Death’s Obsession

Specs:

What The Vibes Are

What It’s About

He’s coming for you.

Death is meant to come on a chariot of broken dreams or in the dark trenches of a storm, not in love letters and gifts.

He did not take my soul when I was meant to die. He did not want it all the other times that I’ve offered it to him on a silver platter. Yet, time and time again, he reminds me that I am his: His night monster, his dark love, his perfect other.

Death was the only thing keeping me alive. He watches me from his corner, taunts me with sweet messages, and marks my body with his touch as I sleep.

He took the people that I love away from me. Still, no one believed me when I said that I saw the faceless man on the night of the accident.

No one can escape death.

Me? I’m chasing it.

What I thought about it

***Possible Spoilers below

The dedication of this book says it all!

“To the girls who think that the grim reaper will fuck like a god.”

Death’s Obsession followed Lilith, a young woman who recently had a close encounter with death. After the car accident that took her twin sister, Dahlia’s, life, Lilith was riddled with survivor’s guilt. In the commotion of the accident, Lilith swore she saw Death himself, though no one believed her. She swore he walked toward her as she begged him to take her, but he didn’t. Since then, she began seeing a figure she called “the faceless man.” An incredibly well-built male specimen who kept his face hidden in the shadows of his hooded cloak. He started leaving the love letters that were sometimes accompanied by expensive gifts and visited her in her dreams. Her friends and boyfriend convinced her that she was crazy, so she began taking medication to stop the “hallucinations”, but when they continued, she began to spiral even more. After getting no support from her boyfriend, Lilith started to find comfort in the Faceless Man’s visits and letters.

Character Thoughts:

Lilith:

Lilith has been through it. After having been thrown from the car during the accident, Lilith was never the same. St. Graves did a beautiful job of depicting a woman amid grief. Lilith lost her only family the day her sister died, so she clung to her boyfriend, Evan, in some hope of hanging on to her life before, which didn’t go well. As you read, you watch Lilith grow in her grief, you watch her deal with her pain, and you begin to let it go. She’ll start feeling more and more secure in her self-worth as well as her intuition. I honestly related to and loved Lilith. Watching her go through this grief was both heartbreaking and endearing.

Evan:

Personally, I hated him. Lilith’s perspective gave some insight into Evan’s behavior. The car accident was caused by Dahlia’s boyfriend, who was driving drunk, lost control of the car, and wrapped it around a tree. Said boyfriend was one of Evan’s closest friends, so he was grieving too. But that was no excuse for cheating on, belittling, and gaslighting Lilith. He coped by using drugs and expected Lilith to finance his addiction, and would get mad at her for spending her money to go see her doctor. Which, while the doctor wasn’t great, it’s not a good look to belittle people who are trying to get help. I did sympathize with Evan a bit, but every time he opened his mouth, all I did was make this face:

Letum – The Faceless Man:

The Grim Reaper does, in fact, fuck like a god. 

And his dirty talk game? Let’s just say, I have no idea how Lilith remained a standing solid mass. Not me over here hoping Death is obsessed with me now, too!

Besides the obvious sex appeal, Letum was exactly what Lilith needed. He refused to take her soul even when she begged – for selfish reasons, yes – but he gave her what she needed so she could heal from her grief. Gave her space when he thought she needed it (ya know, since he is an intense supernatural being), fixed small things around the house that broke, and kept her cabinets filled with food when she couldn’t get out of bed to go grocery shopping. He was a morally grey character, no doubt, but it was very much he’s different with her vibes. We love a closeted teddy bear. 

Conclusion

With this being a novella of only 175 pages, the plot was quick but not rushed. There were some parts I would’ve liked the story to develop more, but again, it’s meant to be a quick read. I felt that the storyline moved with ease and kept me interested enough to read it in one morning/sitting. For a novella, there was a good amount of smut, in my opinion. I absolutely devoured this book and loved it. Definitely still nursing a book hangover.

If you read it, comment your thoughts below!

♡ G&P