Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Afterlove by Tanya Byrne

5 reviews

a_sleepy_berry's review against another edition

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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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mxdegroot's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was such a unique read, I simultaneously have so much and absolutely nothing to say. The premise of the story was unique and mysterious and risky. There is a lot that could have gone wrong with this story in its development, especially to the end, and it didn't. Byrne knew exactly what she was doing and where she was going.

Byrne's writing style is distinctive in many ways, all of them positive; we follow the main character, Ash, a teenager, in a first person perspective, and it reads exactly like that.

Generally, I am not the biggest fan of love at first sight stories, but the way Ash and Poppy's relationship developed compensated for that.
Ashana has a crush on Poppy from the start, but both the characters and Byrne let it develop naturally so that it doesn't feel forced,
something I unfortunately see a lot in (especially YA) books where the story developes around a relationship.

As the story went on, especially from the point that
Poppy recognized Ash and it was confirmed that this meant that this meant that she would die
, I got quite scared that the story was going to have big plot twist in which Ash could come back to life or
Poppy could avoid her fate or was a special case that could see reapers and live
. Luckily, this didn't happen and the ending was exactly what I hoped it to be;
Ash and Poppy had the chance to say goodbye to each other and the small plot twist/reveal that, on New Years Eve, Ash could possibly get the chance to go with Charon to the afterlife was perfect and just what the story needed.


Something that I feel that needs to be mentioned is the character development of Ashana's mother. She was raised to have a negative opinion against homosexuality and, even when Ash comes out as a lesbian, she finds it hard to accept it, staying mostly (uncomfortably) silent. A few months later, however, when
Ash tells her about her relationship with Poppy, we see that she has put effort into changing her views and accepting Ash as she is, and is even willing to help her introduce Poppy to her father and sister
. I found this little sidestory beautiful and had to shed a bit of light on it, as I almost never see anyone talk about it in their reviews.

Did this story have a lot of character development in the sense of the characters making mistakes and growing as they learn from them? No. Because it was not necessary. The story is about first (true) love, grief, acceptance, closure and goodbyes. The book is meant to be a cute read that will still leave you in tears when you finish it and that, it did perfectly.

If you are a lover of cute, useless lesbians, books you will need some time to recover from once you've finished it, and/or magic realism? Afterlove is definitely a book you should pick up.

To close off, the clear foreshadowing to Ash dying (which was possible because it is the main event of the book)? Ouch. /pos.

Rep: lesbian MC, MCOC, South-American MC, muslim character.
January 25th, 2023 - February 2nd, 2023.

"Maybe we'll burn bright for a few weeks then collapse in on ourselves, but Mr. Moreno says that's how galaxies are made anyways." - Before, chapter 5.

"[...] as we head under the bridge, I know that I'd follow her to the edge of the fucking world." - Before, hapter 6.

"I feel like I've loved you for a really long time, but it still isn't enough." - After, chapter 27.

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anniereads221's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

3.0

Could have done without the throwaway transphobic line
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thelongautumn's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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getlitwithamy_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Tanya Byrne’s Afterlove is a tragically beautiful story about first love, as well as the strength that love has in life and death.

Plot: 5 ✰

Characters: 5 ✰

Setting: 5 ✰

Writing Style: 5 ✰

Personal Impact: 5 ✰ 

Overall Rating: 5 ✰ 

Content Warnings: grief, death, homophobia, mention of suicide, mention of overdose

For a more in-depth review, visit https://www.getlitwithamy.com/reviews/afterlove
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