Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Masters of Death

Masters of Death is a delightful and weird adventure. A vampire, a ghost, a demon, an angel, a reaper, a demigod, and the godson of death walk into a haunted house then have to save Death. Hijinks and poignant relationships ensue.

I love Olivie Blake’s prose, and her unique style is just as present here as it has been in previous works. She injects more humour here than previous books that I loved. It’s all very dry and matched my sense of humour well, I found myself laughing at several points. The humour juxtaposes well to highlight Blake’s themes. The fantastical systems are corrupt in the most mundane and human of ways, and by not accounting for the humanity they supposedly oversee, they fail.

This is a weird book (in the best way), but at its heart this is a story about coming to terms with change, growing, relationships, and love both platonic and romantic. Blake shines in her character work here as usual. All these characters have gone through what on the surface seem like unusual major events (undeath in its various forms), but end up being intensely relatable as the characters find themselves and grow around and from massive upheaval. What’s beautiful is how the characters find each other, and how through that love find themselves as well.

Content Warnings

thecolouryes's review against another edition

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dark funny hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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