Stacy Alesi

Spotlight Review: THE LOVE OF MY AFTERLIFE by Kirsty Greenwood

August 13, 2024

From the publisher:

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…

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK! AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

“Greenwood offers a charming, unique twist on a plethora of the best romance tropes. Sure to be a favorite of readers who love Sophie Cousens and Katy Birchall.” —Library Journal

“[T]he emotions are sweeping, the humor feels straight out of a network sitcom…. Fans of The Good Place should snap this up.” —Publishers Weekly

“Greenwood weaves themes of loneliness, grief and self-discovery into a romance filled with laugh-out-loud moments.” —USA Today
https://amzn.to/3SkMQPi

I kept hearing about this book so I finally picked it up – I’m so glad I did! I don’t care for a lot of woo-woo paranormal type romances, but I can deal in limited doses. An occasional witch. I do like time travel, and this sort of falls into that category, but with a twist. The afterlife twist.

Delphie is alone and very lonely, although it seems like she doesn’t even realize it. One day, she choked to death on a microwaveable hamburger, with no one there to Heimlich her. She arrives in what appears to be a laundromat but is actually the waiting room of heaven. There, a strange woman is trying to explain all of this to her when someone else pops in. A good-looking man who takes one look at Delphie and appears smitten – and she is as well. Except it turns out he is in the wrong place – not that place, but he’s not really dead and needs to be sent back. She’s told that he is her soulmate, and if she can get him to kiss her in ten days, she’ll be returned to life as well. All Delphie knows about him is that he lives in London and his first name, so not a whole lot to go on. But certainly worth a shot!

Delphie enlists the aid of her downstairs grumpy neighbor, Cooper. She thinks he is a computer programmer of some sort, and he does have some skills in that regard. They finally find out his full name, where he works, and Delphie has several attempts at trying to meet him. All are hilarious! Of course, spending time with Cooper has them growing closer and causing Delphie to wonder about her “soulmate”. Lots of hijinks ensue in this missing person’s type case, and everyone gets the happy ending they need.

This was such a fun read! It had many laugh-out-loud moments, some steamy sex, and a lot of heart. I loved it.

8/2024 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE LOVE OF MY AFTERLIFE by Kirsty Greenwood. Berkley (July 2, 2024). ISBN: 978-0593816134. 384p.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

SLOW DANCE by Rainbow Rowell

August 9, 2024

From the publisher:

A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor & Park and Attachments comes Slow Dance—a novel of true love and friendship.

Back in high school, everybody thought Shiloh and Cary would end up together . . . everybody but Shiloh and Cary.

They were just friends. Best friends. Allies. They spent entire summers sitting on Shiloh’s porch steps, dreaming about the future. They were both going to get out of north Omaha—Shiloh would go to go to college and become an actress, and Cary would join the Navy. They promised each other that their friendship would never change.

Well, Shiloh did go to college, and Cary did join the Navy. And yet, somehow, everything changed.

Now Shiloh’s thirty-three, and it’s been fourteen years since she talked to Cary. She’s been married and divorced. She has two kids. And she’s back living in the same house she grew up in. Her life is nothing like she planned.

When she’s invited to an old friend’s wedding, all Shiloh can think about is whether Cary will be there—and whether she hopes he will be. Would Cary even want to talk to her? After everything?

The answer is yes. And yes. And yes.

Slow Dance is the story of two kids who fell in love before they knew enough about love to recognize it. Two friends who lost everything. Two adults who just feel lost.

It’s the story of Shiloh and Cary, who everyone thought would end up together, trying to find their way back to the start.

“A will-they, won’t-they second chance romance for the ages, this one is poised to be one of summer’s breakout hits.” —People

“Rowell takes her time revealing the couple’s origins as high-school besties, the conflicts they helped each other through as teens in working-class families and those they’re dealing with now, the long period of silence between them, and the undeniable glimmers of their enduring mutual attraction. Their dance is sweet and sexy, and Rowell draws out the whole, simmering affair as she ping-pongs through her characters’ past and present. . . . [Slow Dance is] sure to be a crowd-pleaser.”— Booklist (starred review)

“Rich, real, and emotionally raw, this satisfying contemporary is sure to impress.” — Publishers Weekly
https://amzn.to/3SFJuq8

This is Rowell’s first adult novel in ten years, so I was very excited about it. I read all of her earlier books and loved them. I met her at the American Library Association’s annual conference many years ago, and loved her! She verged off into graphic novels after writing a couple of novels with some graphic elements, but I am not a fan of graphic novels (for the most part), so I didn’t read them. All that said, as much as I was looking forward to this book, I almost didn’t finish it.

The “slow” of the title is appropriate. I was maybe a quarter of the way in and put it down. It felt like nothing was happening of any consequence, and I wasn’t invested enough with these characters to care. But then I saw Reese Witherspoon had selected it for her book club, and I almost always like the books she chooses, so I picked it back up. At about three-quarters of the way through, I finally felt invested. We are talking super s-l-o-wwwwwwwww here. I realize not every book has to be fast-paced, but that is my preference whether a romance, a thriller, or anything else.

Cary and Shiloh grew up together as the best of friends. But then life happened; he joined the Navy, and she went off to college. They got together once during that time, but hadn’t spoken in many years before a mutual friend’s wedding brought them back together. But it took a lot more time for them to really find their way back to one another as friends, and a lot more time after that to find their way into love and a lasting relationship.

Neither of them had good role models growing up. They both came from toxic, dysfunctional families and really were the glue that held them together. Now Shiloh is back home, living with her mother, and trying to raise her two kids alone. Luckily, her mother is a better grandmother than she was a mother.

Carey is dealing with an elderly parent who needs more help than his half-siblings care to give her, so he is constantly having to step in, taking leave from the Navy as he can. As he and Shiloh become friends again, she starts helping with his mom as well. It seems like they both have emotional and mental struggles that need more attention than they are getting.

Eventually, they realize they are in love and find their happy ending, but it is such a long, difficult road to get there. I did end up liking this book, but not to harp on it or anything (and sorry if I’m being too repetitive), it was slow going.

8/2024 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

SLOW DANCE by Rainbow Rowell. William Morrow (July 30, 2024). ISBN:‎ 978-0063380196. 400p.