The Love of my Afterlife by Kristy Greenwood
Publication Date: July 2, 2024
Summary from Netgalley:
A recently deceased woman meets “the one” in the afterlife waiting room, scoring a second chance at life (and love!) if she can find him on earth before ten days are up…
If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. Not only did she just die by choking on a microwaveable burger, but now she’s standing in her ‘shine like a star’ 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 out of 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 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…
ARC provided by Berkley Publishing via NetGalley for an honest review.
Confession:
This was a fun and delightful read full of lovely characters and a slow burn romance that hit all of the right feelings at the right time. I did have a few minor issues with the story, but they certainly didn’t interfere with my overall impression of the book. This is the first book I have read by this author, but I won’t hesitate to give her another chance.
Delphie is a very relatable character. She is a loner and an introvert, totally afraid to get close to anyone. She was horribly tormented and bullied in high school, which scarred her and made her not want to form any kind of relationship with anyone. She thought she was fine with this, until she died. Her death and meet cute were hilarious and set up the rest of the story perfectly. What follows is Delphie finding herself making friends and having the time of her life in just 10 days. Delphie just blooms in this book and it was a lot of fun to watch. She was a bit annoying at times, and totally clueless about social interactions, but I could overlook most of these foibles because she had such a good heart.
There is a cast of characters that support Delphie in her quest to meet her soul mate. They all become her friends and I really enjoyed all of them. Mr. Yoon is her elderly neighbor that she takes care of. I loved their relationship and how Delphie was worried about what would happen to him when she died. Aled, the librarian, and Frida the dog walker, were perhaps my favorite of her new friends. They both just totally took Delphie for who she was and were happy and willing to be her friend. Cooper, her downstairs neighbor, was also a great character. I loved watching their relationship grow and I loved how willing Cooper was to help her find her soulmate.
The story was a very quick read and one that I found hard to put down. This was a well thought out plot that used so many of the usual romcom tropes that I found myself laughing a lot throughout the story. Some of the antics that Delphie got up to in order to meet Mr. Right were unfortunately a bit over the top which was a little annoying. There were also a few times where I felt like Delphie was being extremely childish and naive and making horrible decisions. I also thought that the resolution of the bullying in high school, could have been handled a bit better. But overall it was a good story that I found myself enjoying and had a hard time putting down.
This was a very enjoyable romance that I would recommend, especially if you are looking for a light vacation read. It will make you smile and you will rejoice as Delphie comes out of her shell and learns about the importance of having connections with others.
Confessions of a Serial Reader 