Talk About Major Life Events!

 

TITLE: Love of My Afterlife

AUTHOR: Kirsty Greenwood

PUBLISHER: Berkley

PUBLISHING DATE: July 2, 2024

PAGES: 369   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. Not only did she just die by choking on a microwaveable burger, she’s also now standing in her "sparkle and shine" nightie in front of the hottest man she’s ever seen. And he’s smiling at her. 

As they start to chat, everything else becomes background noise. That is, until someone comes running through a door yelling something about a huge mistake and sends the dreamy stranger back down to Earth. And here Delphie was thinking her luck might be different in the afterlife. 

When Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to Earth and reconnect with the mysterious man, she jumps at the opportunity to find her possible soulmate and a fresh start. But to find him in a city of millions, Delphie is going to have to listen to her heart, learn to ask for help, and perhaps even see the magic in the life she’s leaving behind...

MY THOUGHTS: Sometimes as a reader you just suspect that a book is really going to be a hit with you for one reason or another.  This book presented as that for me and I'm so glad to say my instincts were right on the mark.

The book opens with Delphie choking to death on a fast-food burger.  This is not a spoiler, I mean the title even implies what we are working with right?  So she arrives in Heaven, which looks like a laundromat for some reason, and is met by her afterlife coach, Merritt.  While conversing with Merritt, she is faced with how unlived her life actually was, plus she meets a man she has an instant attraction with only to have him vanish before her eyes when he is revived on Earth.  Merritt, who loves a good love story, makes a deal with Dephie that if she can locate the man within 10 days, and get him to kiss her unprompted, she can return to Earth to live the rest of her life.  Only problem is that Delphie only knows his first name and that he lives somewhere in London. 

This book was so much fun.  Delphie, due to her own childhood baggage, is pretty much a loner and in order to find her soulmate, must start relying on the few people in her life to assist - workmates, the grumpy downstairs neighbor, the local librarian and even a stranger she meets in the park.  Because of this, underneath it all, this book is really about found family.  Delphie was such an interesting character and I loved seeing her come out of her shell and realize how much living she still has to do.  She also has a wonderful relationship with her neighbor, an elderly man who does not speak and I'm a sucker for an older character in a book.  The ending was a bit predictable but even then, the author added an extra layer which caught me off guard.

Overall, if you love rom-coms and don't mind some speculative fiction/magical realism thrown in, then I think you would enjoy this book. I found it to be a quick read and one I had a hard time putting down.  The only reason it didn't get a complete 5/5 rating is because I would have liked to have more of a resolution with Delphie's mother. This book is one I will be recommending to my friends and family.

MY RATING: 4 PAWS