I don’t have enough good things to day about this book- it’s hilarious, charming and oozes charisma. The characters are so likeable and fleshed out, with personalities that are scarily human (despite barely any of them being so!) This book is perfect for people who loved Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo and Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, as it brings together a rag-tag bunch of the coolest characters to embark on a trip across the universe where they will challenge Death at a game of his own making.

Masters of Death is a beautifully written book about friendship and the power of love- platonic and romantic alike. Olivie Blake shows us how much fun you can have with the good, the bad and (my favourite) the morally grey, with her incredibly witty writing style propelling her into being one of my few auto-buy authors.

3.5 stars. This was unlike any book I’d ever read, the writing was beautiful and it was an easy read, some parts dragged a little but all in all, I enjoyed this book. I definitely want to read more by Olivie Blake!

Masters of Death is if Sally Rooney characters were fantasy creatures on a quest to save Death by participating in an immortal game.

Olivie Blake has created a group of fun, loving, complex characters - capturing their strengths, flaws, loves and losses. This is a character driven story set in a modern world where paranormal beings exist. As the story unfolds, we explore, through the relationships of the characters, what it is to truly live and love. Along with the non-linear timeline, the absurd mix of characters and the lyrical writing style, this was a delightfully entertaining read. I only wished that the tournament was better fleshed out as the pinnacle of the story felt a little short-lived.

Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

“This book is about an estate agent. Only she’s a vampire, the house on sale is haunted,
and its ghost was murdered.”

This was my first Olivie Blake book and it did not disappoint, her writing is poetical and complex mixed with sarcasm and humour that flows so well.

This is a book about morality, vampires, ghosts and death itself. The characters were complex and made you feel deeply for them as if you knew them, they were witty , cared deeply for one another but were unwilling to say so. I felt ever emotion reading this book, it takes you on an exquisite journey that you will not want to end.

This was a very wholesome feeling read. Not what I was expecting (I started reading then forgot the blurb and what it was supposed to be about) but it was an interesting concept.
It follows the story of the godson of death and his journey to finding friendships and love and battling it out for mastery of death against an immortal who would cause the world harm etc.
The characters were enjoyable and I thought that the relationships that they had with each other and how they developed along the way was well thought out and written.

Did I mention that I automatically adore everything written by Olivie Blake?

Masters of Death is one of those stories that can't be followed without any effort - it's an intentional venture as we are dealing here with characters from outside the human spectrum, specifically with immortals addicted to gambling (and no, it's not a matter of the reader's emotional maturity).

Masters of Death tells the story of a real estate agent - Vi Marek - who desperately tries to sell a house that is haunted by a ghost. Unfortunately, mentioned ghost has no memory of how he died, which prevents him from going FURTHER (in fact, he's basically unable to leave his house). This pushes Vi (did I mention that she's a vampire?) into contacting the Chicago’s famous medium who, in fact cannot speak with the dead, but is the godson of Death itself.

Olivie Blake, being her genius self, writes about the mechanics of the afterlife, the relationship of heaven and hell (if those even exist) and how boring the "life" of immortals can be. Apart from that, she uses wit wrapped in her immaculate writing style (with a pinch of signature sadness) to hold a grip on her readers’ attention, as it is rather difficult put this book down.
Masters of Death focuses on events rather than solely on the characters themselves or their development. Additionally, Blake doesn't run the action in chronological order what only makes the process of joining the dots so much more satisfying.

I will just add that this is a love story and it's really beautiful (and funny). I can't wait for the reprint with the new cover (August 2023)!

Rating: 5.00

Olivie Blake is a true Master of Words.

I think, no, I know people will love this revised version of Masters of Death. Having read both of her Atlas books, I think this one is a personal fave. It's quirky and queer, hilarious but also surprisingly romantic. I didn't expect to get emotional come the end of the book, but I did.

The characters are what make this book stand out for me. They're all just a bit odd and otherworldly, a tad different and a little lost. They find themselves in a unique situation that pits them against their inner demons in a fickle game played by immortals.

The interactions and the dialogue are some of the best I've read. It's funny and sad and tense and a little sarcastic (okay, maybe a lot sarcastic if we're referring to Fox alone), and I really love how these characters seemingly jump off the page. They just feel that bit more real than some other characters I've read previous.

And the story itself! The premise is so fun: a vampire real estate agent has a ghost problem so they go to the godson of Death for help. What could go wrong?

A lot apparently. (This was a hell of a story but you won't get no spoilers from me!)

The writing is always good, the characters are always fun, the chapters are a little too long for my liking but because of the first two points, I don't mind. If you're not a fan of long chapters, I'll let you know now that this book does have them. Take a break if you need to, I did. This story is worth it.

If I'm comparing to what I've read so far this year, then Masters of Death has been my favourite. It's unlike anything I've read before and I genuinely can't wait to buy my physical copy come August and reread it!

Thank you Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for approving and sending me this wonderful ARC!

First of all thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan/Tor for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is my second book by Olivie Blake (though the first was under the name Alexene Farol Follmuth) and I loved this as much ad I lived that.

My favourite thing about this book is the inclusion of a character who is half-Filipino, which I believe is also the case with Blake, and is a trait I also share. I have not often felt represented in media, but Blake has done so twice now.

In terms of the paranormal, the inclusion of filipino folklore in regards to aswangs was also a touch I appreciated, would love to see this more in other books. Not just for filipino folklore, but for other more niche creatures too.

The story initially started off slow, but the development of the characters (of which there are many) was very well done and made me like them and root for them so much more. The characters are diverse and the relationship development was really well done.

I would recommend this book and will aim to get around to reading the other books by Blake on my TBR very soon.

I was so intrigued by the synopsis of this book but I just couldn’t get into it at all and finally gave up about 60% of the way through (I actually can’t remember the last time I didn’t finish a book).

There is so much repetition in the writing that I just couldn’t read the words “the game” one more time.

Would love to have had some more character development.

However, I can see a lot of people really like this book so it’s definitely personal preference!

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the advance reader copy.

I enjoy the way Blake rights and how each of the stories I’ve read feels like the author and perspectives are different.

This book was very fun and had a nice sprinkle of myth interspersed within the story.
There are a few main characters and they’re all weird and some immortal other mortal; but they all still cling to mortality and what comes with it - feelings.

Overall a fun book and am happy I was able to read it.

"Hello, children. It's time for Death."

Olivie Blake is quickly becoming one of my all time favourite authors. The way she writes is just beautiful and this book is no exception. Yes, at times it's a little confusing, but it's 100% worth it.

A very entertaining story full of supernatural spookiness, loveable characters, plot twists and tonnes of sass. I absolutely loved this book🖤  I recommend this to anyone and everyone!

Thank you @netgalley & Pan Macmillan for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! I've already pre-ordered a physical copy!

Actual Rating: 4.5

This was such a fun read, it was witty and entertaining. It was such a unique blend of paranormal romance and comedy from beginning to end.

There is no question as to whether the characters are diverse, a whole bunch of ghosts, demigods, vampires, angels, reapers and literal Death? You can't get more diverse than that. Each character lights their own flame and keeps it going for the whole book.

Masters of Death was so worth my attention. After reading Olivie Blake's One for my Enemy and The Atlas Paradox this year, even this felt like a breath of fresh air. I found myself laughing out loud, and pining alongside the characters. You want an unconventional romance full of the supernatural? Look no further. Masters of Death is definitely the book that you're looking for.

Thank you to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan, and more importantly, Olivie Blake for letting me read this absolute joy of a book.

Masters of Death was one of my favourite books of 2021 and upon reflection and reread, it has become one of favourite books of all time. I was overjoyed when I was given the chance to read an advanced copy of the rerelease and reading it again just felt like coming home. I absolutely adore Blake’s writing style and how every single one of her books are wholly unique. They are refreshing and unpredictable and simply genius and I got through this reread so quickly because of how enjoyable the whole story is.

It’s a story about vampires and demons and angels and ghosts and children of all sorts of gods and weird immortal games and history and love and loss and the meaning of mortality and immortality and the craving for power with such a stunning prose, unexpected twists and characters you can’t help but LOVE.

I think I need to give up on reading Blake's work - I just don't connect to it in any way. I struggle to follow the plot, and the writing style can be massively pretentious in places. I just want to love her, but I can't do it. This was another example of going into a book that held great promise for me (Vampires? Hell yes) but it fell flat massively.

As an Olivie Blake novel, the writing was great but too full of description that it led to distraction. The mundane talking and bland execution made it confusing and uneventful.

★★★★★ 4.5/5



For Viola Marek, a vampire real estate agent, her main problem right now is trying to sell the Parker house. Not only is it haunted by the last occupant, but the ghost haunting it was murdered and has no memory of who did it. With the ghost refusing to leave, Viola has no choice but to help them if she wants to sell the house.

Fox D’Mora is a fake medium, as well as the godson of Death. Fox is sought out to help Viola with her ghost problem, and what starts out as a seemingly easy job of ridding a ghost soon turns into a game of deceit, love, hurt, and loss. Fox and Viola are neither expecting, nor prepared for what’s to come, and some truths have long been waiting to be uncovered.

Going into this, I was expecting a story about ridding a ghost from a house, but Masters of Death took a turn I definitely did not see coming. Whilst there is the minor plot about getting the ghost out of the house, it is only minor, and not the sole focus of the plot as a whole. What it truly is about is Fox D’Mora, his relationship with Death, and Fox’s past.

I enjoyed how it told Fox’s past, and how it interlinked with other characters, and I also enjoyed the multi-POV’s. I really liked the characters, they each had their own stories and connections, and each of them felt like a necessary part of the plot, and not just there one second and forgot about the next. Each was important and fully fleshed out, easily distinguished from the rest instead of blurring together into one or a repeat of another character.

There were a couple of instances where I felt really confused by what was going on, and I had to go back a few pages to reread and try and take it in again and see if that cleared things up. It also started a little slow, and it took me a little while to get into it and where it was actually going, unlike my last Blake book One for My Enemy. This didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment, and it’s easily another favourite read, and another book I purchased immediately after finishing my ARC.



Did I like the book? Yes.

Did I love it? Yes. Despite the slow start, when it got going and the story started to take its true shape, I fell in love.

Would I recommend it? Yes. If you’re already a fan of Olivie Blake, her stories and writing style, this is easily another great book to add to the list. Or, if this is your first dive into her works, and you’re looking for supernatural creatures coming together and discovering the truth about themselves and their loved ones, facing their demons with some annoyingly funny archangels and Death thrown in, it’s a great place to start.

Wow! What an amazing book!!
Would love to read more from the author.
Thankyou netgalley for the Arc!
Full review will be uploaded soon

I LIVE for anything with vampires in, Olivie Blake is one of my favourite authors and this didn't dissapoint, urban fantasy peppered with humour, absolutley loved this!

Once you get your head around all the characters this is a great fantasy story. I was sucked into this one so badly. i really enjoyed it. Just another one of Blake's that I loved.