak, creating a story that feels as light as it is profound. The premise is wonderfully odd—a grieving widow meets a man in a Kermit costume at a graveyard—but what unfolds is a heartfelt journey of two people trying to navigate life after loss.
While the story’s pace slows in a few places, it’s a poignant reminder that grief isn’t linear. Readers looking for a quick-moving plot may need patience, but the emotional payoff is worth it. Grave Talk is a book that will make you laugh, cry, and reflect on the ways we cope with loss. It’s a reminder that the hardest part of death is indeed learning how to live—and that we don’t have to do it alone.

GRAVE TALK is a sweet, feel-good story about a friendship found in an unexpected place through grief. I really enjoyed the premise of both a brother and a widow struggling with loss who meet at a cemetery, only to meet again at the same place, same day for the next ten years. I loved how the characters have each other to understand what the other is feeling and how on maybe the hardest day of the year for them emotionally, they don't have to go through it alone. It was interesting to see how the characters process their grief throughout the years and how they change and heal and their friendship grows.

3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

you know it’s a good book when you finish the last sentence and turn to the person sat next to you and say ‘ you need to get this book, it’s one of the best books i have ever read’
and i mean it, it’s such heartfelt raw book about grief, love and everything inbetween,
i loved it

Grave Talk by Nick Spalding is a poignant story about love and loss and friendship.
A really enjoyable read I read in one sitting totally recommend

Grave Talk by Nick Spalding wasn’t what I expected, in a good way. The main female character Alice has lost her husband Joe and she visits his grave every year on his birthday. The main male character Ben has lost his brother Harry and also visits his brother’s grave on the same day every year. However, Ben is dressed as a different ridiculous character each year, per his brother’s last requests. They meet on one of these visits while Ben is dressed as Kermit the Frog. Their friendship begins as they reminisce about their lost loved ones and their grief. They form a bond of sorts, and meet every year on the same day, at the same time, and place.

The format of this book is unlike any I’ve read before. It is structured around the two characters meeting at the grave sites, one chapter per year and meeting. Each chapter has a section devoted to Alice and one to Ben. We are privy to their inner thoughts and their outer conversations. I liked this aspect of the book. I thought this would bother me, but the more I read, the more comfortable I became with it. The characters were very well written and there were moments I laughed out loud. The book seemed slow in parts and I thought the ending was slightly rushed. However, it was still a wonderful read!

Overall, I rated this book a 4 out of 5 stars. It was beautiful, sad, funny, and real. I will recommend it to others. Thank you to Lake Union Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via Net Galley. All opinions are my own.

I always love a Nick Spalding and this one was no exception. He tackled sad issues with his trademark humour and laugh out loud moments.

Alice visits her husband's grave on his birthday every year, following his early death. On the same day of each year Ben visits his brother's grave too, always dressed in the fancy dress of his dead brother's choosing. The two form an unlikely bond as they come to terms with their grief and try to get on with their lives. This develops into setting each other a challenge each year to try to help them on their journey through grief.

This tore at the heart strings at times but was warm, funny, kind and moving. Absolutely loved it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I know that part of the reason that I loved this book so much is because I am at a season in life very similar to the main characters....I lost a brother when we were in our early 40's...slightly older than the people in the book, but not by much. I loved seeing the way the characters dealt (and didn't deal) with their grief and appreciated the ultimate hopefulness of it.

This is a cute feel-good story about two strangers who meet at the graves of people who are important to them... only one of them is dressed as Kermit the frog. The two characters meet each year, tell the other how their year went and set each other a challenge for the year ahead.

It's a really sweet novel, exploring friendship, loss, and grief and how we all navigate these in our own ways. If you're looking for a feel-good book that also feels like it could easily be a film - this is perfect. For me it was a little bit too fanciful, if you read it you'll probably see what I mean but I can't really say why without spoiling a big part of the novel.

All in all, this is a really good read - it just isn't quite a brilliant one.

Grave Talk by new to me author N. Spalding, published by Lake Union Publishing is a read that had me intrigued just from reading the blurb. And what can I say, I was so not disappointed from this novel. Witty and fun, gives all the feels, has everything I love in a good book.
Blurb: The last thing Alice expects to see at her husband’s graveside on his birthday is a giant, talking frog. On closer inspection, it’s a grown man dressed as Kermit.
Turns out Alice’s husband is buried next to Ben’s older brother Harry, who—as a parting practical joke in his will—insisted that Ben visit his grave each year, on this specific day, dressed in an as-yet-undisclosed pageant of embarrassing fancy dress.
With little but their grief and this one day in common, Alice and Ben form a very special, very strange friendship, meeting just once a same day, same time, same place—different silly costume. As the years pass and grief alters, can their unique bond help them cope with the hardest part of life?

This is such a lovely story. More heartfelt than his previous books but with the undeniable humour that Nick Spalding manages to encompass in all of his novels. This story had echoes of Ricky Gervais' Afterlife show in terms if a friendship made at a graveside. Told from the pov of both main characters, this lovely story will stay with me gor a long time.

Thank you net galley and publisher for this ARC. This was a good story and very moving. A first read for me by this author.

Nick Spalding never fails to make me smile and laugh with his characters. I loved following along as Alice and Ben become friends while mourning the loss of someone close to them. Not sure you’d think it was funny based on the premise, but again Spalding’s ability to make characters human and lovable for themselves works its magic!

'Don't ever let anyone convince you human beings are weak, because we can move towards pain, loss, and suffering when we have to, without missing a beat. If someone thinks humans are weak, show them what we do for love.'

I selected this book because the premise of it sounded so interesting... There are a lot of things you can expect to run into at a graveyard, but probably not a grown man in a Kermit the Frog costume and full face make-up to go along with it. Yet that is exactly what Alice does run into, when she visits her husband's grave. As they strike up a conversation, it turns out that Ben, as Kermit is actually called, is there to visit his brother. What follows, is an annual meeting between two humans, on what is likely one of the worst days for them, as they grieve for their lost ones. It is an exploration of the dark places grief can send us, and how to move on, after terrible loss. It is a story about how expectations (our own or those of others) inhibit us to live life to the fullest.

While this book deals with one of the most difficult subjects of being alive, it does so in a surprisingly amazing way. Yes, there are very real conversation and explorations of the topic at hand, but there are also plenty of situations that are so ridiculous that you cannot help but smile. The humour in this book is exactly right for me, though I realize it might not be everyone's cup of tea. I will say that, I needed to push through a little right around year 4 or 5, as the story started to feel a little rinse and repeat as it followed the exact same structure year after year, but honestly I loved this book so much by the time I came to the end of it. I am not someone who wears her emotions on her sleeve. I barely ever show them. But a book that can make me laugh out loud several times, and manages to make me cry not once, but twice, can get nothing lower than 5 stars.

Wow....what a beautiful story regarding grief, love, friendship, and healing. I had so many emotions throughout this book and I think anyone who has ever lost a loved one should read this because this story felt like a hug.

AMAZING! AMAZING! AMAZING!

I loved every moment of this beautiful story. When Alice visits her husband's grave, she is more than a little disgruntled to be disturbed by another visitor - none other than Kermit the Frog! When it transpires that Alice's husband, Joe, is buried in the plot next to Kermit's brother, Harry, the two forge an unusual but very close friendship as they discover that it's easier to share their grief with an almost stranger, albeit a stranger who understands their grief better than anyone else.

As the years, and their lives progress - or not - Alice and Ben (formerly Kermit and wearing a different, silly, costume each year) support each other through life in more ways than they could ever have hoped for.

A must read that will be on my top reads list for 2024!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Nick Spalding and Lake Union for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This book hit hard. I probably should have waited to read this. I am still dealing with the healing and grieving process and this book reminded me that it is not linear, grief looks different for everyone and that's okay. It was like a warm hug, honestly. Thank you for writing something that, to me, is accurate to how grief, loneliness, healing and sadness feel. It was wonderful and it made me feel less alone during this time.