This is a fun, not-too-spicy romance that will have some pretty wide appeal. I didn't love everything about it, but I still had a great time reading through it and enjoyed the characters quite a bit. We will purchase for the collection for sure.

Thank you to Kristy Greenwood, Berkley Romance, and Netgalley for a reviewer's ARC.

Loner Delphie is recently deceased and after-life "therapist" Merritt is a bit bored and frustrated with her current existence. So when Delphie accidentally runs into one of her 5 soulmates (who accidentally and very temporarily visits the after-life while under anesthesia) they strike a deal. Delphie becomes un-dead (but not in the vampire/zombie way) and has 10 days to get the aforementioned soulmate to kiss her of his own free will. - The catch, he doesn't remember her. With the help of her grouchy and sexy downstairs neighbor Delphie is now chasing a mystery man across London hoping to recreate that instaspark she felt in death.

This was a fun read with lots of very embarrassing and awkward moments to giggle at. Overall rating 3.5/5 (rounded of 4) and 2/5 for steam.

What to expect:
Slow Burn
Love Triangle (sort of....)
Found Family
Lonely Hearts Finding connection
Reawakening of an old artistic passion
Fake dating
One bed
Enemies to lovers
Forced proximity

TW/CW: toxic family dynamic, bullying, death of a sibling, car accident

Why this rated a respectable 3.5 stars. I struggled a bit with how easily Delphie roped others into her hairbrained scheme of searching for the soul mate she doesn't know. I also would have really loved to see more about the place that the after life was like. Maybe that's another book as some of the characters that ended up being pivotal to the story of this book seemed a little like plot devices and less like characters in their own right. Overall I'd recommend this as a fun light read.

If you like The Good Place and The Dead Romantics - you'll LOVE this.

If you're looking for a fast-paced romcom with an interesting premise and realistic characters, look no further :)

The Love of My Afterlife is a laugh out loud funny romcom following Delphie, a recently deceased woman who strikes a deal for another chance at life: she has 10 days to find Jonah and be kissed by him or return to the afterlife, and stay there for good.

Our main character, Delphie, is a hilarious and lovable character. She feels real and I genuinely cringed and got second hand embarrassment for her at certain plot points (and loved every second of it) !! I won't say too much about the other characters in the book but they all had depth to them, which I greatly appreciated. The Love of My Afterlife was a page turner and I could not put it down. I had to find out what happened next: what decisions Delphie would make and where they would take her. This isn't just a romance novel, it's also a book about what it means to live.

⭐️ 4.5/5
🌶️ 0.5/5

This is a really fun premise for a rom-com. Delphie chokes on a hamburger and goes to the afterlife waiting room where she meets the love of her life. She is offered a deal where she can return to earth and reconnect with the stranger. She has only 10 days and once she finds him, he has to kiss her. It isn't as easy as it sounds. Living in the big city, trying to find her soulmate. Her grumpy neighbor agrees to help her in exchange for going to one of his family dinners. You can imagine the rest of the plot/

Found myself cheering for Delphie as she seemed very endearing. Great novel with humor and a creative plot! Highly recommend for a fun, fast read that keeps you picking it up.

I just loved this story! Perfect romance book - not too sappy, smart/interesting characters, so darn witty I found myself laughing out loud many times. So often I stay away from romances because I rarely find one that doesn’t make me want to throw my kindle scythe room because of how stupid it is. If I could always read stories like this I would be a happy camper. This was a real treat after finishing a more serious book that took me forever to finish. I will definitely have fun promoting this and will be watching this author closely.

I loved this book so much. It made me laugh until I cried and then cry for real. The character development is absolutely wonderful. I loved Delphie so much. Even though this book is a rom com and has a lot of laughable moments, it has a serious side. It teaches us to embrace life with a solid message that we shouldn't wait around to live it.

Delphie Denise Bookham is dead. She never thought choking would lead to her demise, but here she is—done in by a cheap microwave hamburger. And to make matters worse? She’s dressed in her most atrocious pajamas—green fuzzy socks and a ratty t-shirt with a cartoon star saying, “Honey, it’s Time to Sparkle and Shine!” Things can’t get much worse, can they? Oh, they most certainly can. You see, Delphie is all alone (let’s be honest, she’s preferred it that way until this whole choking thing); she’s got The Tinder Swindler paused on her TV, and the lone browser tab she has open is a Google search for “Are microwaveable burgers real meat?” Yup, things are bleak.

After everything fades to black, Delphie opens her eyes to find herself nose-to-nose with a strange, curly-haired blonde woman wearing bright orange lipstick. Behind this mystery woman are bright blue walls and a bunch of aqua-green washers and dryers; the scent of lavender permeates the air. Delphie obviously isn’t in her apartment anymore, but—is she in a very odd…laundromat? And is that “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin playing on repeat? Why yes, yes, it is. WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!

Confused and still reeling from choking to death minutes before, Delphie learns she has awoken in the afterlife—Evermore, to be exact. Which is kind of like Earth (they have a Diptyque!), but all the residents are dead. And the strange woman hovering around her? That’s Merritt, Delphie’s personal Afterlife Therapist. Merritt’s job is to acclimate Delphie to Evermore and ensure she gets settled. The first step is asking Delphie if she would like to see her life flash before her eyes. But before Delphie can answer, Merritt jumps up and disappears into a nearby closet. When she emerges, she's pushing an old-school 90s TV on a rolling cart, ready to play a montage of the most significant moments of Delphie's life. To no one’s surprise, Delphie’s life is lonely, sad, and over before it ever really starts.

Traumatized and desperate to get home, Delphie panics and runs from Merritt’s office. She doesn’t get far before she slams into the chest of the most handsome man she’s ever seen. In their short time together, Delphie and this beautiful stranger do a little bonding, some adorable flirting, and have a positively delightful conversation. They both feel a strong, calming connection—like they’ve known each other for years. But right as this hunk of a man tells Delphie his name is Jonah T…Merritt bursts out of her office yelling about a big mistake and sends Jonah back to Earth with a touch to the forehead.

Convinced that she has just met her soulmate, Delphie begs Merritt to forehead-touch her back to Earth too. Merritt, being the romance-loving afterlife therapist she is, decides to use the “Franklin Bellamy Clause” to send Delphie back on a ten-day mission to find Jonah and convince him to kiss her. Sounds easy, right? But Delphie was interrupted before she could get Jonah’s last name, and there are so many Jonah Ts in London. Delphie has no idea how to find her Jonah and she’s got to if she wants to stay on Earth and get a second chance at life—and love.

But wait, there’s more!

Dejected and adrift in a sea of possible Jonah Ts, Delphie is running out of time and options. She begrudgingly asks her dreadful downstairs neighbor, Cooper, to help narrow her search with his computer skills. Cooper agrees to help Delphie, but only if she poses as his girlfriend and helps him put an end to his mother's matchmaking. Wonderful. Now Delphie has to figure out how to fit a little fake dating into her ten-days-to-find-Jonah-and-get-him-to-kiss-her quest. What could go wrong? The answer? A LOT. But while she searches for Jonah in all the wrong places, things with Cooper start to go very right. Cooper is pretty great, and definitely not as dreadful as she thought. Delphie suddenly finds herself even more desperate to get Jonah to kiss her—but for entirely different reasons than before.

The Love of My Afterlife is a hilarious rom-com that had me rooting for Delphie, grieving with Cooper, and cringing with Jonah. I chortled and cried and fell in love with the characters. The story delves into some heavy topics—death, grief, abandonment, bullying, and depression, to name a few—but it balances those somber moments with lovable (and relatable) characters, quick-witted humor, biting sarcasm, and some good old-fashioned heart. I absolutely loved it. This book was my first foray into Kirsty Greenwood’s writing and will certainly not be my last.

** I received this book for free from Berkley Publishing, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. **

I found myself rooting so hard for Delphie in "The Love of My Afterlife!" The character building is really fun to see in this book as Delphie learns to accept friendship along the way and rediscovers pieces of herself she'd hidden away. And what an eclectic group of friends she makes...they are so entertaining! With the premise of finding love AFTER your death hooking me from the beginning, I just couldn't put this book down. Delphie's antics are hilarious and without spoiling anything, the twists along the way made for the perfect ending!

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of The Love of My Afterlife by Kristy Greenwood. When I read the synopsis, I just knew I had to request it. It sounded so fun and right up my alley.

*spoilers*

I really liked the banter between Delphie and Cooper and the relationship they have created. However, the execution of this story fell flat for me. Delphie dies and she has one shot to get her life back, by getting a guy named Josh to kiss her. She has 10 days to make it happen or she goes back to officially being dead. I get it, she is on a time crunch but if you didn’t know what she was going through, you would most likely think she is a stalker. She approaches the situation in the wrong way. I mean, who goes up to a stranger and yells at them to kiss her? She isn’t used to being around people, so she doesn’t have social interaction skills but still. Her downstairs neighbor, Cooper, starts to help her find Josh and in return, Delphie has to help Cooper with some things.

At first, I could not give two cares if Delphie succeeded in her mission or not but as I got towards the end of the book, the story started growing on me a little bit. Not her mission, but the friendships she started to create. Once she started letting people in and putting herself out there, I realized she wasn’t just the creepy, kind of dead girl, but she really cares about people. She wasn’t so bad. The ending went on a little longer than it could have.

Again, I liked the premise of the story but for me personally, it wasn’t for me, but I know so many others will find it fun.

I wish this book would have been for me, but it just wasn't. I think 99% of romance readers will love this book! There is honestly nothing wrong or bad about this book, I just didn't care for the writing style.

Nothing stood out to me and I didn't quite care for the main character. Honestly writing this review I had to go look at who the main character even was because I had forgotten already.

I love the premise of this book, and the very cool title. It's fresh, quirky, fun, has an offbeat heroine, and a ticking clock in her search for love. Kirsty gives us a sparky, entertaining read and the writing is excellent - she really can write comedy. While the scenarios in her time-pressured search for her man were fun and frolicsome, I was aware at the half way mark that I'd have liked a little more backstory on our heroine, a little more character development to really understand her and root for her. But I did enjoy it very much indeed.

i went into this book with no idea about the plot other than she died and i was so pleasantly surprised. this book was so deeply emotional and really a love letter to friendships and the human experience. if i wasn't on my antidepressants i for sure would have cried my eyes out at the ending of this book.

The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood

I lost track of the number of times I LLOL (literally laughed out loud) while reading this story. Many of my laughs were also embarrassed laughs because this story contains a high amount of grossness and embarrassing talk, situations, and behavior. And I laughed at all of them.

Delphie has led a reclusive life. She works across the street from her flat so doesn't have to go far even when she does get out. Other than her two co-workers, the person she sees the most is her mute eighty six year old neighbor and he may be just tolerating her because he needs her help to survive. But at least seeing him everyday gives her a reason to get out of bed in the morning. He needs her whether he likes her or not.

There is also Delphie's hunky downstairs neighbor, Cooper, who Delphie has had a hate/hate relationship with since they first met years ago. They avoid each other at all costs. Too bad he seems to hear her coming and going...such a busybody.

But now Delphie is dead and has just met her soulmate, also dead, in the afterlife waiting room. Oops, he was almost dead, not totally dead so he sparkles back to the living. Just Delphie's usual rotten luck. That is until Delphie is sent back to life with ten days to get this gorgeous stranger to kiss her. If Delphie can do that she'll be able to stay with the living.

Delphie is never at her best. She's certainly not at her best when she has ten days to find a stranger whose last name she doesn't know. Drats, she's going to need help from Cooper. No way she can tell anyone what's going on though, everyone already looks at her funny. But they look at her even funnier when she dons her mom's super old running outfit...which makes for some of the many LOL moments for me. I don't know if I've ever laughed more when reading a book about death.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable read! The main characters were fun, and the side characters were adorable. I really enjoyed the romance. Delphie and Conner were fun to read. The banter was hilarious. While my library won't purchase this because its more adult, I will definitely be purchasing it.

This was a fun read! Not what I expected but once it was established it was easy to get into it and get lost in. I thought it was a little long for what it was and got easily annoyed by the FMC always JUST missing meeting up with Jonah. It was kind of ridiculous after a while. Also at times didn't enjoy reading the internal monologue of Delphie. She was exhausting and I hated how self centered she was at times. I know this has maybe been addressed but there were some things in the book that were just copied and pasted from The Good Place which is cool if the author got permissions for that but if not, very copy and paste feely with the whole after life concept. I just wish the whole thing took place in the after life because that's what I thought it would be (I don't read synopsis sometimes). Either way, fun and quick read and looking forward to more from this author!

A modern day fairy tale…Can a kiss from the right person STILL save a life? 💋

After choking (or is that gagging?) on a Microwave Burger 🍔, Delphie wakes up in the processing room at Evermore.

Welcoming her, is her chatty “AfterLife therapist” Merritt, now forever 28 years old- favorite things on Earth: Spicy hot curry and even spicier and hotter romance novels.

She is the complete opposite of Delphie, a 27 year old, “kissed only once” Virgin, who is socially awkward and has only one friend, her octogenarian neighbor “Mr. Yoon”. This is most likely because she seems to lack a “filter” when speaking-saying whatever she is thinking no matter how harsh her words may sound.

MAYBE the Afterlife won’t be so bad after all-

The next arrival, Jonah is gorgeous and is looking at her like she is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen, despite the embarrassing nightgown she has arrived in!

Unfortunately, as it turns out, he wasn’t meant to arrive just yet-it’s been a mistake- and POOF-after an iridescent shimmer and a pop-he’s gone!

Merritt explains that each person has five soulmates on Earth, and because she is a “hopeless romantic” who thinks that Delphie may have just met one of hers-she is going to invoke the seldom used “Franklin Bellamy clause” and allow Delphie to return to Earth since nobody there has yet realized that she is dead.

The Catch? If she doesn’t FIND Jonah and get him to KISS her, voluntarily, within TEN DAYS-she will die again and return to EVERMORE- FOREVERMORE!

What ensues is a FRESH, highly ENTERTAINING romp around London, filled with HUMOR, and QUIRKY FOUND FAMILY, which incorporates a few of the popular romance tropes, and also mentions of a few of our favorite romance authors, books and book characters adding to the FUN!

If you enjoy a touch of magical realism, you WON’T want to miss the latest book from U.K author Kirsty Greenwood-this isn’t her first ROM COM but it marks the debut of her first traditionally published U.S. title-congratulations on achieving that long held dream!

AVAILABLE July 2, 2024
Highly Recommended! Add it to your TBR today!! 📚

Thank You to Berkley for inviting me to read this ARC, provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

4.5 stars

This was actually kind of delightful. Our MC, Delphie, dies choking on a burger and gets a second chance at life, but she has to track down her alleged soulmate while only knowing his first name and last initial. If she can’t get him to kiss her within ten days, she’s done.

This was really fun and easy to read, a little cringy but funny, and in the end super sweet and heartwarming. I absolutely loved the direction the romance took and the love interest was perfect. I also enjoyed how the author talked about romance novels & tropes in the book and poked fun at it a little.

The found family aspect was actually the cutest and I loved how it wasn’t your average group of people. The ending made me shed a tear and question all of my life choices. Highly recommend this if you’re looking for a lighthearted & quirky yet incredibly moving romcom!

Thank you very much to Berkeley Publishing for the ARC!

"Love of My Afterlife" by Kirsty Greenwood is a charming and quirky romantic comedy. The witty dialogue and endearing characters made for an enjoyable read. However, I found some parts of the plot to be a bit predictable, and the pacing occasionally felt uneven. Overall, it's a fun and light-hearted read perfect — a feel-good romance with a supernatural twist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

These days it feels like a refreshing and unique read is harder and harder to come by in the contemporary romance genre, until this one! Greenwood's "The Love of My Afterlife" is a startlingly fresh read amongst an increasingly saturated market. I absolutely gobbled it up in one sitting, and let me tell you- while this book checked all the surface level boxes (cute romance, quip-y dialogue, rivals to lovers), it quite took me on a trip!

Right off the the bat, our FMC dies. At first, I was unsure. I definitely did not want to be starting a book like this. And then we're introduced to the excellent wide range of characters, and the plot starts building momentum. We see, as readers, what our FMC's second chance at life mission is- its predictable, has been depicted in media before. But the writing continues to "show, not tell" us small meanings of life, the importance of friendship, finding community, and even just knowing how to laugh. It was just so fresh to have a raw look of what it means to live life without actually being gut-wrenching or a tear-jerker. The romance? Such an excellent build. Clear misunderstanding of character between our MC's, but not an a frustrating way (can you believe it)!

However, through all of the freshness of this book and the uniqueness of the plot, I would still classify this as an easily devourable light read. The writing was just ok, and yes we did have some plot holes or some side details that never get resolve. But really, in the grand package of this book, they are easily passed over. In the end they these flaws didn't add nor detract from the reading experience.

Truly enjoyed this book, and just thankful for something new in a genre that feels so oversaturated. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.