sicksadlit's reviews
496 reviews

Delphie Bookham died at the age of 27, choking on a microwave hamburger. Who will miss her? No one really. Maybe Mr Yoon, her elderly upstairs neighbour whom she checks on every day to make sure he hasn’t burnt his flat down by leaving the stove on but other than that? 

Literally a virgin who can’t drive, Delphie’s life was dull and lonely. When she arrives at Evermore, the Afterlife facility, she realises there’s nothing much to look back on fondly really. But in death? Well, things kick off to a roaring start when she literally runs into a new “dead arrival” who happens to be her soulmate. Although when it turns out there was an admin error and he’s promptly sent back to earth, Delphie is desperate to know what life might have been like if she’d only been able to meet this handsome stranger. 

So Delphie’s been given a second chance. She has just 10 days to find this mystery man and get him to kiss her of his own free will. If she’s successful? She gets to live. If not? Well… she’ll be sent straight back to Evermore and that will be that.

Let the manhunt begin!

* * * * * * * *

Ok I loved this.

So much so I actually devoured the whole thing in a day. I do not do that for just any book!!

The Love of my Afterlife took me completely by surprise. I had no idea what to expect and the story just kept taking unexpected twists and turns that kept me on my toes — incredibly refreshing for a romance novel in which they are so often very formulaic and (comfortably) predictable. But this story was so much more than just a romance.

Not only were the MMC and MFC compelling and engaging, but there was a surprisingly large cast of characters who were all unique, loveable and wonderfully charming. Each had their own magic to bring and added meaningful layers to the story.

Kirsty Greenwood is actually kind of extraordinary. It’s not easy to create even two well-developed characters, let alone as many as exist in TLOMA. The dialogue was engaging and fun, every character had a distinct personality and tone of voice and I could practically *see* and hear them as I read.

I can completely imagine this book being adapted into a movie or Netflix series. It was so vivid and evocative, you can tell that Kirsty Greenwood is a fan of musical theatre because it almost felt like a “company” of characters and musical scenes.

The only thing I would have liked to see more of what a little exploration and closure around Delphie’s relationship with her mother. It felt like the one loose end that was rushed to tie at the end of the novel, and I didn’t really feel that it was properly explored or explained, given the increasing tension and build up that the story was building to. It was a bit disappointing, hence four stars instead of five.

But! Overall, I loved this book. It was fun, lighthearted and surprising. 

I would absolutely recommend it and can’t wait to read more from Greenwood.

Thank you to Penguin Books New Zealand for the ARC!

I did not like this book!!!! It was not good!!

People need to stop comparing it to The Secret History because not only is that blasphemy imo, but it actually set this book up to fail because literally no one on the face of the earth can compare with Donna Tartt, least of all this VERY AVERAGE AND BORING BOOK.

It took me six weeks to read this thing. SIX WEEKS of agonising over having to pick it back up again and only doing so because "surely it's going to get better, everyone keeps saying it's basically the same as The Secret History so there's gotta be more to it." 

It did not get better!

In fact, it got worse!!

This books reads like a novice writer trying to be Donna Tartt and failing miserably. The cover boasts a "richly layered story" but I'm sorry, where?? This was an extremely shallow, very much single-layered story that clearly ripped off the plot of The Secret History and had some of the most shockingly underdeveloped characters I've ever read. 

The back of the book has a quote from some woman names Miranda Beverly-Whittemore whose work I'll certainly never read because she says "whip-smart, chilling tale, a page-turning literary thriller whose final, shocking twist you won't forget."

BITCH, WHERE?! Where is the shocking twist?? Is the twist in the room with us??

This book only makes me so mad because it is so hyped up and yet, so, so unbelievably lame and boring my god.

Anyone who says it's like The Secret History clearly has never read The Secret History.

This is like "We have The Secret History at home". UGH MAKE IT STOP

The irony of having a whole chapter on over-confidence when this entire book is the perfect example of someone who does not realise they are not hitting the notes they think they’re hitting.

I was expecting more from this. More in-depth, unbiased analysis but instead, as another reviewer put it, it’s more like a random collection of personal essays with a veeeeerrry tenuous link between them to the overarching topic. 

Honestly, it was a bit weird and I’m not even sure what the point of the book was or what the key takeaway was meant to be?

Disappointing because I absolutely loved Cultish. Maybe the author just felt too much pressure to release another hit in the wake of the success of the first book but this one definitely could have used a bit more time and attention before going to market.

Well, I can honestly say I've never read anything quite like The Vaster Wilds.

Lauren Groff is kinda like Cormac McCarthy meets Ottessa Moshfegh in the best kind of way.

The novel tells the story of an unnamed girl who escapes the small settlement she was brought to as the servant of her mistress. She takes off into the wild, running and running and running until she can't run anymore. Running from the starvation that has claimed the lives of so many of the residents. Running from the cruelty of the minister. Running from the grief of having lost the only other human she truly loved and cared for.

With nothing but the stolen clothes on her back, looted boots on her feet and her mistress's precious leather gloves to protect her hands from the bitter cold, she runs and runs.

This book is strangely compelling. I could not put it down, despite the relatively small cast of characters and change in scenes.

What made this story so engaging is Groff's incredible ability to develop a scene and draw you into the picture. I wanted to know how the girl survived, what she'd eat next, where she'd end up the next day.

And in the end, despite the horrors of the real world around us, I felt strangely peaceful in understanding that nature will always reclaim her space and what has been will come again.

We will return to nature as we came.

A bit existential, yes, but I was surprised to find that this is exactly what I needed at this time in my life.