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La Petite Mort
After the death of her estranged grandmother, Marisa Marrero finds herself bequeathed a surprising inheritance: a house in the New Orleans French Quarter, left to her with a variety of bizarre conditions attached. Among the surprising consequences of Marisa's acceptance is a friendship with a man called Jack St. Germaine, an alleged alchemist who may or may not be hiding a questionable history, and a series of encounters with Elisabeth Clavier, a vampire known for hunting mortals for sport. As Marisa struggles with who to trust, she leans towards Jack, especially after a demon arrives at her doorstep claiming Elisabeth was the one who sent him. But when Marisa's power grows and Jack can no longer provide her answers, a night with Elisabeth leaves Marisa wondering if she made the right choice.
This novella was originally published in Witch Way Magazine. It is a love letter to the vampire culture that is healthy and active in the crescent city.
This novella was originally published in Witch Way Magazine. It is a love letter to the vampire culture that is healthy and active in the crescent city.
218 pages, Paperback
First published October 31, 2019
34 people are currently reading
6450 people want to read
About the author
Olivie Blake
44 books17.1k followersOlivie Blake is the pseudonym of Alexene Farol Follmuth, a lover and writer of stories, many of which involve the fantastic, the paranormal, or the supernatural, but not always. More often, her works revolve around what it means to be human (or not), and the endlessly interesting complexities of life and love.
Olivie has penned several indie SFF projects, including the webtoon Clara and the Devil with illustrator Little Chmura and the viral Atlas series. As Follmuth, her young adult rom-com My Mechanical Romance releases May 2022.
Olivie lives in Los Angeles with her husband and new baby, where she is generally tolerated by her rescue pit bull.
Olivie has penned several indie SFF projects, including the webtoon Clara and the Devil with illustrator Little Chmura and the viral Atlas series. As Follmuth, her young adult rom-com My Mechanical Romance releases May 2022.
Olivie lives in Los Angeles with her husband and new baby, where she is generally tolerated by her rescue pit bull.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 271 reviews
September 29, 2021
could not tell you what the fuck this book is really about but everyone was sexy
December 30, 2022
I just get fully invested in Olivie's stories idk what drugs are in her books but I always disappear in the book.
This book was definitely interesting but also so magical and mysterious at the same time? I loved the characters but I was able to see the twist before it happened which is the reason it is rated lower but this was still a very enjoyable pretty short fantasy/ vampire book.
And then obviously the art in this book is so amazing I absolutely love it
This book was definitely interesting but also so magical and mysterious at the same time? I loved the characters but I was able to see the twist before it happened which is the reason it is rated lower but this was still a very enjoyable pretty short fantasy/ vampire book.
And then obviously the art in this book is so amazing I absolutely love it
March 26, 2023
⭐️3.5
There are so many aspects of this book I adored.
The book opening with a Vampire Tour of New Orleans was so intriguing to me because I've been on this same Vampire Tour a few times. Olivie Blake nailed it. The stories the tour guide told and history they go over is exactly what was regaled to me on my own experience. It wasn't just that the historical facts were similar, it was the way the guide told them and the little plot points of the bar they ended at and the time of night it began. I experienced the exact same tour and it felt surreal to be reading it in a book.
I love vampires and I love characters with a rich history. Elisabeth and Jacques were EVERYTHING! I adore them and want an entire series based on them. Their 'I loved you once but you broke me/I want to hate you but you're the only one who really gets me' vibe was sending me.
However, let's talk about why this book didn't work. The main character, Marissa, served nothing. She didn't matter to the plot. She wasn't interesting. The story could've been told from any one else and it would've been better. It frankly didn't make any sense to have her in the story in the first place.
Also, it is such a short book for how deep the world and history attempts to get. I think the bones of this story are excellent. But it isn't fully formed. It lacks a lot of little joints and tendons that are needed to weave a complete picture.
There are so many aspects of this book I adored.
The book opening with a Vampire Tour of New Orleans was so intriguing to me because I've been on this same Vampire Tour a few times. Olivie Blake nailed it. The stories the tour guide told and history they go over is exactly what was regaled to me on my own experience. It wasn't just that the historical facts were similar, it was the way the guide told them and the little plot points of the bar they ended at and the time of night it began. I experienced the exact same tour and it felt surreal to be reading it in a book.
I love vampires and I love characters with a rich history. Elisabeth and Jacques were EVERYTHING! I adore them and want an entire series based on them. Their 'I loved you once but you broke me/I want to hate you but you're the only one who really gets me' vibe was sending me.
However, let's talk about why this book didn't work. The main character, Marissa, served nothing. She didn't matter to the plot. She wasn't interesting. The story could've been told from any one else and it would've been better. It frankly didn't make any sense to have her in the story in the first place.
Also, it is such a short book for how deep the world and history attempts to get. I think the bones of this story are excellent. But it isn't fully formed. It lacks a lot of little joints and tendons that are needed to weave a complete picture.
November 5, 2022
a vapid little nothing of a story. how disappointing
June 8, 2025
This didn't have the same feel of all the other Olivie Blake books, so I get why she chose to not traditionally publish this one, however I can see the bare bones of some elements of ta6 so clearly.
This is a vampire story, and I NEED her to write a vampire book now, something in the lines for Addie LaRue. I really need it, please Olivie.
When I say I can see altas six here I mean that Elisabeth is the predecessor of Parisa, the writing is a level below but you can see it's the same vein. Some elements like the attraction and tension, btw when I say give me a vampire book I mean a super bisexual vampire because I can't be the only one that sees the potential here.
This is not the book to start reading Blake's books, but it's a very cool thing when you are already familiar(and love) all her other works.
This is a vampire story, and I NEED her to write a vampire book now, something in the lines for Addie LaRue. I really need it, please Olivie.
When I say I can see altas six here I mean that Elisabeth is the predecessor of Parisa, the writing is a level below but you can see it's the same vein. Some elements like the attraction and tension, btw when I say give me a vampire book I mean a super bisexual vampire because I can't be the only one that sees the potential here.
This is not the book to start reading Blake's books, but it's a very cool thing when you are already familiar(and love) all her other works.
February 9, 2025
This was one of those super easy books you don’t really have to pay much attention to. With the holidays and everything else going on at this time of the year, it was just the perfect read for me. The story wasn’t remarkable, nor were the characters – the dynamics between Elisabeth, Marisa and Jack reminded me a lot of that between Parisa, Tristan and Libby in TA6. However, I’ll be a sucker for Olivie Blake – especially her writing – for my whole life, needless to say I enjoyed each and every word – she has this unique and complex way to phrase her sentences that, at times, I find quite hard to comprehend (but in an educative way!), as a non-native english speaker.
I found the timeline a bit confusing, because they were speaking of months spent together out of the blue in the last chapter and I must have missed a passage or two. Anyway, if you read Masters of Death, they’re quite similar in their being the kind of books that are pleasant to read but that then you forget about in no time because there was literally nothing groundbreaking about them.
I found the timeline a bit confusing, because they were speaking of months spent together out of the blue in the last chapter and I must have missed a passage or two. Anyway, if you read Masters of Death, they’re quite similar in their being the kind of books that are pleasant to read but that then you forget about in no time because there was literally nothing groundbreaking about them.
August 26, 2023
olivie blake's books are immersive experiences EVERY SINGLE TIME.
this wasn't my favourite book by her, not even close considering i give like 99% of her books 5 stars and i'm giving this one 4, but the characters were so dynamic and the setting was chefs kiss
loved the new orleans setting and the way it played into the spooky atmosphere
and the characters ARGH how are her characters just so good. love them or hate them you can't deny how well they're written.
the ending really surprised me! definitely not what i expected or would have chosen but after it was over i really felt like that was the only way the story should've wrapped up (aka i wholeheartedly approve)
my carrd ❦
this wasn't my favourite book by her, not even close considering i give like 99% of her books 5 stars and i'm giving this one 4, but the characters were so dynamic and the setting was chefs kiss
loved the new orleans setting and the way it played into the spooky atmosphere
and the characters ARGH how are her characters just so good. love them or hate them you can't deny how well they're written.
the ending really surprised me! definitely not what i expected or would have chosen but after it was over i really felt like that was the only way the story should've wrapped up (aka i wholeheartedly approve)
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
my carrd ❦
July 19, 2021
i was not expecting the women to do the kissy
August 24, 2023
i have no words.
this book.
omg this book.
forget the atlas six.
forget alone with you in the ether.
this is the best olivie blake book and it's only 200 pages
this book.
omg this book.
forget the atlas six.
forget alone with you in the ether.
this is the best olivie blake book and it's only 200 pages
February 1, 2023
I loved this so much I just wanted more men-killing
February 8, 2025
underwhelming & convoluted. the vampy scenes were sick, but why follow those with lines about Netflix & the word "hangry..." that's when the story would instantly lose me.
March 10, 2025
♪ this is a wild game of survival ♪
★ what on earth did I just read? and why am I so obsessed with it? why is everyone so sexy? I don't know, I don't know, and I don't know. nevertheless, that ending is bodacious. offer a concoction of vampires and demons living in a nightmare to me and I'll gladly lunge for it even if it's on a piece of waterlogged cardboard 🙂↕️🫀
Fuck the saintliness of femininity, the divinity of womanhood. The most female thing about her was her anger, and she used it to rip out the claws that dug into her throat, tearing them free with a howl of something too stubborn to be pain.
Jack’s mind, like always, was preoccupied with Elisabeth’s face. Funny, Aguillard thought, that Jack could only see Elisabeth Clavier two ways: one as she was in his bed—pliable and soft, warm and tender—and the other cold, teeth bared, blood beneath her black-painted nails to match the crimson traces on her lips. What a dichotomy it was, loving her and hating her. A lifelong wish to either possess or destroy a woman with no in-between was, as far as Aguillard could see from Jack’s experience, tiresome indeed.
(It was always both fear and remorse when it came to Elisabeth; Jack was incapable of feeling only one or the other when it came to his former paramour.)
★ what on earth did I just read? and why am I so obsessed with it? why is everyone so sexy? I don't know, I don't know, and I don't know. nevertheless, that ending is bodacious. offer a concoction of vampires and demons living in a nightmare to me and I'll gladly lunge for it even if it's on a piece of waterlogged cardboard 🙂↕️🫀
Fuck the saintliness of femininity, the divinity of womanhood. The most female thing about her was her anger, and she used it to rip out the claws that dug into her throat, tearing them free with a howl of something too stubborn to be pain.
Jack’s mind, like always, was preoccupied with Elisabeth’s face. Funny, Aguillard thought, that Jack could only see Elisabeth Clavier two ways: one as she was in his bed—pliable and soft, warm and tender—and the other cold, teeth bared, blood beneath her black-painted nails to match the crimson traces on her lips. What a dichotomy it was, loving her and hating her. A lifelong wish to either possess or destroy a woman with no in-between was, as far as Aguillard could see from Jack’s experience, tiresome indeed.
(It was always both fear and remorse when it came to Elisabeth; Jack was incapable of feeling only one or the other when it came to his former paramour.)
July 29, 2021
3.5 stars
October 12, 2024
"the most female thing about her was her anger, and she used it to rip out the claws that dug into her throat, tearing them free with a howl of something too stubborn to be pain."
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ-
“How does one defeat a monster?
Imbue it with humanity, with vice and virtue both. With greed and charity. With patience and warth, with envy and kindness. With blood, with sacrifice.
With everything it took to make a human, and then with everything it took to end one, too.”
As soon as I heard New Orleans and vampires were in this book (or novella) i instantly thought of 'the originals' iykyk
so of course i had to read it
it has a pretty wacky plot: lady inherits house from weird grandma, then gets involved with 'creatures' like vampires and witches and demons
but thats what made it SO GOOD
there's something about olivie's writing that makes it so fun to read
and this was really quick to to read because its only 218 pages so i absolutely binged it
i'd say the reason its not 5 stars was the romance that feels like it was thrown in there for the sake of the romantic aesthetic or something
i did love marisa and elisabeth regardless though
and the ART by little chmura was GORGEOUS as always
˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ pre-review ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆
Um what just happened??!
Rtcccc
Also lowkey obsessed with olivie now...
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ-
“How does one defeat a monster?
Imbue it with humanity, with vice and virtue both. With greed and charity. With patience and warth, with envy and kindness. With blood, with sacrifice.
With everything it took to make a human, and then with everything it took to end one, too.”
As soon as I heard New Orleans and vampires were in this book (or novella) i instantly thought of 'the originals' iykyk
so of course i had to read it
it has a pretty wacky plot: lady inherits house from weird grandma, then gets involved with 'creatures' like vampires and witches and demons
but thats what made it SO GOOD
there's something about olivie's writing that makes it so fun to read
and this was really quick to to read because its only 218 pages so i absolutely binged it
i'd say the reason its not 5 stars was the romance that feels like it was thrown in there for the sake of the romantic aesthetic or something
i did love marisa and elisabeth regardless though
and the ART by little chmura was GORGEOUS as always
˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ pre-review ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆
Um what just happened??!
Rtcccc
Also lowkey obsessed with olivie now...
May 23, 2025
A vampire, an alchemist and a demon walk into a bar…
December 29, 2021
this is a solid 3.7
tbh it started out pretty meh and it was giving bad fanfiction
i feel like this book could've been written way way better
after reading the atlas six, this book didnt feel like it was written by the mastermind that is olivie blake
but theeeeeen
then it got gay
and then it got good
and then it definitely felt like olivie blake
i really liked the last two parts but i do feel like this could've been longer and that would've helped the story a bit
tbh it started out pretty meh and it was giving bad fanfiction
i feel like this book could've been written way way better
after reading the atlas six, this book didnt feel like it was written by the mastermind that is olivie blake
but theeeeeen
then it got gay
and then it got good
and then it definitely felt like olivie blake
i really liked the last two parts but i do feel like this could've been longer and that would've helped the story a bit
December 27, 2022
GUYS I LOVE OLIVIE BLAKE SM
i really liked this book, olivie has never failed me. this book didn't wow me as much as her other books but i was still very much enjoying myself throughout the book. it was such a fun, quick, and easy read. these characters were all so hot, and mrs. blake somehow has me shipping all her characters with each other. im not mad at it, but i don't understand how this keeps happening😾
i really liked this book, olivie has never failed me. this book didn't wow me as much as her other books but i was still very much enjoying myself throughout the book. it was such a fun, quick, and easy read. these characters were all so hot, and mrs. blake somehow has me shipping all her characters with each other. im not mad at it, but i don't understand how this keeps happening😾
January 4, 2020
As a New Orleans local and vampire culture lover this book confirmed a few things for me.
1. The vampire speakeasy that you think is just for tourists? Don't be fooled, it has vampires and they will bite you. Also, get the Love Potion - it is in fact worth squealing over.
2. Never, and I mean NEVER, trust Comte de Saint Germain- no matter how charming he may be.
3. If you inherit a home in New Orleans - it most certainly is infested with demons.
and finally...
If you walk by the Ursuline Convent and a friendly local rolls down their car window to warn you that you are in vampire territory - they aren't kidding and are providing a community service.
1. The vampire speakeasy that you think is just for tourists? Don't be fooled, it has vampires and they will bite you. Also, get the Love Potion - it is in fact worth squealing over.
2. Never, and I mean NEVER, trust Comte de Saint Germain- no matter how charming he may be.
3. If you inherit a home in New Orleans - it most certainly is infested with demons.
and finally...
If you walk by the Ursuline Convent and a friendly local rolls down their car window to warn you that you are in vampire territory - they aren't kidding and are providing a community service.
June 30, 2022
[3.5]
Elisabeth Clavier the woman you are !!
Elisabeth Clavier the woman you are !!
November 26, 2022
La Petite Mort was a quick little gem. I simply love how Olivie Blake manages to envelope me inside these stories.
May 10, 2024
2024 reads: 122/250
2024 tbr: 55/120
after the death of her estranged grandmother, marisa finds herself in new orleans french quarter, with her grandmother’s house being promised to her contingent on marisa following bizarre rules. soon, she’s torn between trusting jack st. germaine, an alchemist, or elisabeth clavier, a vampire.
this was a short, but interesting, read. i quickly felt immersed in the new orleans setting, although i’ve never been. i enjoyed how there were funny and serious moments. i’d recommend this to any olivie blake fans!
2024 tbr: 55/120
after the death of her estranged grandmother, marisa finds herself in new orleans french quarter, with her grandmother’s house being promised to her contingent on marisa following bizarre rules. soon, she’s torn between trusting jack st. germaine, an alchemist, or elisabeth clavier, a vampire.
this was a short, but interesting, read. i quickly felt immersed in the new orleans setting, although i’ve never been. i enjoyed how there were funny and serious moments. i’d recommend this to any olivie blake fans!
January 31, 2023
4,5 lovely as always, Olivie Blake just writes the most compelling stories ever
April 13, 2022
Olivie's prose is, as always, a delight to read! However, although I know LPM is a novella I wish it was longer; I think spending more time with the characters would've improved my enjoyment of the book.
August 7, 2021
Enjoyable read!
December 4, 2021
Although the story and characters were incredibly predictable and I didn't really care much about anything, I'd still say I liked this book. It reads super quickly and has a sapphic vampire!!
January 24, 2024
When I read that there are vampires in this book, I'm sold and wow short but a good one. there are still some parts left unsolved but once again this one is under 300 pgs so i accept that convenient ending which i like tho🫶
May 3, 2025
The most "The Originals" coded vampire novel there ever was. If you don't remember and/or love that show, we can't be friends.
This is by far my favourite Olivie yet. more vampires please, you write them perfectly!
This is by far my favourite Olivie yet. more vampires please, you write them perfectly!
April 5, 2021
3.5 stars. Entertaining.
August 31, 2023
How come every Olivie Blake character is hot.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 271 reviews