Thank you for the eARC, NetGalley!
Gorgeous cover, folklore, mentions of Katherine Arden and Naomi Novik, plus the Lord of Death as the love interest? Of course I was hooked, so excellent marketing there! XD

I will say that I think this would appeal more to fans of Wolf and the Woodsman and The Serpent and the Wings of Night. I didn't really like either of those, so, unsurprisingly, I didn't like this one either, unfortunately. It just wasn't for me.

I was interested at first. I know nothing about Turkish folklore, so it was intriguing. I could see similarities to Bear and the Nightingale too, although Katherine Arden took her time to introduce young Vasya, her family and surroundings. By contrast, F M Aden seemed to rush through that stage of Zerryn's life, to the point where I was slightly confused about her 'powers' and early encounter with Death. 15% into the book and she was already going to the Underworld. I didn't get a chance to care about her love for her grandmother, her childhood sweetheart or her village, but that plays a big part in her decision-making.

Once in the Underworld, I found Zerryn very irritating. Extreme bravado expressed by being unreasonably rude. It worked for her, since Erlik liked it, but I'll never understand why you'd want to antagonise a ruthless god you allegedly fear by treating him like an idiot (for example, he discovers her somewhere she shouldn't be, asks her what she's doing there, and her answer is 'None of your business').

Erlik did nothing for me as the love interest. I think part of it was the world building, which was very sketchy, so his background and motivations were also unclear to me. I also have this problem a lot with romantasy where characters are immortals who have lived a long time. I always expect them to behave differently, less 'contemporary' and human, less young.

In terms of romance, I had no clue why Erlik was drawn to Zerryn. He had clearly singled her out since she was a child (bit questionable, but never mind, she's 21 when they meet again) - was it just due to her magic? No idea, because he seemed pretty obsessed. Kudos to Zerryn for finding a man with four eyes, four arms, claws and sharp teeth super attractive, though XD

Finally, the plot, the three tasks set by Erlik to those competing to become his wife. Honestly, those were the weakest part for me. Not only did they highlight the lack of worldbuilding, with no clear explanation of how the Underworld did or didn't work, but they were very repetitive. A lot of walking and travelling, and each time I thought things were too easy. I didn't find it believable.

There was one aspect in the ending that I appreciated, but other than that, this really wasn't for me. 1.5 stars.

I was provided with an advanced reader copy of this book in return for an honest review.

As so often happens I was drawn to the story first by it's cover art a tangle if flower covered vines that wrap around swords with blood coloured jewels in their hilts, beasts, serpents and bones and skulls. Then hidden in the background is a black palace behind which is a darken night sky strewn with a handful of stars. The longer I stared at the art more I had to know what the story was.

So that is how I met Zerryn, a young girl who was raised on stories and fairy tales of the old gods and Erlik Khan, lord death or some say The Devil, and his penchant for stealing away young ladies .
Along with an odd up bringing she also has no fear of wild things. The woods and it's creatures seem to welcome her. As She grows and spends her time tending her garden , going to temple and with her best friend a boy named Çelik.

Then Celik starts to act strangely and disappears. Things in the village start to go wrong crops fail, and other terrible things happen. Zerryn is determined to save Celik and her village.

But then she finds herself as a contestant to be The Devil's wife. Will she win the day ? Can she remain true to herself or will she be changed by her time in the underworld?

This story weaves together several mythologies and it is hauntingly brilliant. I enjoyed this read very much

I hate giving books anything less than 4 stars because the author has probably put in weeks and weeks of effort, time, and resources into writing their story.

I tried so hard to love this book. Having never read about Turkish Mythology before, I was quite excited to read it. The main male interest with 4 eyes and 4 arms is something I've never heard of and I was looking forward to experiencing something like that.

However, I had to sort of DNF at 50%. I skimmed through the rest of the book but that's it.

1. My main problem with this novel is the lack of descriptions. Show don't tell was quite lacking here not because there wasn't enough Show but because there wasn't even any Tell.

Everything happens so fast. Every scene is finished in half a page and you have to constantly go back and see what happened or you're left thinking "Huh? When did that occur?"

For example, in one paragraph the main character is standing up, and in the next line, she's changing clothes. Where is the description of her walking to the wardrobe? Where is the description of her pulling her gown off the dresser? It's simply not there.

The scene at the ballroom where Lale is made to confess stealing the egg from Zerryn and Zerryn bargaining her soul and Erlik freezing and thawing everyone..all of this happens in less than a page! In most books, this would at least be a chapter or two!

There are not enough descriptions of actions or scenes or what is happening. It's so confusing at times.

2. Zero chemistry between the FMC and her love interests. We're supposed to feel warm and giddy and sacrificial for Celik but I just couldn't bring myself to care about him. I don't even understand how or why he got possessed. He felt more like Zerryn's older brother than a love interest.

Erlik, while he is interesting, is a very difficult character to like. I understand that the author was going for a broody, mysterious dark guy, but he felt very..flaky. He appears at random times, does random things, and shows no interest in any of the contestants. He acts like their being there is more of an inconvenience to him rather than dangerous creatures fighting to marry him. He also pushes Zerryn into a bathtub to get her attention. And she spits on his mouth? Ew. I get that they hate each other but incidences like these did not make me think they had any chemistry between each other.

3. The beginning should have been better written. How did Celik get possessed? What is that incident of Zerryn getting the black eye? Was it a dream? Did she die? I have no idea.

4. More time is needed to introduce the characters and get a feel for them. To get to know them instead of just establishing rapport and comfort with them. Zerryn trusts everybody there. Characters are introduced too quickly/in rapid succession and not described enough. There's a lack of descriptions about them and their personalities. They all blur together.

5. Very little continuity. We move from one scene to another too quickly. It's like the author was writing summaries of every chapter rather than an actual chapter. There's a severe lack of emotions in the interactions, the scenes, the dialogues. Everything was too..mechanical.

6. I also didn't understand why all the other participants were fighting over Zerryn. Zerryn had no visible powers and according to these women, she would've been more of a liability than a benefit. I also didn't understand why they all teamed up for each trial? Like aren't you supposed to be competing against each other? It felt like a girls trip rather than them fighting it out over the Lord of Death.


Now coming to the good points:

- Turkish mythology- I love Mythology and it was really interesting to read about some of the characters.

- Love the cover. It would look really pretty on a bookshelf especially if it has gold or silver accents.

- The underworld- I liked how it was described. It was truly a dark place unlike most Mythology based stories where it's a misunderstood place that has green plants, butterflies and flowers and happy souls wandering around. This was a nice change.

- The Trials were very different from the usual acotar copycats. The stealing of the sea queens eggs, the finding the firebird, (didn't reach the third one), these were quite unusual and made for an interesting read. I just wish they had enough writing to make me invested in it. Even though the challenges were fascinating, the writing fell falt and dry.

- I like the women fighting for the guy instead of the usual men fighting for women trope. It reminded me of the selection which I loved.

- Miray - one of the saving graces of this story. She's cute and quirky and unusual. I really liked her interactions with Zerryn.

- the contestants- I liked Beza and Yuxa and Lale. They're different species and each formidable in their own right. I just wish they'd been allowed to utilize their powers to their full potential. (A great example of this kind would be the Unenchanted Series by Chanda Hahn.)

- I loved it when somebody stuffed a rag into Zerryn's mouth to shut her up. That was hilarious.

I really really wanted to finish the book. The story, the plot, the planning, the setting, the trials, the mythology, the quality of the characters..everything was quite good.

It's just that the writing made it very hard to continue. I feel like with a bit more attention, and editing, this could be a truly amazing book. The story has great potential. I hope it gets revised a few times and rewritten a bit before getting published (not sure how it all works but just my 2 cents.)

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ARC. My reviews are my own.
Posted to Goodreads.

okay, i found this book through finding this author on twitter and all of her marketing tweets for it and when i tell you this DELIVERED. i have one major issue with this and that was i was expecting celik to you know, be worth going to the underworld and courting Death for. he was not, and quite frankly, i did not enjoy that love triangle aspect (though, it was only through the climax of the book where i realized, hey this is technically a love triangle, so points for that Aden). the writing was atmospheric, i feel like i stepped into the world. <spoiler> the subtle, slow burning corruption arc? the fact that she did not seek out to change him by the end but in fact supported him??? ABSOLUTELY. sign me up i love this shit </spoiler> uh what else...
their relationship was very much giving "you came." "you called" from that scene in sandman and when i tell you any!!! relationship that reminds me of calliope and morpheus im on my knees for!!!
oh, final thing: him loving her despite her anger and hatred towards him and her sour attitude? that is the yearning enemies (used very loosely) to lovers i adore.

thank you to netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!!

The Bride of Death is a retelling of the Erlik Khan from Turkish mythology mostly known as the deity of evil, darkness, lord of the underworld and judge of the dead. At some part of the book it have a strong resemblance to Hades and Persephone. This book is about Zerryn, a young girl who seen as a bit odd by the villagers due to her different eyes. Living with her grandmother and childhood friend was all she need until the danger strikes. The villages in danger, and the deity of the death has possessed the body of her childhood friend. She then try to bargain with the deity but the only way out is to be his bride.

The worldbuilding is fascinating at the first part, but quite lacking. It would been great to know more about the myth/folklore or Erlik background. I love the description about the death, how the world see him, feared of what he could do, and how everyone warns Zerryn to be careful of his words. I love that Erlik appearance are not humanlike, but as a monster (with 4 eyes and arms) rather than overly beautiful love interest. Gruesome but yet hauntingly enchanting. This book has love triangle, but in my opinion are poorly executed.

Honestly, reading this book feels like a mess. There is no consistency in the plot, unlikeable characters especially Zerryn. Yes, our main character. I almost couldn't stand her character, about her indecisiveness like are you going to kill him, love him or what? Make a dumb decision only for her to repeat it again. It's so frustrating. I also didn't really felt chemistry between her and Erlik, like at some part the romance felt forced. I couldn't even understand what they really like about each other.

Overall, this book has potential. The writing style is so easy to get into, the folklore/myths and gothic elements make this book so atmospheric. If you love to read a retelling of mythology then this one is for you.

3.25★

'The Bride of Death' is a beautifully written adult standalone that originally drew me in due to it's fascinating title and bewitching cover. (i know i sound like i just swallowed a thesaurus, but you have to love how stunning the cover is!)

the book follows Zerryn as she competes in three impossible trials to win the hand of the devil himself to save her village and the boy she loves.

i think at the beginning, the author was still finding her writing style, but afterwards, i began to enjoy how the mythology and Turkic folklore was written.

however, i felt the worldbuilding to be lacking something and i felt like a lot more could have been explained.

also this is a formal petition for every fantasy book to contain a map. i defo need one for the underworld too.



confession time: i don't hate love triangles. i know, the horror! but what i don't like is how they're often portrayed, especially when the girl bounces from one guy to the next (just make up your damn mind). or when one completely changes their personality (just lazy writing). i think this book really failed in this aspect because not only was it incredibly obvious as to which guy she would end up with from the blurb, it was just plain annoying to see her still wondering which gut to choose. i do generally prefer the enemies-to-lovers arc over the friends-to-lovers anyway, and when you add in a morally grey character😍

i think it's also a hades x persephone retelling, but i've only read the original myth so don't take my word for it.

i don't think the smut scenes were necessary in any way since they didn't add much to the story nor did they make me like either character more. i also don't think the relationship between Erlik and Zerryn was a healthy one, but i didn't expect it to be either.

tropes:

- love triangle
- opposites attract (light x darkness + optimist x pessimist)
- enemies to lovers
- friends to lovers
- an actual morally grey mmc



this book has a lot of shadow and bone influences (i haven't read any books from Novik nor Arden) so i will be referring to it's characters in the next section.

Zerryn was a carbon copy of Alina Starkov, but not in a good way (if there even is a good way). i did not like Zerryn. her character did a complete 180 at the end. and i know, i know, i was begging for her to stop being nice and toughen the fuck up a bit, but she did it so fast that it was completely out of character for her.

Erlik reminded me a lot of the Darkling. morally-grey (ACTUALLY a morally grey character though, not a literal sweetheart who just happens to wield shadows). his extra ... bits are still creeping me out - i know its because he's a fallen angel, but that doesn't make it any better. yes, it's accurate but i also didn't like it. it hasn't changed my rating though.

Celik was a lot like Mal. i can't say much about him without spoiling the book though.

my favourite characters were Beyza and Yuxa. pretty much everyone will agree with me in terms of Beyza BUT YUXA is so underrated! she should have been the main character. she was so much more intelligent - she did one specific thing that left my jaw on the ground - and i wish we had more scenes with her (ngl i think she would have been a better match with Erlik and i am prepared to die on this hill). the same goes for Beyza, i loved her friendship with Zerryn ... when you take Zerryn out of the equation.

i wish Zerryn finding out about what happened to her nursemaid could have been a subplot, and the friendship with the girl that helped her arrive in the underworld (i'm really bad with names ugh). i also wish we got to know more about Lale and her 'species'. i just want more of everything basically because there were a lot of characters that needed some fleshing out (read: i needed closure to their story instead of Zerryn's).


overall, what this book lacked in the execution of the characters (both metaphorically and literally) she made up for with the gothic and dark atmosphere. would i recommend it? not if romantasy isn't your thing. or if you like the genre but prefer more fantasy. i'm also a character ≤ plot person so make of that what you will.

I enjoyed this read. Definitely a twisty love story with gothic vibes. I feel like the writing was disjointed. I think the author settled into a groove about halfway through the book, but early in the book it was a bit distracting. Apart from that I enjoyed the plot and character development.

This is for the romance girlies who grew up loving Jerath the Goblin king. I'm talking full dark David Bowie, over the top masquerade ball, the brutal, the fantastical, the villain that you want to love but just can't stand behind. YES.

This gave dark and gothic vibes and is perfect for fans of Belladonna. I've heard comparisons being made to The Bear and the Nightingale, and it's got a similar vibe, but this is far more heavily based on the romance between the two main characters. (Which is what I craved while reading The Bear and the Nightingale so I personally approve.)

What I LOVED about this book is the execution of the enemies to lovers trope. It is truly enemies to lovers! As well as the depth of the male main characters dark soul. He is dark, and possibly unredeemable, and this created a delicious tension throughout the whole book. I sort of hated him at times, but still found myself wanting to love him. This is the kind of dark romance I love. I also loved the glimpse into a different mythology with Erlik Khan and Turkish folklore.

I did have some issue with the ending of the book, based on personal preference of how I wanted the story to conclude, and the pacing, but overall I loved it.
4.5 STARS but rounding up based on the fact that I have been craving a book like this for a while.
1.5 SPICE (the vibe is there but nothing super explicit, but it's sort of a monster romance he has a lot of extremities and mouths so...)

I’ve gone back and forth on how to rate this book. I don’t know that I liked the general writing style and at times wondered if it would have benefited from a few more rounds of editing. It felt a bit like a first draft. I understand that this is the advanced readers copy, and that perhaps it will read differently once it is released to the general public.

I will say that despite all that I did get fully invested in the story, and read almost the whole thing in one sitting. It is certainly a compulsive read, and for that I gave it a higher rating. I especially liked the characters of Erlik and Beyza, and was excited every time they appeared on the page.

Thank you to Northern Light Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hero arc? What's that? It's corruption arc time for the romantasy girlies!

Now, I can't quite figure out what to think of this book. At some points I was totally gripped, and at other times I honestly just wanted to get the whole thing over with. This story is super atmospheric, steeped in dark and beautiful Turkic mythology with language that is (for the most part) flowy and poetic. And while you can't call the plot groundbreaking in any way, I still enjoyed myself enough that I can mostly overlook some of the more the painful anachronisms ("well-tuned boat" - really?) and the parts that could really use some more editing to bring them more in line with the rest of the book (particularly the first few and last few chapters).

Aden's embrace of the monstrous part of these classic "light vs. dark" stories was refreshing, but still I find that the story relies on too many overused dark romance tropes to feel really new and exciting. However, while this book may have been a miss for me, I have no doubt that there's an audience out there who would absolutely love it.

If you're a dark romance lover who enjoyed The Bear and the Nightingale and shipped Alarkling in The Grisha Trilogy, and if you love the Hades and Persephone myth, the Beauty and the Beast trope, and some light monsterfucking, this is the book for you!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of The Bride of Death in exchange of my honest review.

2.5 stars.

This book is a retelling of Erlik Khan of the Turkish mythology but it does have VERY strong resemblances with Hades and Persephone.
The story is about Zerryn, a village girl that always had been bad mouthed due to the fact she had received a gift from the god of death - her dark black eye.
Upon seeing the devastating aftermath of his actions on her village and possessing the body of the man she loved, she goes to the underworld to bargain with the deity to let him live, but learned that her only way out is to compete in a life-or-death competition to win the God’s hand in marriage.

This book took several turns and in so many points I was quite enjoying the fantastical and lush world the author portrayed. I love seeing death as a monster (literally), rather than a the beautiful man the Greek mythology portrays, and his complexity but utterly adoration of the FMC. We also have in this story several tropes that are favorites of mine, such as death and the maiden, he falls first, mortally grey characters, competition.. however the execution and conclusion of the story completely lost me.

We have a FMC that throughout the whole book was slowly learning things, having a slow burn romance with her enemy, discovering her own powers and becoming more confident to just throw everything out of the window at the 70% mark. I think I should have stopped right there, but I had hopes that we would turn this around. We didn’t. And that was super disappointing.

The MMC, Death, is a fascinating character and I LOVED his pursuit of Zerryn and, although he kept his behavior consistent, there was a point in the book that he felt very out of character which broke that image I had in my mind in a way that I just did not care for the character anymore.

Lastly, some of the friendships the FMC developed throughout her trial simply disappeared when she needed the most and came back at the end of the story as if nothing had happened, almost as if the author remembered they existed and had to include them at the end somehow. This plot hole also bothered me a little.

Overall this is an interesting tale that explore a mythology I was not very familiar with it and I had a good time with it until the 60-70% mark. The the prose was pretty, although a bit repetitive from time to time. Unfortunately, the execution and ending was just done poorly in my opinion.

3.75⭐️s. I was not expecting to love this book the way I did. It’s giving belladonna by Adalyn grace vibes and I’m here for it. Strong fmc torn between the light and dark within her. I did take me a while to get into the groove of the book but that is mainly due to my lack of knowledge of some of the language within the story. Love a morally grey love interest and I’m happy with the ending. The perfect villain origin plot line. Would definitely recommend

This is one of those books that you start with high hopes, but end up putting down over and over again.

I found myself engaged in reading the first parts of the story. Its world-building has been executed thoroughly.
However, as I got to the chapters set in the Underworld, everything fell off until the end.
The more I progressed throughout the story, the more I got annoyed.
I felt that I had to push myself to finish this.

I wasn't able to connect myself with the characters much. There's inconsistency with their characterizations, most especially with Zerryn. I don't see any real motivations for what she's about to do. Make up your mind bro, do you want to kill him or despise him or fight for him or love him or are you just plain stupid?

:(
The plot felt rushed. It would've been a great shot also to get to know more about the myth/folklore that has been based on, but there wasn't much to read. There is also more telling than showing which is why I wasn't that invested in reading. The romance wasn't that well-written. I find it corny.

SPOILER AHEAD:
The ending would've been maybe more realistic if 1. Zerryn eventually killed Erlik or 2. Zerryn died after she got possessed by Erlik when the village was about to burn her.

Seriously though, the story has potential! I just wish it had more 'substance' in it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5

Thank you NetGalley & Northern Light Press for this ARC

Was this book a little weird with 4 arms & eyes? Absolutely, but I was fully on board with it!

This was a uniquely interesting tale seeped in folklore & while Zerrya caused a little frustration here & there, I generally liked her character, she had a quiet strength to her that I admired

Erlik was just *chefs kiss*. I was a fan from the get go. He also had some of the best romantic declarations & his silent desire for Zerrya to loved him made me love him even more. I also loved Minay & Beyza, I only wish Minay was in it more

What generally impacted my rating a little was the ending that I felt was a little rushed. I think personally, I would have liked Zerrya to have had to grovel more. She was at her most unlikeable at this time & I don’t think really redeemed herself, leaving Erlik to pick up the mess

Overall, however, I consumed this book so quickly because it was a unique & interesting tale so would definitely recommend

The Bride of Death is reminiscent of Katherine Arden’s Winternight trilogy… through a darker and more delicious lens!

This book is deeply, and strangely, romantic! The enemies-to-lovers trope is at its best here, where we find the almost eldritch, immortal god of Death groveling at the feet of the village girl he is utterly obsessed with. Meanwhile, she plots to win his hand in a series of magic trials, in order to destroy him.

I love this book. The dark romance girls will love this book. The romantasy girls will love this book. Anyone who loves Naomi Novik will love this book. It is weird, and richly imagined. and an absolutely decadent read.

DNF at 30%. I am by no means the target audience for this book. I somehow missed the romance tag and oh boy is it romance. I will recommend this book to customers because it is well written, and very clever, but I had to dnf when things got too spicy and I read a euphemism for male reproductive organs and cried.

This book was a DNF for me. The writing was fine, the premise is interesting, but I couldn't get passed the timeline, which didn't make sense to me. I will probably try again to read it because I hate just abandoning books, but I couldn't concentrate on the story when my head was trying to figure out the order of events and how they worked together.
An example of this is a character "always" sent something to the market with the father of the household when he went to sell goods. But the character who "always" sends things had only been there two weeks. Perhaps less, I'm really not sure. How do they "always" do something when they just got there?


Thanks so much to Net Galley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley, publisher Northern Light Press, and author F.M. Aden for providing an ARC in exchange for a review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

The Bride of Death recounts the story of Zerryn, a young woman who must complete three impossible tasks in order to become Erlik’s, the Lord of Death, wife and save her best friend and lover Çelik. F.M. Aden creates a beautifully written novel that reads like a real folklore story and captures you within its lines. It’s the legends, myths and gothic elements in that made the book stand out for me, as I wasn’t a big fan of the love triangle (and sometimes Zerryn rubbed me the wrong way too).

If you are a fan of Uprooted or The Bear and The Nightingale, then you definitely need to give this book a try! I’ll for sure be reading more titles from F.M. Aden.

This book wasn’t what I expected nor was it what I wanted to read. At the beginning I was engaged, the worldbuilding was interesting and the setting lushly imagined. As the story progressed I found myself getting more and more annoyed. Neither the plot or the characters impressed me, and I found myself having go really push to finish this.

A dark, sensual tale seeped in Turkish folklore following a young woman competing to be death's wife. On paper a book I thought I'd love, with a unique world and take on folklore, however it was let down by clunky writing, a rushed plot, inconsistent characterisation and lots of telling not showing. Pretty sure this is self published, which would explain a lot.