Arc provided by Netgalley 
 In an alternative Renaissance world, all the deaths are suddenly suspended and the dead can't find peace any longer. Death himself makes an apparition and declares that as long as he doesn't find his cobweb bride, things won't come back to normal. Thus, the emperor orders young women to go to death's Keep in the middle of a northern forest and find out if they are the bride Death seeks. However, this undead state does not displease everyone and one Duke decides to capture all the prospective brides in order to be able to stay in the world infinitely as an undead. Percy (short for Persephone) is one of those prospective brides; she journeys with other women in the hope of appeasing her grandmother's pain. 
 The novel shows us the point of view of different characters who will meet in the second half of the book. I loved this novel, in grand part because I found all the characters to be very interesting. Persephone, the principal heroine, is considered dull and plain by everyone in her village, but it is far from the truth, as she only does not refute this in order to not be imposed on by everyone. She is in fact rather smart and resourceful and surprisingly she reveals herself to be a good leader of the group of girls journeying together. 
 I also liked the male characters, the black knight Beltain and Vlau Fiomarre. Beltain is the son whose father decided to hunt the prospective bride and it's him who must hunt them. He has conflicted loyalties, as he doesn't like what he has to do but follow his father's order nonetheless, even if it means acting against their emperor. I liked his interaction with Persephone and his being impressed with her despite the fact that he is her enemy. 
 Vlau Fiomarre is a traitor to the Empire, as he has chosen to assassinate the Infanta, the heir of the Empire, in order to avenge what her family did to his. Unfortunately for him, she can't die and wants to understand what pushed him to kill her. After a heated discussion, she decides to discover what truly happen to Vlau's family and also to go to Death's Keep, as she feels that as a dead, she must be the bride he is searching for, and she orders Vlau to accompany her. I loved the relationship between Vlau and the Infanta: Vlau hates her and her family, but he comes to regret is action and become attach to her and her to him, even if they are not really conscious of this; they are also linked because of the murder. I really want to see where the author will go with them. Fortunately, there are hints of a possible happy ending for them. 
 The writing of the author was agreeable; the world building was not very details, which is a shame, as it could have proved interesting. The plot itself was interesting and I was positively surprised when it took a direction I wasn't expecting. (view spoiler)[ I immediately imagine that Persephone would be the cobweb bride because of her name and the fact that she is the heroine. Yet it's not the case and, in fact, this cobweb bride may not be Death's lover at all, but just a woman who has escape his call upon her death and is hidden from his sight, thus preventing him from getting back the part of himself he send to her to summon her to his side. So Persephone may well end up being Death's lover but I appreciate the fact that the author did not choose the evident way to bring them together. (hide spoiler)] 
 To conclude, I loved this book because of the characters and I really want to know where the author will go with them. I'm a bit disappointed that nothing is conclude at the end of this first book, but it allows the relationship between the characters to progress more slowly and to be more convincing. I will definitely read the rest of the series. I recommend this book to people who liked fantasy and interesting characters and who won't mind waiting for the rest of the series to know what happen to them.