A review by lilmooniex
Death's Obsession by Avina St. Graves

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

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

4.5

Spoiler filled reviews / summary. 

Lilith is getting messages and has been seeing a faceless man since the accident. Everyone thinks it's a figment of her imagination but she isn't convinced. All the notes or messages would disappear the moment she went to show someone, appearing in her home later with another note basically saying it's their little secret. Evan is Lilith's safety blanket and the faceless man didn't visit when Evan was near until he stopped giving a shit and began showing up with gifts and notes again. Evan is a little rough with Lilith and kind of a prick, thinking she's the selfish one for seeing a therapist and their money dwindling. Lilith has night terrors after the car accident,  involving her sister Dahlia and her sister's boyfriend. Lilith was ready to die but everyone else died instead. A lily was left by Death for her after the car accident and it never seems to die. Lilith flirts back with her unknown admirer, realizing how much he cares for her in contrast to her own cheating boyfriend. Lilith finds out the name for her night demon and he told her to call him Letum. Letum visited Lilith in her dream like world before giving her the best orgasm and having her scream his name. Lilith thought he was a ghost and tried to sage him away. He came back 10x harder and left a fat ring on her finger with their names engraved together forever even in death. Evan was murdered by Letum, even though the fates didn't call upon his soul - he took it because he had been cheating on Lilith. Lilith realized after Letum had taken Evan's soul that he's the devil. Letum loves when Lilith uses her words, anxiety and grief overtaking her she just always accepts life as it is. With Letum she comes alive. Letum decided after 4 months to leave Lilith alone to finally realize what she needs and to really grow and grieve as a person. She missed him and begged but he only wrote her letters and left it in the draw she never opened, only realizing it when she was past her breaking point. Reading each letter responding to her text message she had sent him that he had never responded back to. It took forever but Letum finally came back to Lilith, after she finally visited her sister/parents grave site. Letum finally decided to take Lilith when she cried out for him, deciding she was done waiting. He told her to meet him where it all began and he decided to finally claim her soul, taking her at the site of her sister's death (the car accident) that changed everything. Lilith finally voiced what she wanted and it was Death and HIS love, not the release to leave the world behind just because of her sadness. He made her face her fears before giving her the kiss of death.

 

Final thoughts...

This book is so hauntingly beautiful. Lilith doesn't realize her worth and just settles for Evan even though it breaks her. Unfortunately she thinks she is too crazy to realize what is reality when the notes and love letters spiral in when she needs them most. This book had me teary at the end, it was all together heartbreaking but a book I would read and recommend to others. It hurt and made me yearn for more for Lilith. Grief is ever consuming, but there are no shortcuts to it and it demands to be felt.