MY MIND IS BLOWN

WHAT DID I JUST READ AND HOW HAVE I LIVED LIFE BFORE THIS.

This was hauntingly beautiful, I literally could not put this down and I can’t wait to buy this

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. I legitimately read this in less than five hours. I could not peel my eyes away from the pages. I loved everything about this book. The two MCs were so interesting, I loved the possession aspect, and I couldn't get over the ties to the previous books in this universe. I loved seeing Colton & Lane again in a big capacity, and it all melded together SO well. Even though these are all technically stand-alones, I do think that as these progress, the story is best read in release order (much like the marvel universe). There are so many mentions, cameos etc that you build up through meeting everyone in order.

Undeniably 5 stars 🩰💀🌹

Thank you to Scholastic and netgalley for an e-arc of this story, in exchange for an honest review.

“No matter how hard she played at being a girl, at the end of the day she was nothing more than a doll on a music box, forced to turn and turn by the hand that wound her spring.”

This is such an incredibly haunting tale about loyalty, love, sacrifice, and truly being seen for who you are through every sweet and sorrowful thing that molds you into the person you become despite what you have to evolve into in order to protect yourself.

In “I Am Made of Death” we are introduced to our main characters Thomas and Vivienne. Thomas Walsh is a boy who has endured many hardships and does not have much to offer after he has suffered the loss of his father, and his mother was diagnosed with a chronic illness/autoimmune disease. Making ends meet for his mother and sister is astronomically difficult. Desperate to take matters into his own hands he accepts a job interpreting for a heiress who solely communicates through sign language as it pays very well. However, the situation is bittersweet as Thomas is expected to shadow Viv wherever she may go and keep her in line with her family’s “standards.” Vivienne Farrow is a young woman who is kept on a very close watch by her parents and does not stray from her everyday obligations. She must attend dance recitals, family business parties, and cannot be out after dark no matter the circumstance. Viv is not all she appears on the surface, when she was four years old, she went missing in a canyon and has not said a word out loud since. On that very fateful day she was accompanied by a darkness looming inside of her. This horrid-ness causes unexplainable, horrible, torturous actions to partake in her presence. Vying to escape the evil inside of her, she begins a journey to hunt down someone who promises to perform a surgical exorcism, but how can she follow through with Thomas breathing down her neck? How can she scare him away from her? How does she protect him from falling for her and everything that accompanies that?

Where to even begin? This book reminded me of a soft American horror story, and I suppose it earns the title in every way. We had emotional depth, character development, horror imagery, mystery, and paranormal occurrences. I ate this up. The more I read about Thomas and Viv the less I could put my kindle down.

I felt an immense amount of sympathy for Vivienne and what she was enduring by herself. The horror of the unknown, as well as the personal isolation. She felt silenced and used by the people in her life who were meant to care the most for her. To love her, comfort her, care for her. Instead, she was given strict orders and kept on a tight leash by Philip, her stepfather and her mother did nothing to protect her own daughter, only allowed others to exploit her. This book presents the question of “what is love vs. manipulation?”

“Even when she wasn’t the girl in the mirror she was still in a cage.”

Thomas meeting Vivienne was the perfect recipe for a forbidden, dark romance. Thomas had been through a tremendous amount of hardships in his past and was willing to see Viv for all that she was. He truly wanted to know her to her soul core. The way he talked to her through her anxiety and gave her helpful tips to manage it was so sweet and enduring. The compassion he held for her, spoke volumes about his own character. He never saw Viv as a monster, but as the girl who did what she had to survive, and he cherished her as a person regardless.

The horror aspect of this story was phenomenal. It seemed like an innocent mystery at first, and then became overwhelmingly prevalent in the last 40 - 50% of the story. Talk about suspense. When Viv was in the church along with the pledges, I was on the edge of my reading chair, eager to explore what was going to happen next, and overall, why it was happening in the first place...

The House of Hades aspect really rounded the story out and brought in a fun unexpected twist:
“The house is exacting in what it takes from its guests. If you enter, there’s a chance you may never leave.” I wouldn’t have expected less from Kelly, as her writing depicts scary, intriguing, horrible homes where terrible unexplained acts take place. I am excited to see if this is a concept in future stories from her as well.

In the end, the story tied up beautifully and now I will think of these characters every day until something can bring me this same feeling of being human, love, loyalty, and friendship.

If you enjoy a sweet, romantic, gothic esque story then this is the one for you, friend 💗✨

The queen of gothic fantasy has unsurprisingly written another amazing book. The Whispering Dark and Your Blood, My Bones are two of my favorite books of all time, so of course this was my most anticipated book of 2025. And it did not disappoint in the slightest. As a former dancer, I knew this book was gonna speak to my soul. I truly have never read books layered with such beautiful yet haunting prose. The writing style is absolutely everything I want in a fantasy book. It’s eerie and creepy yet realistic and deeply romantic. If you want to be clutching your chest after reading the most romantic lines in history, this is the book for you. The romance in this book is so good that at times I forgot about the horror. The gothic undertones and dark atmosphere really balance out the heartwarming (and a little heart wrenching) romance. The way all of Kelly Andrew’s books are interconnected makes my heart so happy. I scream every time a previous character shows up. It feels so full circle when the pieces start to click and she raised the bar so high with this one. I strongly advise reading all of her books in publication order because you will thank me once you get to the plot twist in I Am Made of Death. I feel like this book was plucked straight from my soul and put on page with how much I related to it and to Vivienne as a main character. I am so pleased with how this ended and I am going to be making this book my entire personality for the foreseeable future.

A Kelly Andrew book is always a guarantee of three things: luscious prose, haunting atmosphere, and unlikable characters it's my pleasure to adore. I Am Made of Death is no different, especially with how it ties the entire trilogy of standalones together while still remaining its own unique story. Thomas and Vivienne have almost—almost!—replaced Colton and Delaney as my favorite couple, and I Am Made of Death has almost—almost!—replaced Your Blood My Bones as my favorite book. One thing is for certain: Kelly Andrew is an auto-buy author.