How are you?
In this Book Review Monday I am going to be reviewing the wonderful On the Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher. I was lucky enough to get to meet Carrie at one of her book events this year. I was so glad I did as it meant reading this book was so much more special. Like my last review, there will be specific structure which is: Non-Spoiler section, cover review, plot overview, character chat and opinions.
On the Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher- Contains spoilers
Non-Spoiler Thoughts
I rated On the Other Side 5/5 stars. My opinion of this book is probably a bit biased as did meet Carrie and I think that made this book a bit more special for me. Usually, I am not a big fan of love stories as they are usually all the same, but this was something that I hadn't read before. I would recommend you read it even if you don't watch Carrie's videos.
Cover Review
I really liked the cover as the images on it had something to do with the book. I loved the use of purple foil which made these images pop. It is one of the prettiest books I own and I know we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but this cover is too pretty not to judge. I also love how the tree looks like a heart which ties in nicely with the tag line for this book, a love story like no other.
Plot Overview
I've decided for this review that I'm not going to go into details about the plot and that I'm going to take a quote from Goodreads. I'm not sure if I like doing these parts of my reviews and I'm debating not doing them in future reviews. Let me know what you think.
A love story like no other, this is the debut novel from Carrie Hope Fletcher, author of the Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller All I Know Now.
Evie Snow is eighty-two when she quietly passes away in her sleep, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. It's the way most people wish to leave the world but when Evie reaches the door of her own private heaven, she finds that she's become her twenty-seven-year-old self and the door won't open.
Evie's soul must be light enough to pass through so she needs to get rid of whatever is making her soul heavy. For Evie, this means unburdening herself of the three secrets that have weighed her down for over fifty years, so she must find a way to reveal them before it's too late. As Evie begins the journey of a lifetime, she learns more about life and love than she ever thought possible, and somehow , some way, she may also find her way back to her long lost love . . .
On the Other Side will transport you to a world that is impossible to forget. Powerful, magical and utterly romantic, this is a love story like no other from everyone's favourite 'big sister', Carrie Hope Fletcher.
Character Chat
I am going to talk about 3 characters from the book and they are Evie Snow, Vincent Winters and Jim Summer.
Vincent Winters- Vincent was one of two love interests in Evie's life. I loved how he was talented at an unusual instrument like the violin. He was such a sweet character and you could really tell that he loved Evie. It was very obvious how Vincent was based on Pete (Carrie's boyfriend) and I thought that this was a really nice touch. I felt so sorry for Vincent when Evie chose Jim instead, like my heart broke. But I loved how understanding he was. I was so grateful that he didn't lash out at Evie about her decision and he was just so accepting. I really liked how he got to meat Evie in the after life.
Jim Summer- Jim was the other love interest in Evie's life, but unlike Vincent, Evie didn't love him back at first. I wasn't sure if I liked Jim, but he did grow on me. I liked how he was a childhood friend of Evie's. I was so happy that Jim stood up to Evie's mother and told her what she was doing was wrong. That was what made me like him. I was happy that he supported Evie's decision.
Opinions
I really enjoyed this book. It was a nice and fun book to read. I love the representation of LGBT in this book. We have 3 characters who have connections to the LGBT community, we have a gay character, a bi character and a pan-sexual character. I've never read a book with a pan-sexual character in it before.
One thing that I wasn't too keen on/ I didn't really notice it, was the magical elements in the story. Whenever one of these moments happened, it washed over me and I would have to go back an re-read it. Also, these moments only happened to Evie. I wish they had happened to more characters to make the magic seem more balanced and not just added as a special effect.
Overall I really enjoyed On the Other Side and I can't wait to read more books by Carrie and see what style she tries next.
Love,
Carenza x
