I always love a Nick Spalding and this one was no exception. He tackled sad issues with his trademark humour and laugh out loud moments.

Alice visits her husband's grave on his birthday every year, following his early death. On the same day of each year Ben visits his brother's grave too, always dressed in the fancy dress of his dead brother's choosing. The two form an unlikely bond as they come to terms with their grief and try to get on with their lives. This develops into setting each other a challenge each year to try to help them on their journey through grief.

This tore at the heart strings at times but was warm, funny, kind and moving. Absolutely loved it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I know that part of the reason that I loved this book so much is because I am at a season in life very similar to the main characters....I lost a brother when we were in our early 40's...slightly older than the people in the book, but not by much. I loved seeing the way the characters dealt (and didn't deal) with their grief and appreciated the ultimate hopefulness of it.

This is a cute feel-good story about two strangers who meet at the graves of people who are important to them... only one of them is dressed as Kermit the frog. The two characters meet each year, tell the other how their year went and set each other a challenge for the year ahead.

It's a really sweet novel, exploring friendship, loss, and grief and how we all navigate these in our own ways. If you're looking for a feel-good book that also feels like it could easily be a film - this is perfect. For me it was a little bit too fanciful, if you read it you'll probably see what I mean but I can't really say why without spoiling a big part of the novel.

All in all, this is a really good read - it just isn't quite a brilliant one.

Grave Talk by new to me author N. Spalding, published by Lake Union Publishing is a read that had me intrigued just from reading the blurb. And what can I say, I was so not disappointed from this novel. Witty and fun, gives all the feels, has everything I love in a good book.
Blurb: The last thing Alice expects to see at her husband’s graveside on his birthday is a giant, talking frog. On closer inspection, it’s a grown man dressed as Kermit.
Turns out Alice’s husband is buried next to Ben’s older brother Harry, who—as a parting practical joke in his will—insisted that Ben visit his grave each year, on this specific day, dressed in an as-yet-undisclosed pageant of embarrassing fancy dress.
With little but their grief and this one day in common, Alice and Ben form a very special, very strange friendship, meeting just once a same day, same time, same place—different silly costume. As the years pass and grief alters, can their unique bond help them cope with the hardest part of life?

This is such a lovely story. More heartfelt than his previous books but with the undeniable humour that Nick Spalding manages to encompass in all of his novels. This story had echoes of Ricky Gervais' Afterlife show in terms if a friendship made at a graveside. Told from the pov of both main characters, this lovely story will stay with me gor a long time.

Thank you net galley and publisher for this ARC. This was a good story and very moving. A first read for me by this author.

Nick Spalding never fails to make me smile and laugh with his characters. I loved following along as Alice and Ben become friends while mourning the loss of someone close to them. Not sure you’d think it was funny based on the premise, but again Spalding’s ability to make characters human and lovable for themselves works its magic!

'Don't ever let anyone convince you human beings are weak, because we can move towards pain, loss, and suffering when we have to, without missing a beat. If someone thinks humans are weak, show them what we do for love.'

I selected this book because the premise of it sounded so interesting... There are a lot of things you can expect to run into at a graveyard, but probably not a grown man in a Kermit the Frog costume and full face make-up to go along with it. Yet that is exactly what Alice does run into, when she visits her husband's grave. As they strike up a conversation, it turns out that Ben, as Kermit is actually called, is there to visit his brother. What follows, is an annual meeting between two humans, on what is likely one of the worst days for them, as they grieve for their lost ones. It is an exploration of the dark places grief can send us, and how to move on, after terrible loss. It is a story about how expectations (our own or those of others) inhibit us to live life to the fullest.

While this book deals with one of the most difficult subjects of being alive, it does so in a surprisingly amazing way. Yes, there are very real conversation and explorations of the topic at hand, but there are also plenty of situations that are so ridiculous that you cannot help but smile. The humour in this book is exactly right for me, though I realize it might not be everyone's cup of tea. I will say that, I needed to push through a little right around year 4 or 5, as the story started to feel a little rinse and repeat as it followed the exact same structure year after year, but honestly I loved this book so much by the time I came to the end of it. I am not someone who wears her emotions on her sleeve. I barely ever show them. But a book that can make me laugh out loud several times, and manages to make me cry not once, but twice, can get nothing lower than 5 stars.

Wow....what a beautiful story regarding grief, love, friendship, and healing. I had so many emotions throughout this book and I think anyone who has ever lost a loved one should read this because this story felt like a hug.

AMAZING! AMAZING! AMAZING!

I loved every moment of this beautiful story. When Alice visits her husband's grave, she is more than a little disgruntled to be disturbed by another visitor - none other than Kermit the Frog! When it transpires that Alice's husband, Joe, is buried in the plot next to Kermit's brother, Harry, the two forge an unusual but very close friendship as they discover that it's easier to share their grief with an almost stranger, albeit a stranger who understands their grief better than anyone else.

As the years, and their lives progress - or not - Alice and Ben (formerly Kermit and wearing a different, silly, costume each year) support each other through life in more ways than they could ever have hoped for.

A must read that will be on my top reads list for 2024!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Nick Spalding and Lake Union for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This book hit hard. I probably should have waited to read this. I am still dealing with the healing and grieving process and this book reminded me that it is not linear, grief looks different for everyone and that's okay. It was like a warm hug, honestly. Thank you for writing something that, to me, is accurate to how grief, loneliness, healing and sadness feel. It was wonderful and it made me feel less alone during this time.

When Alice meets Ben at her husbands graveside, while he is dressed as Kermit the frog... she could be forgiven for running a mile. Instead, she ends up spending the next decade meeting up with him at the same place at the same time and they end up being huge parts of each others lives.

Heartbreaking and heartwarming, it gives a gently funny look at grief and how friendships made in the hardest of times can endure.

This is a laugh out loud, hilarious, sad story about two people who become unlikely friends from visiting the cemetery each year on their loved ones death anniversary.

"The people we love die. But the people we love live too. And so should we." This quote sums it all up nicely and it is a well done story with this message nicely placed within the plot of this book.
Do yourself a favor and definitely read this novel. You will definitely enjoy it!
I know I did!
Thank you to @NetGalley and to @Lake Union Publishing for this ARC and allowing me to provide my own review.