The Love of My Afterlife

The Love of My Afterlife falls into the genre of contemporary romance, which is categorized by happy endings and familiar plotlines but often focuses on the main characters’ personal growth and the obstacles they must overcome to resolve their conflicts. Most contemporary romances feature flawed characters and depict protagonists who overcome barriers to their incipient romance and also strive to become better, happier people. While The Love of My Afterlife is underpinned by lighthearted moments, it also deals with serious subjects, and this interplay of comedy and philosophy often characterizes the works of Greenwood and her contemporaries. Although the primary focus of such novels remains on the protagonists’ developing romance, topics such as death, trauma, and memory also dominate The Love of My Afterlife. This pattern can also be seen in other comparable romances, such as Ashley Poston’s The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip, Emily Henry’s Beach Read, and Sarah Adler’s Mrs. Nash’s Ashes. 

Just as contemporary romance novels rely on familiar narrative structures, they also feature common tropes and plot devices such as the enemies-to-lovers scenario or the marriage-of-convenience, and they often take place in deliberately quaint settings.