'The Court Of The Undead' written by F.M. Aden

Release date: 20 December 2023

Notes:
● for the type of book it is, it would have largely benefited the story and reader if there were dates

Positives:
● the storyline was interesting and I was genuinely intrigued to see how it ended
● the writing flowed well and things were described with a creative and flowing voice

Negatives:
● the layout of the ebook isn't done correctly. I'm having chapters line up without the same spacing of other chapters. This is making it slightly frustrating to read.
● it's a very short book but the pace of the book felt very slow
● there wasn't long enough of a stage to 'get to know' the characters so I didn't care as much as I should have when they came into harms way

Thank you Netgalley and F.M. Aden for the ARC I received for an honest review.
TW: Graphic Violence, Torture, Language, bullying

Five very enthusiastic stars for what I know promises to be an exciting series with vampires, political intrigue, and romantic tension. Admittedly, I was a little bored with the beginning of the book because of reading about the royal politics and such (which I'm starting to know now I'm really not into) but quickly, the story revved into a thrilling tale of deceit, betrayal, and romantic tensions abound. There's even a lot of actions scenes here, some of which is pretty gory, and although I couldn't watch this as a movie, I'm tolerant of it in a book (warning: a lot of eye gouging and depictions of torture).
So the story is about two sisters, Aylin and Yara. They grow up in a royal court. Although they have a fierce love for one another, they couldn't be more different than night and day. Aylin likes to fight, partake in swordplay. She's a tomboy basically. Yara, on the other hand, loves the arts, singing, and any quiet activity. She is also very beautiful and catches the attention of men. They grow up with Ilyas, who was brought in a a slave at a young age. Around where they live, they hear stories about Vampir.
One day, Yara is kidnapped by said folks and Aylin goes on a quest to save her. In order to do so, she must battle sexism of that time and poses as a boy. Ilyas goes with her to help, and along the way, they are faced with dealing with their underlying feeling for each other, which is very complicated because Ilyas is sworn never to marry or father a child. This throws a wrench into the story.
Meanwhile, Yara is lead away into a hidden court ruled by monstrous vampir who have humans known as blood slaves. She becomes a blood slave herself, hand-picked by the Dimirici brothers, twin true born (meaning they were never human, they are born of vampir lineage) vampire princes with a lot of personality which also compare and contrast. Yara, as head-strong as she is, will not take her fate lying down and works to seek favor among the more powerful vampir, and thus truly complicates things with the story and Yara's heart.
The funny thing about this story you will find yourself sympathizing with monsters. Volkan and Eldar have many moments where you will genuinely like them not as bad guys, but as individuals with true motivations and feelings. As a twin myself, (and a sister) i feel myself sympathizing with their plight. They start off monstrous, but they have a deep love and loyalty for one another. Eldar seems to be a complete monster, but many of the things he does is to benefit and avenge his brother. Volkan gradually learns to truly care for Yara, and there were many moments when I would want them to get together.
If you love morally grey characters, fascinating lore, twists and turns you don't see coming, and intense romantic chemistry that leave you breathless, you would love this. I can't wait to see where they next book will take us.

Regret reading this book because now I want Book 2 IMMEDIATELY, 4.5 stars
I was so hooked on the book, I finished reading it in one sitting [and I have exams haha]


Anyways, let’s proceed to talk about what I loved about the novel;

Muslim and African rep: I learned so many new cultural terms. The novel ignited a desire in me to read more novels with such rep.

Character Development: The sudden change in our MC’s personality as soon as she is in dangerous terrain is astounding. She knows she isn’t physically strong enough to fight her enemies so she starts playing mind games, making everyone appreciate her. When you first start reading, Yara feels like your innocent kind, most beautiful but average boring girl who wants to please everyone around her. But girl, did she prove me wrong.

Character regression: *bombastic side-eye, criminal offensive side-eye* @ Eldar but that’s what makes the novel more addicting. Because of his character, it opens the door to many different upcoming plot ideas and keeps the reader’s attention on the series as there are many possibilities on how the novel might end.

Romance and Pining 10/10: I know Eldar x Yara, if it ever happens, will be toxic BUT I AM ROOTING FOR THEM. The sexual tension and pining between them is over the roof. I just love me some pining and foolish actions, even if it is one sided haha.
Ilyas, man tf up or wave goodbye to Alyin.

Strong bond between siblings (and we get both of their pov) : The sisterly bond between the sisters was crafted so well, you could feel it. They are complete opposite of each other but it doesn’t lessen the affection they have for each other. One of the common tropes is making one sister villain and the other hero, one filled with jealousy, the other being docile. This novel DIDN’T have it. The bond between the brothers is also good until [Redacted]

Plot: It’s been so long since I read vampire novels. The plot might not be mind blowing but it’s still refreshing. It creates this tension making you wonder if Yara will be able to escape. The ending ended exactly how I wanted it to. I do hope we get some sneak peeks on the sultan and the prince of the Ottoman Empire.



Thank you NetGalley, Northern Light Press, and F.M. Aden for granting me ARC of this book in return for my honest opinions.

So much tension in this story! I loved how their relationships grew and changed along the pages and I will definitely read book 2 as soon as it's published as I want to know what happens to each and every one of the characters... because I like them all... even if some are totally loathsome.
The writing is fluid and the story is fast-paced (no time to get bored into long description, which I really appreciated). I would definitely recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and F.M. Aden for letting me review this book.

There are vampires, politics, secrets, lies, fighting, and a lot more. Parts of the story definitely gave Castlevania vibes!

The beginning raised questions, and I kept reading because I wanted answers. But I wasn't hooked right from the start. I felt as if the story really hooked me only closer to the end.

I loved the potential of the setting. Still, I wish there had been more showing. For example, some of the foreign words aren't familiar to all readers. With more showing, however, they would have worked great.

At first, I didn't care about Yara. Aylin was more interesting, but I lost interest in her character as the story progressed. In the end, though, I wasn't sure if I really liked any of the characters. The plot is what kept me reading.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Castlevania.

Includes:
Vampires
Politics
Betrayal

I think this book is solid, but unfortunately because I can see so much of its potential, I am left a bit disappointed.

I appreciate the diverse cast of characters and unique spins on classic YA tropes, but ultimately, it has something that I cannot look past: multiple POVs, not all of which are entertaining.

I get really frustrated when there are multiple POVs with varying levels of intrigue. It doesn't have to be all plot/action all the time, but there was one POV (Aylin)'s that was particularly disappointing, and I felt like the book dragged whenever we were following her. So that was a bummer.

I think I would give this author another chance though. I would be interested in an adult novel from them!

𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐⭐⭐💫 (3.5, rounded to 4)
𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 🌶

I really enjoyed the overall plot of this book, as well as the diverse cast and mentions of differing religions.

I found the first few chapters, where the sisters were growing up, hard to get into, but understand it was setting up quite a lot of world-building. Even so, it wasn't until about 20% that I really got into the book.

I also found that the emphasised words within the text, which were both italicised and bold, felt like shouting. I would like for them to be either one or the other, preferably just italicised.

But, I loved the historical and fantasy elements, as well as the darkness of the vampire court. The forbidden romance (low spice) and obsession were well-written, and I'm interested to see what happens after that absolutely gripping ending.


💢 𝙏𝙒𝙨: violence, death, kidnapping, imprisonment, slavery, fantasy gore, and mentions of past childhood abuse, sexual assualt, and torture.

☆I recieved an ARC of this book from the author, Netgalley, and Northern Light Press. All thoughts are my own honest opinions.☆

It's not the book, it's me.

I really expected to enjoy this book more than I did. It has Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) themes and characteristics, vampires, sisterhood, and more. However, I could not get into this book and DNF. I did not care for the characters and felt like they lacked development, and the writing was so-so. I really think I either wasn't in the headspace for this book, or perhaps need to retry it but as a physical copy. I am rating it 3-stars simply because I think it has potential and feel like this was more of a "it's not you, it's me" scenario. I will be revisiting this book when it is released.

*For reference, I am a huge JLA fan, as well as all things urban fantasy.

Thank you NetGalley, Northern Light Press, and F. M. Aden, for the ARC.

Okay I don't know why this is only rated a 3.5 on Goodreads right now because this book was SO FUN to read. Evil characters, multiple POVs, a group of vampires that are absolutely terrifying and two sisters trying to find their way back to each other. There is Muslim and African reputation, slow burn, enemy to lover to enemy(?), corruption, redemption this book has everything! Even the side characters were stellar. No confusing world building, most of the story does take place in a castle. The only negative comment I have is that it started out a bit disjointed and slow but holy moly does it get CRAZY! Loved it. I 100% recommend this one for the fantasy lovers out there. Looking forward to the next one👏👏

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book for an honest review!

I thought the premise of the book was interesting and liked that there were many POVs. I did struggle with its pacing and dialogue at times. Parts felt rushed or too drawn out, and some dialogue fell flat. Conversations did not always feel realistic. I'm still interested in seeing where this story could head!

**Many thanks to NetGalley for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.**

“A stunningly dark fantasy novel - Perfect for fans of Netflix’s Castlevania and From Blood and Ash.”

I immediately requested this arc because the blurb was everything I usually LOVE to read.

The tale revolves around two sisters: Aylin and Yara. Amid tales of vampires they've heard since childhood, the sisters don't take them seriously until Yara is abducted by them. Fearing that nobody can help, Aylin embarks on a mission to rescue her sister. The narrative alternates between Yara's life among vampires and Aylin's quest to join a group of vampire hunters to save her.

The beginning part of the story contained tons of info dumping, presented in a convoluted manner. The transition from childhood to young adulthood occurred abruptly, lacking sufficient context. I was really confused how we got to point A to point B. I kept rereading areas to see if I skipped pages by accident, as I read it on my kindle (and that happens often) but no.. I didn't skip any parts. 😅

The romantic "triangle" between brothers was barely there.. this book did not have nearly as much romance as the description implied.. and that was the main reason I was drawn to this book. A dark fantasy romance..

I can't give this more than 2 stars.. I've given books I enjoyed far more 3 stars. I will sadly, not continue this series.

This is a story about two sisters who have to fight monsters and men (and often both) to find each other again after one of them has been abducted by vampires. Told mainly from the POVs of the two women, this story shows the impact of violence and abuse on the two characters.
The story begins with a very short exposition that still seems kind of pointless because it doesn’t really introduce the characters well. Things happen in a rush and it feels as if parts of scenes have been deleted (e.g. in one sentence the MC is in her bedroom and in the next sentence another character grabs her neck while in a hallway with no explanation how and why she got there, how this other character got there, why he’s acting that way, etc.). Descriptions of surroundings are well done and occupy a lot of the plot. This off-pacing can be found throughout the novel but is especially heavy in the first chapters. That is why it is very hard to get into the story and to form a connection with the characters.
The characters in general seem very interesting and I would have loved to read more about them and their motivations. But again, it seems as if scenes are missing. Even though the story is mainly narrated by the two sisters, the reader doesn’t really get to know much about their thoughts and especially why they sometimes change their opinion about other characters. It goes from “He seems like kind of an ok guy” to “I hate him so much” without really any type of explanation. The only “explanations” there are, seem like afterthoughts. Important scenes that would explain motivations and opinions take up such a small amount of space that they seem insignificant. This insignificance is strengthened by the total lack of descriptions of the characters’ feelings and thoughts while these things are happening. I often had to go back to the beginning of chapters because I thought that I had missed something. But I hadn’t. it just wasn’t there. Fortunately, this becomes less of a problem in the later parts of the story and by the end I had a good feeling about how the series could progress. Nevertheless, getting through the first part was a bit of the struggle. If it hadn’t been for the cool idea and new to me setting, I don’t think I would have read past the 20% mark.
All in all, the author the had a very interesting idea and towards the end of the story the execution gets a lot better. But especially the beginning (until around the 40% mark) seems too hurried. I don’t often say this, but this is a book that should have been 100-200 pages longer just to add in the necessary scenes. Since this is a debut and there is definite improvement towards the second half of the book and because the story still intrigues I would, despite all the rather negative aspects, still continue on with this series. I believe that a different editor who catches the inconsistencies and missing scenes would greatly improve this book. But since I overall enjoyed the idea and the second half of the novel, I rate this a 3/5 stars.

I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of the book.

Games of cat and mouse happen in royal courts all the time. But, what happens when the games are real, with the humans a the mice and the vampires as the cats. How far would you go to rescue your sister from these predators? How far would you go to save yourself?

Aylin's sister, Yara, has been taken by the monsters they grew up hearing stories about. Aylin along with her friend, Ilyas must go on a journey to save Yara, he soft spoken relatively weaker of the two siblings. But, Yara has some surprises up her sleeves and manages to catch the attention of two powerful vampir brothers. Caught between the brothers and curt games will Yara survive until she can regain her freedom?

I went into this book expecting it to be a standalone novel, but was pleasantly surprised at the end to see that it is just the beginning of a longer story. I do love a good series. This book is similar to other books of the same genre that it kept my attention and was an easy read. The story line is also different enough that the story was compelling and not very predictable. It perfectly blends the evil vampire trope with the "not all vampires are monsters" trope.

With regard to the characters let me begin with my least favorite of the two siblings. Aylin is annoying and too brash. The chapters told from her point of view were frustrating and dragged. There were a few times I put the book down when I got to Aylin's point of view because I was just not interested in her story line. She is an admirable and courageous character when it comes to how much she cares for her sister. Did I mention that she was doing everything she had to do because she missed Yara? If not, then don't worry because Aylin reminds you in every chapter that she's in that she is trying to save her sister. Yara, on the other hand, was a very enjoyable character. She is strong in other ways than her sister, namely in her ability to play court games as well as the vampires that she is playing with. The Demeicies, Eldar and Volkan, are also well thought out characters. Eldar was more fleshed out than Volkan but, by the end of the book, I liked Volkan better than I liked Eldar.

The story told from Yara's point of view was more entertaining than Aylin's part of the story. To be fair, they could have left Aylin out of it altogether and the book would've been better; though it is possible she will become more important in the continuation of the series. Yara's story has me on the edge of my sea. I enjoyed the court hierarchy and while no necessary for the story currently, I hope that we will learn more about the other first families in the next book.

With respect to the pace of the book, I found that Aylin's chapters were very low and I found myself wanting to skip ahead to the action of Yara's chapters and the vampir court. Due to starting with Aylin's point of view the book seems like it'll be slow but it steadily picked up pace and I could not put it down by the last 7 chapters.

This book really gave me conflicting feelings. At first I was only going to give it a 3/5 stars rating but the ending caught me so off guard that I had to bump it up to a 4/5 star rating. I am really looking forward to the second book in the series. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys vampires, court games, and slow burn romances.

I enjoyed the growth of both female main characters throughout this book and enjoyed the world setting. In some ways the plot seems very forced though, and I had a hard time losing myself in a suspension of disbelief in several parts of the book. Overall, I enjoyed it however.

To begin, thank you to Netgalley and Northern Light Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Court of the Undead follows two sisters, Yara and Aylin, who fight through hell to get back to each other. This novel features love triangles, forbidden romances, and incredible depictions of the powerful bond between siblings.
The beginning of this book was very slow, almost unbearably slow. Once I reached around the 50% mark I was finally at the point where I was itching to pick the book back up anytime I had to step away from it. The author does an amazing job of painting the personalities of all of the characters that you learn to love (and hate) throughout the book.
I really enjoyed the dual POVs. The author also does an incredible job of incorporating issues surrounding skin color and religion. Aylin is obviously treated differently on her journey because of the color of her skin. We also get to see Ilyas struggle with his faith in small ways. I found it interesting that each sister has their own love triangle. I am beyond frustrated for Aylin and her predicament, but think that the next book with soothe my pain. I noticed that in a lot of other reviews, readers were more interested in Yara’s part of the story, but I found Aylin’s journey to be more interesting and a little less predictable. I found Domenico to be a very interesting character and I hope to see more of him.
F. M. Aden is a wonderful story-teller. I fully enjoyed the world that they created and the tension that she developed between her characters. My only real complaint is that sometimes the dialogue feels awkward and the pacing at the beginning of the book was too slow. I hope to continue Aylin and Yara’s story in the future.

Thank you netgalley for letting me read this upcoming book!

Although there was a compelling story there it fell flat through some very dense story telling that made it relatively hard to read through. This ended up taking me a while to read, and while enjoyable just really didn’t peak my interest that much.

This was a good book, I went in expecting a little more but it never came but I did enjoy the book overall.

The Court of the Undead follows two sisters whose lives are torn apart when Yara, the younger, is kidnapped and sold to vampirs. Set in the Ottoman Empire and Wallachia, Aylin goes on a mission to rescue her sister. Romance, enemies to lovers and vampire lovers will enjoy this! An exciting debut, can't wait for the rest of the series.

With "Glass Sword", Victoria Aveyard fortifies her narrative of power, division, and self-discovery in a sequel that is as entrancing as it is complex. The novel displays dazzling world-expansion, a sophisticated plotline, and multi-faceted character progression, forming an absorbing reading experience that earns a respectable 4-star rating.
"Glass Sword" leads readers along the path of Mare Barrow, a Red with unique abilities, venturing into an oppressive world dominated by the Silver elite. As she seeks others like her, the newbloods, and aligns with a rebellion, we witness a character metamorphosis that is both stimulating and touchingly genuine.
Aveyard's artistry in world-building glimmers in this continuation. The land of Norta, with its diverse locales and societal structures, stands as a canvas for a larger conflict. Every battle, every hidden alliance, is intricate and arresting, crafting an environment rife with intrigue and complexity where the supernatural intertwines with political strife.
The narrative unfurls with a rhythm that maintains interest, merging introspective contemplation with intense conflict. Plot twists, though occasionally foreseeable, propel the story towards a conclusion that sets the stage for further exploration. Themes of rebellion, oppression, and identity further enrich the narrative.
However, "Glass Sword" stumbles in its portrayal of Mare's connections. While Mare's transformation is detailed, the relationships with key characters often feel unconvincing. Though interactions are purposeful, they sometimes ring hollow, diminishing the emotional richness of the story.
Aveyard's writing consistently impresses. Her imagery is lucid, vividly bringing to life Norta and its populace. The battle scenes are exhilarating and skillfully depicted, while the quieter, reflective moments are filled with subtlety and insight.
In conclusion, "Glass Sword" is a praiseworthy follow-up that offers a distinctive fusion of dystopian fantasy and poignant themes. Despite minor missteps, its strengths in world-building, character exploration, and a gripping storyline make it a must-read. The 4-star rating it receives is a fitting tribute to the enthralling tale it tells and Aveyard's mastery as an author.

F.M. Aden's "The Court of the Undead" attempts to merge the intrigue of the Ottoman Empire with the eerie allure of vampires. Following sisters Yara and Aylin, the story ventures into a world where Yara's abduction by the Undying King thrusts Aylin into a desperate rescue mission.
I was initially very excited to read this because of the Turkish names and the premise of the Ottoman empire, which is something that I rarely find about my culture. While Yara's interactions with vampire brothers add a layer of complexity, the romantic entanglements and character arcs suffer. Rushed relationships and underdeveloped dynamics made this book simply not enjoyable at times. "The Court of the Undead" struggles to harmonize its elements, resulting in a tale that, while intriguing, ultimately fails to fully captivate.