✮silvia ✮'s Reviews > Death's Country

"There were no road signs in that place; it would
never be on any map.
But I felt what it was—
a flagging pulse, a clock winding down,
the final page in the last book ever written.
I was in Death’s country,
where the path ends for everyone."
- R. M. Romero

They say to never judge a book by its cover, but we´re all guilty of doing it anyway. Well, when I first saw the cover for Death´s Country, it did a really good job of drawing me in. What kept me interested, however, was the description. I mean, “Hadestown meets “Orpheus and Eurydice” when two Miami teens travel to the underworld to retrieve their girlfriend’s soul” is one hell of a premise! I quickly placed it on my Most Anticipated Books Of 2024 list along with all the other great books coming out this year.
So, when I got the opportunity to read and review it early, I couldn’t even believe it. Safe to say my expectations were pretty high, but to my surprise, this book was more than I ever expected it to be.

“-And so did I.
I prayed
to whatever god would have me:
Let me be a whisper of music, the calm inside the storm.
Let me be someone better.
But that night, no spirits
heard my pleas, and I stayed a snarl of thorns
playacting
at being a boy.”
- R. M. Romero

The writing style has an almost soothing flow to it, the type that makes you forget everything else in the world because you just need to finish reading all of it. The characters, while a bit flawed at times, will grow on you almost immediately. And if you´re a mythology fan like me, you will love all the references, big and small alike.
Not only is it a beautifully written tale of love, it´s a story about fury, grief, and about second chances. There´s also a lot of interesting themes of anger, music, family, letting go, and, of course, death. It´s basically, in all honesty, everything I could ask for in a book.

"I leaned into their hope,
a sigh
easing from my lips.
I didn’t care if my music ever reached
the ears of monsters, presidents, the men who
were both.
I had a sanctuary at the beach,
solace in two girls."
-R. M. Romero





Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC copy I received in exchange for my honest review!