Definitely Dead

Happily Ever Afterlife #1

by Arden Steele

As a royal Guardian, Tyr Bergstrom is built for battle, not stillness. Not whatever this is. He followed his prince into the depths of the Underworld out of loyalty, but with no foes to vanquish and no lives to safeguard, he’s left questioning why he stays. It’s dark, cold, and each day blends into the next with monotonous sameness.

Until a spark of sunshine arrives in the Village of Lost Souls.

Sunne Tanaka died. Not ideal, but he’s had worse Mondays. While the afterlife isn’t anything like he expected—frankly, it’s a total scam—from the moment he meets Tyr, he can’t help but feel that he’s exactly where he belongs. He hasn’t decided if the shifter is his destiny or a beautiful disaster waiting to happen, but he knows one thing for certain. He’s not leaving the village without him.

But Tyr knows better than anyone that some lines aren’t meant to be crossed. He doesn’t know what waits beyond the dark waters of the River Acheron, but it’s the only condition of his stay in the Underworld. A rule he has never questioned…until another soul puts Sunne’s very existence at risk.

Now, he’s not just questioning.

Now, he’s prepared to take on the living, the dead, and Hades himself to bring his mate back and give them both a chance at a happily ever afterlife.

Genres: M M Romance, M M Paranormal, Gay, Shapeshifters, Romance, Fantasy

213 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 15, 2025

Reviews

[Barbara➰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet start to the spin-off of the Blackhaven Manor series. We met Tyr, a royal guard, in Orrin’s book. He’s kind of a grumpy bastard but he gets his little ray of Sunne’shine ☀️

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely Dead (Happily Ever Afterlife Book 1) by Arden Steele was a book I breezed through with little connection with the characters or plot.

Rating: 3🌈

Definitely Dead (Happily Ever Afterlife Book 1) by Arden Steele is a first book in a new series in an established universe. The Blackhaven Manor and connected sequel Hunters Hollow series are both full of terrific paranormal stories and interesting fated mates romances.

With their crossover characters and established mythology/histories, they have a depth of character and storyline coming into the book that I thought was missing here.

Both the main characters weren’t really well developed, nor did their instant love/fated mates storyline have any chemistry.

My biggest issue out of a bunch of them is the opening scenes where a young girl is so desperate to see her deceased father that she uses dark uncontrollable magic in Sunne Tanaka’s public library and tragically ends them both.

It’s a very unexpected traumatic moment but does Sunne Tanaka act like it? No. He could be visiting an ice cream parlor with the same overall emotional energy of placid sweet potato niceness that he exhibits here.

Did I believe in his character? No. If Arden had said Sunne was experiencing shock from his death and that of the girl , that was one thing but no, this “cinnamon roll “ personality was it.

And his fated mate is an unpleasant, bitter living guard in the underworld that we get no real sense of.

Add to all the above, a third major character quickly telegraphs what his role is to be in the storyline. It’s easy to guess at.

So adding all these elements together meant that Definitely Dead (Happily Ever Afterlife Book 1) by Arden Steele was a book I breezed through with little connection with the characters or plot.

It’s ok but I doubt this is a series I will be following.

Cover Art by Black Butterfly Designs Published by Peccavi Press”

Happily Ever Afterlife :
Definitely Dead #1
Dead Ringer #2 - June 5, 2025

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

********** Contains Spoilers**********

I enjoyed this book and thought that it was a good start to the Happily Ever Afterlife Series, which set in the same world of Arden’s Blackhaven Manor Series. I liked being able to immerse myself in this magical world that Arden has created. Tyr is so bloody grumpy and totally over absolutely everything, Sunne his mate is the perfect person to bring some much needed happiness into his life.

I thought they balanced each other really well but due to the short length of the book it didn’t allow for much character depth. Even though this is a paranormal fated mates book it still took them a bit until they sealed their bond. All I can say is that Sunne’s apartment in the City of Lost Souls was definitely a character and could be petty as hell when it felt slighted, which made me smile. I’m looking forward to reading Dead Ringer next, as well as more books by Arden Steele in the future. I’d recommend this book, series and author to others.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great new paranormal romance series set adjacent to the Blackhaven Manor books. We've moved to the Underworld where Prince Orrin now lives with his mate Erus and this is the story of one of his 'Berserker' bear guardians. This was a light, fluffy, steamy, fated mates story and I liked that even though they instantly knew, they didn't jump straight to it. The plot was interesting with good librarians, dodgy mages, cranky Hades and I enjoyed the setting. Looking forward to more in this series

[llv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3 stars

This book was okay. I really liked Sunne but Tyr was another matter. I found him a bit too abrasive. Also didn't really understand the motives of the main baddy. Overall, the story was good just not great.

[Miriam]

If this book were a baked item, it would be a dry one that just tastes of sugar. No depth or nuance of flavour, nothing to balance or leaven the sweet, moisture wicking and therefore hard to swallow. Ultimately unsatisfying. Still edible. But not really worth it.

[Robbin Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Liz Prosser · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome

Loved it but still think they both got the raw end of the deal except they got each other! Thank you Arden for another wonderful book! Definitely recommend!