The Bride of Death by F.M. Aden

“Fairytales were never written about girls who stuck to their duty. They were written of the girls entranced by magic.”

DNFed at 50%

First off, this eARC was sent to me from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, let’s get into what drew me to this book.

It is based on Turkish folklore and has a similar style to Katherine Arden’s Winter Night Trilogy & Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver. The marketing was pretty spot on in regards to that, especially Spinning Silver.

The book takes place between 1046-1243 during the Byzantine–Seljuk wars. I believe that you can narrow it down to even around 1071-1096 because little vague tidbits that the author gives you suggest that the Seljuk Turks were winning during the time.

*Side note, for this that don’t know the Seljuk Turks have my favourite military/combat style throughout history.

So here we have a fantasy book focusing around Turkish mythology, during a period of time where we are witnessing a war that shows my favourite combat style. Which I never see, so I was very excited.

Now let’s get into why I DNFed it.

1. The author does a significant amount of telling the reader & never showing. This makes for a very boring read & an unintentional, unreliable narrator.

2. Details are often glazed over or missing. Such as, attire half described (only the top of a dress but not the bottom). Hair is said to have been done but never expanded on. Appearances change during certain parts ie; extra limbs & eyes sprouting up all of a sudden with no explanation & gaps in the world building aspect.

3. Major continuity issues. Like, details that contradict situations that occurred a page before.

4. Relationships unfold without any development or story/plot details to allow them to flourish between the two parties. These relationships tend to contradict the events unfolding.

5. Cringy dialogue that didn’t make any sense or, again contradicted information given prior.

A lot of this could have been resolved with good beta readers as these issues should have been caught in that process. The book has a lot of promise but unfortunately it has a messy execution.

Thank you to NetGalley and Northern Light Press for providing the ARC.

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book, and I love the fact that it is based in Turkish folklore. However, I did find the execution a bit rough.

Zerryn, as a character, came off to me as a bit naive and self-sacrificing in a way that made it hard for me to really connect with her. Additionally, even though there seemed to be a lot of material to work with, the world building was a bit lacking. I wanted more meat than what I got, and I do think that the quality of the book suffered.

Erlik was pretty awesome, all things considered. But overall, I wanted this book to be more than it ended up being. I wanted better writing and world building and didn't really receive it.

The Bride of Death by F.M. Aden was a fantastic debut that I really enjoyed! It was rich in history and folklore from Asia Minor and had great world-building. Zerryn is a well thought-out character and I enjoyed reading about her journey to the underworld. I am looking forward to more from this author. Thank you, Netgalley!

Absolutely not my taste.
There was nothing wholly original about the story, or its plot. The writing was uninspired, causing me to skim read much of it.

A slow burn, enemies to lovers romance that takes the reader along on a captivating story through the Underworld as the main protagonist undergoes three trials to win the hand of the Lord of Death. Along the way she will discover her own magic, power, and strength, her conflicting desires between life and death, and that she doesn't need a man to save her.

F.M. Aden's "The Bride of Death" weaves a tale steeped in Turkish mythology. It charts the journey of Zerryn, a young girl marked by the ominous Eye of Erlik Khan.

From her early years, Zerryn's life is deeply intertwined with that of Turkic legends. Branded as cursed, she becomes an outcast in her community, with death haunting her footsteps and casting her into solitude. Zerryn seeks refuge with her grandmother and a stern aunt, discovering friendship and love. However, her curse follows her, and her friend's mother dies. The death causes her friend to descend into deep grief, letting Erlik Khan, the King of the Underworld, possess her friend.

Zerryn embarks on a journey to complete three trials to save her friend. Through these challenges, she develops friendship and love and discovers her own strength. "The Bride of Death" is not merely a tale of overcoming adversity; it is a story of self-discovery and the power of human connection, all set against a backdrop of mystical fantasy.

For those who desire to cheer for an unlikely hero, dive into a tale of dark romance, and be thrilled by the unforeseeable, "The Bride of Death" by F.M. Aden promises a journey of unforgettable transformation and resilience.

Bride of the Death is a captivating and dark retelling of the Turkic mythology with a small village setting.

Personally, I felt that the first few chapters are hard to keep reader's attention as it was dragging and dull. I'm starting to get interested with the plot from the middle part of the story.

Zerryn is an admirable character, she was forced to participate in a competition to fight for the hand of the Lord of the Death--Erlik or else she'll lose her loved ones.

The premise of this book really appealed as I’ve never read any Turkish folklore before and I’m a huge fan of The Bear and the Nightingale and Uprooted, both of which this was compared to.

The storyline itself I enjoyed and the tasks set by Erlik Khan aka Death were interesting and the competition between the four ‘contestants’ for Erliks hand in marriage were fast paced and exciting. I especially enjoyed the character of Beyza, who was both likeable, funny and dangerous. Yuxa was also sharp tongued and witty. Parts of the character development and the interaction between Zerryn and Erlik felt rushed. I’d probably put this book more into the category of Fairy Smut, so fans of that genre will probably enjoy this book a lot.

I’m giving it 4 stars because while it wasn’t my thing it was a good story and interesting new genre for fans of folklore to explore.

A Bride of Death by F.M. Aden
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am obsessed. Thank you NetGalley and Northern Light Press for the opportunity to read this lovely ARC and to review. (It came out March 1st!! GO READ!!)

I never thought I’d love the words coming out a man’s mouth as much as I loved Erliks words towards Zerryn. I am smitten as hell towards him. He is what I want in my life. The words he speaks towards her is just beautiful. (I’ll list a few quotes at the end of this review, ⚠️ spoiler kind of but I just had to include them to get you wanting to read this more)

This cover is stunning. I love the title. I liked the storyline so much. It was interesting. It also kind of gave me the vibe of under the mountain from ACOTAR series a little bit. I loved the language of this fantasy world and how easy it was to grasp and understand at least for me.(Just realized this is a Turkish Folkcore and I’m not familiar with that but I loved this read and the vibes in the story)
I overall enjoyed this book a lot. It was lovely. Great side characters and great main characters (especially MMC I am INLOVE with Erlik). I also loved the tension, the banter, and romantic build up between the characters. I am the biggest slow burn supporter ever and I loved how there was a bit of that in this and the tension and banter was good as well.

I would love to see a book on more of the side characters because they were very fun characters added into this storyline and I really enjoyed them especially Beyza.

Little Quotes I loved from Erlik:

“Desire is fleeting, and it wanes like the moon,” “You are not a moments thought. You are all my thoughts”

“You are not nothing,” “It is I who come to you crawling, a rabid dog hungry for your attention. An unworthy peasant grabbing at your hem. It is you who refused me always. You who remain unswayed by my power and beauty and might. You who insults me and soothes me. You see the one in power, and you have brought me to my knees.”

I appreciate the ARC from NetGalley for an honest review, but I just couldn’t bring myself to finish this.

It was compared to Uprooted & the Bear and the Nightengale which are two of my favorite books. This is not those. There is no fleshing out in the beginning. We get told some things then all of a sudden we’ve skipped ahead by several months or years even. We are told things that happened, that would have been better off being shown. I have no connection to these characters and so no desire to continue on.

The writing also just feels a bit stunted and choppy. The idea is interesting, but this just fell flat.

Not going to lie, when I saw that this was inspired by Turkic folklore and mythology, I scrambled to request it. While this was a rather entertaining romantasy read, I did find some things odd here and there. 😕

For one, the pacing felt off. The first 15% of the book felt like it was heavily copying elements from Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale, but at a more sped up pace. Her childhood spent with Derya, her nursemaid, grandmother, and childhood friend and lover, Çelik felt rushed and unexplored to the point when Zerryn refers back to this time, the reader is left scratching their head and thinking, “well, I wish I could’ve read about that.” Also, what happened to Minay in the end?? 🙁

Elrik Khan’s portrayal also felt rather odd to me. He felt like a Hades figure looking for his Persephone with a weird dash of Christianity mysticism. The fact that this man has multiple eyes, mouths, and arms is reminiscent of the old portrayals of angels in Biblical depictions, and the fact that he’s made out to be a fallen angel and later on a demon in the first place? . . . Rather odd, and also makes me again think of how Morozko was constantly seen as a demon in Christian Russia. And that reveal of a specific piercing in a VERY specific area? . . . I could’ve done without that bit. 😳

Even though I wanted to slap Zerryn for being too naive when it comes to trickery and people flipping on her like a switch, I thought she was a likable MC, though I do wish we could have gone more into detail on her magic and how she got it in the first place. ✨

Other than that, I did find the sprinklings of Turkic folklore here and there though I do wish there was more of it in the first place. The world itself felt more fantasy than historical and I do wish there was more focus on that too. 🐺

In the end, an oddly enjoyable read that left me with more questions than answers. Wouldn’t recommend this for those who loved Arden’s work due to the similarities, but would recommend for the Turkic folklore elements. 🔥

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for accepting my request for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. And to the author for creating an interesting tale of Turkic folklore and mythology. 🗡️

Publication date: March 1!

Overall: 3.25/5 ⭐️

You can totally see the Naomi Novik similarities in this dark, gothic tale that will captivate and mesmerise you throughout.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the concept and the idea behind the plot. Personally, I’ve never read anything like this especially with the concept of trials/tasks/anything like that set by the Devil (or anyone really) to win their hand in marriage. The ideas for the trials were great and I love that it wasn’t every woman for themselves and that she develops a good relationship with the others. However, I found it very difficult to get into the story at first, the plot felt slow and I found myself forcing myself to read it just for the sake of finishing it which is a shame because I really loved the concept.

The Bride Of Death (ARC)
F.M. Aden
4.25⭐️

Pub Date: 3/1/2024
I went into this one blind and I'm very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it! There were so many foreign words that Google had been my friend with this book. The glossary is at the end of the book (would've been really nice if it was at the beginning). This story revolves around Erlik Khan, god of the underworld in Turkic/Siberian/Mongolian mythology, and his search for a bride. The premise was interesting right away since the FMC is mortal. There were so many questions left hanging that made this devourable. For some reason, the writing style and the whole vibe of the book felt like YA to me even though it's creepy, descriptive and dark enough to be considered adult. It's romance with adventure/fantasy with constant taunting statements like "do it then, fall on your knees.." (and so much more!). The all-powerful god comes undone with a simple call from the mortal. Plenty of build up, but closed door romance.

This is not your typical hero/heroine kind of story. It's dark, and the demon wins, but not without trials and hardships from both MMC and FMC side. It's more so a "come to the dark side" plot. There's so much power imbalance, with the scales tipping back and forth between them. But the man will literally burn the world down for the woman, because he can. So good! For readers who want something subtle, dark and still spine-tingling worth book with so much swoon-worthy words, this will be a good read you!

The Bride of Death has some pretty big shoes to fill as it was likened to Uprooted and The Bear and the Nightingale. For me the story never came close to the comparisons.

I found the writing to have some really lovely lyrical moments but the actual plot and world building didn't feel as evocative or engaging as I would of hoped. The pacing felt choppy, with large exposition based info dumps followed but long stretches of mindless banter.

Sadly this one didn't work for me in the end.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The cover art is perfect for this book. Whenever I want to buy a new book I always look at the cover first. You know what you can expect just by looking at the cover and I am so happy that the cover realy fits this book. I loved the enemies to lovers so much. It is one of my favorite tropes and this book did an amazing job at including it!

I loved everything about this book! The romance, the tension, the pace and the character development.

Thank you Netgalley and Northern Light Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Bride of Death follows Zerryn, who, to protect her village and her loved ones, journeys to the Underworld, ruled by Erlik Khan, a demon who'd "blessed" her as a child. But she soon discovers that the only way to take him down is to be his bride, and to be his bride, she'd have to complete three impossible tasks.

Firstly, the cover art is beautiful and suits the book very well. I liked the dark fairytale-esque vibes and the foresty setting and folklore are reminiscent of The Bear and the Nightingale. The writing is good for most of the book, with good use of metaphors and quips. But for me, the plot falls flat towards the end of the story. The female protagonist's actions feel very out-of-character and the ending makes the central plotline inconsequential.

Overall, it was still an enjoyable experience and I appreciate that it's a rare fantasy standalone.

This book is really good! It’s like Hades & Persephone meets Beauty and the Beast - weird combo but you’ll understand when you read it. I could not put this book down. I binged it. The writing, the characters, the enemies to lovers, the compete the marry, the devil man with wings - all so good!! My only issue, and it’s a minor spoiler so feel free to stop reading here… is the fact that homeboy has four arms and four eyes. Like why did he have to be a freak. Why couldn’t he just be a hot dude?! Come on… lol - despite that, still worth reading!!

Oh and as far as spice goes, they don’t describe anything in detail but skirt around stuff. So you know stuff happens but it’s not like classic spicy scenes that many of us are used to in this genre.

I have found my new mythology romantasy obsession and I am INSISTING you read this immediately.

The Bride of Death is a story that has everything: a compelling young heroine, a dynamic romance, a brooding protagonist, and beautiful dialogue. Zerryn, a young farmer’s daughter, finds herself entangled with the Lord of Death to save her friend Çelik and family from certain peril. She vies for his hand in a series of tasks to try and convince him to spare those she holds dear, but finds herself in an internal war. Torn between what is right and what she wants, Zerryn fights for her own power and to find the real meaning of love.

I started this in the morning and I promptly finished it by the evening: I could not put it down. It has everything I love in a romantasy: amazing characters, wonderful dialogue that tugs the heartstrings, diabolically intense chemistry, and moral greyness that I appreciate in an adult fantasy. As a mythos girlie, I also loved how this was inspired by Anatolian mythology (modern day Turkey) and that was a huge part of what lured me in. I always love learning about a new mythos and I think this is a really great option for those of us who might want something different than the Greco-Roman mythos that is super popular currently.

Zerryn has my absolute heart: she’s idealistic but determined to see her goals through. She understands her limitations but doesn’t let that deter her from trying. She’s so endearing I just want to give her the biggest hug. Erlik, the Lord of Death, is so incredible charming, and his voice is written so well that I was thoroughly convinced that someone with four arms and eyes was devilishly attractive. Their chemistry is lovely and gives wonderful enemies-to-lovers vibes.

I just loved everything about this book: I was blown away in every aspect. The plot is wonderfully paced, the characters are beautifully developed, and the themes and romance are just to die for. This is one of my favorite reads of this year, and you are sleeping on this if you have not read this yet.

Inspired by the Turkic myth of Erlik Khan and reminiscent of Hades and Persephone meets The Trials of the Sun King. This novel weaved a beautiful story of a girl(Zerryn) torn between two worlds, two loves. As she competes in 3 trials to become the bride of Death she learns a lot about herself & her hearts true desires. The prose is both bleak and beautiful. Well written characters, a winged shadow daddy, undying love, betrayal, steeped in magic. It’s a great standalone novel. Closed door spice.