Olivie Blake has fast become one of my favourite others. I’ve loved everything she’s written so far and this was no exception. The writing was so atmospheric and kept me rooted in the setting. i was invested in the characters and their journey. I’m super excited to read more from the author in the future.

This book was one of those that you just couldn’t put down. This book made me all emotional and I loved it. The characters were lovable. The book started off a bit confusing but the overall plot was good.

The writing of this book is not bad, however, I do think that the writing is trying to purposely sound like a classic. I like how the POV is from Death itself, but at the same time, it would've been a more intriguing read if the narrator didn't constantly reinforce that fact that they're Death. An example of a well written narrator that is also from the POV of Death is 'The Book Thief'. Although, I did find 'Masters of Death' a very fun and enjoyable read - it reminded me of the Haunted House by Disney. I would recommend it if you want a fantasy book to read for escapism!

I had very high expectations for this book as my first Olivie Blake story and unfortunately it did not quite live up to my expectations. I felt like the story was lacking something, a deeper meaning. It was as if the story was trying to tell a deep message about life and it did not quite achieve that. The characters were uninteresting to me for the most part, with a few exceptions and i could not connect to them. However, it is not all bad. Some things i did enjoy about the book was the descriptions, i feel like they painted very detailed pictures in my head, and also the imagination and the uniqueness of the story is commendable. It is not every day that you read about interesting creatures in a mundane setting like this while also having the personification of death and the pov of death's adoptive son.

I'm usually very much on board with character-driven and non-linear stories, but there was just so much exposition. It took more than half the book to get down to some actual action and I regret to say that I felt bored.
Additionally, there were a lot of romances with potential and yet I didn't really feel the connection the way I wanted to with any of them. There was just no tension to the romantic build up for me, which is a shame. I remain a fan of Olivie Blake in general, but this isn't a fave.

As a fan of Olivie Blake’s previous titles, I couldn’t wait to pick this one up. Vampires? Ghosts? Demons and Angels? Yes, please!

I read it over one day and was absorbed in the supernatural world that Blake has created. The characters were fleshed out and very likeable and the writing style was perfect, as always, with many quotes highlighted on my Kindle!

This is a must if you’re a fan of the author but also the perfect into to their work.

So very grateful for the chance to read and review this one and I bought a stunning edition for my shelves after finishing.

This was not the book I was expecting at all. I was expecting a fun jape that does sound like the start of a joke.
What happens when a vampire, a demon and the godson of death sell a house with a ghost? Well they find love apparently....
Not really my cup of tea but I can't blame the book. This is a straight up romantasy, very wordy and lots and lots of talking. Took longer than a book should have with this page count. however, I can see this being a hit with romantasy lovers.
I

The first Olivie Blake I have read, this felt a very fresh concept that had a lot of what I had preciously enjoyed in other reads, such as paranormal characters, a quest and Death as a narrator. In places it was slightly slower that I would have liked for pace, but it is commendable how Blake has managed to make such a big cast of characters all feel so distinct and easy to follow. The flashbacks in particular added far more complexity than I was expecting. Illustrations were also beautiful and added a lot to the reading experience. Will definitely read other Blake works, starting with the webtoon!

Not in the mood for this one at the moment, although the hype on YouTube is real for this author alone. Correct rating will be edited once read fully.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the early access to this book.

This was quite an odd, quirky book, but it kept me interested the whole way through! I'd say it's definitely one of those that could get you out of a reading slump.

It was fun, humorous, with romance, fantasy, mystery - anything you could possibly want.

I'm looking forward to the author's next book.

I'm a huge Olivie Blake fan but this one just wasn't for me. Her writing is, as always, gorgeous, but I struggled to connect to the characters and the pacing was a little off. I do think this book would be a hit for Neil Gaiman lovers, but I just don't love that kind of humor so it didn't quite land for me.

at this point, i will read absolutely anything that olivie blake writes. if it has her name on it, i will instantly grab it off the shelf.

this book captures you from the very first line until the very end of the book. i cannot put into words how much i enjoyed it. now, is it my favourite book of hers? no, but i still loved it! her writing style is absolutely breath taking but i found my problem with the novel lying within the dialogue for some reason.

you can tell that olivie blake put her heart and soul into this book. i cannot wait to see what she comes out with next!

"Masters of Death" by Olivie Blake is a witty and queer fantasy that weaves together vampires, ghosts, and the personification of death himself into a captivating narrative. Viola Marek, an estate agent who happens to be a vampire, hires Fox D'Mora to deal with a haunted mansion, expecting a competent medium. However, Fox is not what he seems—he's a fraud and the godson of Death.

I was intrigued by this book as it ticked all my boxes, vampires, demons, ghosts, werewolves, shifters, mermaids, witches etc etc

This is the story about Violet, she is trying to sell a house, but its haunted by the previous owner Tom who has no idea how he did, so Violet brings in a famous medium to try and help. Fox is not only a phony but he is the godson of death, and it turns out the Tom and Fox are participants in the game, the likes of which are never fully explained, the object is to win, and its overseen by 2 angels who are tricksters themselves. Winning gives the winner control of death itself so a lot of people want to play.

I found it a tad confusing and had to go back and read again as i was like whats going on, did i miss paragraphs? Despite this i did enjoy it and found it entertaining but i am going to have to read it again to try and understand the confusing parts as it seemed that i was in the tornado of the authors mind where she was trying to figure out where the story would go and hadnt quite decided, but had written it down on paper, and to me it seems chaotic at times.

Light hearted, funny and quirky. I really enjoyed the wackiness of it. It took me a while to get into it and I felt for the book to get going, but the writing is brilliant and worth sticking with.

Olivie Blake has become one of my favourite authors. Blake has a real talent for crafting a unique story, different to her previous, whilst still holding onto a familiar tone that stylistically makes these books stand out as her own.

From the outset Masters of Death had me so intrigued. With an array of complex and morally grey characters, each with their own ambiguities you would think that you wouldn’t root for them, but they’re impossible not to love!

The story was gripping whilst keeping a comfortable, believable pace. I loved it!

Sometimes I'm instantly mesmerized by Blake's writing style, but sometimes it doesn't connect with me at all, which makes me have a hard time following the story. This book falls to the later category and even though Little Chmura's arts will always be a plus point, I can't finish this book.

Masters of Death started out strong – I really liked all of the initial character introductions but as storylines started to merge it all became a little tedious and became surprisingly un-compelling and overwritten (to me).

Rereading the synopsis, this still sounds an interesting book. Sadly that promise doesn’t translate into the finished book for me - it’s like it’s describing an entirely different plot. As others have said, this is heavily on dialogue (and often without names periodically, so if you don’t imagine it as a ping pong game, keeping track, you’ll be lost). I’d venture it’s about 60% dialogue, 30% waffle about The Immortal Game and 10% philosophical waffle. If you read it and get strong fan fic vibes, that’s probably because Blake started out writing fan fic - this did read a lot like wish fulfilment and meant I never really got engrossed in the book. There was simply too much waffle and chatting, too smug characters, and little to engage me, sadly.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

I adore this authors work, and this was no exception, it grabbed me from the beginning and kept me entertained throughout. Highly recommended.