Thank you to the author and publisher for the chance to read this ARC, in exchange for an honest review. I did enjoy The Bride of Death, I loved the premise, the atmospheric writing and the tension between the two. However, for me, there was a little bit too much telling rather than actual action filled moments. The cover is gorgeous and this is perfect for fans of The Bear and the Nightingale.

When you grow up with the tales of The Lord of Death, you behave and never step out of line. Zerryn does as she is told and never steps foot where she shouldn't. Until her best friend begins to act weird and may possibly even be possessed. Her whole life takes a turn. I had fun with this book!

This is a gothic fantasy book woven with folklore and an eerie theme.
Zerryn, a girl who grew up listening and believing fairytales finds herself in a situation where she strikes a haunting deal with Erlik Khan, the lord of Death in order to save her friend Celik. The story revolves around how Zerryn competes to be the bride of the death.
I loved how Zerryn was portrayed to be a soft mortal with strong will and a sense of righteousness. All the other characters had their unique personality. If you love folklore/death × maiden trope/dark × light vibes, I would totally recommend this book .
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc !

i am a simple man with simple tastes, and eldritch abomination fantasy romance enemies-to-lovers fits all of them. this is interestingly not the only one recently i read like that (Someone To Build A Nest In showcases the same sort of set, though more horror and less fantasy). at times the main char feels quite weak here still, this one is beautiful. and it's always nice when the love interest has entirely too many eyes. thanks for the arc. 4.5

Thank you to Northern Light Press and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

I really enjoyed this Turkish-inspired story. It's based on the Turkish folktale/myth of Erlik Khan, the God of Death, and the young woman who is destined to be with him, Zerryn. Of course, it wouldn't be a story without some drama and a mini love triangle involving Erlik, Zerryn, and Zerryn's childhood friend Çelik. I didn't like her friend like at all so I found it difficult to buy into them as an option for Zerryn. I liked Zerryn a lot. I thought she was interesting, realistic, and I admired her desire to stay morally right. I found her flip flopping SO realistic once she got to the underworld and was around Erlik more cause, girl, SAME.

The only reason this is rated so low is cause I thought the spice wasn't quite that spicy for me but I'm fairly certain parts of my brain were rotted by reading fanfic in the early 2000s. That said, I do recommend this if only for the way that Auden recounts the story of Erlik Khan and for Zerryn's character.

I really enjoyed this but again, the low rating is due to spice level which I would put at the Sarah J. Maas level and because some of the writing came across as kind of immature BUT it was still an enjoyable read for me.

Bride of Death is a dark story that starts with Zerryn dying as a young girl, only to be given a second chance at life. Unfortunately her life continues to lead her back to the Lord of Death and the Underworld.

The story and plot were so good, and I wanted to love the book, but for some reason it just fell flat for me. Normally I have harder time rooting for the villain, but Celik was absolutely insufferable I couldn’t figure out why Zerryn ever cared for him. The ending tied up all the loose ends throughout the book, and I did enjoy the epilogue.

*thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Brilliant!This is probably the greatest and my favourite book of all time!
I devoured this.Infinite stars.

This book read like a tweens fanfiction. The main character was the typical fantasy heroine, even her physical appearance was generic. I slogged through this book hoping it would get better but the farther it progressed the more it felt like a page out of a horn girl's diary.

I was gifted an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

When Erlick Khan, the Lord of Death, possesses the body of her intended, Zerryn will do whatever it takes to free him and destroy Erlick. To do so, Zerryn must enter the Underworld and compete in three trials to become Erlick’s bride. It is the only way to get close enough to him to destroy him. But the more time she spends in the Underworld, the more she learns about its mysterious lord. Will her growing feelings for Erlick Khan keep her from her mission?

The first fourth of the book provides background and the lead up to Zerryn entering the Underworld to fulfill her mission. Honestly, I struggled to get through it. The writing was fine, but the frequent flashes between present and past gave my mind whiplash. It was hard to keep the timeline straight. However, once Zerryn got to the Underworld, the story really kicked off and kept my interest.

I really enjoyed the friendship between Zerryn and Beyza, a vampire and fellow contestant in the trials. Zerryn accepted Beyza as she was, and acknowledged Beyza’s vampire instincts without judging her for them. This is the kind of friendship I’d love to see more of in romantasy books.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I typically enjoy stories with enemies to lovers and this delivered. The relationship between Zerryn and Erlick was complicated and Zerryn was very often conflicted about her feelings for him. I do wish there had been more spice in the story, but that’s just personal preference.

Unfortunately this book didn't resonate with me. I found myself being told rather than shown who the characters were and I couldn't connect with them. The writing style wasn't for me.

Reading The Bride of Death felt like I was reading an old fairy tale, which kind of fits with the overall vibes of the book. It's a story themed around darkness, but it utilises that in unexpected ways which is really nice to read. The writing style is really good; like I said, it feels like you are reading an old fairy tale. It's enchanting, draws you right in and makes you stay with the book. This book also explores some interesting themes (besides darkness) and weaves a story full of mysterious, suspense and also intrigue. The romance was also pretty good (personally, I would love to fall in love with an immortal lol). However, my only issue was at the start. The world-building was quite confusing, which for me, slowed down the pacing a lot because I couldn't understand exactly what was going on in the story at that point.

But I think overall, The Bride of Death was a pretty good story with a satisfying ending!

𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰.

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Fantasy
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 3/1/2024
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: Zerryn, a special and marked village girl, has grown up on tales of the Lord of Death and other otherworldly things. Life is lonely, but she has a best friend and lover in Çelik. When he is taken and possessed, Zerryn will do whatever it takes to save him and save her village from Erlik Khan, the Lord of Death. She’ll even compete for his hand in marriage.

𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: I know that this book was inspired by the legends of Erlik Khan, but it was reminiscent of Hades and Persephone. I liked this book a lot. It was dark, it was light on spice and heavy on mythology.

I liked that Zerryn was a “weak” mortal, but she never backed down. She was a ruthless competitor, brave, and loving. She wanted nothing but love and acceptance from her people. I loved watching Erlik and how he was softer, but no less cruel around Zerryn. His trials were a cruel means of finding out whether he would be fully accepted by his future bride. There was danger, love, betrayal, friendship, personal growth and acceptance.

I liked the side characters, the plot, and how well-written it was. I honestly wish this book was longer because I was enjoying it that much. I didn’t see much of a plot twist, but the story flowed really well, and I enjoyed the character growth.

I’ve already put in my pre-order.

thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I was so excited to read The Bride of Death, as the premise of a mortal girl competing for the hand of Death really drew me to the book. I ended up giving it a score of 3 stars as I felt that there was just something missing. the beginning of the book threw large amounts of information about Zerryn and her magic, but through the entirety of the book we are told these things about her and never shown. Zerryn left her village to save them from doom, but I wasn’t able to grasp how ‘doomed’ they really were as it was only ever mentioned and the idea wasn’t fleshed out. The challenges Zerryn faced and the competitions she went through felt meaningless without those added details and explanations. It felt bland. Some parts just felt rushed and it made me feel like I couldn’t really connect with the characters. I really wished I could have read more about how Zerryn’s magic worked and how she was able to grow and feel her magic even if she ended up losing it in the end. It would have made it more heart wrenching to me. Erlik was an interesting character. The mentions of human emotions being felt by The Lord of Death was nice to read. I wasn’t too critical of his character as ... he is the devil.
Overall I read through The Bride of Death in two sittings. I do think a lot of the story was rushed and a lot of the concepts would read better if they were properly fleshed out. It was a wild ride to read how Zerryn slowly became someone she thought she would never be. This book had me wondering where it was going at all times and the read through was entertaining, but I was left with the feeling of wanting more from it by the end.

Oh my god this book was incredible. I loved it and I couldn’t put it down. When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. You can tell 100% how much love and effort was put into writing this.

The storyline had me very interested and I loved the art work on the front cover too, that also drew me in. But I never thought I would love the characters as much as I did.

Zerryn & Erliks characters were written to perfection. I loved the development that went into their story. I didn’t think I would love Bezya but she won me over easily. For one heart stopping moment I didn’t think I would get the ending I wanted but in the end I did and it easily made this book my favourite that I’ve read so far this year.

I recently read A court of thorns & roses and I have to say I think this was better.

Thank you so much for letting me read this book. I truly loved it. I really really hope there are more to come. I’d love to hear what happens next for my favourite characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Northern Light Press for this opportunity to read rate and review this arc which will be available March 1,2024!

Weird flowery prose disguises a Hades/Persephone type book with great spicy scenes. I did not enjoy this book. I liked the spice and I dug the concept but again why the weird flowery prose? Also this felt like a book where the author just decided to check off tropes toss them in a blender and call it done. I notice others are calling this a monster romance. Its not. Just because Erlik is a demon does not make this book a monster romance. I found the enemies to lovers trope boring. There is no true sense of urgency to complete the trials to be Death’s wife. It is more like “huh. Today I am deciding this huge momentous decision but don’t make a big deal out of it” the side characters were great. I dug them but Zerryn was really bland and blasé. Erlik is a dark demon of death but even he with his piercings couldn’t save this book for me.

I really enjoyed reading The Bride of Death! It centers around the story of Zerryn, who is desperately trying to protect her family and village from evil. She must travel to the Underworld and participate in trials all in an effort to save her home.

I liked the way this story contrasted good vs. evil and how the boundary between the two overlaps. A fun read overall!

Tales as old as time and yet it holds up on its own. Thoroughly enjoyed this take on Hades and Persephone / East of the Sun West of the Moon tale that tore my hearts to shreds at times. Very exited to read this author's other works.

Rating: 3 stars
The Bride of Death written by F.M Aden follows the story of Zerryn, a girl who grew up on what one may deem fairytales or folklore but to her, a girl touched by the Lord of Death, it was so much more. When her childhood friend and soon to be ‘lover’ is possessed by the demon Lord himself, Zerryn believes she can set things right and set forth to save Çelik and her people from eternal doom, but she has to compete for his heart and hand in marriage through three trials.
While I think the storyline was well established, I believe there was some much needed character development in Erlik, although I understand why there wasn’t any prominently, although the ending would have been more astounding if so. I believe this novel is perfect for anyone interested in an intense enemies to lovers story between a demon Lord and an estranged village girl.

There were some parts of the story which bore a resemblance to The Bear and The Nightingale but as the story progressed a little more, the author’s creativity shone through. The only reason I rated this book 3 stars was due to the ending, I believe the story would have felt complete if Zerryn stepped into her role with her own magic but alas; it was not the writer’s intent. I enjoyed the pacing, gothic descriptions, and the complexity of the trials.

I really enjoyed this book. It did remind a bit of The Bear and The Nightingale. I love stories that take the local folklore and make a story that lives in your mind forever with it. I find other cultures mythology or folklore so interesting. This book will be a best seller in my opinion. Look forward to so much more by this brilliant author.

Lush with atmosphere and thick with angst, The Bride of Death is a wonderful take on the death and the maiden trope in a Turkish mythology inspired world. It follows the story of Zerryn, a mortal girl with extraordinary power, as she takes to the Underworld for a competition to win the hand or Erlik, the Lord of Death, in order to save the life of her childhood friend turned lover.

I really enjoyed Aden’s writing style and almost poetic like prose, especially when it came to creating atmosphere and aesthetic. The Underworld in particular had this kind of lush decay to it that I found especially evocative. I also loved Erlike— his caustic, dramatic nature is exactly the type of MMC I love. I’m not always a big fan of characters with non human characteristics but did find myself intrigued by his uniqueness, especially his eyes and many hands. I’m also a sucker for a long haired man!

I flew through this and definitely enjoyed it throughout. I did find a bit of the middle somewhat tedious, especially the competition, and would’ve like to see Zerryn come into her own a little more as far as knowing what she wanted and following through with her desires. That being said, Erlik and the overall atmosphere really made the story for me.