Deathtrap

Murder and Mayhem #1

by Alexandra St. Pierre

Everyone Lilith touches dies. She has lived her entire life running from the grim reaper, who has followed her relentlessly since birth. He watches her from the shadows, and though he seems set on stealing everyone from her life, he refuses to allow her to take her own.

When Lilith gets a job as a bartender at a Voodoo Steakhouse, her shadowy demon companion leaves her in peace for four blissful years. It isn’t until one of her colleagues passes away in a horrible accident, that she begins to fear he has returned, and this time, she may not be able to escape him.

*Deathtrap is the first book in a dark romance interconnected series. This book explores very dark themes and has an extensive list of trigger warnings. If you are not familiar with the dark romance genre, it is recommended you proceed with caution. This book is not suitable for everyone. 18+*

Genres: Dark Romance, Dark, Paranormal, Fantasy, Enemies To Lovers, Romance, Romantasy

Paperback

First published October 1, 2024

About the author

Lover of all things dark and twisted.
Obsessed with themes of death.
Harbinger of characters with ‘black cat energy.’
Love is love.
🌈

Reviews

[J • the little book dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will make you question your sanity and the author’s, but you will enjoy every waking second of it. And trust me, you will be awake all night reading because putting it down is not an option. Extremely dark, extremely spicy, extremely satisfying. Another brilliant piece of work from one of the best indie authors out there. 10/10 highly recommend.

[Kristen Hopp · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book started out AMAZING. I loved it! Then it got super rapey, but I have read plenty of dark romances and seen many good redemption arcs so I kept going. Then it turned into super anti-religion propaganda, but I am not a big fan of organized religion, so I kept going. Then God got rapey too, and I thought, "ok, now is when redemption starts!" But it didn't, the characters simply defended their forcefulness. And the main character started developing major Stockholm syndrome and began to forgive them, even though she continued to be unhappy with their behaviour. Finally, I got to a point where I was avoiding reading and I asked myself if I even cared what happened in the book anymore... The answer was no. So I stopped reading. The only way this book can be saved is if the FMC simply burns the world to the ground and kills everyone, in which case it would not be a romance book.

Edit: a bunch of people are commenting that I should have read the content warnings. I did. I also have read many books with rape. I have even read and given 5 star reviews to books with rape and assault between the main characters because the book took that content and made something out of it. This book does not do that.

[Samantha Groat]

Holy mother of Yahweh (IYKYK) 🫣🥵

If you’re after a super dark, super spicy, paranormal bully romance - this is 100% the book for you!

Once again, I have to praise the writing of Alexandra St Pierre. Her ability to suck you into a story with complex characters, well planned plot points/twists and the perfect mix of humour amongst serious/darker topics is unmatched. As a fan of her Romantasy series, The Origins Daughter, I knew to expect the high quality writing but as always I was impressed. The descriptive paragraphs create unparalleled imagery that fully immerses the reader into the world Alex has created - it isn’t overly flowery but gives enough to create a proper picture.

The format of the story is intriguing and unfolds in a classic Fantasy structure, while definitely leaning toward the smuttier end of the spectrum. The spice explores elements of degradation/humiliation but also praise and aftercare so although it is quite dark there is definitely balance.

Definitely check your trigger warnings for this one, however I think fans of dark romance will really enjoy this!


Thank you Alex for letting me read and review an early copy of your debut Dark Romance book!

[brittany:)]

excited about this one🖤

[↬ Ⓛ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.99999 death trap starrrrssss ✨ took me a week to finish this bitch bc I was in a death trap 🪽🔥 🐱 I almost didn’t make it ☠️

“No one had ever looked at me the way he was looking at me now. Like he would move planets and reduce entire galaxies to stardust if I asked him to. I used to fear him more than life itself, but now, the burn of his skin against mine felt like a promise.”

[Lyssa Vette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not even know where to begin besides READ THIS BOOK!!!
Hands down this is now my favorite book I have read this year. I am not even saying this because I have gotten the honor of getting an Arc but because this was so up my alley, and I loved every second of it (even the unhinge scenes) -which in my opinion was one the best parts because Alex's work, she put into this book was so detailed in every way.
WARNING: You will be sucked in!!
PLEASE check the TRIGGER WARNINGS before you read. This book is not going to be for everyone.
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Loved the quotes added at each chapter too.
When I tell you I gobbled this book up in a day, I could not put it down. Everything about it was wonderful. The writing was top-tier, the character development throughout the book was intense in the best way possible, and the story/plot will have you craving more.
We aren't even going to talk about the spicy scenes! This is a great book that can be classified under dark romance for sure, with a hint of paranormal and fantasy.
My favorite Characters: are Shem and Lilith of course. 🖤
If I could reread a book for the first time Deathtrap would be on that list.
Thank you, Alex, for allowing me to have the opportunity and chance to read this before release.

[kimiwheelielovesbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.5

Lilith's been alone her whole life and that is because everyone she touches dies. Come along for the ride as we figure out why and the backstory to Lilith's shadow that will not leave her alone. The reapers continuous torment of her will leave you guessing and expose a shocking backstory and have you saying just one more chapter late into the night.

Tropes:
- Paranormal Romance
- Bully Romance
- Forbidden Love
- Secret Identities
- Soulmates
- Touch Her and 💀
- Morally Gray MMC'S
- Enemies to Lovers?

TW's:
- Explicit On-page Non-consensual Scenes
- Explicit Scenes With Dubious Consent
- Suicide
- Bullying
- Toxic Relationships
- Violence And Murder
- Rape
- Kidnapping
- Loss Of Agency
- Stockholm Syndrome
- Torture
- Bondage
- Voyeurism
- Forced Orgasm
- Forced Marriage
- Orgasm Denial
- Primal Play
- Stalking
- Sharing
- Religious Trauma
- Degradation
- Themes Of Self-harm
- Sodomy
- Self-castration
- Death Of A Loved One
- Violence Against Women
- Animal Death
- Implied Child Abuse

[Sarita Molla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Warning: spoilers and really long review

Man, oh man, where do I even begin with this book. I picked up this book in the first place because I saw that the reviews were great and phenomenal so I won’t lie, I am a bit sad that I don’t share the same enthusiasm for this book.

I guess we can start with the good, I only really gave it 2 ish (I’d rather give it 1.5 but I can’t on goodreads) stars because of the author’s self awareness around the book’s content. The trigger and content warnings were around 2 to 3 pages long (for a good reason) and she understood that this whole “relationship” (if you want to call it that) was the product of pure Stockholm syndrome and ahem, assault (non - consensual sex doesn’t feel like the right word cause while she enjoys it, doesn’t change the fact that she wasn’t really the initiator or consenting party, at first anyways). Really, that tells you the overall theme of this book. The other partial star goes to the consistent depiction of aftercare. I mean bare minimum but I do appreciate it when I see it in media even though the aftercare was after…uh assault? (Again for most of the book)

Maybe this just isn’t the flavour of brain rot I like consuming so I can’t seem to understand the appeal, which again may just be my fault (I am serious). I guess I am not a fan of male characters being actual monsters. That being said, I know it’s promoted as a paranormal bully romance but the male character isn’t a bully considering he uh, kills everyone she loves, sexually and physically assaults her throughout the book. No again, there were extensive trigger warnings but let’s call it for what it is, he’s a monster. I guess modern bullies are monsters considering they torture you to the point of suicide (which she has tried several times by the way but he wouldn’t let her). But I’d call this genre more of a romanticized psychological horror and hey maybe some of you enjoy that flavour of brain rot (no judgement there) and I just don’t. So if that’s something that appeals to you, this may be the book for you.

Now I know that the MMC stalks her aggressively because of the plot and that he was conditioned to do so and so I understand the killing everyone she loves and even physically assaulting her. What I don’t get is the sexual assault (even though she was very much turned on by her perpetrator early on, eh I guess she’s wired that way). The whole non-consensual consensual blurred lines felt really forced and unnecessary for, well most of the book. I found myself skipping through the smut (which was more than 50% of the book, mind you), well written as they were, seemed like they didn’t add much to the story. It would have made sense to just annoy her and build the tension to the point of (literal) torture and have her give in, even though she’d hate it. The forcing her into it just cause she was wet still felt off and weird and didn’t make the MMC redeemable in any way. I’d rather he have grovelled and annoyed her without touching her because when he did finally grovel, it felt too late and to be honest useless cause she was still forced into all of this (again, that’s the general gist of the book, she doesn’t ACTUALLY have any control over her circumstances in any given moment). I know the MMC is a demon and thus a bit unhinged but the whole idea of demons is that you willingly sell your soul to the devil, you're never forced into anything so it was weird that the FMC never truly had a say in what was happening to her considering she was in a world with demons.

Now going onto the actual plot, I was willing to overlook the assault in the beginning (maybe not the sexual assault unless she turned the tables on him later on) to explain and redeem the entire fiasco. But I found myself having to go halfway through the book to find the THE PLOT? This 500 page book could have easily been around 300 pages or less because the inane, repetitive dialogue between the characters and the smut that took up most of the book didn’t add to the plot (like mentioned before) or help the reader connect with the characters. The relationship between all the characters in the book still felt, well surface level. Maybe it was the narration style but despite the characters inner POVs being exposed, the characters still felt out of touch and made me resent reading the book because if the plot is weird, the characters should be the redeeming element (I think?). Overall, the writing felt long winded and endless because it didn’t feel like there were buildups for key points in the story.

So a huge spoiler here is that this story is based off of Lilith (the FMC’s name), a pretty prominent figure, in the Judeo - Christian world. She was Adam’s first wife and was banished to hell to become the mother of demons, because she refused to submit to Adam. She wanted to be Adam’s equal and she was on of the first girl bosses in a religious practice that tended to favour the patriarch. Now again, the author did write trigger warnings about how it’s not the right book to read if you are spiritual or religious in any way so she wanted to treat this book as purely fictional. Now I feel like that could have been done completely without bringing in any well known figures in the historical - religious world but that’s just my 2 cents (I’m no author). The essence of Lilith in a nutshell is that she is free, wild and submits to NO ONE and that is what makes her such a threat. She defies the traditional label of femininity with unconditional love and loyalty for others because she has the pure unconditional love for herself and hence doesn’t settle for anything less. She does what she wants and if anyone cages her, she runs (i.e., think Katherine Petrova in Vampire Diaries). In this story, Lilith has no damn control over anything, not even the men who supposedly love her. As per the story, there is the past life connection that she hasn’t woken up to but again, wouldn’t it have made sense to beg and grovel for her love instead of forcing her into it? (i.e., the actual romance). In the story the MMC(s) are demons and that justifies their actions but maybe I’m an idealist but demons are instinctual, not unhinged monsters (right?). I guess this plot made me sad because Lilith has always been a misunderstood figure in history and fiction. No matter where she is spoken of, it seems her eternal fate has been to be misrepresented. In this version, she is basically a washed up version of who Lilith is truly meant to be. I just kept reading thinking at some point she is bound to reclaim her power and make the MMCs fall to their knees, right? Nope, she realizes she likes being submissive because of the beautiful power of love. Lilith belongs to no one but here she is letting these assholes boss her around and be their pet cause she got earth shattering orgasms (it’s the Stockholm syndrome, I know). It’s almost ironic that she ends up still needing to submit to some entiti(es) even though she is the Queen of Hell. Eerily similar to how Adam wanted her to submit. Felt like an almost sad attempt at humanizing Lilith because the true version is irredeemable and unlovable in her own way. I love complex female characters just as much as male characters and it seemed like justice wasn’t done here for the FMC who is supposed to be Lilith. Again, if the legend of Lilith was taken out and just any original character who is the Queen of Hell was brought into the story, it would probably be an easier read. But Lilith deserves better representation and one that honours her wild, free spirit.

I always assumed dark romance was romance with dark elements around it, otherwise it’s just a dark plot with romanticized horror but I guess this is what the new genre of dark romance is (Gothic writers from the past though would have a blast with this genre, they really did pave the path for all of this). I’ve read plenty of dark romance books around demons where the male characters are jerks but aren’t monsters. They consensually indulge the female leads’ dark, dark fantasies (just like Lilith’s fantasies) but the females are still badass and empowered completely. If you prefer paranormal romances (i.e., demons) with consent, I’d recommend the Souls Trilogy by Harley La Roux but if you prefer paranormal smut that is pure psychological torture (hey I don’t kink shame) then this book is for you. I usually don’t write reviews like this because this book had so much potential with the premise but the execution really didn’t do the plot justice. Great job with the spice but I don’t think I will be reading another book by this author because I need more than just smut and the occasional plot to keep going, otherwise it is just torture.

[Mia S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where do I start???? Ok this book seriously has some triggers- if you are super religious this may irk you, be prepped for the tables to turn! Also heavy into noncon, well without spoiling it gets very dark, this is story line of death and Gods, wars and everything rolled into one. LOVED IT! Oh I loved it!

[labibliofille · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out so promising! I gobbled up the first 25% all in one night, easily the fastest I've consumed a book since being introduced to ACOTAR in 2021-ish. There are so many things I love, but also a few things I'm not loving so far, hence the 3-star rating. Since the next 28% I've read have felt like a slog, I'm pausing with a temporary DNF until a future date at 53%. I just need a break at the moment.

PLEASE NOTE: There may be spoilers below, so please proceed with caution.

The things I love:
- Death is a character and we get Death's POV
- HOT spice
- the lore that was created and the lore that was implemented
- there's a corresponding playlist
- the quotes at the beginning of each chapter are *chef's kiss*
- I've laughed a bunch so far, even though this is absolutely a dark romance

Things I don't love so much:
- The book is written and formatted in a way that perhaps separating it into (so far) three formal separate parts may be more beneficial for separating events that take place.
- I absolutely do not feel like the book needs to be so long, but I'll make my final determination on this sentiment when I finally finish the book
- Some bits feel repeatitive
- this doesn't really feel like it fits the "bully romance" trope as much as he's a blackmailing jerk and she falls for him anyway

Also, as always, check your tw's/cw's before starting this read - nothing thus far had been a problem for me, but you know you best.

I absolutely plan on continuing with Deathtrap and I e been looking forward for this book for literal MONTHS now, but I just need to press pause for a beat and come back at a later date.

[Amber Lawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10

Ok so I was 89% of the way through this and throwing my freaking kindle. Like… HOW DARE YOU
But because there was so much left, I pressed onward.
Zero regrets.
Can’t wait for book two.

[Herolston 🌺 · Rating 1 out of 5]

How many times am I going to read the same story? I’m so tired of these indie authors recycling plots and trying to make it seem original.

[☆ hannah ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

How am I supposed to move on with my life after I read this crazy shit????
This book is definitely my new favorite!
I've laughed so hard and also cried once, what is the second or third time since I've been reading again. And Omg I'm so excited for the second book with Shem, Gab and Hecate!
I mean Demon of Chaos x Mother of Witches?! Must be good!

[peoniesandmm · Rating 5 out of 5]

there is so excuse as to why this took me so long to read, because i loved every minute of it. i think it was me wanting to savor it? but also wanting to be able to read hellcat right after. who know, i’m full of excuses. ANYWAYS - this was freaking amazing & had me not even wanting to blink or id miss something.

I’m not typically one for poly scenes and such but HOLY HELL 🥵🥵🥵 i need more of whatever Alexandra puts in this because it’s addicting as hell.

[Elif Arslan]

Kız aşırı saftı ve tüm ipler adamın elindeydi, kukla gibi. Hoşuma gitmedi, yarım kaldı.

[Gina Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Review of Death Trap by Alexandra St. Pierre
This book is not for the faint of heart. In fact, it has more trigger warnings than a squirrel has nuts, so if anything tends to trigger you, consider this your warning: DO NOT read this book.
That being said… WOW. What an incredible ride! The world building is phenomenal. If you’re familiar with gods, angels, and demons, you’ll find yourself pulled right into the story’s dark and gothic atmosphere. This is a paranormal, dark bully romance erotica with heavy religious themes and it delivers on every front.
I loved how immersive it was between the perfectly curated playlist, with songs matched at intervals throughout the story, and the quotes at the beginning of each chapter, I felt completely absorbed in the world. The blend of humor, heartbreak, and intensity kept me hooked.
At over 500 pages, it’s a hefty read, but it never dragged. I devoured it in no time because the storyline sucked me in and refused to let go. This is book one in the Murder & Mayhem series, and I’m already counting down the days until book two releases on October 1st. I cannot wait! #DeathTrap #AlexandraStPierre #MurderAndMayhemSeries #DarkRomanceBooks #ParanormalRomance #GothicRomance #BookTok #Bookstagram #SpicyBooks #DarkRomanceReaders #BookReview #SpicyReads #Romantasy #DarkRomanceCommunity

[Shani Howe · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75⭐️ this book was the longest hike of my life - could’ve been done in about 300 pages. I overall enjoyed the storyline but had to slog along and do a lot of skimming to get through it. So repetitive! I really enjoyed her other series the origins daughter but if this one continues well, I wont be bothering with any more!

[handy.hannahbookishrecs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this take on the Grim Reaper and Lilith. The spice was hotttttt
This is a dark paranormal romance and I devoured it in a day I didn’t want the story to end.
Ever since she can remember, Lilith has hated the Reaper. everyone she’s ever come into contact with known or loved has died and she blames death and his games for making her so isolated and lonely.
when she’s old enough she decides to move out of her foster home and carve out a little piece for herself in the world. She starts a bartending job at Voodoo and gets a little apartment of her own big enough for her and her stray cat chaos. Unfortunately for Lil once things start going good for her Reaver comes in and turns her world upside down. Little does she know he is obsessed and will make her his one way or another.

Bully Trope
Amnesia trope
Soul reincarnation
Self harm rep
Sharing
Bondage
Purgatory
Gods and goddesses

[Jennie Damron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! I have found a new favorite author as I have read two books by Alexandra St. Pierre and both were 5 stars. Yes, this book was dark, and the religious themes some may say would be blasphemous; however, I ate this up like I couldn't get enough. The characters, the world, and the atmosphere were done to perfection. This book needs way more love, in my opinion. Check your triggers, and if you can handle it, I highly recommend.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I liked the part in the human realm too much to really appreciate the part in the underworld. I also think that it definitely needed to be edited down.

[Tia Toro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deathtrap is definitely a perfect paranormal read going into spooky season, the vibes are immaculate.

If you know me, you know I eat up a bully trope. I don’t know what that says about me, but that’s okay. I mean, who wouldn’t want Death itself bullying you, then whispering sweet nothings in your ear? Don’t lie to yourself and say you wouldn’t.

I think Alexandra St. Pierre did an amazing job with combing the ideas of life and death & addressing religion and the harmful ideologies that can be associated with it. I definitely think it was a hidden message within the story, and I really enjoyed that. I also loved some of the Easter eggs she threw in there for her future books (The Mercenary & The Mortician). It was cool to pick up on!

The plot itself was interesting, the idea of purgatory, reincarnation the gods, etc. I do feel like it was a tad bit longer than necessary, but still a fun read nonetheless!

[Myah Shaikh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was DARK made me ponder if I should be locked up but that’s not why I’m giving it a 3 star rating, I knew it was gonna be dark so I knew what I was getting myself into plus dark romance is my favorite. The problem was there was parts of the book that bored me or seemed drawn out. It was the constant cycle of sameness with Death and Lilith, which in some sense I understood so that as a reader I could see how twisted their relationship was but it was repetitive. Overall the whole plot of the book was incredibly entertaining despite the boring parts. I do think I’ll enjoy Shem, Gabe, and Goddess of Witches book a HELL of a lot more. 👹🐈‍⬛🖤🔪🐦‍⬛

I also actually fucking cackled when they are in the library and Death picks up a book & describes it to Lil and it’s literally the mercenary and mortician I was like OMG RYAN & CAL MY KINGS!!! 😛😛😛😛😛

[Bulma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute 5 stars ⭐️ this did take me a bit to finish but man was I so freaking tuned into this story. At first, I’m here thinking this was just a regular shmegular bully romance between our FMC, Lilith & our hot ass MMC, Death aka Reaver. When I tell you I truly did not see the twists coming… & I was not mad at it AT ALL. I absolutely love anything and everything that has to do with a little Mythology, a bit of demons vs angels. The Man Himself & The Reaper?! Yeah, this gave everything it was suppose to give.

[Toni Donaldson · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ This book was not like anything I have read before. Such a good story line I was hooked from the beginning!

[Darkest Bellé · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars!

[Anna Nenna]

Not sure what are the sharing scenes about ?some reviews are saying he’s all about touch her and die, obsessed… etc so why the sharing!? 🤔Ugh… need more spoilers…

[Iskra Dimitrova · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need an exorcism after this one, because WHY did I find it so FUCKING HOT?! 🫠🥵🧎‍♀️




This blew my mind.

“You look so pretty when you cry.” 🥵🤭
♾️ amount of ⭐️

Seriously, this is my top read of the year, hands down.

I will say, if you have any morals, be sure to leave those at the door.
Because Death will see you now, and he doesn’t have a soft spot to him.

Ultimate - Masked, Unhinged, Possessive, Obsessive, controlling, stalker.

Our heroine, will be stockholming - HARD. 😉

Alex wrote a masterpiece, from page 1 till the very end, i couldn’t BREATHE, or function, without reading this book.
It’s dark, it’s bully, it’s spicy, and angsty.

Literally all my favorite things, in one. 🥵😌

“Fuck—your fear makes me so hard. I can’t wait to make you cry.” 🫠🫠

If I can make you read one book, this is it.
My perfect one.
It’ll leave you questioning everything, the way Alex builds this world, and the anticipation of what’s to come, when you don’t know who to trust? Is immaculate, the chemistry, the tension, I gobbled it up.

And yes, I would fall to my knees and worship at his feet if he told me to. 😏

“Tell me you understand that you belong to me, Lilith. You’re mine.”

Death doesn’t take no for an answer, he is the master in this game, but whether Lilith will submit or not?

Jump in to find out.

[bookofemily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started off sooooo good and then about 70% of the way through I was kind of over it? The story is insanely long and I felt like it was dragged out much longer than it needed to be.

This is something I’ve never read before so I will give it that, it was extremely dark and the triggers was a mile long but regardless I really enjoyed the premise of the book!

[Marisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book 6⭐️ I would 😭😭

I made my way through it way too quickly and now I feel empty 🙃

[Nyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNFd at 40%... I couldn't deal with the way they all talked when they are supposed to be some ancient divine beings and it wasn't that dark... trigger warning were over the top for me.