Death's Lover (Eternal Lovers, #1)

by Marie Hall

[Berls]

My Initial Reaction…
I fell in love with Eve and Cian so easily and routed for their romance from the start. I also loved the concept for Death’s Lover and look forward to reading the next book in the series.

The Characters…
The characters in Death’s Lover were complex and incredibly easy to fall for. The story is told from several perspectives, which could be a bit jarring at times, since the transitions between points of view weren’t always immediately clear. But it was great to be able to see what was going on in their minds. Eve is a witch, who projects (pretty powerfully, I might add) her emotions. I got the sense that she once had better control, perhaps before the death of her husband, but as we get to know her she’s projecting all over the place. I loved this aspect of her, because it adds a layer of both honesty and vulnerability that’s so endearing. You never doubted that what she felt was genuine. And perhaps the best word to describe Eve: genuine. To a fault. She’s the kind of woman who says what she’s thinking (because why bother hiding it, everyone can feel it anyway, right?). She’s also clearly powerful, though I really wish we’d gotten to understand her powers a bit better. We see bits here and there, but the only power I got to understand fully was her projection.

Eve is most powerful when with her sisters, Tamryn and Celeste, who are also witches. Eve’s relationship with her sisters was a favorite element for me. They are clearly very close, they tease and nag each other, they support each other, they kick butt together. Again, I would have really loved to see their powers at a heightened level, but I guess that’s what makes Death’s Lover a paranormal romance, rather than an urban fantasy. The sisters own a shop together, where they sell their brews and other supplies to both the magical and human community.

And then there’s Cian. Sigh. Who’d have thought the grim reaper could be so hot and so lovable? Cian is a fey – in this world there are several castes of fey and he belongs to the caste that work as death (or grim reapers, basically). He’s pretty haunted by the job he has and doesn’t have hope of love or happiness in life. Just the duty of reaping souls. He’s been around for a millenia, so he has all these old mannerisms that are charming and an Irish accent to boot! *sigh* I loved watching Cian battle his desire to protect Eve, his sense of what he was and what that meant, all alongside the fact that he was falling in love with her.

The Story…
Death’s Lover was a great love story. Marie does a wonderful job not only making us fall in love with the characters, but wanting their love story to work. Eve and Cian’s love is basically a forbidden love deep down, and it’s made even more complex by all the Cian know’s that Eve doesn’t. He was the reaper that took her husband’s life and was supposed to take hers. But he couldn’t. And that doesn’t mean she’s safe. All he wants to do is protect her, but he’s falling for her – whom he cannot have – and she doesn’t even know who he really is. I cheered them on, grew anxious about Cian’s ability to save Eve, and how Eve would react to the truth if/when she learned it. It was a love story worth routing for. And it got pretty fabulously steamy at moments, but not before the tension has driven you gloriously crazy ;)

Death’s Lover also had the potential for a great fantasy world. On that level, it fell just a bit short for me – but I have high hopes for the next book. We’re in an alternate version of Earth, where humans and supernaturals live side-by-side, maintaining an uncertain peace. Eve lives in San Francisco, one of the only places where supernaturals can live openly without too much fear. There are mentions of a great war and throughout tensions about their fragile peace – between humans and perhaps even between supernaturals – but quite a bit is left very vague. There’s also some moments in Fey lands that are pretty cool, sometimes very graphic, but again, I wanted more. As Death’s Lover concludes, however, there’s a pretty big punch toward a much more complex world than we’ve had a chance to grasp as of yet. So I have serious hopes that the next book in the series will pick up where that left off. And I’m also hoping to see the powers of Eve, her sisters, and Cian on greater display.

Concluding Sentiments…
Death’s Lover was a great love story, with characters I loved cheering towards their HEA. The world has all the makings of an incredible fantasy and I really hope to see it come to fruition as the series continues.

*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 received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.