Afterlove by Tanya Byrne Review: A Lesbian Love Story to Live For

Afterlove at its core is a story of realism told in the most unrealistic way. A tale of true and selfish love. In this story of love after life written by Tanya Byrne, we follow 16-year-old Ash Persaud, a regular teenage girl dealing with her domestic family drama, waiting for ‘the one’ to come and break her heart. She finds Poppy Morgan on a boat, a sudden sense of calm in the twisting panic she feels on open water. And it’s Poppy Morgan who remains her tether to reality for the rest of her life, and after.

Byrne tells the story of Ash and Poppy in a way that makes you fall in love with the idea of them from the second they meet. Through beautiful, heartfelt metaphors and anecdotes from Ash, we understand what true love feels like. It’s a realistic relationship, they become selfish for each other, they become so enamoured by each other that they are the only thing that matters, and in a way it’s exactly that that leads to Ashana’s downfall.

Both protagonists are immensely likeable, while Poppy has a soft innocence about her, Ash acts as a stand-in best friend. She’s unique, with fears and morals that are nothing but relatable. We understand fully that she’s new to love, that she’s stumbling blindly but willingly, and you can tell this through her narration and just how obsessed with Poppy she is.

Both these main characters were wonderfully developed but ending the book I couldn’t help but wonder about everyone else we were introduced to. There was little mention of Ash’s best friend after she died, there was no closure there nor did it even seem like she was grieving at all. However, I believe this could have been a conscious decision made to show just how blindsided Ash truly was by Poppy. Similarly, I would have loved to know more about the reapers Ash teamed with in the second half of the book, like how they died and who they left behind. A prequel book following Esen and Dev would definitely be welcomed with open arms.

I’ve always enjoyed a reaper trope, and this one did not fail to disappoint. While the beginning of the book was slow, just waiting for Ash to meet her end, I did find myself wondering if this was ‘it’ at many points in the first 150 or so pages which made it more suspenseful than boring. Saying this, the ‘after’ chapters of the book were by far superior to the ‘before’.

I think it’s safe to say Afterlove broke me, the ending was beyond cruel and while it was expected, it still caught me completely off guard leaving me feeling like just as empty as Ash. I became so attached to Ash and Poppy’s relationship throughout, feeling with them and for them, it was no wonder by the end of it I was tearing up. I also found great joy in picking out all the references, especially those I understood the sentiment of and added even more to emotion of the scene. Leaving the book, Afterlove made me realise just how short life is and how I’m letting it slip away from me

I think Byrne delivered just what she promised, it really was the ‘lesbian love story [I’ve] been dying to read’. It was a welcome change to my regular YA fantasy, one I devoured and adored. Hopefully, if you read it you’ll be just as enthralled as I was.