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bskalka's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really enjoyed how this book did not take itself serious until the end. I loved all of the characters (except Isis but she didn't make me mad enough to lower the rating so its fine) and how they interacted with each other. I'm not going to lie though, I did not understand the tables at all. Maybe its because I don't read a lot of heavy fantasy but I just could not wrap my head around how the games were being played. I did, however, find myself impressed with the authors ability to create the world she did. I could never think of a concept like this let alone write an almost 400 page book about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
risaleel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Incest, and Classism
thecourtofreading's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
i enjoyed this so so so much more than i enjoyed the atlas six. it's october, so i figured i'd read a book centred around the paranormal and death and whatnot, and this was SO GOOD. granted, there wasn't really much plot, it was a very character driven book with the bare bones of a plot, but the characters are what makes this book worthwhile. it was funny, entertaining and all of the characters genuinely seemed real and have minds of their own. my favourite had to be fox, or mayra. i would probably read this again, because i had such a good time reading it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction and Cursing
Minor: Confinement and Death of parent
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Darkly satirical and bursting with an eclectic, found family style cast of characters (and creatures) that I found thoroughly endearing.
I didn’t know too much about the plot, just that a vampire estate agent calls on the services of a medium (and godson of Death) to help her with the ghost currently haunting one of her listings. Which sounded like an incredibly fun read, but what we get is soo much more.
With her deliciously descriptive prose, Blake immerses us in a world of immortals, a high stakes game against death and a pretty deep (at least I thought so) exploration into mortality, life and it’s emotional vulnerabilities that really brought our flawed and loveably chaotic characters to life.
The complexity involved in manoeuvring soo many interconnected characters through multiple timelines (and flashbacks), without losing any of its light-hearted whimsy was remarkably impressive.
And though I loved soo many characters,I have to admit Viola’s demonic bestie Isis —and her penchant for winding up Fox— quickly made her one of my favourite characters who I’d absolutely love to see more of in any future projects… perhaps even a prequel or spinoff of some sort.
Overall, this was a satisfyingly pacy and unputdownable read that will definitely appeal to fans of Good Omens, whimsical paranormal fantasy or the found family trope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Confinement, Infidelity, and Death of parent
aliyachaudhry's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Classism
Minor: War
itsheyfay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
takarakei's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"There is a game that the immortals play. The stakes are impossibly high and yet laughably low. There is only one secret: The more you have to lose, the harder it is to win. There is only one rule: Don't lose."
Masters of Death asks the question what is the price of immortality? We follow several creatures: vampire, ghost, demigod, demon, angel, reaper... and a mortal whom is the godson of Death, as they navigate a treacherous game played by immortals. The inter-character dynamics are top notch. This book is full of witty banter, laugh out loud moments, and a bit of heartbreak (it wouldn't be an Olivie book without some).
I truly don't understand how Olivie Blake's mind comes up with these stories. I'm in awe of her writing. She has such a particular way of describing things so beautifully that scratches a part of my brain. Her characters are so interesting, complex and well developed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Toxic relationship, and Blood
Minor: Confinement, Infidelity, and Death of parent
jessiereads98's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
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.
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
Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Confinement, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
azrah786's review against another edition
4.25
**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, murder, death, abandonment, addiction, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, kidnapping /confinement, infidelity
--
In terms of overall vibes I think this may be my favourite Olivie Blake book to date.
There is just something about supernatural and immortal creature being thrown into the modern day world that I enjoy a lot and there were some great characters in this book and their dynamics with one another were so fun!! I’m not alone in seeing the Good Omens vibes here and I was hooked all the way through, speeding through the book in the space of a weekend.
Down to the bare bones the book is about a bunch of characters who are thrown together to rescue Death but there are also a lot of moving pieces behind the mystery at the heart of the story.
Blake’s storytelling made the world (though it is pretty much just an AU of our world) feel so lived in with these creatures and beings just going about their lives. The writing just makes you feel so deeply for them and their conundrums particularly when it came to relationships, I was very much invested with all of the pairings in this one.
The only real issue that I had were how sometimes the writing style switched up, changing from a more regular third person account to script like dialogue without any warning. I think it disrupted the flow of the story for me and threw me off a little at times especially when these script-esque segments dragged on for a bit too long..
However, I really enjoyed watching the individual arcs of the characters unfold and they all came together in such a satisfying way. All in all a very entertaining read.
Final Rating - 4.25/5 Stars
CW: violence, blood, murder, death, abandonment, addiction, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, kidnapping /confinement, infidelity
--
In terms of overall vibes I think this may be my favourite Olivie Blake book to date.
There is just something about supernatural and immortal creature being thrown into the modern day world that I enjoy a lot and there were some great characters in this book and their dynamics with one another were so fun!! I’m not alone in seeing the Good Omens vibes here and I was hooked all the way through, speeding through the book in the space of a weekend.
Down to the bare bones the book is about a bunch of characters who are thrown together to rescue Death but there are also a lot of moving pieces behind the mystery at the heart of the story.
Blake’s storytelling made the world (though it is pretty much just an AU of our world) feel so lived in with these creatures and beings just going about their lives. The writing just makes you feel so deeply for them and their conundrums particularly when it came to relationships, I was very much invested with all of the pairings in this one.
The only real issue that I had were how sometimes the writing style switched up, changing from a more regular third person account to script like dialogue without any warning. I think it disrupted the flow of the story for me and threw me off a little at times especially when these script-esque segments dragged on for a bit too long..
However, I really enjoyed watching the individual arcs of the characters unfold and they all came together in such a satisfying way. All in all a very entertaining read.
Final Rating - 4.25/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Infidelity