Olivie Blake's latest republished book has the beautiful prose we have come to expect from her, paired with fantasy elements and well crafted characters, but this one is funnier and quirkier than her other books. Her plot lines can be a little over complicated for me sometimes, especially with timeline jumps, but overall this was wonderfully crafted and enjoyable as ever!

I was so looking forward to this book! Initially I thought I’d love it because Death was so much fun! But then I ended up really disliking it! The plot lines were an over the place, far too many characters and creatures and I felt the author was trying to be clever and poetic in the writing but it just came across as full of waffle and annoying! It was a fail for me sadly!

Having never read any of Olivie Blakes' books before but having read and watched loads of reviews on The Atlas Six, I was super eager to read Masters of Death.

I have never read anything like this novel before but I am really glad that I did read Masters of Death and actually quite enjoyed it. Normally a reader of thriller or mystery this was a new genre of novels.

We meet character Viola who is an estate agent but bizarrely also a vampire! She has come across a house that is haunted and she needs to get rid of the hauntings so the reader is then introduced to Fox who is a medium and he sets out to help Viola rid the house of spirits.

This was a journey and a half, I was gripped, I will be honest and say that I did not fully understand everything that was going on in this novel but I loved the characters and how Olivie Blake writes the novel.

A good-gripping page-turner and I will be getting a copy of The Atlas Six to read.

Thanks to Netgalley, Olivie Blake and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

If you enjoyed Good Omens by Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman, then I’m quite confident that you’ll enjoy Masters of Death.

It features a host of sassy supernatural beings including, but not limited to a vampire, a ghost, angels, demons, and death himself.

I rated this book as four stars because while I normally enjoy a book that jumps back and forth a timeline, I felt that this book may have relied a little too heavily on this aspect to the point where I found myself confused at times. Regardless, this book is an absolute page turner that I finished over the course of a couple of days.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for sending me a kindle copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I couldn't wait to read this after enjoying The Atlas Six so much.

This is very different. It has a fun (though dark) take on myths and legends. There are some great characters, but I found the story a little over complicated.

Thank Netgalley for the chance to read this.

Hmm this was not at all what I was expecting...

When this book first started I was LOVING it. I loved the sassy characters, the set up of the plot and the narration from Death. And then, around 30% of the way in, the plot abruptly changed and I found I was quite disappointed. It took a while to adjust to that, but ultimately, I still thoroughly enjoyed it!

I love that this book really makes you think, and I really enjoyed that the plot wasn't linear - you really had to focus to understand it. I found that I was a bit confused at times, but I think it's worth the effort and confusion to see how everything ties together in the end.

My favourite thing about the book was definitely the characters. I found their dialogue to be hilarious and endearing and they really kept me engaged with the story.

This wasn't a perfect book for me, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it and it's definitely reignited my interest in The Atlas Six series.

This was totally not what I was expecting! The definition of a 'page-turner' - Olivie Blake writes in a way that draws you into her beautifully crafted world and makes you feel personally connected to the brilliant characters. The plot is kind of confusing at times but I think that was part of what made me enjoy it so much?! Really recommend this one!

Masters of Death was the first book by Olivie Blake that I've read and I will definitely be looking out for her other books now!
Full of sassy and sarcastic diverse characters I instantly fell in love with Blakes writing. Each character, be they demon, ghost, vampiric real estate agent or Death was unique and so well developed you almost longed for a separate book following each of their own stories. The immortal game was a brilliant idea, the tackling of humanities faults and all the confusion throughout was just great and I was so glad it all made sense as you got nearer the end and everything linked together.
All in all this is a genius book, written exceptionally well that will take you by the hand and drag you into the most surreal world with the oddest characters who you will rapidly warm to and want more of ..

Wow. I thought I would enjoy this book but I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did.

Firstly, it was hilarious, especially at the start, I caught myself actually laughing out loud a few times at the sarcastic, and sometimes dark, humour

We join Vi, an estate agent struggling to sell a house. But there is a twist, Vi is a vampire and the house, has a ghost. Vi learns of, Fox, a 'medium' who she thinks can help her rid the house of the Ghost - Tom - but the 'medium' is also the godson of Death... with a literal guardian angel and a Reaper who watches his back at all times.

Sounds crazy, and it is, and that's not even the whole story. Vi and Fox are drawn into a game, a gambling den of sorts, where no one wants to lose, and not to lose is the only rule of the game.

Plots, betrayals, love stories and history all unfold through this book, and it does jump about a lot in time/perspective etc but I found it really fun to follow.

Some of you may have already read this in its previous indie published form but the new published edition is out next week.... I cannot wait for you all to read it!

Thanks to NetGalley and PanMacMillian/Tor for the chance to read and review this early. But my opinion of the book would be the same regardless. I had already preordered this book and I cannot wait to proudly display it on my shelf when it arrives

This was a very entertaining read. I have read the Atlas Six books and found those extremely hard to understand. I think I'm a fairly intelligent person but Olivie Blake blows my mind. This book was easier to understand but still a lot of it went over my head or took a while to click in to place. I found the story very entertaining and the dialogue quick and witty and very enjoyable. Something about the ending felt rushed to me I thought it was going to go on a bit further but it all sort of wrapped itself up nicely. Blake is clearly super talented and I will continue to read anything she puts out as long as I can understand it!

I really wanted to love this book. I loved the Atlas Six and recently attended a talk by the author (and I think she’s amazing!). This book didn’t hit the spot for me. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC

Stunning! Olivie Blake always writes the best books and this one was my favourite so far! A page turner and so fun! Stunningly written

Deaths’ godson, an apparent medium, is called by a vampire estate agent whose trying to sell a haunted house and rid it of a chatty poltergeist. A demigod with a knack for thievery, a demon personal trainer, a guardian angel whose in love with a reaper, who also happens to be deaths’ godsons best friend, are all forcefully thrown into an in immortal game that no mortal can play to try and save Death himself. Can this band of supernatural/kind of mortal/mostly immortal beings pull this off?

I’m speechless. I cannot form the words to describe how much I adore this book. It’s my first time reading one of Olivie Blake’s books and wow was I not disappointed. Masters of Death is such a unique story told from multiple perspectives, all belonging to people entirely different yet beautifully the same. The books foundation is stemmed from desperation to escape your destiny. Searching, hoping, and doing anything (including making a deal with death himself. Or an otherwise king of demons) possible to change your end. Or to erase your end entirely. But gradually, the beauty of mortality is revealed, negating the ideals and premise of forever.

I don’t want to spoil anything for you, definite future reader, because that’s what you are. I feel everyone needs to read this book. It’s heartbreakingly down to earth and I truly love all the characters I’ve met on this journey.

If you want a book that will compel you and stay with you for a time once you close it. This is the book for you. Now run to your local store and get yourself a copy. You have an appointment with Death. Better not keep him waiting.

I am a sucker for Olivie Blake's writing and with this one she yet again played with themes I love and made me question everything. As usual the characters are fantastic, so nuanced and varied. The plot was like nothing else I've ever read. Loved it.

I get the hype but I’m so sad that I personally didn’t. This is definitely a me thing and not the book.
The description of the book sounded incredible!! At the beginning I was enjoying it and laughed out loud however after about 30% in, my intrigue just went and I found it so hard to keep picking it back up again. It took far too long for me to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this e arc copy

It breaks my heart to say it but I really did not enjoy this book at all, though the blurb sounded amazing and so promising. To be honest I think I should really have dnf'd it but I kept plodding on, hoping I would start enjoying it more. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this novel. I will not be posting a review of this title on any other platform. Sorry.

I have to give a rating so I give 3 stars, as I am sure there are plenty of readers who will have a great time with this book.

Good Omens meets The Betrayals…

Viola Marek is a vampire. An aswang, to be precise. But she’s also an estate agent. When she has a ghost to banish, she calls upon the one person who might be able to help - Fox D’Mora, the mortal godson of Death…

This isn’t told like the Atlas Six at all. Instead it’s a story with changing viewpoints and narrations, stunningly alive (ironic, since at least two main characters aren’t). Life (and undeath) in the city are vividly rendered, but it’s also populated with creatures, mostly unnoticed, but there… ghouls on the subway, demons in the gym, reapers in your living room.

But what is the mysterious game being played behind the scenes? Blake teases out hints of this infuriatingly - prepare for a lot of confusion and obfuscation, and reliance on the characters rather than the plot snd the game itself, which doesn’t make itself clear for a very long time (reminiscent of The Betrayals).

The relationships between the characters were also perhaps more shallowly sketched than I would prefer - you’re expected to read between the lines in uncovering their histories. I don’t mind being trickle-truthed in a book but what was being revealed still wasn’t telling me anything concrete for a very long time. Probably because of this, I didn’t find the romances as compelling as I might have.

The present-day story was more engaging for me with some fun touches of humour and a Good Omens vibe as our band of preternatural misfits attempt to find out what’s going on - and ultimately, to win the game… for mastery of Death.

Masters of Death by Olivie Blake caught my attention because of its description - a vampire estate agent is trying to sell a haunted mansion and resorts to a fraudulent medium who happens to be the Godson of Death in her attempts to exorcise the mansion and make her commission. Sounds entertaining right, and overall it was, but there is a large cast of characters including angels, demons, sirens, Greek and Norse gods and demi gods, and when that is combined with flashbacks and different timelines, it just felt a little too jumbled at times and the book definitely got bogged down in the middle after quite a strong opening. On the positive side of things I did find the characters funny and the dialogue sharp and witty, but overall I think the book struggles with trying to pack in too many things into one story.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

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

*Spoilerfree review. Thanks to Tor for providing the ARC via netgalley*

Oh boy.

That was a wild ride and honestly, this book is incredibly hard to review. Or rate in stars, for that matter. It's a spectrum.

It doesn't have the most linear storyline, so many plot twists and un-plot twists it was difficult to know what was *actually* going on at times. But did I have a great time reading it? Yes. Most of the characters were incredibly entertaining. Sassy and very much annoying archangel twins? Sign me up.

If death had more screen time and we forgot that whole quirky support group thing it might have been 5 stars. (Olivie, could we please have a collection of short stories from death's perspective? Please?)

PS: I'd like to take a moment to appreciate the illustrations. They represented the characters beautifully.

In Olivie Blake's 'Masters of Death', a game is being played with only one rule: Don't Lose. Mortals are typically not allowed to play, and at the head of the table sits Death, who cheats. The tables haven't been open for a long time, because Death was banned from playing by his godson Fox. He also has to snap an elastic band on his wrist every time he swears, which is often.

Blake's sense of humour runs throughout this novel and her world building skills are excellent. I was hooked in pretty quickly and enjoyed all of the quirky characters and their relationships with one another, which felt well observed. I was left with only two qualms. First, this novel started out feeling like a novel about Vi, a character I really loved and wanted to know more about, so I was a bit disappointed when that turned out not to be the case. Second, in a bid to keep things held back from the reader to be revealed later, there were long passages where things felt confusing and convoluted, requiring the reader to trust that everything would become clear later. Despite this, I enjoyed the book and I have already purchased another one of Blake's novels.