Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Afterlove

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Afterlove by Tanya Byrne

101 reviews

a_sleepy_berry's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was going to give it 4.5 stars because the plot at the beginning was kind of slow but I was so captivated by the plot twists and storyline that I can forgive it for being slower at the beginning. I can't wait to be able to reread this book.

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hello_ned's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I really needed to read another sapphic romance book, and this has really satisfied me. I read this in about 2 days. Laughed, squeeled, kicked my feet, curled into a ball and shed a single tear.

4.25 as I have some qualms, but overall a very enjoyable read.

The bads

The "after" felt quite underdeveloped for me.
after she dies,
the book pools into a puddle. It's not as central to the story as it proposes itself to be. The "rules" of the world seem a little half-baked and empty. It was a lukewarm ending, as if it was a happy "good" ending, but also unsatisfying. Which maybe is the point. But if we are going down the path of closure, I would have wanted more
romantic poppy-Ash time.
I definitely understand why she can't seek out her family, but they're not even mentioned much in the After.
The Reaper characters were also underdeveloped. I found it hard to differentiate them, and didn't care much for them either.
after Poppy dies, which was a little shocking and confusing,
nothing else happens. Its just an 11 month time skip. I kind of wish there was more about the acceptance and the other characters.

The loves

Byrne has such a wonderful, beautiful way of describing emotions. She can pinpoint exactly how something feels, which is really special, especially for me- a queer immigrant. I often felt this really fuzzy feeling in my chest, thinking "yes! That's exactly how I feel, it's finally been put into words!" Even things I dont exactly relate to, I can really feel them.
This is a very diverse book, lovingly written in the perspective of a brown person. I love how Ash talks about her home, and their smells, and the sentimental jangles of her mum's bracelets as she claps roti. It feels like a warm, long hug.
I loved the intensity of their relationship. The fire of someone's first sapphic romance. How everything feels new, and bright, and cosy, and scary, and how everything is theirs, and how there's so much hope.
I feel a part of their family. The dialogue is so natural, their characteristics so thoughful and distinctive. Which is why the 'After' was a bit disappointing in contrast.
The end, where she
goes to sit outside her flat, looks up at the window and sees the silhouette of her mum, and feels like her mum knows that she's okay,
made me cry so hard.

I'd say I thoroughly enjoyed the first half, the second half a little less so. This book has a lot of love and meaning, and I enjoyed the acknowledgements at the end.

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poisonviolet's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

WOW!
I am so unsteady writing this. This book felt like the warmest hug from a long-lost friend. I cried, squealed, jumped up and down, and cried some more. I am so deeply in love with these characters and comforted by the author's brilliant and beautiful words. I will likely never recover from this one... so many tears have stained these pages. Long story short, read this book but be prepared for tears and an existential crisis.

The aches hanging heavy in my chest after reading this are inspired to write stories that make readers feel just like this.

THANK YOU TANYA BYRNE, YOU ARE A GENIUS

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dontreadthelastpage_13's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

i absolutely loved this book !! ash and poppy were so loveable and it was so well written. i cried a total of two times, which means that i thoroughly enjoyed it !

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readingtempeh's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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riven_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This was recommended to me by my local bookseller and I absolutely loved it! I finished it in only a few hours because I couldn’t put it down.

Afterlove is a bittersweet tale that highlights queer relationships and explores cultures in a beautiful way.

Will definitely read again

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alexayres47's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Really enjoyed the first half, a rare fun and believable YA romance. The second half really lost me. Basically Dead Like Me (remember that show? That was a fun show) except with overly convoluted Death rules, bad psychology and a plot that was just random things happening to people until the book ended. The ending was quite nice.

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