Viola Marek, a vampire and struggling real estate agent, has been battling for months to sell the house of a revered, and widely renowned millionaire family. Haunted by a ghost of the last remaining descendant, who was brutally murdered within the confines of said home, Viola is desperate to help Thomas uncover the mystery of his murder, encourage him to pass on, and hopefully prevent him from using his ghostly tricks to scare off any further potential buyers. Viola is a remarkable character, she's strong, hard-headed and straightforward, part of group of like-minded creatures such as werewolves, sirens and demons, who are all trying to ingratiate themselves into society, and let go of their murderous ways. Sassy, with impeccable banter, especially with Thomas, their banter was THRILLING to watch, they bounced off each other in such hilarious ways, as two perpetually stubborn people, but it was highly entertaining.

Thomas the fourth, has no idea how he came to be murdered, and in his own house no less, but after several failed attempts to communicate with others, he finds himself isolated and confused, that is... until he insults Viola upon their first meeting, adamant that she's unable to hear him. Thomas comes from a long line of wealthy, successful, and arrogant males, so it's no surprise that he's one stubborn and deliciously cocky young man, who pays very little attention to the world around him. Determined to prevent Viola from selling his house, using every trick in his arsenal to scare any buyers away, not only to save his house, but to prevent him from losing the only person he can finally communicate with, and who can help him solve the mystery of his death, to save him from this perpetual loneliness and bitterness that plagues him.

When Viola comes across Fox D'Mora, a self-proclaimed medium, who's actually a fraudster with one refreshing trick up his sleeve, Viola enlists his help in solving Thomas's murder. Fox is a charming, suave, and manipulative young man, who's also the god-son of Death (who himself is insanely funny and had me cackling out loud, I lived for Death's interactions). He's wily, cunning, and knows how to draw people in, using his magnetic charm and endearing his clients to him. However, when he summons his god father to solve this new mystery, he doesn't appear, and a long chain of very bad and sinister plots begin to unravel as a result.

Fox must now team up with a vampire, a sassy ghost who he can't see, a love-struck, loyal, patient and timid reaper, a head-strong, bad-ass, angel, a demon personal trainer who thrives off of chaos and pain, and his thief of an ex-boyfriend who betrayed him, and broke his heart. Together they must work together to save his god-father from the demon king's clutches, by using his wits, and cunning to win the immortal game.

The interactions felt so smooth and realistic, all the characters have their flaws, and are so uniquely, complexly, human, which massively juxtaposes the fact that most of them are actual immortal creatures, but are just as petty as children. It was an absolute breath of fresh air to follow them on their journeys. The side characters, were so thought and fleshed out, they were just so sassy and witty, and added such a wonderful array of perspectives to the story. The world is also thoroughly immersive, and so real and gritty, but in the best way, with some insane plot twists woven throughout, that is sure to keep you on your toes. It feels like if Neil Gaiman, and Derek Landy had a baby, gorgeous storytelling with relatable and hilarious narration and quirky yet unforgettable characters.

'Masters of Death' is a complexly crafted, character driven story that is full of delightfully humour and enchantingly endearing, yet flawed characters. This was such a joy to read, with some refreshing twists on mythological and fantastical creatures, and side-splitting dark humour. I just couldn't get enough of this story, you could never quite be sure where the plot was heading next, but it was so deliciously delightful and entrancing. Olivie Blake is a masterful and impeccable storyteller, and I can't wait to dive deeper into her stories.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book which reminded me, in a way, of Terry Pratchett. In that, I loved the character of Death.

The concept is interesting and original - Death has a godson, Fox, who, whilst mortal, has lived for a couple of hundred years. Fox has a guardian angel,, has a reaper for a friend, and becomes entangled with a demon, ghost and vampire.

There is humour, tension, romance (well, almost) and mystery. The characters, not all of whom are likeable, are well dimensioned - they are flawed personalities, who let emotions get in the way, which most of us can relate to.

This was such an entertaining book, that I felt it came to an end too soon.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I absolutely adore Olivie Blake and love all her books. This one did not disappoint! I could not put it down and binged it over a couple of days! Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to review this book!

Pretentious is the first word that springs to mind every time I reluctantly picked this book up after the awful, stutteringly slow start where we info-dumped all our characters and their backstories on a chapter-by-chapter basis.

My reluctance was completely justified by the book's reluctance to get to the fucking point. Ever. Characters waffle relentlessly, refusing to make a lick of sense or reveal real actual plot details during the endless tirades of meaningless chitter-chatter that just goes around and around in circles. I kept waiting for them to explain what the game was or why a ledger detailing past games would be important, and I am still waiting after finishing the book.

Most of the characters are borderline hyperactive in their attempts to prove that they are the most vague and philosophical person in the room by saying the most words in any order we deem necessary. They were all the same character, with different names, all smug and self-satisfied and awful people.

Any time it looks like we might finally possibly go somewhere in the plot that isn't just standing around in a room talking, we instead decide to introduce some new douchebag creature and deep dive into their extensive history with their own life story/tragedy and their connections to everyone else in the room. Dire. This put me in my first reading slump of the year.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a bit of pretentiousness and purple prose in a book, but when the author's dedication to proving just how much cleverer they are than the reader impacts the readability of the book then you've absolutely fucked it.

The language used was off-puttingly verbose, also. Most of the times when I pressed my Kindle to define the word used, the word's positioning makes it superfluous anyway - "a small paper cup patterned bucolically with sheep". Why even add bucolically? By being patterned with sheep, we already know this. Also we used bucolic/bucolically TWICE in the book, which sort of suggests we just learned it in our "learn a new word a day" calendar and are very proud of ourselves.

This was good. I’m not a fan of the Atlas Six series but every other book Olivie Blake writes I thoroughly enjoy

I started to read this with high hopes but found quite early on that this book was not for me.

I enjoyed the concept of the book and do have plans to reread this book.

Olivie Blake is a incredible author IMO, but I just couldn't gel with this one, sadly. I got bored half way through and just gave up.

Olivie Blake has fast become one of my favourite others. I’ve loved everything she’s written so far and this was no exception. The writing was so atmospheric and kept me rooted in the setting. i was invested in the characters and their journey. I’m super excited to read more from the author in the future.

This book was one of those that you just couldn’t put down. This book made me all emotional and I loved it. The characters were lovable. The book started off a bit confusing but the overall plot was good.

The writing of this book is not bad, however, I do think that the writing is trying to purposely sound like a classic. I like how the POV is from Death itself, but at the same time, it would've been a more intriguing read if the narrator didn't constantly reinforce that fact that they're Death. An example of a well written narrator that is also from the POV of Death is 'The Book Thief'. Although, I did find 'Masters of Death' a very fun and enjoyable read - it reminded me of the Haunted House by Disney. I would recommend it if you want a fantasy book to read for escapism!

I had very high expectations for this book as my first Olivie Blake story and unfortunately it did not quite live up to my expectations. I felt like the story was lacking something, a deeper meaning. It was as if the story was trying to tell a deep message about life and it did not quite achieve that. The characters were uninteresting to me for the most part, with a few exceptions and i could not connect to them. However, it is not all bad. Some things i did enjoy about the book was the descriptions, i feel like they painted very detailed pictures in my head, and also the imagination and the uniqueness of the story is commendable. It is not every day that you read about interesting creatures in a mundane setting like this while also having the personification of death and the pov of death's adoptive son.

I'm usually very much on board with character-driven and non-linear stories, but there was just so much exposition. It took more than half the book to get down to some actual action and I regret to say that I felt bored.
Additionally, there were a lot of romances with potential and yet I didn't really feel the connection the way I wanted to with any of them. There was just no tension to the romantic build up for me, which is a shame. I remain a fan of Olivie Blake in general, but this isn't a fave.

As a fan of Olivie Blake’s previous titles, I couldn’t wait to pick this one up. Vampires? Ghosts? Demons and Angels? Yes, please!

I read it over one day and was absorbed in the supernatural world that Blake has created. The characters were fleshed out and very likeable and the writing style was perfect, as always, with many quotes highlighted on my Kindle!

This is a must if you’re a fan of the author but also the perfect into to their work.

So very grateful for the chance to read and review this one and I bought a stunning edition for my shelves after finishing.

This was not the book I was expecting at all. I was expecting a fun jape that does sound like the start of a joke.
What happens when a vampire, a demon and the godson of death sell a house with a ghost? Well they find love apparently....
Not really my cup of tea but I can't blame the book. This is a straight up romantasy, very wordy and lots and lots of talking. Took longer than a book should have with this page count. however, I can see this being a hit with romantasy lovers.
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The first Olivie Blake I have read, this felt a very fresh concept that had a lot of what I had preciously enjoyed in other reads, such as paranormal characters, a quest and Death as a narrator. In places it was slightly slower that I would have liked for pace, but it is commendable how Blake has managed to make such a big cast of characters all feel so distinct and easy to follow. The flashbacks in particular added far more complexity than I was expecting. Illustrations were also beautiful and added a lot to the reading experience. Will definitely read other Blake works, starting with the webtoon!

Not in the mood for this one at the moment, although the hype on YouTube is real for this author alone. Correct rating will be edited once read fully.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the early access to this book.

This was quite an odd, quirky book, but it kept me interested the whole way through! I'd say it's definitely one of those that could get you out of a reading slump.

It was fun, humorous, with romance, fantasy, mystery - anything you could possibly want.

I'm looking forward to the author's next book.

I'm a huge Olivie Blake fan but this one just wasn't for me. Her writing is, as always, gorgeous, but I struggled to connect to the characters and the pacing was a little off. I do think this book would be a hit for Neil Gaiman lovers, but I just don't love that kind of humor so it didn't quite land for me.

at this point, i will read absolutely anything that olivie blake writes. if it has her name on it, i will instantly grab it off the shelf.

this book captures you from the very first line until the very end of the book. i cannot put into words how much i enjoyed it. now, is it my favourite book of hers? no, but i still loved it! her writing style is absolutely breath taking but i found my problem with the novel lying within the dialogue for some reason.

you can tell that olivie blake put her heart and soul into this book. i cannot wait to see what she comes out with next!

"Masters of Death" by Olivie Blake is a witty and queer fantasy that weaves together vampires, ghosts, and the personification of death himself into a captivating narrative. Viola Marek, an estate agent who happens to be a vampire, hires Fox D'Mora to deal with a haunted mansion, expecting a competent medium. However, Fox is not what he seems—he's a fraud and the godson of Death.