This book was very well marketed but fell prey to a common issue. You can’t compare a book to another that is soooo much better. I was so excited to read this. The tropes all appealed to me but most of all, it was compared to The Bear and the Nightingale. That has become a classic in this area of fantasy for good reason. This book did not live up to that hype. Aden does a good job of writing a magical setting with a cool magic system. The characters however, were incredibly lackluster. Their growth and motivation was underwhelming. This made the ending feel abrupt. I wish there would’ve been more internal conflict leading up to it. Overall, it’s a fun story. Just not quite the pinnacle of literature that it’s compared to.

4.5 stars

I could not put this book down!

There is something about the lines " your safe, I have you" That makes me fall in love with the MMC! It never falls to make me love a book!

Things I liked the most:
-FMC is strong willed, and sassy
-MMC is possessive, protective and grouchy
-betrayals for everyone! it was like Oprah was giving out gifts
-"your safe, I have you"
-"call my name and Ill be there!"
-trials
-finding friends along the way!

F.M Aden is now on my instant read list! I cant wait to read more of your books!

This book is extremely ill-served by the comparisons to Novik and Arden. Both write extraordinarily complex, thematically dense, and in Arden's case meticulously researched fantasies. The character development and dialogue is rich, and the worldbuilding is strikingly well-thought out with clear historical parallels and no plot holes. This is a less than average quality romantasy in the spirit of SJM but with more tonal inconsistencies and less character development. It's painfully anachronistic, with startling moments of juvenile dialogue that feel ripped from the early twenty-teens despite it's pseudo-historical setting, eye-rolling plot devices, and a deeply uninspiring love triangle at its heart that relies on really dramatic and abrupt changes in characterization. I truly did roll my eyes several times and would have stopped if I didn't receive the eARC for review. The first third seems to be written by a different person, or at least at a dramatically different time than she wrote the rest of it—the language is more polished and the worldbuilding more interesting. The rest is truly poorly written and feels like bad ACOTAR fanfiction. Again, this would have been okay if I went in expecting SJM's worse works, but opening it thinking of The Bear and the Nightingale or Spinning Silver makes me anticipate a depth and quality that only makes it's deficiencies more striking by comparison. Being marketed as an ACOMF and Fourth Wing knockoff will be make it much more successful as well as just being more honest. I also think it could probably be moved into upper YA—the erotic moments aren't particularly detailed and the juvenile dialogue, character development, and simplistic themes make more sense for a younger audience. You could very easily make the MC 16, remove a few sentences in the romance scenes, alter nothing else and have it be fine for 16+.

2.5🌟

Inspired by the Hungarian mythology of Erlik Khan, Hades kidnapping of Persephone, and the trials of Eros and Psyche, this author creates a dark and seductive tale of death and destruction.

Unfortunately I found this novel really messy, there were times when the writing was unbelievably beautiful, and times when the writing was nonsensical.

Fair play to the main character for finding four eyes, multiple mouths, four arms, claws, and pointy teeth attractive though.

Roses: This book was interesting. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it. It is a very fast-paced and immersive read. Erlik is great. He is morally grey but also swoon-worthy. Some of the side characters added to the story well. We get a clear background of Zerryn, which helps readers understand her flaws better.

Thorns: I was not too fond of Zerryn. She seemed out of touch and too indecisive about everything, making it hard to connect with her. Erlik is description was super weird, so I couldn't get a good image of what he looked like. For me, that's a huge issue. The pacing also was weird at times. Because of that, it also became hard to follow in parts.

4⭐️

This book had me so lost at times, but was it so beautifully written! The story feels like a combination of folklore and myths woven together to create a tale of a girl full of light, who faces darkness head on.

There were moments where I felt frustrated and a little bit lost with the plot, but overall I really enjoyed this story and it was a great standalone!

The Bride Of Death by F.M. Aden
~
4⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was really interesting. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it, but I absolutely ATE. IT. UP. This book is very fast-paced, so while maybe lacking a little bit of description, it is a quick and immersive read.

I requested this one because it has a beautiful cover and the promise to be reminiscent of Katherine Arden's The Bear and The Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy is hands-down one of my favourite series ever). Also, the idea of a mortal woman competing in the underworld to become the bride of the god of death in order to save her village?  Sounds intriguing, right?!

Erlik / Death is an amazing character. He is definitely morally grey (I actually don't know if he has any morals at all), but he has so many swoon worthy moments. His description is a little weird - more monster than human with multiple arms and eyes - so it was hard to picture what he actually looks like, but his dialogue and pining makes him very loveable.

I didn't adore Zerryn, our FMC, I did like her sass and quick-wit, but she is a little dumb and so back and forth in how she feels throughout the book. It was a little bit difficult to connect with her for this reason... so I'm glad we had her backstory of growing up because I felt that helped to give me a connection to her from the beginning and overlook her flaws.

Some of the side characters were the best part of the story, Beyza in particular... who is a somewhat cruel and lovable vampire.

I had a few hang-ups with the book, first of all the pacing felt a little choppy at times and I was confused about the setting (particularly in the beginning when we follow Zerryn as she grows up, which is very fast-paced). I'm not sure I loved the ending either, but I think everything was very conclusive. I also wish we had a bit more description of the Underworld, but I loved the overall gothic vibe and setting.

A fair warning that the relationships are somewhat toxic, there is a love-triangle (but it's practically non-existent), and it reads very much as romantasy, which is definitely the main focus of the story.

I was also excited to find out that F.M. Aden is a Canadian author, and I will definitely be picking up other books by her in the future.

"Rarely were women hailed as heroes or were ballads sung for them. Rarely were they written of in epics. Nobody ever looked at the wives who raised families while men fought wars. Nobody ever spoke of the women who took up the jobs of men while they marched into battle. Nobody ever spoke of the women who donned the dress of their brothers and became national heroes."

This is a story about Zerryn and the Lord of Death (aka the devil or Erlik Khan). After possessing the best friend/boyfriend of Zerryn, Celik, she decides to participate in 3 trials in the Underworld to hopefully become the Bride of Erlik. Our naive Zerryn has a plan...

"Maybe she could steal his magic and use it to destroy him."

... and what could go wrong? It's only the f*cking devil, right? 🧐 I was really into the premise, the dark, twisted, and gothic world but then I got sooo bored with it. The world building lacked details, Zerryn is super naive and annoying after some time; I can't even say how often the four arms and eyes of Erlik as well as his black hair that reaches the floor are mentioned and romantizised...

"She wished everyone had four arms. It felt like she was wrapped in a blanket of stars and dreams"

I know that F.M. Aden stucked to her sources, but I could not enjoy the banter while picturing those 4 arms and 4 eyes staring at me... her writing confused me from time to time, and the pace varied (some scenes went on over multiple chapters but the second trial got rapped up in a few paragraphs, like what?)

I did like the idea behind the story and enjoyed the last scenes of the book way more than the other 250 pages, but nothing too surprising here as well. The play with the powers could have have been introduced earlier and added some intensity.

Everyone knows about the devil and has heard stories about him. And either through those or after reading Faust, First Part you know that the devil is here to play games and loves to manipulate. So why was I the only one in the story who always kept that in the back of my mind and just waited for a turn of events? ("Oh how the turntables" ~ Michael Scott 😉)

I expected nothing less (probably more from the Lord of Death) and also Celik did not surprise me with his actions. Zerryn not being able to see more than one step ahead did bother me though and made me just want to end this book. I think that the same story with the POV of Erlik would have been way more entertaining and interesting.

So sadly, this book disappointed for the most part, but this does not mean that it cannot be the perfect gothic book for you. Definitely check out the book description and decide for yourself if you want to give this one a try 💗

Special thanks to NetGalley, Northern Light Press and F.M. Aden for the ARC. I leave this honest review voluntary.

I was underwhelmed BUT I think this will be a hit with the right audience. The writing was good, all the characters were done well and the story keeps you engaged. I'm just not a fan of the "super powerful girl has to decide between two equally terrible men" trope. I kept hoping she would recognize that she didn't need either of them but alas some people actually enjoy romance and will most likely enjoy this one. It's pretty steamy without being obnoxious about it.

Whatever I thought this book was going to be, it wasn’t. Very interesting read for fantasy lovers who have also enjoyed Hades and Persephone retellings. I really enjoyed the fact that it doesn’t take place in what you would assume to be some imaginary town in the west, because anyone familiar with south Eastern Europe (including turkey) will find the story telling very believable.

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!