For readers who crave an intoxicating blend of gothic horror, dark romance, and supernatural intrigue, ‘I Am Made of Death’ is an absolute must-read that will give you EXACTLY THAT. Kelley Andrew weaves an eerie, electrifying tale of love, loss, and the fight for control over one’s destiny.

Our MMC Thomas Walsh is a struggling interpreter who takes a high-paying job assisting our FMC Vivienne Farrow, who is a selective mute whose voice is rumored to bring death (pretty intresting). But as he becomes entangled in her mysterious world, filled with strict rules and supernatural terror, he realizes there is much more to Vivienne’s silence than what’s shown. Their journey through dark secrets and chilling revelations makes for a heart-pounding, almost impossible to put down read.

This book was filled with amazing prose, spiraling tension, and a slow-burn romance that is so sizzling, it will have you aching for more. This book is perfect for fans who love works by Rachel Gillig and even a mix of Rebecca Ross. An eerie yet highly romantic atmosphere filled with mysteries and tragic love that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Phenomenal read and highly recommend everyone go pick this up!

Another deliciously dark romance by Kelly Andrews with plenty of horror to boot! I wish it had been marketed as a companion novel to The Whispering Dark because I do feel like that one is necessary to read first to get the full experience. But the characters are delightful and the horror delicious.

Vivienne has it all, beauty, status, and wealth, but deep beneath her surface lies a monster dying to get out. According to her, life really sucks right now, especially when her step-father hires the college dropout to watch her every move. Her own mother is no help at all as she hides behind fake smiles, stylish clothes, and her husband's wealth. Vivienne has plans, and even the perfectly well-mannered Thomas Walsh won't stop her. Death seems to follow her, and she's trying to ride herself of it by any means, even if she has to team up with a local frat specializing in the occult. No matter how hard she tries to resist his charms, Thomas has a way of seeing the real Vivienne even behind the monster. Revelations spark hard truths about events set in motion even before her birth. It's hard to avoid a monster that's been searching for you all your life. If you're rooting for Vivienne or looking for your next book boyfriend in Thomas, then go check out "I Am Made of Death."

I thought the first part was very interesting and sucked me in! I found it creepy in a fun, pretty way. Parts 2 and 3 started to lose me and I felt like the story took a turn I didn't expect, and not in a good way. The book is definitely "bubblegum horror" which is a cool genre on its own. Very unique concept, but ultimately fell a little flat.

I absolutely loved it! I am very terrible at trying to see outside of what is written but for me it felt like this was fantasy with elements of the dark side in mental health (I am not 100% certain that Kelly Andrew was trying to do this but for me it felt like it and since I study Psychology this made me even love the book even more). Will be rereading again so I can properly analyze and find deeper meaning (as I always do this to books I love so I can make sure I connected it all correctly and go through the huge what if's board). The horror, chemistry, just everything was purely chefs kiss!

*Posted on GoodReads, working hard to create proper reviews, future reviews are guaranteed to be improved from the last*

I Am Made of Death intrigued me from the first page. I loved Thomas from the first moment we met him; Vivienne took me longer to like. She is independent to a fault and definitely a survivor, but she is also spoiled and, at times, a brat. There are reasons she is the way is, and once I learned those, while I still thought she could be a brat, she started to make sense to me.

The love was a bit insta, the horror was good but could have gone further, and some things were left unanswered. But as a whole, this story had me invested from the beginning, and I enjoyed my reading journey.
I can't wait to see what this author will come out with next!

I Am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew is a young adult book that is told from the perspective of two different characters. It opens with Thomas Walsh taking a job as an ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter for a mute girl named Vivienne who hasn't spoken since a family vacation gone wrong. Vivi must be accompanied at all times and isn't allowed out after dark. She has decided to take matters into her own hands and have a medically questionable surgery to fix her issue.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of I Am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew for free in exchange for my honest review. This is a book that I wished for, and my wish was granted. To say I was excited is an understatement.

The character development for both Thomas and Vivienne was exceptionally good, especially for a YA book. We learn their backstory continuously throughout the storyline, so the development is slow. As for the writing, it was well written and drew me in and kept me engaged until the very end. There were parts that reminded me of Desperation and It by Stephen King, which is both good and bad since I loved one and thought the other was depressing. At other points, it reminded me of another book, but I can't think of the title or author of that book now. Something that gave me pause was seeing the name of my high school band director being used as a character's name who had a completely different job than my teacher.

There aren't many negatives for me when it comes to this novel. One of those negatives for me is when the author used words that I've never heard of in my life when the common word would have sufficed and made the story flow better. I am all for learning new words, but having to stop to look up words definitely took me out of the story. There is a romance element that seemed to come out of nowhere, and I thought it could have been done a little better. The only other negative for me was the ending, which seemed rushed and left me somewhat confused.

Four stars out of five stars is what I gave I Am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew. Although this novel is categorized as sci-fi, fantasy, and romance, I personally would put it in the horror genre. I definitely recommend this book for tweens and teens who love horror and adults who love Stephen King.

4/5 Stars
Hauntingly beautiful!

Whispering Dark was one of my favorite debut books, and I Am Made of Death is a worthy follow-up. It is worth mentioning that to fully enjoy the book, it is advised (but not necessary) to start with The Whispering Dark, as it better introduces the lore of the universe. Now, onwards to I Am Made of Death.

Do you know that feeling when you can tell you’ll love a book just by looking at it? I knew I was going to love this ever since I first saw the cover, and the entire aesthetic of the book (bubblegum horror is now my new favourite thing!) did nothing to stifle my obsession.

The atmosphere pulled me right in from the start, and the horror was the perfect level of disturbing. Vivienne and Thomas are compelling characters, which made their romance endearing, even if it leaned a bit into insta-love territory.
That said, the pacing may have dragged at times just a tiny, tiny bit, which made this a slower read than the previous two books. Still, Kelly Andrew’s writing makes this a standout read and my favorite of her books so far.

i really thought i was going to like this one more! i think i might’ve gone into it thinking it was something it wasn’t, and that definitely didn’t help the rating.

i thought the romance was very quick and whirlwind, and didn’t really have any build up at all. i also felt like sometimes some of the plot points didn’t really fit together and i wasn’t always really sure why things were happening.

i just read in another review that apparently this was an interconnected standalone, and i wish i knew that before i read it. i had so many issues with the world building and understanding what was going on, so reading the other books probably would’ve helped.

overall, it wasn’t bad, and i think i might’ve enjoyed it better if i knew more of what it was going in.

thank you to netgalley and scholastic press for the arc

I Am Made of Death is the first book I’ve read by Kelly Andrew. It also happens to be a blending a genres I don’t see together often enough, horror and romance. Vivienne was an instantly fascinating/engaging character. She’s a mute. Not born that way but rather by choice because she can’t risk the tragic implications of others hearing her voice. But she has a plan to ‘cure’ herself. But she can’t do that with Thomas, the new sign ‘translator’/‘babysitter’ her parents around. Of course it also doesn’t help that they’re beginning to develop feelings. While I felt a few of the storylines were more convoluted than they needed to be, overall this was a satisfying and engaging story and I’ll definitely be looking into Ms. Andrew’s other books. Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me access to an ARC of I Am Made of Death.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-am-made-of-death-kelly-andrew/1145527408?ean=9781546104483&bvnotificationId=05f5646e-f951-11ef-b3cc-0affd2241acd&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/339480320

I struggled HARD with this book. I thought the horror elements were really intriguing and enjoyed the take on exorcism. However, I felt emotionally distant from the horror, as in I wasn't scared. Shouldn't I be scared? Shouldn't I feel haunted? Instead my enjoyment came from a literary analysis standpoint and that was a bummer.

The romance was also a bit difficult for me to buy into.

This story hooked me from the very beginning. Chilling, enthralling, and heartfelt. Bubblegum horror is now a staple genre for me! The representation of ASL and selective mutism was incredibly well done and one of my favorite aspects of the story. Thomas and Vivienne are incredibly compelling main characters. Their arcs flourish as their relationship does, crafting a delicious tension alongside the inevitable horror they are barreling towards. I hope to see more of this world, which I now know is related to Andrew’s other novels. The prose is also incredibly evocative, a feature that only made me fall more in love with this story. Thank you to Scholastic and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest feedback.

I am made of death has somehow dethroned Whispering Dark in my Kelly Andrew loving heart. It’s both creepy and raw while being written with such beautiful prose you tend to forget your knees deep in a horror novel. Our FMC is the witty smart girl with a wealth of talent all of us who grew up in dance classes wished we were…and our MMC? Just as swoon worthy as all of Kelly’s love interests. I would prefer all of my in real life love interests were written by Kelly *sigh*
Thank you so much to Kelly and Netgalley for this early reader. I absolutely adored this book and I know any one looking for romance in their horror(who isn’t honestly) will too.

I wanted to love this, but I think that the prose and I just didn't mesh. I was really looking for more straightforward language, but the prose did pull me out of the story a little bit. I can appreciate, though, that the horror elements did remain pretty firmly in the foreground of the story, and though it was a bit instalovey, the romance wasn't terrible. I think the pacing, for me, was just a little too slow. It could have been that I was just really not vibing with the prose, which made it a bit of a slog for me, but yeah it just took me forever to get through it.

3.5 stars

I was intrigued at the start, and lost a little interest along the way. I wanted a bit more dance and horror. It started to feel a touch too dramatic prose for what was going down. It does end with some unanswered questions. The vibes seemed Flatliners mixed with a monster Rumplestiltskin fairytale. If that is something that interests you, I would check it out.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a copy to form opinions from.

4.5/5
I love Kelly Andrew's paranormal horror. I was surprised by how much this is a mesh up from her first book The Whispering Dark. It reads more as an interconnecting stand alone than just a standalone with plots pulling from the original book as well as characters.
I do love the sassiness of Vivienne and the protectiveness of Thomas. This is a great body guard style romance (even though he's the interpreter). The representation of ASL users is prominent in the store which I absolutely love as well. The chaotic style of Thomas with the manipulative Vivienne is amazing. I absolutely loved this story I just wish there was more about the demons in this book because I don't remember much from her first book since I read it when it came out. Amazing as always and she's becoming an instant buy author for me.
Thank you NetGalley and Scholastic Press for the opportunity to read this book!

Hello I am back again screaming, crying, throwing up over a Kelly Andrew book! This book makes me feel like I’m my own demonic reflection in the mirror! In the best way possible!

Come for the bubblegum horror and immaculate vibes. Stay for the story about female rage, strangling patriarchal societal and familial structures, questions of who exactly the true monsters are and the I Will Always Come For You kind of romance.

When Vivienne Farrow (socialite) (ballerina) (possessed) has Thomas Walsh foisted on her by her controlling stepfather to be her translator (bodyguard) (babysitter) (parental spy), she is resolved to do everything she can to get him to quit. Thomas on the other hand, is in dire need of the paycheck and the ensuing war of wills is incredible. Vivienne is a ruthless girl, desperate to rid herself of what lurks inside her. Thomas is at loose ends, trying to support is family and find his place.

I loved Vivienne’s ruthlessness. Thomas’s steadfastness. The call backs and crossovers and old friends and found family. I loved every minute of this book even as I screamed into my pillow.

I recommend having read The Whispering Dark and Your Blood, My Bones before diving into I Am Made of Death - both because they’re excellent and you should just read them and also For Reasons.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for this e-arc!

I Am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew
🎀💋🩰🪞🩸

I Am Made of Death is SUCH an original book with an intriguing haunting storyline that’s completely its own. I adored the contrast of dark horror elements with the sunny picturesque setting.
I loved @kayaydrew unique portrayal of possession and how the story slowly reveals fragments of the many secrets until everything is unearthed at the end. it’s such an immersive experience from the first page to the last.
Andrew’s use of sign language by formatting the text and describing the hand motions of the signs made reading the dialogue even more interesting and easy to visualize.
also THE YEARNING. perfection. there’s just something about romantic horror that I can’t help but eat, sleep, and breathe for. a ballerina heiress who pushes everyone away and her new interpreter who is the only one who truly SEES her?! yes please!
Thomas is steadfast and determined and would do ✨anything✨ for those he loves…and Vivienne would do ✨anything✨ to carve out the evil that has made a home of her since childhood.
I’ve heard that Kelly Andrew’s books are standalones but also interconnected if you read them all. I can’t wait to dive into her other works!

my rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ . 5

thank you @netgalley and @scholastic press for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I had fun reading this one! It is a YA Bubblegum Horror. It was deliciously creepy and suspenseful while also being sweet and romantic. Our FMC, Vivienne, is delightfully chaotic. In some ways, she is dark and monstrous but she is also frilly and feminine. She is a tortured soul who is trapped in a terrible situation. After having a traumatic experience as a child, Vivienne no longer speaks. When she does, people die. Our MMC, Thomas, is hired as her interpreter. He is protective, kind, and devoted. Despite Vivienne’s efforts to push him away and get him to quit, Thomas is steadfastly in Vivienne’s corner and gives her the unconditional love and understanding that she’s never really received from others. They were cute, I liked them together! The author said she wrote this book to have Christian and Satine vibes and I feel like she delivered on that with this couple! (Which I definitely appreciated because Moulin Rouge has been one of my favorite movies since I was probably too young to be watching it lol!). This book would make a great movie, I think! 😍

This was my first book by this author and I am definitely interested in checking out her other books after this one! I will say that I really wish I had read her other books, or at least The Whispering Dark, before this one. I hadn’t realized that it was a companion novel to that one! 🙈 I wish that had been more clearly advertised. The characters from that book do show up in this one and play an important role. Also, around 80% in, there is a lot going on with the supernatural elements and I feel like I probably would’ve followed along a little easier if I had the background of the lore/world-building from the last book. You can absolutely read this as a standalone, but I highly recommend that you read The Whispering Dark first to have the best experience. Just a heads up to others considering reading this one! 🫶

Thank you to Kelly Andrew, NetGalley, and Scholastic for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I Am Made of Death is Kelly Andrew’s third inter-connected standalone and it is bubblegum horror at its finest. As usual, Andrew’s lush prose evokes the perfect tone for a story full of dark twists and turns. If you have never read Kelly Andrew’s books, I highly recommend reading The Whispering Dark before picking up I Am Made of Death.
Every time I pick up a book by Kelly Andrew I am immediately sucked into the story. Her characters are always multi-layered and full of secrets you’ll be desperate to uncover. Not to mention, her romances are always beautifully vulnerable.
In this installment, we follow two characters who have a lot of stress and pressure on their shoulders. Thomas needs to find a well-paying job to help pay his mom’s medical bills and Vivienne needs to find someone who can perform an exorcism. You see, when Vivienne was four years old she went missing in Red Rock Canyon and she hasn’t spoken since because her voice is as lethal as poison. After all these years, Vivienne finally has found someone who can perform a surgical exorcism and hopefully save her from the face she sees staring at her in the mirror. Only Thomas is paid to go with Vivienne everywhere which throws a wrench in her plans. Oh well, that just means Vivienne will need to get rid of him. But will she be able to do that before she loses her heart to him?
Kelly Andrew has cemented herself as an auto-buy author for me. Her stories are a perfect blend of horror, fantasy, mystery, and romance. There’s never a dull moment and her characters always steal my heart. The stories always stick with me long after the last page. If you’re looking for an author who will captivate you with atmospheric writing, complex characters, and dark mysteries, Kelly Andrew is perfect for you.