"We leave too much hate in this world when all it takes is one person to remember your love and that they love you."

GENRE: Cozy Fantasy (With darker elements)
Would I recommend to others?:Yes! This is perfect for those of you who enjoy cozy fantasy with darker elements in them

Review:

Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife is a lovely story, one with a wholesome feeling in it. It feels like a hug in a book and like the author poured his heart into it. Cozy fantasy that features food and centres around recipes and food always has my heart and this book is no exception to this rule!

I love that we get an insight into who Rottgor was in his past life and we get to see the way food and making it played a role in his life, how it built his relationship with his family and shaped his role as he got older. And the growth Rottgor goes through is amazing; the way he sheds his worries and learns that it is okay for him to take space in the world is a beautiful journey. He builds a community and finds love, comfort and the right people around him

"If you have a good foundation, you tend to find people who want to see it grow."

And Astra? What can we say about Astra except that she is adorable and so thoughtful as a child! It is said in the story that Children have a way of peering into your soul and seeing what adults no longer see and I think Astra reflects this so well. The way she is brought into Rottgor's life and becomes an essential part of it is so wholesome and I dont want to give any spoilers away but the way they become a found family is done well in the plot.

"Children always had this way of seeing through a person, deeper than adults ever dared. Only the luckiest kept that when they were older."

I think another think that is done well in this Cozy Fantasy is the way we get background information about Rottgor, Necropolis and the world building. It is done in a way that doesnt feeling like it is stealing thunder from the coziness of the story, and yet it provides essential information for us to get to know each character.

And I think Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife touches well on the reality of things, the way society is when you have a division and classes from different backgrounds and the resentment this builds in the community. The way this is addresses in the story is that there is a faction of the living that is not happy that the undead and the summoned are taking from their own resources and it is said that:

"They have overstayed their welcome here. Their kind, the undead and the summoned - this is not their land. Why should they know happiness, love, and comfort when they aren't capable of any of it? Why should they take ours?" Vom paused, catching sight of Rottgor and Astra.
He stared.
He hated."

Rottgor goes on to say that "Hate is easy. I found that its the easiest and most contagious evil. A simple drop can poison a well." and I think this is done well in the book, the exploration of how a hateful group utilises their hate against another group. In fact, I think it touches a lot on how one person can spread hate and misinformation so quickly, that it comes to harm others. I know we see this in reality a lot and I think this was explored in a gentle way in this book.

I could go on and on about this beautiful book but I hope you consider reading it and I hope it welcomes you in its arm, feels like a hug and opens your eyes to the world in a cozy and wholesome way.

Thank you to Bindery, Deston and Meg for the Arc in exchange for my honest review.