Review: The Love of My Afterlife

 

The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood

Amazon/Goodreads

If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. She’s entered the afterlife wearing the sort of pyjamas you don’t want anyone to see and finds herself face-to-face with the most handsome man she’s ever encountered. And he’s smiling at her.

As they start to chat, everything else becomes background noise – until someone comes running out of a door, yelling something about a huge mistake, and sends the dreamy stranger back down to earth.

In a twist of fate, Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to her previous life and reconnect with the mysterious man she’s sure is her soulmate.

The challenge? She only has ten days to find him. Ten days to make him fall for her.

The Love of My Afterlife is cute, fluffy, and chaotic. It feels like a quintessential British rom-com in novel form. While reading, I was exquisitely entertained and kept flipping pages at a voracious rate, eager to find out Delphie's fate as she navigates a singularly unique situation.

You see, Delphie is dead. Yes, you read that right. She's very much deceased (she goes by choking on her food, poor girl) but then is given a second chance at life by a sympathetic romantic in the afterlife. Delphie is allowed to return to Earth and, if she can kiss her soulmate in 10 days, she will be permitted to stay permanently. Isn't this a delightfully interesting premise? 

Of course, her task is not an easy one, and nothing goes exactly to plan. Delphie goes on numerous adventures around London to find her soulmate, and along the way makes many unlikely friends and commits a few humorous acts of deception. The liveliness of the entire cast of character and the hilarity of Delphie's hijinks make the novel entirely too readable and addictive. Moreover, the romance in this book as well is really sweet. No spoilers here, but the romance is a bit unexpected and really unfolds into a touching story. The characters are perfect for one another, and their interactions are highly amusing. 

My one complaint is that for a book with such a dark subject matter, and such high stakes, the narration is remarkably light and humorous. Sometimes, too much so; I feel that some of Delphie's problems are trivialised and her voice sometimes fails to come across as realistic considering she is in undeniably dire straits. Likewise, Delphie is sometimes a frustrating character, who cannot seem to learn to help herself and can bulldoze those around her. However, she does experience character growth through her experiences. And she is often kind and charming when she doesn't feel threatened; I especially adored her compassionate treatment of her elderly neighbour. 

Overall, The Love of My Afterlife is a resounding success. If you like cute romantic comedies with a large cast of quirky characters, I would absolutely recommend this novel. Just don't expect anything overly serious or dark. This is a light novel about friendship, making new connections, and a fun romance. Greenwood's novel is uplighting and life-affirming. 

Review: Seven Summers

Seven Summers by Paige Toon
Six summers to fall in love. One summer to change everything.

Liv and Finn meet six summers ago working in a bar on the rugged Cornish coastline, their futures full of promise. When a night of passion ends in devastating tragedy they are bound together inextricably. But Finn’s life is in LA with his band, and Liv’s is in Cornwall with her family—so they make a promise. Finn will return every year, and if they are single they will spend the summer together.

This summer Liv crosses paths with Tom—a mysterious new arrival in her hometown. As the wildflowers and heather come into bloom, they find themselves falling for one another. For the first time Liv can imagine a world where her heart isn’t broken every autumn. Now Liv must make an impossible choice. And when she discovers the shocking reason that Tom has left home, she’ll need to trust her heart even more . . .

Find Seven Summers: Goodreads/Amazon 

 After finishing two 4,000 words essays at midnight, I woke up at 2am to fly to Spain for Spring break. Unsurprisingly, I was tired, overworked, and looking for the perfect vacation read. At the Edinburgh Airport before our flight, I picked up Seven Summers.... my choice was an excellent one. 

Seven Summers, set in Cornwall over (you guessed it) seven summers, is the perfect novel with a beach setting that places aside other stereotypical tropes of the 'beach read.' Toon's novel delves into the struggles of grief, heartbreak, and adulthood. At its heart, the novel is about, family, responsibility, and growing up. Unlike other fluffy beach reads, Seven Summers is more somber and serious. 

Still, the book at parts is undeniably fun, readable, and (compared to the heavy eighteenth century fiction I have been reading lately) light. Scenes in the local pub, at parties, and along the beach are vibrant and fun. Moreover, I really enjoyed the novel's emphasis on art and music. Liv is a sculptor and the book chronicles her artistic journey, and, likewise, Finn is a musician and songwriter. 

The romance in the novel is set out interestingly with a stark contrast between past and present. The structure of Seven Summers cleverly seeks to keep readers in the dark over which man Liv ends up with until the very end. This strategy, rather than feeling like a cheap love triangle, kept me engaged while never feeling like the men were in a competition. For most of the novel, the loves are separated by time. Still, the ending ultimately surprised me.

In some ways, I felt the ending was unrealistic, and overly dismissive towards a certain key character. In other ways, I felt the ending was clever and satisfying. Perhaps it depends on how much you believe in destiny, fate, or any sort of divine prescence leading a person into another's life. That's all I will say for now, I promise there are no spoilers here. 

Seven Summers is unputdownable, sometimes devastating, but ultimately hopeful. Toon successfully immersed me into Liv's vibrant life in Cornwall. I loved reading this book while on Spring break, on trains, planes, and on the beach. For anyone looking for a slightly more serious beach read — this book is for you.