As a fan of both vampire fiction and historical settings, I was intrigued by the premise of The Court of the Undead, a vampire book set in the exotic backdrop of the Ottoman Empire. While the novel had its captivating moments, it also left me with some mixed feelings.

The Good:
The author's choice to set the story in the Ottoman Empire was refreshing and provided a fresh perspective on vampire lore. The historical details were well-researched and added depth to the narrative.

The sisters, Yara and Aylin, were well-developed and had an intriguing backstory. The supporting characters also added layers of complexity to the overall plot. The brothers, Volkan and Eldar were also well-developed and had distinct personality traits and stories.

The Not-So-Good:
The pacing of this book led for a very very slow read for me. 200 pages seemed to stretch on forever, especially the first 120 pages. The second half was where the story got interesting and the end seemed very rushed.

The romantic subplot felt underdeveloped and lacked the emotional depth needed to truly invest in the characters' relationships.

Overall, The Court of the Undead had the potential to be an exceptional vampire novel with its remarkable setting and intriguing characters. However, I don’t see myself grabbing a sequel or recommending this book to others.

A young adult vampire fantasy that follows dual points of view of two sisters separated and trying to find their way back to each other. One sister is trapped in a vampire court and the other with an army of vampire hunters.

This book has some interesting aspects and the world it’s set in is diverse and different from what we usually see. Overall initially the premise of this book really drew me in but unfortunately the book fell a little short for me. One of the sisters I found insufferable at times and the books pacing was off as the whole book felt like it was just a set up for a second book with really not much happening.

There is very little romance in this book, despite there being many love interests, which I personally found frustrating as I did want to see a little pay off to the hints of romance throughout.

Overall it was an okay read, but I’m not sure I’d reach for the second book.

I found the story of this book to be quite engaging and it really held my attention. However, it seemed like many of the characters had very abrupt personality changes throughout the book. Alyin is supposed to be a tough,.strong-willed badass, but she comes off more like a whiny chd throughout most of the story. Yara is supposed to be sweet and naive, but suddenly she is able to bring the Court of the Undead it's knees with almost no effort? It just didn't sit well with me. Also, this book is listed as a romance, but there is very little romance in this book.

The Court of the Undead takes place at the Ottoman court and follows two sisters, Yara and Aylin. They grew up hearing stories about ghastly, blood-sucking animals and assumed they were nothing more than fairy tales. But after hearing stories that Yara was abducted by a vampir, Aylin decides to search for her beloved sister after she vanishes.

Overall, I ended up enjoying this book a lot more than I initially thought I would. The book begins out a bit sluggish and heavy, feeling more like historical fiction than fantasy. Especially since I don't know a lot about Ottoman history it was sometimes difficult to follow without referring to the glossary. However, the story picks up quickly at around 35% which is when things begin to become interesting.

The dual POV didn't bother me as much as reading from multiple POV's usually does. I think since the POV's from both sisters happen in different places, so rather it feels like reading two stories happening at the same time. However, I will say that I found Yara's POV much more interesting than Aylin's, both because she is the one abducted into the court of the undead and Aylin simply didn't feel as fleshed out and was therefore lacking a bit.

All in all, the story has a lot of potential, which I hope will be further explored in a second book of the series.

I enjoyed this one. I liked all of the historical aspects.. The details. I liked that it was part history lesson, part Dracula. There was sexual tension, love, violence… a little bit of everything in one novel. Vampire fans will love this one! Historical fiction peeps who want a little bit more will love this one!

3.5/5 stars! Ty NetGalley for the ARC.

It took me a minute to really decide how I felt about this book—especially because I found the first half of it to be very slow. Like very slow, and I struggled to get into it. That being said, I loved the concept and storyline. Ottoman Empire meets vampires?? Oh hell yeah. Aden’s creativity with this is quite amazing, while it has flavors of books I already know, such as twilight (vampires..duh), acotar, etc., I found this book to be very unique particularly because the dynamic of the love triangles and the two storylines of the sisters.

My main complaint, and the main reason I’m giving this 3.5 stars is that I never really felt attached to the characters. Like in my head, I want to feel really passionate about the sisters but something in my brain just didn’t click. It wasn’t until the ~very~ end that I really started loving Yara’s character, but I never really felt much towards Aylin. And of course there’s the morally grey Volkan and Eldar, the latter not even truly morally grey (he’s kinda just the worst in my opinion lol). Volkan kinda gave himbo vibes towards the end which honestly? Good for him, mans is just obsessed with his woman.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It definitely felt a lot longer than it was, which definitely made it challenging at times for me to get through. However, I love a good vampire moment.

Thank you NetGalley and F.M. Aden for the opportunity to receive an ARC for this review in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly loved everything that I read in the blurb for this book. Vampires and their hunters, political drama, and betrayal. Starting this book felt so easy, I was immediately pushed into this rich world full of culture and politics. I was intrigued by the relationship between Aylin and Yara, how connected they seemed in spite of how different they are.

Around 20% into the book, I realized the pacing felt slow, nothing was really going on and it suffered a lot from telling and not showing. I wanted to see more action and movement, more qualities that make Aylin and Yara come alive as separate people.

The ending was my favorite part. It was full of everything I was searching for the entire book. Fast-paced action, filled with vigor, and characterization. If the next book stems off from that, I'm very excited!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. The blurb really got me: hot vampires, Ottoman Empire, sisters torn apart, political intrigue, hot vampires. Lots of checks here. Overall, it’s a lot of fun. It’s fast-paced, lots of flirty banter between Aylin and Ilyas, plus vampires being murderous vampires.

I’m not the biggest fan of toxic relationships AND love triangles, so whatever insanity is going on between Yara, Volkan, and Ender, I did not enjoy it at all. I did, however, enjoy Yara doing whatever she needed to do and using whatever she had to survive and THRIVE. Girl’s loyalty is to NO ONE but herself, and in a court of vampires, I respect that. The history and politics of the vampire court kept me interested. Spies among spies among spies. Warring houses and their twisted histories are my jam. There is definitely a lot of potential here as the series continues and this is a solid start to a bloody epic story.

The premise of The Court of the Undead (along with the cover) captured me immediately. The setting is interesting, but so much of the writing is "telling" and not showing and that really took away from the quality of the book as a whole.

I still enjoyed this book quite a lot but I wonder how much more amazing it could have been if it had been given some more time.

With its atmospheric prose and unexpected twists, “The Court of the Undead” is a must-read for fantasy enthusiasts seeking an enthralling adventure with a dark and alluring charm. F.M. Aden’s debut novel promises an unforgettable journey that will leave readers eagerly anticipating the next installment in the series.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc. This book is unbelievably amazing. I have not read any vampire books in so long and this definitely made me fall back in love with the supernatural. Aden’s writing is lyrical and easy to fall into. The sisterly bond was beautiful. The love interests ,though at times cruel, were swoon worthy. If you like enemies to lovers, atmospheric writing, the supernatural, and strong female characters, this book is PERFECT for you.

I was quickly attracted to this ARC by the cover. It was mysterious and definitely caught my eye, I appreciate the opportunity to read and review!

The backstory on Yara and Aylin started off very interesting and I really enjoyed how the author set up the idea of the vampir. It made it seem very ominous, and you could quickly pinpoint the personalities of the sisters. The characters are set up well, initially, and I was looking forward to learning more about them.

However, as the story went on, I felt myself being pulled out of the book constantly and it was a struggle to keep my interest. Characters flip-flopped a lot, and I was unsure who to root for at times. The romance was there, but it also felt random and out of the blue. Characters would go from despising each other one second to having feelings about each other the next. I think I would have preferred focusing on the relationship between the two sisters, who felt the most genuine. Also, the constant mention of the race of every character and their religion threw me out a lot.

All in all, I think the idea of the book is solid. Two strong-willed sisters that love each other very much and desperately want to reunite. However, in terms of the plot and writing, the path to the end was scattered and hard to sink into.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

First of all, the premise and the pretty cover is what instantly caught my attention. I found that the story was a bit slow-paced at first, but once it picked up, I was hooked! The vampire aspect was very well executed, which is a huge plus for me. The only thing I liked less about this book is that the world building was a bit lacking at times, which is the only thing keeping me from giving this book a perfect rating.

I had really high hopes for this book and it did start out really strong, catching my interest right away, unfortunately it fell a little flat for me in the execution. I felt like it read as a YA book but some of the intimate scenes were way too graphic to match the dialogue, I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be YA or NA and I think that should be a more clear distinction. I felt like the plot was rushed in parts and glossed over some things that should have been given more detail, where other times too much detail was spent on unimportant things. I unfortunately just did not connect with this book overall and ended up DNF'ing around 50%.

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this Arc. I struggled getting through this book at times I felt like the story felt flat. The world building was good. I did like seeing how opposite the sisters were and learning about them. Overall it was a good story.

I liked this at first but then I didn't.

The setting is intriguing. The vampire court is exciting. At first. Then it's just stupid and stupidly dramatic.

It was hard to keep up with the enemies and the friends because it seemed like the sides were changing ALL THE TIME. This made the main characters seem really naive. They trusted people without so much as a second thought. It was annoying as hell.

It's also weird how this young adult but somehow I managed to find scenes that seemed weirdly intimate and kinky. Those scenes felt like they belonged to another book.

The further I read, the more annoyed I was and I ended up just skimming the ending because I couldn't care less what happened.

I don't know why I couldn't get into this book. Nothing huge stood out to me. Maybe it lacked originality. Idk but this one is a DNF. I'm sorry!

I'm going to give three stars because I think it's a me issue and not the book.

I loved seeing Yara use her knowledge of the courts to gain power in the Undead Court.
Aylin was interesting and she always was battling herself internally. As an older sister I felt the feeling of protecting no matter what. Even when it caused her to do what she did.
I feel like there was a lot we missed. I wish we got to see Eldars story more than just a few moments, to go through him gaining this power instead of just being a fly on the wall for it.

I had a hard time getting into this book. While I enjoyed Yara's storyline, I felt that everything in this book was rushed. We got to read a lot about Yara once she was captured and living among the vampir, but Aylin/Ilyas's storyline wasn't given the attention that I thought was needed. Especially towards the end of the book where all of a sudden the humans were at the vampir castle and there was a huge battle. I would have also liked more time for Eldar to gain his power, instead of almost within one night.

“One day when I am stronger and the grip on my blade is tighter, I will drive it into your chest and watch you come undone.”

I think the overall concept and world behind this book were really clever. I also really liked some of the characters and lines that they said, it very much so gave me similar vibes to other popular romantasy books. Overall this book was promising but unfortunately fell flat for me in the sense that the pacing and the writing of this story seemed to transition a lot from too slow to too fast and then telling rather than showing. All in all I think for a debut this was really good, and I will definitely be reading more from this author as I think that she definitely has the imagination to tell amazing stories and I am hopeful I will like her future stories even more.