Hayley and her friends Mona and Liddy are getting away for a girl's weekend in Salmon Cove, Maine. Little do the the three of them know that the weekend comes complete with murder, after Hayley and Liddy discover a dead body on the beach. The well written plot moves along at a nice steady pace. There are some twists and turns in th eplot to keep you guessing until the end, where they come together neatly. The characters are so well developed that they seem lifelike. I got an advanced copy of this book from netgalley.com and Kensington Books.

Eve Philips thought she could never love again. After her husband died in a hit-and-run accident, Eve poured her heart into her potions shop, Witch’s Brew, and hasn’t given any man a second glance-until Cian. As soon as she locks eyes with him, Eve knows she’ll never be the same. Gorgeous and mysterious, he incites a passion in her that she’s never felt before. And it’s almost otherworldly . . . 

Cian knows Eve is special the minute they lay eyes on each other. He’s a supernatural being with a dangerous duty, and being seen is not part of the job description. But when he meets the kind, beautiful Eve, all the rules go out the window. Now that his superiors have gotten wind of it, he has a wicked enemy on his tail. Yet all he cares about is Eve: loving her, protecting her-and finding the right time to tell her his dark and terrible secret, a secret that threatens both of their lives . . .

Previously published as The Witching Hour

Marie Hall is an amazing writer and story teller. I love her Kingdom series and when I saw the cover and read the blurb for Death’s Lover I was interested. A Grim Reaper (Death) as a leading man sounded appealing. Death’s Lover is book one in Marie Hall’s The Eternal Lovers series.

I enjoyed this story, but not as much as I wanted too. I had a hard time getting into the story/plot at first, but once things settled down, the book took off. Marie brings to us a verity of creatures in Death’s Lover, but our main focus is the Grim Reaper(s) and their future. 

Eve is a witch, who projects powerful magic (emotions). She seams to have no control over projecting her emotions all over the place, but I got the impression that before her husband died she had control. With this aspect we see a vulnerability to Eve we might not have seen. We also see that she is very powerful, but the author does not give us much on this. It would have be nice to have a better understanding of her powers. We see bits and pieces, but only her projection power is understood. 

Cian is Death, the Grim Reaper, but he is not the only Grim Reaper. He’s haunted by his job, numb to feelings, and feels he will never love. He’s been around for a very long time, so some of his old speak seeps in with a little Irish accent. **Sigh** Who doesn’t like an accent? Once he lays eyes on Eve things start to change and when he has to take her soul well something happens to change him. 

The story is told from several perspectives. The transition between points of views where not always immediately clear, but it was nice to see what was going on in everyone’s mind. At the start of the book Eve is married and completely in love, but something happens to change all this. Cian and Eve are both complex characters. Eve’s emotions are very real and at times heartbreaking. Cian battles with himself, his desire to protect Eve and the love growing. Both characters emotions and struggles come across to the reader. With the romance Ms. Hall does a great job building up to those moments in the book. We feel the heat just before an all consuming kiss. At the end I really felt for Cian and his plight. The fae especially the Grim Reaper(s) are hated (it’s not fully explained why?), and somethings are said between Eve and Cian that hurts his feelings. I wanted to smack Eve at that moment when things where revealed and all she could do was the poor me routine. As for the ending, it wasn’t the best.

All and all Death’s Lover is a good read. For some reason it did not give me that great “Ah” moment or fulfillment that I usually get from Ms. Hall, but I am interested to see where the plot is going in The Eternal Lovers series. 

 

Was this review helpful? If so, please consider liking it on Goodreads (Angela)!

~ 3.5 Death Stars ~

Marie Hall is an amazing writer and story teller. I love her Kingdom series and when I saw the cover and read the blurb for Death's Lover I was interested. A Grim Reaper (Death) as a leading man sounded appealing. Death's Lover is book one in Marie Hall's The Eternal Lovers series.

I enjoyed this story, but not as much as I wanted too. I had a hard time getting into the story/plot at first, but once things settled down, the book took off. Marie brings to us a verity of creatures in Death's Lover, but our main focus is the Grim Reaper(s) and their future.

Eve is a witch, who projects powerful magic (emotions). She seams to have no control over projecting her emotions all over the place, but I got the impression that before her husband died she had control. With this aspect we see a vulnerability to Eve we might not have seen. We also see that she is very powerful, but the author does not give us much on this. It would have be nice to have a better understanding of her powers. We see bits and pieces, but only her projection power is understood.

Cian is Death, the Grim Reaper, but he is not the only Grim Reaper. He's haunted by his job, numb to feelings, and feels he will never love. He's been around for a very long time, so some of his old speak seeps in with a little Irish accent. **Sigh** Who doesn't like an accent? Once he lays eyes on Eve things start to change and when he has to take her soul well something happens to change him.

The story is told from several perspectives. The transition between points of view where not always immediately clear, but it was nice to see what was going on in everyone's mind. At the start of the book Eve is married and completely in love, but something happens to change all this. Cian and Eve are both complex characters. Eve's emotions are very real and at times heartbreaking. Cian battles with himself, his desire to protect Eve and the love growing. Both characters emotions and struggles come across to the reader. With the romance Ms. Hall does a great job building up to those moments in the book. We feel the heat just before an all consuming kiss. At the end I really felt for Cian and his plight. The fae especially the Grim Reaper(s) are hated (it's not fully explained why?), and somethings are said between Eve and Cian that hurts his feelings. I wanted to smack Eve at that moment when things where revealed and all she could do was the poor me routine. As for the ending, it wasn't the best.

All and all Death's Lover is a good read. For some reason it did not give me that great Ah moment or fulfillment that I usually get from Ms. Hall, but I am interested to see where the plot is going in The Eternal Lovers series.

*This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.*

I'm not sure what it is, but there is something about this cover that is making me just stare at it mindlessly. 

Eh. Anyway, review time. 

Although I did enjoy this book, it was very hard for me to get through. I liked the world building, but my brain kept losing focus. 

I had a hard time with the beginning, I really wasn't liking Cian and yes, it was because he was death and I guess I wasn't really grasping the point. Even still, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about Eve falling in love with someone else after she was so obviously in love with her husband. And even though two years had passed for Eve, it was hard for me to remember that. 

Other than that, it was like it would drag at one point and then rush forward really quickly. Towards the end I was confused by Lise's harshness with Eve. I mean, I get it because it was explained but really, how did she expect Eve to react. For me it was really unclear, almost like no matter what Eve did she was going to be wrong. 

Poor Cian, I think he was just as confused as I was. 

I did like this book and I will probably read the next one. I am curious about Frenzy and where his story will go. I'm also curious about some of the other characters.