Review for Death is a Bitch by Cate Masters

Eternity can suck when it’s all work, work, work. Death harvests souls even when they stack up faster than pancakes in an all-you-can-eat-buffet.

As the patron angel of death and dying, Azrael works closely with Death, but is dying for true intimacy. She’s the only immortal who’s ever aroused such powerful emotions in him. One taste of her leaves him needing her like humans need air and food, but will a demon’s lies leave a bad taste?

No one escapes Death – except King Sisyphus. Twice. With the help of Damien the demon, Sisyphus tries again, and she’s determined to have justice. Some say Death’s a bitch, but only when she has to be. But will the price of justice be a broken heart?

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Who knew immortals had such complicated love lives?  In Death is a Bitch, Death is wanted by two immortals, one who will stop at nothing to have her and one who gets tongue-tied in her presence who just happens to be her new boss.  What ensues is non-stop action, a moment of short and sweet revenge, and some steamy immortal lovin'.

Death has always been dedicated to her work of collecting souls without giving herself moments of happiness.  There are plenty of men attracted to her though for her exotic looks, one who will especially do the unexpected to have her.  Death is a strong female who doesn't show emotions very often nor rely on a man for comfort, but her new boss Azrael has her thinking naughty thoughts that she fights at first.  Once they're finally on the same page some steamy otherworldly encounters occur that angers fellow demon Damien and has him hatching a plan that Death has to use all her strength to escape from.  What doesn't kill her though makes her stronger as she soon has even more powerful and efficient tools of the trade to make her even better at her job and reaping revenge.

Azrael is good at business but not so good at wooing the woman he loves.  His words always seem to insult her and it's only through actions instead of words that he's able to win her over.  He's a quiet character for the most part but deadly in a fight, and especially vicious when he's lied to and hunting the demon gone wild.  Seeing this side of him after the quiet moments of support he showed towards Death made him a formidable and worthy hero.

The villains in this story have differing degrees of success with Damien clearly the more villainous of the two.  Death fears revenge from Sisyphus but from what I see there's not much to fear as he has trouble adjusting to the modern world.  Damien is devious and wants Death only for himself, even though he spends the entire book going from woman to woman.  The fact that he can't have her just makes him want her even more and just when you think he's learned his lesson a whole new slew of possibilities erupts.

This was an entertaining story based in the unique world of immortals, gods, and demons and though it never digs deep it still kept me steadily turning the pages to see what happened next.  With a strong and sexy lead couple and intriguing secondary characters this story kept me on the edge of my seat with high hopes for any future books.  Fans of the paranormal will find this story surprisingly unique and a worthy addition to the genre.

My rating for this is a B-

*I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.