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abidavisf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Wow. The Love of My Afterlife is a masterpiece. My first ever ARC and I am truly honoured to have read it. Kirsty Greenwood is a sensation.
The Love of My Afterlife takes a stunning look at the fragility of life and the importance of love and community. Themes of grief, love, friendship, community and gratitude weave themselves beautifully into a truly life-affirming tale. It encourages its readers to embrace the people around them who may have been trying to play a role in their lives but who have been shut out, even in a big, scary, cold city in London. In contrast, it also teaches you that it is okay to release those people who are undeserving of your time. A quote that I will be saving for a rainy day: "If people want to go, sometimes it's easier to just let them."
My favourite thing about this book is definitely the multitude of characters, from such different walks of life who all brought me so much joy.
Merritt is one of my favourite characters of all time. She is chaotic and romantic and optimistic. She sees the beauty in both life and death, and truly wants the best for everybody (added bonus if she can mix some drama in there too though).
I think I could probably talk about Delphie all day. I am sad to say that a large part of me relates to her. There are so many quotes that I highlighted that were truly tragic but that hit home for me so intensely, particularly "All your days looked exactly the same as each other. You were so alone." With that being said, the hope that I felt throughout the story as Delphie began to involve herself in her community, make friends and fall in love is second-to-none. The irony is that I sat home tonight and devoured this book instead of going to see my favourite band because I was afraid of going alone. The New and Improved Delphie would never have done that. Merritt would be heartbroken to see me do that.
Greenwood's ability to make me root for Cooper even though I knew that Delphie falling in love with him could potentially kill her was exquisite. I found myself genuinely writing notes saying, "Don't go to Jonah!" and "I swear if Delphie goes to find Jonah, I'll sue." At the end of the day, am I happy with how it all worked out? Of course, but there were definitely some moments that had me yelling at my phone as I read.
My only cons: some of the dialogue was slightly stunted in parts, particularly when a character was talking to themselves. In those instances, you'd expect the dialogue to be less formal, which wasn't the case. Also, though his true intentions turned out to be honourable and innocent, Aled creeped me out a fair bit at first. There was a clear breach of GDPR with him texting Delphie and that ain't cool.
I am truly in awe of The Love of My Afterlife. I will be recommending it to everybody, and I cannot wait to purchase my own physical copy as soon as it is released. Thank you so much to Penguin Random House UK and Cornerstone for this opportunity.
The Love of My Afterlife takes a stunning look at the fragility of life and the importance of love and community. Themes of grief, love, friendship, community and gratitude weave themselves beautifully into a truly life-affirming tale. It encourages its readers to embrace the people around them who may have been trying to play a role in their lives but who have been shut out, even in a big, scary, cold city in London. In contrast, it also teaches you that it is okay to release those people who are undeserving of your time. A quote that I will be saving for a rainy day: "If people want to go, sometimes it's easier to just let them."
My favourite thing about this book is definitely the multitude of characters, from such different walks of life who all brought me so much joy.
Merritt is one of my favourite characters of all time. She is chaotic and romantic and optimistic. She sees the beauty in both life and death, and truly wants the best for everybody (added bonus if she can mix some drama in there too though).
I think I could probably talk about Delphie all day. I am sad to say that a large part of me relates to her. There are so many quotes that I highlighted that were truly tragic but that hit home for me so intensely, particularly "All your days looked exactly the same as each other. You were so alone." With that being said, the hope that I felt throughout the story as Delphie began to involve herself in her community, make friends and fall in love is second-to-none. The irony is that I sat home tonight and devoured this book instead of going to see my favourite band because I was afraid of going alone. The New and Improved Delphie would never have done that. Merritt would be heartbroken to see me do that.
Greenwood's ability to make me root for Cooper even though I knew that Delphie falling in love with him could potentially kill her was exquisite. I found myself genuinely writing notes saying, "Don't go to Jonah!" and "I swear if Delphie goes to find Jonah, I'll sue." At the end of the day, am I happy with how it all worked out? Of course, but there were definitely some moments that had me yelling at my phone as I read.
My only cons: some of the dialogue was slightly stunted in parts, particularly when a character was talking to themselves. In those instances, you'd expect the dialogue to be less formal, which wasn't the case. Also, though his true intentions turned out to be honourable and innocent, Aled creeped me out a fair bit at first. There was a clear breach of GDPR with him texting Delphie and that ain't cool.
I am truly in awe of The Love of My Afterlife. I will be recommending it to everybody, and I cannot wait to purchase my own physical copy as soon as it is released. Thank you so much to Penguin Random House UK and Cornerstone for this opportunity.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Car accident, Grief, Medical content, and Abandonment
Minor: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Dementia, Blood, and Sexual content
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