I was so interested in the premise of this book and I think that the series had a ton of potential. Overall, this book fell a little flat for me. The pacing just felt off. There would be action but then times when the book lagged and nothing was really going on. This made it hard for me to stay focused on the book. I do think that this can happy a lot in first time fantasy books so I’m excited to see how the rest of the series plays out.

I liked all of the characters and seeing the different relationships. I liked how there was a focus on sisterhood.

The growth of the characters was enjoyable. There are times that I find myself in need of a good vampire story and this definitely did that for me.

I was not able to finish the book and therefore do not feel that I can give an unbiased review about the book, its plot, characters, or the author's work. I might revisit this book at a later time and finish it then, but not right now.

I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

The history and fantasy obsessed girl inside me loved that this was a fantasy set in the Ottoman Empire. The girl in me who hates love triangles struggled a little when Yara was going back and forth between the two men. Although I will say, it wasn’t a bad live triangle.

I loved the inclusivity of this fantasy by using Muslim elements which you don’t see often in fantasy as well as the African main characters. Very fond of the slowburn and the vampire romance(one of my favorites) as well as the bond you see grow between Aelyn and Yara.

the pacing felt a little off in some parts but this was super readable, I definitly was hooked in and read it very quickly!

This book completely swept me off my feet! From the very first page, I was entranced by the vivid characters and immersive world-building. The plot twists kept me on the edge of my seat, and I found myself eagerly turning each page to discover what would happen next. Overall, an absolute masterpiece that I would highly recommend to any reader looking for an unforgettable adventure.

**Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5**
Give me a vampire story, and I’m going to give it a go. Luckily, T*he Court of the Undead* by F.M. Aden delivered. This dark and twisted fantasy set in the Ottoman Empire follows the story of two sisters—Yara, who has been kidnapped by the vampir and brought to the Undying Court, and Aylin, who leaves everything she knows in the Ottoman Court behind to save her sister. As Yara is enthralled and tormented by a dangerous set of vampir brothers, Aylin goes undercover with a band of vicious vampir hunters in her quest to find her. Both sisters need to decide who they can trust and who they will need to betray if they ever want to find one another, or make it back home, again.

>>What I loved: Excellent characters—when people talk about morally grey characters, this is what we should be talking about. Power is a central focus here, and I love how unclear it is who we should be rooting for throughout the entirety of this story. A well-written story, in a unique, non-Western setting, and with diverse cast of characters makes this an exciting addition to the fantasy genre. I want to specifically call out the excellent ways in which Aden navigates race throughout this novel—as something that is actively negotiated and discussed throughout the story—is something we should all be admiring and looking to see more of.

>>What I didn’t love: I am normally a big fan of a multi-POV book, but in this case I found that I was initially not very interested in Aylin’s perspective, which made it difficult to get into the book. Eventually, Aylin’s story started to take more shape and by the end I was on board.

*The Court of the Undead* is an easy recommendation for my students who love fantasy and adults who appreciate complex characters. I’m looking forward to the next installment in this series!

**Acknowledgments & Disclaimers**
✨ Thank you to NetGalley, F.M. Aden, and Northern Light Press, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book.
✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book! I'm a big fan of vampire stories, and this one did not disappoint. I hadn't seen a lot of vampire books that bring the mythology out of the lens of the nonwestern world, and I really enjoyed that aspect. I also felt that the relationship between sisters Aylin and Yara carried strongly throughout the book, alongside the promised romantic relationships that created some extra drama on the page. I look forward to reading more of the series!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this e-ARC. I am anticipating reading this soon and reviewing on my socials.

Yara and her sister Aylin heard stories of the Vampir, and when Yara is taken, Aylin has reason to believe that she has been taken by the monsters who haunted the stories told to them as children.

With alternating chapters following Yara, a blood slave in the Undying Kings court, and Aylin, trying desperately to save her, this book is a dark fantasy that has a lot of potential.

I loved the back and forth chapters, loved seeing the two sisters as they fight to stay alive and make their way back to one another.
While I love a morally grey love interest, these guys were not morally grey.
There are good guys, morally grey guys, bad guys, really bad guys, and then these guys.
They were awful, and I did not like how quickly the female characters flipped from hating them to caring for them.
One night she is trying to kill him and then the next night she is worried that he is mad at her ?
WHAT?
In order for me to enjoy a romance, I need to want the characters to be together, and I do not want these women with any of these lowlifes.
BUT the story is great and I am looking forward to the next book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the different tropes included in them. I mean whats not to love about vampires, slow burn love triangles, and enemies to lovers?! This book is everything that my heart needed since my obsessive "vampire twilight" stint back in the late 2000s. Strongly recommend this book for dark fantasy readers that thoroughly enjoy real stakes and morally grey characters

The Court of the Undead is an extremely dark gothic fantasy set during the Ottoman Empire. I had really hoped to enjoy it more than I did. The story definitely had potential, and I liked that the characters were all morally gray to outright evil. However, the writing was a bit all over the place for me. Some scenes had unnecessary details and dragged, while other scenes jumped from one event to the next without the necessary connections. The writing definitely needs some editing. Before picking up this book, I would advise any reader that there are some extremely dark and gruesome scenes that could be triggering.

It had potential but I didn't really see it.
I felt like it dragged and sometimes I forgot what sister was what.

The Court of the Undead by F.M. Aden is a dark and bloody romance focused on two sisters. Aylin and Yara are young black women growing up in the court of the Ottoman empire when the book begins. Very quickly Yara is stolen away, and Aylin suspects she is now in the hands of the sinister Vampir from her childhood tales. So begins the separate struggles of the two main characters, one trapped in the darkness of the Court of the Undead, and the other hiding among Male vampire hunters in Italy.

I have been stuck in a depression induced reading slump the past few weeks. I’ve not enjoyed anything I’ve picked up and nothing has kept my attention. I grabbed Court of the Undead because I hoped it would be a dramatic, romantic, and thrilling good time. And it was! Both sisters have clear goals in this book, to be reunited with each other, and both are in vastly different scenarios. Chapters flip back and forth between the two, and personally I found both plots equally engaging, despite my mental struggles.

Both plots also have a romantic conflict, and there is a love triangle, which I am always a fan of. The side characters and conflicts stand out and are memorable. And I did grow fond of many characters. This book does not end on a cliffhanger, but it’s clear there will be a second book.

I plan on picking up the sequel, despite the fact that if I’m being honest this book was not super well written. There were pacing issues, and scenes opened and closed so suddenly there was no time to really process what was going on. Aden is not a purple prose kind of writer, there was very little that went into creating atmosphere or even blocking out the environment. But this is Aden’s debut novel, and I had the ARC version, so I trust that she will improve with time. Just check your expectations when picking up this book.

Do you like vampire stories?
Do you like unlikeable (downright evil but in a good way) love interests?
Do you want a book that you can turn your brain off and just enjoy the ride?
Do you want a book with Muslim rep not often seen in the genre?

If you said yes, then please PICK UP THIS BOOK!

Thank you Netgalley for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have to be honest and say that I pretty much love all books that contain some form of vampire.

I just can’t help it. It’s such a good trope to read about.

So of course I enjoyed the book. It was entertaining, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

I really wanted to love this book because it had so many good points such as a Muslim protagonist, vampires, politics, a chubby main character, a sisterly bond, and love triangles. However, I found the world-building to be quite lacking. There were so many instances where the author assumed I was already aware of what something was and did not explain it. It's sad because both the characters and the world have so much potential, but I just couldn't get into the story because I had to look up certain words. Additionally, the time period of the story is unclear to me. One moment, I was imagining ancient times, and then the characters started talking about more modern things, and I just couldn't get a grasp on the timeline. Despite these issues, I still see a lot of potential in the author, and I hope to see more from them in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Northern Light Press for providing me with an early, free copy of this book.

This book is dark and romantic and honestly is a standout read from this year for me. The way the vampires are done in this are fantastic, and our two protagonists are so different but so similar at the same time. Despite how different their storylines were I found myself fully engaged with both plots, unlike that thing that happens sometimes where you really just want the other plot to have less chapters. I really really liked this. An excellent addition to the YA vampire genre.

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it