I always struggle with writing reviews for Kelly's books because I simply love them and it's difficult to put that love into words when the prose is gorgeous, the characters painfully relatable, real and complex and there isn't a single thing to complain about.

I guess I should start by recommending reading all of her books in order. Even though they are standalones, they *are* connected and that is even more evident in IAMOD where Colton comes back as a pretty important secondary character. Do yourself a favor and start with The Whispering Dark. (Colton is the MMC in TWD, he also shows up in YBMB)

"FOR ANYONE WHO LEARNED TO LOVE THEMSELVES THE HARD WAY"

Since chapter one, hell since the dedication, maybe even since Kelly's letter which I read in advance, i knew i'm gonna love this.
I was absolutely obsessed with the vibes from the start, it's like so many things I adore in one — there are notes of dark academia, gothic vibes, Black Swan, Dirty Dancing with the whole rich girl x poor boy, though not just that because Viv and Tommy also gave me Christian x Satine & Veronica x Archie vibes with the whole black cat x golden retriever energy going on—I swear it's like Kelly made a mix of every aesthetic I adore and I gobbled it up.

Vivienne is my absolute fav and most relatable character Kelly has written. She's the type of character that's all hard edges and attitude, always keeping the people in her life at a distance (at least at first). Viv's giving every female character I adore that has similar aesthetic from Blair Waldorf and Veronica Lodge to even Buffy , she's an absolute mood and I. Love. Her. When she first showed up on the page I was like "well, I already know this book is going to become my whole personality".

Tommy was a very interesting and layered character and Viv's opposite in almost every way. He's exactly what she needed and I only wish we'd gotten more of her POV (it's dual POV) when she was falling for him so the change didn't feel as sudden but it didn't bother me regardless.

The supporting characters were also great. Sarah (Tommy's sister) was my fav, she's hilarious and one of the best parts of this book.
But nothing can beat Colton, Lane and Eric showing up and being present for most of the second half. Colton is forever of my fav love interest of Kelly's and a book husband so I was beyond thrilled he had such an important role to play in this book. I'm not even exaggerating when I say I was kicking my feet screaming for 10 min when he finally showed up.

I really don't wanna give away too much about the plot, and if you've read the description or seen what tropes are present in the book I think you know more than enough and I wouldn't wanna spoil it further.
If you like bubblegum horror with exquisite prose, morally grey characters, bodyguard romance with mutual pining, secret societies and found family I think you should check this out (along with all of Kelly's books)
I've said this before but I'll say it again — I'll read anything Kelly writes.

Eternal gratitude to Netgalley and Scholastic Press for the arc
SCHOLASTIC YOU ARE MY FAV!!! I was ready to offer my firstborn for this arc you don't even understand!!!!!!

The Queen of horror and suspense woven with romance and longing does it again. I Am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew is absolutely a five star read that you won’t be able to put down.

The book opens by introducing us to the main male character, Thomas, who takes odd jobs to try to support his teenage sister and ailing mother after his father’s death. Thomas feels as if he’s hit the jackpot as he’s been invited to interview for a position as a sign language interpreter for a wealthy businessman’s daughter, Vivienne Farrow, for the summer. Thomas will live in the Farrow home, drive Vivienne to her summer institute courses, and serve as her interpreter. But things are not as simple as they seem.

Vivienne unfortunately is possessed by a demon and her stepfather is using this to take out anyone that stands in his way. Her mother knows and is doing absolutely nothing about it. Because of this, Vivienne is pursuing a surgical exorcism with the help of some friends.

This book has so many layers to it, you just can’t help but fall in love with the characters. You fall in love with Thomas for always showing up for Vivienne. He always comes for her, he never stops. He’s need to care for others just makes him so endearing. Anyone with a chronic illness or a disability will easily be able to relate to Vivienne and her fear of being different, unlovable, or not enough. Honestly even individuals without a disability or chronic illness will as well. Don’t we all feel inadequate when it comes to love?

The character development of the book is exceptional. The pace of the book is spot on. What I find most breathtaking about Kelly’s work is the eeriness she’s able to build. I know at times her descriptions of a scenario were so haunting I had to take a second to look over my shoulder, just in case. She truly has a way with prose that just immerses you in the world she’s created.

Overall this is absolutely a five star read and of course a book I would recommend.

i really like kelly andrew. ‘your blood, my bones’ is still my favorite but with ‘i am made of death’ she’s continuing to evolve and create such an engaging, twisty voice. i’m not caught up enough on what’s happening in ya fantasy at large to say if she is or isn’t doing something unique, but i do think she’s doing something well. i like her slant towards a more body horror focus, and her characters’ sharpness feels more honest than a lot of ya protagonists i’ve read. vivienne in particular feels so incredibly real to me. andrew mentions in the author’s note that this story really comes from feelings she had about being disabled when she was younger, and you can feel it on page. the exploration of that intense anger and pain, and then the reassurance and catharsis that follows.

one nitpick i have: now is the best time for her to wrap up the interconnectedness of her books. or at least start toning it down? better to quit while you’re ahead than have it start to feel cheap. i’d be happy if this book wrapped up a kind of unofficial trilogy. i still find myself with questions when it comes to some of the details on her world building, but her characters are really the main focus and are also one of the strongest points.

thank you to netgalley for the arc!

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.