Her Lord of Death by Katherine Diane is quite possibly one of the best books I have had the pleasure of reading for 2020. I was captivated from the first page with its dark undertones of sexual abuse, rape, and violence while still paying homage to classic Greek/Roman mythology. The blend of these themes, while unexpected for this genre, was superbly written and I particularly enjoyed the unconventional approach to Hades and the underworld.

I was impressed by the layers of intricacy developed by Katherine and her ability to present a cadre of uniquely brilliant and highly entertaining characters without overwhelming the reader. Her characters were larger than life and lept off the pages straight into my heart.

The love story of Kora and Acheron is one for the ages. It was abundantly clear to me that time, love, dedication, and attention went into penning this emotionally gripping relationship that started off very casually and slowly morphed into an epic love saga. I appreciated the progression of the relationship from strangers to lovers as it added more realism and depth instead of the typical "hop into bed and magically fall in love." Their relationship was fraught with trials and tribulations from the beginning and it was quite intriguing to see how they navigated this new relationship together, especially as it relates to the darker themes.

The emotional scarring from sexual abuse was evident in Acheron from the earlies and I respect how Katherine was able to allow him to fully express his disgust, sadness, anger, hurt, rejection while still maintaining an aura of strength and resilience.

Katherine has woven such an enigmatic host of characters that I easily found myself emotionally investing in all the secondary characters which, in my humble opinion, is integral to character and plot development. Each character is powerful enough to stand on their own, from the sultry and commanding presence of Madea, to the loyal and carefree Oz.

I highly recommend Her Lord of Death for anyone who enjoys Greek/Roman-inspired novels with a healthy balance of romance and darker genres.

Immense appreciation to Katherine Diane and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op for providing me with a digital arc. All views and opinions expressed above are my own.

I received an advanced reader's copy of Her Lord of Death by Katherine Diane from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first book by Katherine Diane that I had read and I was pleasantly surprised to find an enjoyable new author to follow.

Overall, I felt this was a solid historical fiction/romance and I found it to be extremely well written. I've always been a fan of Greek (and Roman) mythology so seeing how the author wove some of my favorite myths into her story was especially interesting.

I quite liked the dynamic between Kora and Acheron from their first meeting until the end. There was no insta-love (which is good), but the pace of how the two primary characters found common ground, formed a relationship, and then fell in love was believable. My heart broke for Acheron and all that he had been through, but it was interesting how the author made him both fragile from that tragedy and superhuman for overcoming it by force of will alone in many respects. Then after he became close with Kora and allowed her to share his pain, is when his mental healing really began. I really respect how the Katherine Diane illustrated that without dragging things out OR making Acheron a two dimensional "sad, mopey" character. She gave her characters lots of layers and it made for a fantastic story.

All in all, Her Lord of Death by Katherine Diane was an exciting read and I would recommend it for any historical fiction/romance fan.

I have never read a book by Katherine Diane and I do not usually gravitate towards romance novels that take place during ancient times. I think I was immediately drawn to the cover which made me think of the movie 300. When I read the description I like premise of Kora marrying Acheron, the champion of a neighboring king. I am drawn to stories where the hero has a reputation for being brutal and deadly, but there is something more complicated about him.
I found that there were a variety of extra characters that kept the story interesting. Poor Kora and Acheron were always having new obstacles put forth by the different people in their life. I liked the paranormal aspect of the story and the fact that Kora assists spirits to cross over. I felt that the story had a sound plot, good characters and flowed very well.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter series, J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood or Christine Feehan’s Dark series. While this book is set in the past I had the same feeling that I usually have when reading these series. I would highly recommend this book.

Arranged marriage, damaged hero and sunshine heroine. It was the recipe for a good book. It flopped.

See, I get where the author is coming from and how she tries to convey the horrible things the hero went through but... at almost 70% I realized it was just too much. For me, at least. The only feels it gave me was sadness and annoyance at Kora, the heroine. I failed to see and feel the healing process of the hero. Plus, I didn't really get what the book should have been about because the synopsis kind of alludes to one thing - which, did happen - but it takes a few turns and I'm left wondering, then I'm skipping pages, reading a dialogue here and there and that's the only way I made it to the end. Which was... unsatisfying, for the lack of a better word.

Anyway, to each their own. I voluntarily offered to read a copy of this book via Netgalley. My rating is 2.5 - 3 stars.

I read this book in a day. I really like greek mythology and like Madeline Miller and Pat Baker, I enjoyed this story. I was sad when it ended. I wanted more from the characters. I want to know what happens next. Does Medea come back for revenge? Will Achreon found out who his right father is? How power could Kora be? I have some many questions with a few questions. I hope she can do another book about the characters.

This was brutal and absolutely heartbreaking in the best way. I have to start off by saying this book was HEAVY. The cruelties and trauma that the characters endured was heartbreaking and honestly disgusting. WARNING: there is rape, sexual assault, and other dark themes. I felt so bad for them and I just wanted them to get the happiness they deserved. The storytelling was interesting and told from both Kora and Acheron’s POVs. Acheron was a slave who earned his freedom but is forced to marry Kora, and Kora is a girl who watched her family die and is haunted by the ghosts of the undead everywhere she looks. Both are being manipulated by kings, queens, and past tormentors while facing the looming danger of the Minotaur. Acheron is an extremely traumatized character struggling to just get by day by day while Kora is a very compassionate yet brave character. The romance that slowly buds between them is quite sweet and caring, Kora is a nurse who continues to tend to Acheron despite his adamant refusal to accept any of her care. They both care for each other but are struggling with either their past demons or the present danger at play. The story was definitely unique and I liked the added magical element of the gods and monsters mythology into it. Both Kora and Acheron must rely on each other to survive and make it out of the looming dangers while also facing the dangers of the romance budding between them. I liked how the story wrapped up and I am so pleased that these characters got the happy ending they deserved and are slowly healing.

*Thank you Netgalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Content Warning. This book contains:
Rape and torture (done by villains not by main characters), slavery, mention of child death, battle violence, PTSD, and questionable consent situations.

Her Lord of Death by Katherine Diane is the most tantalizing and engrossing book I've read in 2020! Its wonderful and I cannot wait to share it with all my friends who like steamy romance that involves tragic back stories, alpha male love interests who strive to protect the heroine, and supernatural historical romance!

I didn't expect to love this book as much as I do. Admittedly, I'm a picky bitch when it comes to historical fiction that features ancient cultures especially ones involving mythology. I'm a Polytheist and a former Classical student so I am so often let down by stories that don't do the research or discuss honoring the Gods in a demeaning way. This book was AMAZING!

It hit all my hot spots for a sexy, romantic read.
Witty dialogue that actually did make me laugh out loud (my partner gave me a few confused looks while I was giggling over conversations between Kore and Acheron). YUP!
Dominant alpha male type who isn't a total asshole? Check!
Strong willed but soft heroine who isn't too stupid to live? Check!
Paranormal, supernatural, witchy shit? YES!
Historical and mythological references that aren't totally inaccurate? WOOHOO!
SO many goodies AND well written!

Plus there was the addition of side characters that were fully developed, a villain I could sympathize with and another I LOVED to HATE. There's also the hurt/comfort scenes with loads of tragic back story that I'm sorry to say I enjoy so much in romance.

If you enjoy dark fantasy romances like Black Jewels Trilogy, wanted more from ancient greco-roman mythology classics, and need a steaming hot read that you won't want to put down - grab Her Lord of Death!

I'm excited this book is being rereleased, because I don't think I would have come across it otherwise.

I really have no complaints about this. I love stories that intertwine ancient Greek life and myths, I love a good slow burn romance, and I love complex characters and plot. This has all of the above.

It's such a gripping story that I hope KD chooses to write more books set within this world.