Scan barcode
williamabookworm's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Car accident, Death, Lesbophobia, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Violence, Child death, Classism, Emotional abuse, Blood, Cancer, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Suicide
awkwardimagination's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Much better than I expected it to be. Ihad so many thoughts while reading this, but now I know nothing. A lot of the character decisions pissed me off, just bc I hate when people are vague. I kinda really wish this wasn't a romance and we got to see Ash be a Grim Reaper for longer; I wish this was just a slice of life/coming of age sorta fantasy book I mean, I think that would've been fun to read.
I had quite a few issues with it actually, characters being vague is only part of it, but I did still enjoy this book.
I had quite a few issues with it actually, characters being vague is only part of it, but I did still enjoy this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Murder, and Death
Minor: Lesbophobia, Violence, Vomit, Suicide, Racism, and Homophobia
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Car accident
Moderate: Grief, Child death, and Blood
Minor: Cursing, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Cancer, Classism, Abandonment, Addiction, and Religious bigotry
amazelan's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.0
ça m'a pas plu, et en vrai jsuis un peu déçu que ça m'ait pas plu. surtout, j'arrive pas à trouver de points positifs à ce livre hormis la représentation diverse.
j'ai trouvé l'écriture banale, vraiment pas incroyable. en fait c'est très YA dans le sens cliché du terme, même si j'arriverais pas à exprimer précisément pourquoi.
et surtout, surtout, la romance m'a fait ni chaud ni froid. c'est trop rapide, irréaliste, et si niais?? trop pour moi en tout cas. le fait que ça soit l'élément central du livre explique pourquoi je l'ai si peu aimé. en +, les personnages sont complètement définies par la romance, j'ai pas réussi à m'y attacher ou à ressentir quoique ce soit quand il leur arrivait des trucs. et du coup les personnages secondaires sont pas du tout creusé.es, ce qui est carrément dommage vu qu'au moins elleux auraient pas été défini.es par l'amour.
c'est dommage parce que le début vend du suspense, un univers intéressant. mais au final l'univers est pas du tout exploré, on apprend rien dessus. et après le début on doit attendre 100 pages (sur 289 pour l'ebook) pour qu'il y ait un tout petit peu d'action. couvert, toujours, sous le rose bonbon de la romance.
j'ai trouvé l'écriture banale, vraiment pas incroyable. en fait c'est très YA dans le sens cliché du terme, même si j'arriverais pas à exprimer précisément pourquoi.
et surtout, surtout, la romance m'a fait ni chaud ni froid. c'est trop rapide, irréaliste, et si niais?? trop pour moi en tout cas. le fait que ça soit l'élément central du livre explique pourquoi je l'ai si peu aimé. en +, les personnages sont complètement définies par la romance, j'ai pas réussi à m'y attacher ou à ressentir quoique ce soit quand il leur arrivait des trucs. et du coup les personnages secondaires sont pas du tout creusé.es, ce qui est carrément dommage vu qu'au moins elleux auraient pas été défini.es par l'amour.
c'est dommage parce que le début vend du suspense, un univers intéressant. mais au final l'univers est pas du tout exploré, on apprend rien dessus. et après le début on doit attendre 100 pages (sur 289 pour l'ebook) pour qu'il y ait un tout petit peu d'action. couvert, toujours, sous le rose bonbon de la romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Death, Blood, Car accident, and Violence
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Suicide and Terminal illness
friendofdorothea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Car accident, Grief, Suicide, Murder, and Homophobia
thebookishnerd_'s review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Okay, so this book was super cute! I was invested in Ash and Poppy. They had so much chemistry together. I'm glad that we were introduced to them a good while before the main plot started. It made all of the events that much more emotionally tense. It explored the many layers of grief beautifully and how different people cope. I found the rules of Afterlife and reaping really interesting, especially with how they are seen in the living world. The end of this book honestly got me teared up. It was really well written, and I wish it didn't end on a cliffhanger! I really wanted to know how Ash and Poppy's story continued.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Death and Violence
modernathos's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This was such a unique read, I simultaneously have so much and absolutely nothing to say. The premise of the story was unique and mysterious and risky. There is a lot that could have gone wrong with this story in its development, especially to the end, and it didn't. Byrne knew exactly what she was doing and where she was going.
Byrne's writing style is distinctive in many ways, all of them positive; we follow the main character, Ash, a teenager, in a first person perspective, and it reads exactly like that.
Generally, I am not the biggest fan of love at first sight stories, but the way Ash and Poppy's relationship developed compensated for that. Ashana has a crush on Poppy from the start, but both the characters and Byrne let it develop naturally so that it doesn't feel forced, something I unfortunately see a lot in (especially YA) books where the story developes around a relationship.
As the story went on, especially from the point that Poppy recognized Ash and it was confirmed that this meant that this meant that she would die , I got quite scared that the story was going to have big plot twist in which Ash could come back to life or Poppy could avoid her fate or was a special case that could see reapers and live . Luckily, this didn't happen and the ending was exactly what I hoped it to be; Ash and Poppy had the chance to say goodbye to each other and the small plot twist/reveal that, on New Years Eve, Ash could possibly get the chance to go with Charon to the afterlife was perfect and just what the story needed.
Something that I feel that needs to be mentioned is the character development of Ashana's mother. She was raised to have a negative opinion against homosexuality and, even when Ash comes out as a lesbian, she finds it hard to accept it, staying mostly (uncomfortably) silent. A few months later, however, when Ash tells her about her relationship with Poppy, we see that she has put effort into changing her views and accepting Ash as she is, and is even willing to help her introduce Poppy to her father and sister . I found this little sidestory beautiful and had to shed a bit of light on it, as I almost never see anyone talk about it in their reviews.
Did this story have a lot of character development in the sense of the characters making mistakes and growing as they learn from them? No. Because it was not necessary. The story is about first (true) love, grief, acceptance, closure and goodbyes. The book is meant to be a cute read that will still leave you in tears when you finish it and that, it did perfectly.
If you are a lover of cute, useless lesbians, books you will need some time to recover from once you've finished it, and/or magic realism? Afterlove is definitely a book you should pick up.
To close off, the clear foreshadowing to Ash dying (which was possible because it is the main event of the book)? Ouch. /pos.
Rep: lesbian MC, MCOC, South-American MC, muslim character.
January 25th, 2023 - February 2nd, 2023.
Byrne's writing style is distinctive in many ways, all of them positive; we follow the main character, Ash, a teenager, in a first person perspective, and it reads exactly like that.
Generally, I am not the biggest fan of love at first sight stories, but the way Ash and Poppy's relationship developed compensated for that.
As the story went on, especially from the point that
Something that I feel that needs to be mentioned is the character development of Ashana's mother. She was raised to have a negative opinion against homosexuality and, even when Ash comes out as a lesbian, she finds it hard to accept it, staying mostly (uncomfortably) silent. A few months later, however, when
Did this story have a lot of character development in the sense of the characters making mistakes and growing as they learn from them? No. Because it was not necessary. The story is about first (true) love, grief, acceptance, closure and goodbyes. The book is meant to be a cute read that will still leave you in tears when you finish it and that, it did perfectly.
If you are a lover of cute, useless lesbians, books you will need some time to recover from once you've finished it, and/or magic realism? Afterlove is definitely a book you should pick up.
To close off, the clear foreshadowing to Ash dying (which was possible because it is the main event of the book)? Ouch. /pos.
Rep: lesbian MC, MCOC, South-American MC, muslim character.
January 25th, 2023 - February 2nd, 2023.
"Maybe we'll burn bright for a few weeks then collapse in on ourselves, but Mr. Moreno says that's how galaxies are made anyways." - Before, chapter 5.
"[...] as we head under the bridge, I know that I'd follow her to the edge of the fucking world." - Before, hapter 6.
"I feel like I've loved you for a really long time, but it still isn't enough." - After, chapter 27.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, and Violence
Minor: Suicide, Body horror, and Murder
kaitlyng's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident and Death
Minor: Lesbophobia, Violence, and Sexual content
asparagusisreading's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder Children's Books, the FierceReads team, and Tanya Byrne for gifting me this e-arc in exchange for a review.
Trigger and Content Warnings: discussion and descriptions of death, homophobia, car accident and stabbing scenes,
AFTERLOVE by TANYA BYRNE is a young adult romance following two girls, Poppy and Ash, as they are navigating their love before and after death. Randomly during a field trip, Poppy and Ash meet, having an instant connection. They continue meeting up, quickly and heavily falling for each other. Just as they start making plans for a future together, their future is whisked away when Ash dies in a car accident. However, she doesn't just die, she comes back as the next year's grim reaper. She's unable to talk to anyone that she previously knew unless they are nearing their death... that is until she sees and speaks with Poppy. Now with limited time together, Poppy and Ash are forced to grapple with what their new future could look like. The story is told in two labeled sections: before and after Ash's death. I didn't notice this until later into reading when I was checking the percent read. Formatting the story this way allowed for readers to spend time falling in love with Poppy and Ash while they fell in love with each other. It also felt natural to the story to show the progression of the beginning to the relationship up until their current point. I found myself rooting for Ash and wanting things to work out in the end for her, even if it meant being happy and at peace without Poppy. It was emotional, tense, exciting, and heartbreaking all at the same time.
I would have loved to learn more about the grim reaper system. How does it work? What are the loop holes? Why are all the grim reapers women? Why did the reapers keep so many secrets and keep changing what could happen to the reapers in their future? Also, I would have liked to see more grief of Ash's family. Her family played a massive part in the first chunk of the story, it felt a little odd to me that she basically forgot about them in the second half. In fact, Ash seemed a little flat in terms of emotion, or at least lacking some of her emotions, in the second half. I felt like she was more passionate in the "before" than she was in the "after."
Overall, I enjoyed the premise of the book and watching the main characters fall so deeply in love (it was giving uhaul lesbians), being messy, questioning and figuring out their relationship. I am giving this 4 stars and highly recommend to others that are interested. However, please look into trigger warnings and be prepared for the continuous discussion of death through the book.
Trigger and Content Warnings: discussion and descriptions of death, homophobia, car accident and stabbing scenes,
AFTERLOVE by TANYA BYRNE is a young adult romance following two girls, Poppy and Ash, as they are navigating their love before and after death. Randomly during a field trip, Poppy and Ash meet, having an instant connection. They continue meeting up, quickly and heavily falling for each other. Just as they start making plans for a future together, their future is whisked away when Ash dies in a car accident. However, she doesn't just die, she comes back as the next year's grim reaper. She's unable to talk to anyone that she previously knew unless they are nearing their death... that is until she sees and speaks with Poppy. Now with limited time together, Poppy and Ash are forced to grapple with what their new future could look like. The story is told in two labeled sections: before and after Ash's death. I didn't notice this until later into reading when I was checking the percent read. Formatting the story this way allowed for readers to spend time falling in love with Poppy and Ash while they fell in love with each other. It also felt natural to the story to show the progression of the beginning to the relationship up until their current point. I found myself rooting for Ash and wanting things to work out in the end for her, even if it meant being happy and at peace without Poppy. It was emotional, tense, exciting, and heartbreaking all at the same time.
I would have loved to learn more about the grim reaper system. How does it work? What are the loop holes? Why are all the grim reapers women? Why did the reapers keep so many secrets and keep changing what could happen to the reapers in their future? Also, I would have liked to see more grief of Ash's family. Her family played a massive part in the first chunk of the story, it felt a little odd to me that she basically forgot about them in the second half. In fact, Ash seemed a little flat in terms of emotion, or at least lacking some of her emotions, in the second half. I felt like she was more passionate in the "before" than she was in the "after."
Overall, I enjoyed the premise of the book and watching the main characters fall so deeply in love (it was giving uhaul lesbians), being messy, questioning and figuring out their relationship. I am giving this 4 stars and highly recommend to others that are interested. However, please look into trigger warnings and be prepared for the continuous discussion of death through the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Homophobia, and Car accident
anniereads221's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
3.0
Could have done without the throwaway transphobic line
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Car accident, Body horror, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Vomit, Transphobia, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Suicide