Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing a free advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Yara and Aylin, sisters living in the Ottoman Empire, grew up with stories of the vampirs, but are unprepared when these stories come true. Now Yara has been taken by the vampirs and must learn to survive in their court while Aylin joins a group of vampir hunters to find her sister.
Plot: The plot itself was fine, if a little cliche. It just felt very basic, and while the scenes themselves may have been unique, there wasn’t anything particularly engaging. The writing irritated me a little because of the unusual metaphors. The worldbuilding was a little under done. Although I understood generally what vampirs were and what the Ottoman Empire is, there wasn’t enough detail to give the world any depth.
Characters: I felt like all of the characters in this book were lacking a lot of depth. They all went through development, but it was only surface level development. I had a really hard time understanding who the couples were, and the characters in those couples had very little chemistry.
Overall: A mediocre vampire novel, with a basic plot and poor characters.
Recommendation: none

Yara and her sister Aylin grew up on tales of vampir. Yara is kidnapped by vampir and Aylin tries to save her sister with a group of hunters. Aylin meets twin brothers Vokan and Eldar... and doesn't know who to trust...

Love the Ottoman background and the magical world in the book. I like Aylin a lot. She's terrific. I like the suspense and the plot too. The plot is a lot though... a LOT of things are happening. I wish that there was more romance though. It's there but I just want more. There is a lot of potential there. Overall, an interesting book.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

I went into this story with high hopes that I would like the book, based on the blurb, but I didn't really connect with the writing style.

I was very intrigued by the vampire and fantasy elements presented in the story. I really enjoyed how creative this universe was, compared to the typical fantasy universe.

I thought the romance aspect that was teased in the blurb ("Yara must decide who to trust with her loyalty. And with her heart." ) was not explored as much as I thought I would be. I'm not sure if there is going to be a series, and that was just a tease for where the story is going, but in my opinion, it did not make sense to throw that line in the blurb when there was very little romance present in this book.

In the beginning, there was a lot of buildup to the main plot. The unnecessarily in-depth details and explanations slowly made me lose interest in the story line over the course of the book.

In my opinion, I didn't find the characters to be that likable, so I wasn't very engaged with their personal stories or relationships.

Overall, I'm sad that I didn't end up liking the book, because of how much I enjoyed the fantasy world, I just wish the characters were more dynamic.

I would give this book 2.5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and author for allowing me to read this story. This truly is a dark, gothic tale of vampires and court politics.

Yara and Aylin live a comfortable life in Constantinople with their eunuch father serving the sultan. One day Yara is captured and sold as a blood slave to two brothers in a twisted vampire court. Yara’s sister, Aylin, and her somewhat platonic friend, Ilyas, set out to bring her home. Aylin and Ilyas join a group of faithful vampire hunters and learn how to kill the beasts that rule the night. During this time, Yara becomes entrenched in court politics and learns to navigate the King and nobles while becoming the obsession of the two Demirci brothers. She has to be careful and cunning as she tries to gain her freedom and one day see her sister again.

In terms of spiciness this book is bit lacking and it was hard to get through the first several chapters as the writing felt a bit heavy. Some of the descriptions were drawn out and it sometimes felt as though this were instead a historical fiction instead of a dark romance. I did not know many of the terms being described and would have appreciated if the glossary was listed in the table of contents so that I could refer to it as I read.

Overall the plot was interesting as it follows the Demirci brothers and Yara as they plot for revenge and power at court. I just would have liked more romance, especially from the vampires at court. These dark creatures who have no problem eating each other’s hearts and having blood slaves can at least show some level of affection. I hope more romance is added in the second book!

I have never read anything quite like this book. I thought the premise was very interesting. I enjoyed the timeline, the different cultural elements, and the type of vampire lore that was described. The vampires in the book were very interesting. The romance was very light. I could see some enemies to lovers happening, slow burn maybe, and the book also ends with a cliffhanger. Definitely some morally grey characters in here as well.

Plot- 2/5🔆
Spice- 0/5🌶️

There was a lot to unpack with the plot. So much in fact, I wish there was more time spent building the plotline, or some plot lines taken out. It felt rushed and like pieces were missing while I was reading. The rush of the plot also made it harder to feel more depth with the characters and relationships that were being built. Some of the characters felt immature in their behaviors.

Aylin's storyline was the first that caught my attention. It became brutal though, in an unsuspecting way, and I felt unsure of where the story was supposed to be headed. Not being able to guess the plot is maybe a good thing though. Domenico and Aylin's relationship is twisted and made me uncomfortable. Him being so violent and gross towards her, and then becoming a potential love interest felt strange.

Yara's story intrigued me the most. I felt there was a lot of potential in her story, especially with Eldar and Volkan. I could have read a whole book just on the three of them engaging in the vampire politics. I wanted more vampires and romance to be honest.

Overall it was a pretty original story, I wish there was more time spent with building the plot and characters.