Reviews - Death's Obsession

2.93k reviews for:

Death's Obsession

Avina St. Graves

3.35 AVERAGE

empressw's review

3.25

emotional sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: N/A

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

ravensandlace's review

5.0

Title: Death’s Obsession

Author: Avina St. Graves

Genre: Dark Romance

Format: ebook

Series: NA

Star Rating: 5 stars

tw: stalking, death, dubcon, anal, double penetration, impact play, breath control, mental illness, emotionally and physically abusive romantic relationship (not with MMC), prescription drug use, alcohol and drug abuse, sibling death, parent death, cancer (off screen), PTSD, depression, anxiety, hallucinations, dissociation, traumatic events, suicidal ideation, attempted suicide (off screen), recording of sexual intercourse without consent, depiction of a violent car crash

*these trigger warnings can be found in the front of the book

So I originally was reading this book for a friend. They wanted to know if this would be considered too dark for them. I was taking great notes and everything and then I got sucked ino the story and completely forgot my mission. Which happens a lot. Just like the title, I was so obsessed with this book.

This was one of the most beautiful and profound books I’ve ever read. This book explored grief and survivor's guilt in a fantastic way. My heart bled for Lilith and how much she struggled with life after losing her loved ones. I just wanted her to be okay. While I’ve never had to deal with survivor's guilt, I have dealt with my fair share of grief. Both were done so well, and I appreciated how, even though Liltih was struggling, she had good days. Grief is linear. Some days you have good days, and sometimes you have bad days.

Letum is right up there with Diesel as a great book boyfriend. He went a little overboard with the stalking and making Lilith lose her mind a bit, but I easily forgave him. He truly wanted to help Lilith heal. Who can fault him for that. I know I can’t. I have no idea what that says about me as a person, but truthfully, I’m fine living in my delusional world in which I’m okay with fictional men stalking women.

I really loved the spicy scenes, even though I’m going to complain we didn’t get enough. I am a greedy girl, though, and I want all the spicy scenes. But I felt that they were more than spicy scenes. They felt like they were healing for Lilith. I felt like every encounter helped to heal a little bit. It made my heart so happy to know she was healing. I truly felt like Lilith was my friend. I felt connected to her in a way I don’t often do with main characters.

Overall, this was a great book, as you all might have been able to guess from my glowing review! It was my first five star read of 2025, and hopefully, it will set off the year to be a great one in terms of reading. I can’t wait to read more books by this author, and I highly recommend this book.

grapecola's review against another edition

3.25

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mooneyedmage's review

3.5

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Loveable characters: Complicated

This novella serves up a dark, fast-paced romance where death doesn’t just stalk from the shadows, he sends love letters.

The concept hooked me immediately: Death as an obsessive, possessive lover, binding himself to a woman who can’t quite escape him. The eerie, supernatural undertones blend with forbidden love in a way that should have been everything I wanted. But in execution? It felt rushed.

As someone who loves longer, denser reads, I found myself craving more...more detail, more emotional build, more exploration of this twisted relationship. The novella-length left the story feeling clipped, like it sprinted when it should have lingered.

That said, the vibes were strong, the spice and concept kept me engaged, even if I felt the story didn’t fully live up to its potential.

⭐ 3.5/5 — not a masterpiece, but a good time for fans of dark, forbidden love stories.

falgal15's review against another edition

3.25

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I was really excited for this book, and then once I read it, was like, “I could have gone on without it.” It was just kinda meh, and really short. I wanted a little bit more obsession, give me more death, and give me more drama. Just something. It was just kinda tame for being considered “dark romance.” But maybe its says something about the stuff I read. Idk. But yeah it was meh.