On the Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher

On the Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Your soul is too heavy to pass through this door,
Leave the weight of the world in the world from before

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...


I really enjoyed the beginning of this book and the sound of where the plot was going to go. I have read many Cecelia Ahern books and was hoping that I would be left with a similar feeling after reading hers.

Evie Snow is dead, she seems to be in a place that doors won't open. This really intrigued me and I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen. There was a magical element in the story and was a little bit 'fairy tale' ish which I enjoyed.

I didn't read this book in a couple of sittings due to being too busy at work and this could have changed my view of the book. I personally found it a little tricky to follow, I was unsure of when the story was meant to be set, I got the impression Evie was from the 60's, however Vincent seemed to be more from the present day. I then thought perhaps we were going back/forward in time. Like I said though, it could have been down to the fact I read the book in a slightly disjointed way and perhaps if I had read it straight though this wouldn't have happened.

I loved the idea of this story and think it was really sweet. However some of the background 'contextual' information didn't seem to be correct. Evie being 82 when going back from modern day should be in her 20's and surely the environment should reflect this, which it doesn't.

Overall if you take the story with a pinch of salt and don't read too much into it, then you will enjoy it, however if you are looking for something perfect it isn't, Carrie though has done a great job on writing her first novel and can be forgiven for some of the mistakes she has made. I would say perhaps the story would be suited to a younger audience.

I have been asked not to share too much of the story in my review so you will have to go and buy the book if you want to know more!

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.