Review: The Very Happy After-Life of Rosie Potter (RIP)

"Falling in love is never simple. Especially when you're dead.

When Rosie Potter wakes up one morning with what she assumes is the world's worst hangover, the last thing she expects is to discover that she's actually dead. With a frustrating case of amnesia, suspicious circumstances surrounding her untimely demise, and stuck wearing her ugliest flannel PJs, Rosie must figure out not only what happened last night, but why on earth she's still here."

First of all, can I just point out how PRETTY this cover is?! I absolutely love it. Anyway, I'm getting distracted... The Very Happy Afterlife of Rose Potter (RIP) follows Rosie, who wakes up one morning to discover that she is actually dead. She can’t remember how or why her dead body is on her bed, nor why she is still around to see her friends and family grieve.

It is a funny, heart warming book that I would thoroughly recommend.

Being honest, when I picked up this book I wondered how it would remain engaging throughout the story. As it follows Rosie, who is now a ghost, I thought that there would be limited interaction between her and the other characters and therefore it may be slow-paced and a bit too descriptive.

I am pleased to say I was wrong. Very wrong.

Although Rosie herself does have limited interaction with other characters, she keeps her eye on those closest to her which, to the audience, provides dialogue and exchanges between characters as well as amusing and touching scenes as she looks on. One of my favourite moments is when her parents, brother and Charles are sat talking about her ‘remember the time when she...’ and so on. As a reader, you have the dialogue and engagement between characters as they talk about Rosie, as well as having her reaction to their feelings and conversation.

Rosie is a really funny character who I loved from the very start. She takes the whole ‘being a ghost’ thing in her stride, using it to watch over her family and friends and also haunt her horrible ex-boyfriend, which creates some really funny scenes I won’t go into too much as I don’t want to spoil it. She is cheeky and mischievous in her new state, acting exactly how I would act if I woke up one day and found out I was a ghost – walking through walls, moving things around to confuse people and yelling loudly to see if people can hear (they can’t).

As well as the humorous parts of the story, you also sympathise with Rosie throughout, as she tries to deal with no longer being part of the world those closest to her occupy, and even though she is the one that has died, she grieves for what could have been and what is no longer, especially as she watches her loved ones grieve. This book shows grief and loss from a different perspective which makes it unique and even more enjoyable.

This is a fabulous, well written book that I became engrossed in. Once I picked it up, I was hesitant to put it down as I was intrigued as to how it would end. The ending itself didn't disappoint, in fact it was perfect. It surprised me that this is Kate’s debut, she is a very talented and engaging author and I’m already looking forward to whatever else she has in store for us!

The book is currently available in e-book from on Amazon, but is also due to be released in paperback form in May. You can follow Kate on Twitter @KatiCut