Unfortunately not for me. I was really excited going in! I'm all for a kooky premise, and this had the makings of something that could've been really fun, but it fell flat for me. The main character was frustrating, the love interest felt too distant, the relationship contrived, and the side characters very one-dimensional.

Also have to dock a full star for the positive mentions of both a racist war criminal (Gal Gadot) and a racist author (Lucy Score). The pop culture references were too much in general, but these two specifically were out-of-touch and left a bad taste in my mouth.

The Love of My Afterlife was super cute! I had a fun time reading this one. I adored all the quirky characters. The last quarter grabbed me & didn't let me go. I LOVED how this one wrapped up!

I absolutely LOVED this one! It’s hilarious, charming, snarky, and touching. I laughed and I cried. I had all the feels! This was such an unexpected delight, and I really hope other readers pick this one if you need a palate cleanser from thrillers. I highly recommend this one, and can’t wait to read more from the author!

I received an eARC courtesy of Berkley Publishing Group/Berkley via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was a delightfully spicy piece of magical realism and I am all in! This was my first book from Kirsty Greenwood, but I doubt that it will be my last.

For Libraries: Your romance fans are going to love this one!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was super cute and had me LOLing at the beginning. It starts off with some dark humor which pulled me in. And some clueless references made it fun 🤩. This was awkward and a fun read but it didn’t quite meet my expectations. I still recommend grabbing if you want a solid romcom - I just didn’t connect with the female main character in a way I had hoped. 3.25 stars

Synopsis:
Delphie has died by choking on nothing other than a microwave hamburger. Now she’s in the afterlife, in her night gown, and she just met the most gorgeous and amazing man ever.

Too bad he’s not dead, but she is. He gets to wake up, she doesn’t.

So much for having better luck in the afterlife.

When she’s offered a deal to return to earth for ten days, she jumps on it. The twist is that she has to find the mystery man with no clues other than his first name and large city he lives in.

As Delphie wades through millions of people, she learns some important lessons, but will she find the man in time?


Thoughts:
This was my first Kristy Greenwood book, but it most definitely won’t be the last. I loved this one! I love reading romcoms because they brighten my day, especially after reading a dark thriller. I love the polarity of the two genres and have a lot of fun with it.

This book was a lot of fun and it reminded me in a very broad sense of another one of my favorites. I think that ghosts or books focusing on the afterlife are one of my favorite subgenres – is that a subgenre? It should be so now in my world it is.

This book was great because it made me think in a broad sense, that there is always hope. This book also focused on finding love when you least expect it, and I always love it when an author does this trope well because it hits close to home. When I met my husband, I had finally decided to go out for the night after staying in alone for months after my divorce. I wasn’t looking to meet anyone, but when I saw him, there was an instant feeling like we fit, and once we started talking, we just talked for hours. The rest they say is history. So books that remind me of this happy memory are always fun and wonderful for me, and this book did that.

Publication Date:
July 2, 2024

Author:
Kristy Greenwood

Page Length:
384pages

Publisher:
Berkley Romance, Berkley

Thank you to:
Thank you so much to @BerkleyPub and @BerkleyRomance for this amazing e-arc from Netgalley @Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

The Love of My Afterlife by Kristy Greenwood was such a ride! A good ride that is. Totally sucked in from the start and thought the whole premise was fun and fresh. Delphie was a great character. The book makes you think about life and love and death. Well done!

Oh my god, how I loved this book! I’ve been reading romance since I was 11 and I LOVE (!!!) Romance. Capital L. Capital R.

The Love of my Afterlife hits allllll of the right notes. And then it has that little something extra. That little life lesson that really touches you at your core. Makes you live with a little more wonder. A little more hope. And love life just a teeny bit more deeply.

I love when a novel full of joy and laughter and surprises goes the extra mile. This is one novel I won’t soon forget. Highly recommend. Five stars.

Right off the bat, this premise is what I live for. I can’t scolding exactly what it is but a ghost/not ghost, afterlife, high risk type romance type situation really gets me. It’s the extremes of it that shine and is very rarely done wrong. This had all the ingredients to me: a heroine that’s just relatable enough that you don’t hate her, the looming but unattainable love interest, and a whole messy cast of characters.

I don’t want to give too much away because the ending sells the whole book all by itself but Delphie is so unhinged that I couldn’t even fault. Her quest on earth has her doing all sorts of odd things and while unbelievable at times, it was still fun to read and experience. There were times I did question if I was going to end up liking this but like I said, the ending brings it home. It makes the messy bits worth reading.

It also puts a lot of things in perspective in terms of life, death, and how we treat the people around us. As someone who can be a bit jaded at times, it was a hard hitting lesson wrapped inside of a romance, exactly how I like it.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Easily one of the best romance-comedy books I have read in a long time. What a refreshing set of characters who all deserve the happiest of endings. I love this unexpected enemies to lovers, forced proximity romance. And I had to keep reading because it reminded me of the little mermaid but….on land? Either way, it was phenomenal. An unexpectedly great read.

Got to love a rom com when one of the character's is a ghost. As a 90s kid I have to think I have the movie Casper to blame for me liking this type of rom com and The love of my Afterlife was no different.

I thought this was an enjoyable read. Although I found it a bit hard to believe just how much of a misanthropist the main character was at the beginning of the story, I liked the way her enemies-to-lovers romance unfolded while at the same time she became part of a true community of friends.

I appreciate the chance to read this ARC in advance of publication, and I'll definitely be recommending it to others.

_The Love of My Afterlife_ by Kristy Greenwood is an entertaining, humorous, and romantic read that the reader will not want to put down. Delphie is recently deceased, and upon entering the afterlife meets her soulmate in the waiting room for the dead. After a mix-up where he is sent back to the realm of the living, Delphie makes a deal that enables her to return to earth to find her mystery true love. With eccentric characters and hilarious situations, this second-chance-at-life read will keep the reader turning the page.

I absolutely CANNOT wait for this book to come out so all my friends can read it. When NetGalley emailed me about this book, it reportedly had The Good Place vibes, now I love that show, so my expectations were high. Greenwood DELIVERED. This book was such a fun read, like legit smile on my face while reading (not just in my head).

Watching Delphie's character grow through the book as she navigates the challenge presented to her was heartwarming. There were also a TON of other characters introduced throughout her journey, and they all played such key roles in her development. No one felt like a "bonus" or out of place, they each had important pieces to add to Delphie's growth.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC of this book!

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕪 𝔸𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖 𝕓𝕪 𝕂𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕪 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕟𝕨𝕠𝕠𝕕 💞

I had so much fun reading this book-it’s laugh out loud hilarious and the FOUND FAMILY trope was troping 🥹🥹 This book offers a fun and different approach to the romantic comedy genre. I’m impressed with the authors ability to write a book that made me feel so many different emotions that you don’t normally don’t get in a romcom book. As others have said in their reviews if you were a fan or liked the idea of Dead Romantics READ THIS BOOK.

<b><u>Tropes & What to Expect</b></u>
☁️London setting
☁️found family 🥹
☁️book and romance author mentions 💕
☁️fake dating
☁️grumpyXgrumpy
☁️one bed
☁️virgin FMC
☁️grumpy loveable characters
☁️love triangle-ish but not really(read and you’ll understand 😂)

Delphie is a quirky character that is super introverted. She spends most of her days going to work and coming back home only to start the day over again the exact same way. When she finally comes out of shell I was so happy for her 🥹 She was exploring the city and doing things she never would have done if she never visited the afterlife.

The SIDE CHARACTERS really shone in this book. I loved and admired all of them.

<b>Overall thoughts</b> YES I will recommend this book. The romance isn’t the most swooniest it’s average imo but the found family really sucked me into this beautiful novel. The characters with their different personalities you can’t help but fall in love with and want to be their friends. If you’re tired of the same ole romcom books add to your tbr 🩷


Thank you NetGalley, Berkeley and Kirsty Greenwood for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

"The Love of My Afterlife" by Kirsty Greenwood is a whimsical and light-hearted romantic comedy that, unfortunately, falls short of its potential due to a lack of depth and character development.

The premise of the novel promises an intriguing blend of romance and the supernatural, with protagonist Delphie finding herself in the afterlife after a mishap involving a microwaveable burger. However, the execution of the story feels rushed and superficial, with little exploration of the intriguing concepts introduced.

While the initial meeting between Delphie and the mysterious man in the afterlife holds promise, the subsequent plot development lacks depth and fails to fully engage the reader. The romance between the two characters feels forced and lacks chemistry, making it difficult to become emotionally invested in their relationship.

Furthermore, the supporting characters in the novel are underdeveloped and one-dimensional, serving more as caricatures than fully fleshed-out individuals. This lack of depth extends to the overall world-building, leaving the reader with unanswered questions about the rules and mechanics of the afterlife.

Additionally, the writing style of the novel may not appeal to all readers, with its reliance on quirky humor and over-the-top situations often feeling contrived and forced.

In conclusion, while "The Love of My Afterlife" has an intriguing premise and moments of humor, it ultimately fails to deliver a satisfying reading experience due to its lack of depth and character development. For fans of light-hearted romantic comedies reminiscent of Sophie Kinsella and Helen Fielding.

This book was hilarious, borderline goofy. It definitely made me laugh and cringe through a good portion of it. I did see the twists coming from a mile away though. I do recommend this since I had a lot of fun reading it but the last 25% felt so rushed. There were no conversations or explanations given towards the end. Like an epilogue or something would have been nice. Also I hated Merritt, she was the true villain in this story.

This was a fun and quick read, perfect for fans of The Good Place.
I really enjoyed this book, it was very readable and I thought the concept was very fun. I had a hard time putting the book down because I wanted to see how it ended. My only issue was with the main character.
In this book, Delphie lives a solitary, sad life and dies alone after an embarrassing incident. In the afterlife she’s given one more chance at life. The catch is she needs to kiss her soulmate within 10 days and all she has to go on is his first name, what he looks like, and that he lives somewhere in London. Given a second chance, Delphie races to find her soulmate and meets new people and learns to live along the way.
I really loved the concept of the book and how it played out. It was fun to see the different ways Delphie tried to track down her soulmate. Getting to see her finally learn to live life while she had a short timeframe made the stakes higher and made it all the more readable. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.
My only real issue was with Delphie herself. I did not like her at first so for the first part of the book it was hard to root for her. I felt like her reclusiveness was over the top. It didn’t make sense to me why she would push people away to the extent that she did and in the ways she did. So she came off as very rude at first. However, she does have a lot of character development in the story, so as she grows she becomes a lot more likable and becomes a heroine to root for.
I really liked the relationships that were formed in this story. I especially loved Delphie’s relationships with Cooper and Mr. Yoon. Even the side character relationships that were built were very special. I am a huge fan of “found family” stories and this definitely felt like one.
Overall, this was a great read!

What a crazy ride! This book is just the right combo of bat-crap crazy and sweet/romantic. We follow Delphie, a woman who has had, objectively, a very boring life. She is watching tv one day while eating a burger and she chokes to death. She wakes in an afterlife 'waiting room' where she meets Jonah. She is believes Jonah is her soulmate and she is offered a deal to go back to Earth to find her possible soulmate, she jumps at the chance. The catch is she has 10 days to find Jonah (whose last name she does not know) and get him to kiss her or else she will be sent back to the afterlife.

God, I loved this SO much. I’m an emotional mess!

The premise for this already sounded amazing so imagine my delight when it had ALL the tropes and situations that I could dream of rolled into it! I was constantly laughing out loud, Delphie was such a hilarious narrator. I was then pretty much constantly crying for the last 30% and the ending was so adorable! I loved the messages on living with grief and getting outside of your comfort zone.

This cast of characters were just fantastic. Aled, Frida, MR. YOON ILY, Merritt… just want to wrap them all in a hug. I adored Delphie and Cooper, they were so great and I loved their relationship. I did not predict the twist and I was FLABBERGASTED, soooo good! Every storyline was wrapped up so nicely. Definitely one of my favorites of the year so far. This is my first Kristy Greenwood book but don’t think it’ll be my last!