A dark, sensual tale seeped in Turkish mythology with a loveable female lead and slow-burn romance

My final rating is 3.5 ✰ because I feel like there are a few things that could be improved on but overall I devoured this book at warp speed!

We are introduced to Zerryn as a young girl and told the story of how one night as she dances in the woods, she falls to hit her head and dies, travelling to the Underworld where Erlik Khan (aka The Devil/Death) makes one of her eyes turn black. Zerryn has no recollection of this afterwards, but can curiously sense when someone is about to die and the villagers seem to resent her due to her new eeriness.
She moves away with her grandma to a more accepting village and meets Çelik, with whom they become childhood sweethearts growing up. That is until Çelik is mysteriously possessed by Erlik Khan, who torments him as well as her village. Zerryn agrees to go to the Underworld with the plan to compete in becoming Erlik's bride in order to overpower him and save her village and her love.

Let's start off with Zerryn. She's a really likeable character, kind and resourceful. She has a strong moral compass and is determined to do what is right, sacrificing herself for Çelik and the villagers. Aden does a good job of characterising her, although in the first 20% of the novel as the plot builds up to the trials, we are told a lot of stuff about her, rather than shown - such as her ability to grow and nurture life (something that is quite integral to the plot later, as we find out it links to her magic). I would have appreciated the character building to be a bit more fleshed out at the beginning, whereas I felt we rushed through Zerryn's childhood years too quickly.

I also found the writing improved as the book progressed, which was odd. Firstly, the initial 20-25% of the book for me was way to similar to The Bear and the Nightingale. Thankfully, the story comes into it's own once Zerryn meets Erlik but that first stretch had me worried we were going to get a (substandard) carbon copy of Morozko and Vasya. Secondly, the writing initially was littered with what I can only describe as the most confusing metaphors/similes I've ever read.
"Zerryn grinned wider, as sharp as wolves cutting their teeth on their prey."

"her hair knotted in a messy braid, curls popping out like overstitched buttons"

"crevices lined his face like breadcrumbs"


I'm sorry ... what? None of the above help me picture the scene any more at all, which is surely the point. All this confusing, flowery prose disappears after the first 1/4 of the book, and hopefully the editor gets rid of the rest before it's published.

Now, onto the things I liked:
The rest of the story is really original and well-paced. I enjoyed reading about the trials Zerryn has to do, I liked how she befriends her opponents and especially her friendship with Beyza the ubir. It was refreshing to see a non-toxic female friendship even as they competed for the same man. The trials were challenging enough to build tension in the novel, and they added to the richness of the world by introducing other mythical creatures.

The descriptions of the Underworld were also fantastic and gross at the same time. If you want gothic vibes, it has them all. I liked how Aden made the Underworld a bit rotting and grim rather than trying to glamorise it all.

I thought Erlik was written rather well. I liked how his physical description was a nod to the angels in the Bible (he is a fallen angel after all) with their multiple eyes and scary/beautiful appearance. He never pretends to be anything less than evil, but Aden somehow makes us sympathise with his emotions. Never have I ever thought I'd feel sad for the devil! We see Zerryn's initial loathing of him turn to compassion and eventually love, and the reader goes on that same journey.

Their love story is quite dark and definitely not healthy (could it ever be, considering he's the devil?) but very entertaining to read. I enjoyed their banter, and the sexual tension between them.

Lastly, I found the ending a touch disappointing. Not enough to taint the reading experience but I was expecting something a bit more interesting. I also felt that the confrontation between Erlik/Zerryn/Çelik was less rushed and felt that both Zerryn and Çelik made some rather out of character choices in that scene. Hence why I couldn't quite rate it four full stars.

Overall, if you're looking for a dark, twisty love story with lots of adventure and gothic vibes this is a great book for that. Definitely enjoyed reading it despite some of it's minor flaws!