I listened to The Atlas Six and was curious about Olivie Blake’s newest release, Masters of Death. I went into this blind only knowing it was a story about vampires, ghosts, and death itself. Narrated by Steve West at its core, it’s a story about love and mortality. I laughed, cried, and lost myself in the story.
by Olivie Blake
Narrator: Steve West
Length: 15 hours and 2 minutes
Genres: Fantasy
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Narration: 5 cups Speed: 1.45x
From Olivie Blake, the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six comes Masters of Death, a story about vampires, ghosts, and death itself!
Viola Marek is a struggling real estate agent, and a vampire. But her biggest problem currently is that the house she needs to sell is haunted. The ghost haunting the house has been murdered, and until he can solve the mystery of how he died, he refuses to move on.
Fox D’Mora is a medium, and though is also most-definitely a shameless fraud, he isn’t entirely without his uses—seeing as he’s actually the godson of Death.
When Viola seeks out Fox to help her with her ghost-infested mansion, he becomes inextricably involved in a quest that neither he nor Vi expects (or wants). But with the help of an unruly poltergeist, a demonic personal trainer, a sharp-voiced angel, a love-stricken reaper, and a few high-functioning creatures, Vi and Fox soon discover the difference between a mysterious lost love and an annoying dead body isn’t nearly as distinct as they thought.
Masters of Death is a journey where characters are picked up along the way and learn something about themselves through testing..
I enjoyed this odd little listen. Steve West did a wonderful job giving voice to this cast of characters. His tone and pacing was pleasant to listen to. I have listened to more books by his pseudonym, and he presented a wide range of voices that impressed me..
Blake presents us with fascinating and flawed paranormal creatures. We first meet Viola Marek, a vampire and real estate agent who has a house problem. A ghosts haunt the house that Viola needs to sell.. Until someone figures out how he was murdered, he will remain in the same place..
Viola reaches out to human Fox D’Mora. He claims to be a medium, and just so is the godson of Death. The two find themselves reluctantly taking part in a game. They’ll have help from a poltergeist, a demonic personal trainer, a sharp-voiced angel, and a love-stricken reaper. Let the games begin.
It’s a complex story, with short stories and nonlinear movement as it explores everyone’s story, their emotions and flaws. The characters are fleshed out, and the prose is lovely. The conversations felt genuine and for readers who love to highlight quotes and passages, you’ll want to get those highlighters ready. I laughed, got teary-eyed and lost myself in their stories.
My only regret is that while I loved listening, I think I would have appreciated having the book to read along with the audio. I struggled a few times and had to rewind a bit. At its heart, it’s a book about love and one worth reading/listening to.
Masters of Death by Olivie Blake was an interesting tale about vampires, ghosts, and death itself. Narrated by Steven West, you'll want to snag this one for yourself. #audiobook #NewRelease #audiobookreview Share on XAbout Olivie Blake
Olivie Blake is the pseudonym of Alexene Farol Follmuth, a lover and writer of stories, many of which involve the fantastic, the paranormal, or the supernatural, but not always. More often, her works revolve around what it means to be human (or not), and the endlessly interesting complexities of life and love. Olivie has penned several indie SFF projects, including the webtoon Clara and the Devil with illustrator Little Chmura and the viral Atlas series. As Follmuth, her young adult rom-com My Mechanical Romance releases May 2022. Olivie lives in Los Angeles with her husband and new baby, where she is generally tolerated by her rescue pit bull.
About Steve West
Steve West is a London born, award-winning actor and voice artist based in Los Angeles. Career highlights include performing for the Queen at Buckingham Palace, being killed by Chucky “the killer doll” in the cult movie Seed of Chucky, appearing in AMC’s hit series Mad Men, and playing the lead in Sony’s epic video game The Order: 1886. He has recorded over 200 audiobooks across all genres and has won 13 awards, including over 10 Earphones Awards; The AudioFile & Romantic Times' Best Romance Narrator of The year, and a SOVAS. He also has multiple Audie nominations to his name.
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Katherine
This looks really good! I think I will go with the print version of this though. Great review!
Kimberly
Happy reading!
Stormi
This one is making it’s rounds on booktube and I have been kind of curious about it. Glad to see you enjoyed it.
Kimberly
I did. It was different.
Sophie
I love Steve West but when I read odd listen I am not sure I’d love it. I’m a little bit picky and The Atlas Six didn’t amaze me but puzzled and confused and frustrated me LOL
Kimberly
There were a lot of characters in Atlas Six.
Rachel @Waves of Fiction
This does sound like an original, interesting tale! I’ve enjoyed Steve West’s narration in the past. I’m curious what his pseudonym is. I need to search my library for this one! Great review, Kimberly!
Anne - Books of My Heart
I’ll have to check this out. Steve West is a favorite.
Kimberly
i’ve not read two many where he is the solo narrator outside of his pseudonym so it was fun seeing him narrate this. He played a small role in her last audiobook.
ailyn koay
question, does vampire only sell to vampires? Or he’s a all rounder who tries to not eat humans while he’s showing the house? That would be so fun to imagine:” I need a drink”
Kimberly
Hehe….they seems to deal with sups.
ailyn koay
ah I see, well that would be interesting for the poor ghost
Jessica @ a GREAT read
Ooh nice! I’ve been debating about this one myself. Been hearing mixed things but I find I’m still curious since it’s filled with so many supernatural characters! Glad you found it to be an enjoyable story! Nice review!
Kimberly
It’s different and as Ii said nonlinear but the characters are their journeys made it unique.