The Love of My Afterlife

After seeing glowing reviews from several friends for this book, my curiosity got the best of me and I’m delighted, because this was a blast! It pays to listen to your friends!

Delphie Bookham is a 27-year-old woman who's never had a romantic relationship or the *perks* that come with one. After years of bullying in high school and basically being abandoned by her parents, she’s sworn off getting close to others, apart from her elderly neighbor Mr. Yoon. Unfortunately, this means she’s alone when a bite of burger gets stuck in her throat! 

Next thing she knows, she finds herself in Evermore where she’s greeted by an outgoing, ambitious, romance-loving Afterlife Therapist named Merritt who’s getting a little bored upstairs. When Merritt notices sparks fly between Delphie and another incoming “Dead” named Jonah who gets whisked back to earth because it’s not his time yet, she decides to have some fun.  She’ll bend a rule to allow Sophie to return to her life IF she can find Jonah and get him to kiss her within ten days. If not, Delphie gets a one-way ticket back to Evermore!

Can Delphie find her soulmate Jonah and get that kiss in time?  

It’s a delightful premise and the beginning hooked me right away, but it’s the unexpected story AFTER Delphie gets sent back that truly won my heart!

This is a love story about LOVE STORIES! The frequent nods to familiar authors and books, the meta references to popular romance tropes, the heartwarming threads of found family and magical realism, and the overarching theme of living the life you’ve been given to its fullest ALL make for one of the sweetest, most life-affirming stories I’ve read this year. I went into the story thinking I knew where it was going, but I was so wrong and I couldn’t be happier that I was!

Delphie’s journey isn’t just about finding love and pursuing her ‘happily ever after’, it’s also about discovering her love for life itself and all the joys that come with letting people in. Yes, I wanted to shake her for a good half or so of the book and tell her to stop being so darn grumpy, but she wasn’t that way without reason, and seeing her evolution as a character was worth the patience.

If you enjoy a funny, heartwarming enemies to lovers story with a brilliant cast of side characters, great chemistry, a satisfying story arc and a decent amount of emotional depth involving grief, bullying, loneliness, caring for the elderly, and setting healthy boundaries, this is well worth a look! I’ll be keeping an eye out for more from Kirsty Greenwood!

★★★★ ½

Thanks to Berkley Publishing, NetGalley, and author Kirsty Greenwood for this digital ARC to honestly review. It’s due to be published on July 2, 2024.