The similarities between The Bear and the Nightingale in the beginning is quite startling. Though I love the book, it seemed nearly copy and pasted. And as a lover of Hades and Persephone retelling, I feel this was a very glossed over cherry picked version of it. The smut wasn’t built up properly and the ending was rushed.

** 3.5 STARS **

Inspired by Turkish folklore, this debut novel follows Zerryn as she dances with Erlick Khan, the Lord of Death himself, and competes in three deadly trials to become his wife and save her village.

Aden's writing is lyrical and captivating, and truly carries a magic of its own as it describes the places and people that Zerryn encounters on her journey. I know this book has been compared to The Bear and The Nightingale, but I actually found it to be more reminiscent of ACOTAR, and honestly, a lot better in my opinion. The trials were well thought out for the most part, and really contributed to Zerryn's growth throughout.

I'll admit, the romance between Zerryn and Erlick is obsessive and a little bit toxic, but what else would you expect when Death himself is the love interest?! I still really enjoyed their dynamic though, and there were some great, memorable moments between them (swipe through to see some of my fave quotes). Also, this book really delivered on the yearning and longing that a lot of romantasy books are missing these days 😂

I think you'll love this one if you like:
• Enemies to lovers
• Love triangles
• Death and the Maiden trope
• Folklore and mythology
• Light vs. Dark / Good vs. Evil
• A dark, misunderstood male love interest who would do anything for the FMC

While an intriguing premise, I found the introduction to the world and its systems to be a bit incoherent. A good yarn, if you can make it through the gauntlet of confusion that is its opening.

In all honesty, this book has a bit of a bumpy start for me- I felt like the world building was a bit rushed and I was missing some information/events that would have made it a smoother introduction- BUT: the love story grabbed me hook, line and sinker!!

You can’t have a more morally grey MMC than Death himself- Lord of the Underworld. Erlick’s obsession with Zerryn was addicting. The grumpy/sunshine trope at its finest is when one character has the added ‘restriction’ of being doomed to an Underworld!!!

I like the folklore/fairytale feel to the story- I was expecting the nanny to play a larger role at some point and was disappointed that wasn’t the case. But the hints the grandma drops through her stories to Zerryn were really interesting.

I would definitely recommend this book to our followers!

While The Bride of Death is by far not the worst YA romantasy I've ever read, it isn't the best either. Pretty standard enemies-to-lovers trope featuring the embodiment of Death (Erlik Kahn) falling in love with a plain village girl (Zerryn) who has the magic of life. This is technically set during the transition from paganism to Christianity in Anatolia, but the world-building is not incredibly strong and I find Zerryn to be a little too anachronistic to be realistic.

This book is being compared to Katherine Arden's Bear and Nightingale trilogy, but I found those books faaaaaaar and away more engaging. It may just be because I'm coming at this book from an adult perspective though, so I feel like this would be a fine book to recommend to someone who is looking to just get swept up in a romance with a gothic element.

When I picked this up I was expecting the folklore, the fairytale vibes, a girl completes three impossible tasks like in Slavic tales. I nearly put this book down, it seemed almost too saccharine in some ways… but I’m glad I didn’t put it down. While the majority of the book felt low stakes, things coming too easily to the protagonist- it does have its dark moments that question the morality of humans and the devil.

This is a slow burn and I enjoyed the way it developed. Though I do prefer my love interest to have the normal amount of eyes…. Just saying. But I think I’m okay with the extra arms Anyway, there are a lot of extra parts that made me wish it wasn’t closed door.

Overall, a sweet low stakes Turkish folklore/Hades & Persephone tale, with a little twist.

I’m not sure why the author chose to jump time so strangely in the beginning. It felt very clunky, and it certainly failed to establish any solid backstory for the main character and her love for this man who gets possessed by a demon. Like it all felt quite superficial. We also don’t establish any sort of skill that she eventually shows in completing the challenges either. Where did she learn to steal or fight? I had a very difficult time imagining this world as well. The story jumped from scene to scene rather than building up the characters or world.

Classic take with different lore woven in. A girl has to make a complete 3 tasks with the devil himself to save everyone.

It was a good book. Needs more world building. A great stand alone! I enjoyed it.

Friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, and morally gray character.

Thank you Netgallery for letting me read the ARC:)

This book was amazing. It would’ve been even better if it was marketed as a monster romance. In fact, I think it will do better marketed in monster romance as long as the sex scenes are elaborated on a tad bit. The whole book is super tension-filled and full of sexual and romantic build-up between the characters, but when they finally do the do, it’s not everything it could’ve been.
The book itself, besides the sex, was insanely good. I’m not very educated on Turkish folklore or folklore in general, but I loooved this book. I found Erlik to be super sexy and sweet, even though he was dark and a bit disturbed. I also really loved Zerryn and her friendship with Beyza. I love a girl’s girl. Zerryn was always ready to help people even if they had betrayed her, and it was endearing.
The end was a bit fast for me, but every book needs a conclusion without becoming too long. Beyza and Yuxa both need their own book. And Vasily.

I enjoyed this so much! Thank you to NetGalley and Northern Light Press for the ARC!

I really really wanted to like this more than I did. While I did love the world and especially the prose in this book, the characters just did not draw me in and emotionally bind me like I wanted to. I need characters to root for and I unfortunately did not want to root for any of these characters.
Love triangles are not my favorite trope at all, but I have read some that I love, my problem is always that the girl always seems to flit back and forth between two guys and there never seems to be any emotional involved.

I saw the Naomi Novak and shadow and bone inspiration but it unfortunately fell flat for me.

This book was fascinating to me. The story premise was quite unique and it was done in a way that felt different and refreshing. It had that old wicked fairytale vibe going for it. I think the author was going for something along the lines of Naomi Novik and Erin Morgenstern, and she almost made it. Some parts were stronger than others, personally the beginning felt somewhat choppy to me, but overall, I really enjoyed the story and the writing. Also, the cover is absolutely beautiful, so it will be a worthy addition to anyone’s shelf.

Thank you NetGalley and Northern Light Press for this arc.

This was so quick to grab my attention. It's gorgeously written, and so captivating. I loved all of the myths and folklore that was interweaved into the story. There are so many moments where I wanted to chuck it across the room but also so many moments where i was giddily kicking my feet. I absolutely adore a book that can make me feel a complete range of emotions and oh boy did this book do that. I ABSOLUTLEY applaud F.M. Aden for her ability to create this world.
Absolutely stunning!

So so beautiful written, absolutely LOVED the Turkish vibes ✨😍. It was so dark and full of emotions and Erlik is definitely on my top book boys list. Can we just take a moment to appreciate THAT cover ??? This was a well deserved five stars, can't wait to read more of the author 🤭

Just not for me. The writing was confusing and I struggled to stay interesting in what I was reading.

Thank you for the ARC!

The Bride of Death by F.M. Aden is a brilliant read that takes you on an adventure steeped in history, mythology and Turkish folklore.

Erlik Khan is the Lord of Death tasked with finding his bride so he can rule both the under and above worlds. Zerryn is a mortal that will stop at nothing to save her village and the people she loves from the Lord of Death. The author does a wonderful job building both the above and the underworlds. I loved the character development and the banter between Zerryn, Erlik and the rest of the characters in the underworld. Zerryn is a very strong, feisty character and Erlik is the evil Lord with a few redeeming qualities, to make you root for them both. Throughout this book there is plenty of trials and tribulations to leave your heart pounding and at times broken.

I highly recommend adding this book to your fantasy TBR and bookshelf.

**Special thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

Zerryn grew up on tales of magical beings and monsters, full of her own kind of magic and touched by a being that left her feared by the villagers around her, she grows up to earn in a place in the village and fall in love with her best friend. Just when they're about to wed, tragedy strikes and Çelik finds himself possessed by the Lord of Death. To save Çelik, Zerryn ventures into the Underworld and agrees to take on three challenges to win the throne of the Underworld and become Erlik's queen. But time in the Underworld and with the Lord of Death starts to change Zerryn and she'll have to decide if she still wants the life of warmth she dreamed of with Çelik or the dark victory of earning the heart of the Lord of Death.
If I were reviewing just on story itself, this would get a higher rating because I genuinely wanted to like this one. It's a fascinating and original twist on fairy tales and has all the elements I look for in good romanstasy, including charming characters that you're rooting for, but I just couldn't get into the rhythm of Aden's writing. It's unnecessarily wordy and repetitive with things that don't need to be pushed so hard. I get that we're supposed to see Zerryn as the innocent light to Erlik Khan's darkness, but there's no reason to mention it every single time they're both on the page or Zerryn thinks about him. And that's just one of the many things that I felt Aden was trying too hard to make sure readers noticed. It got tiring and made me want to walk away from a story that I actually wanted to devour.
A sad misfire for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Northern Light Press for the early read!

I love books based on folklore - especially when it's about a region that I don't know a lot about. Before this book I had never heard of Erlik Khan or his sons and daughters. Now I want to learn more Turkish folklore/mythology.

Okay, I'm honestly OBSESSED with the character of Erlik. He was so well done. His emotions felt so real and he was constantly pulling at my heartstrings. His smugness that he uses as a shield to distract from his loneliness is just *chef's kiss*. And him saying, "Use me." 🥵🥵🥵

I've never read a villain romance before, but please sign me up for all of them!

Zerryn, with her caring nature, was so different from him, but they worked so well together. I loved seeing their dynamic.

I wish that we would have seen more of Zerryn's life with Çelik and witness their relationship growing. I feel like we didn't get a chance to care about him or their romance. Also, while talking about Zerryn's early life, it felt like we should have gotten some kind of hint about her magic.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book… it had everything I wanted as a reader, a zealous heroine, a morally gray love interest. Honestly, I wish I could give this more stars.

I was immediately drawn to this book because of the beautiful cover and the dark intriguing title. What girl doesn’t like the idea of falling for the bad guy and Death has to be the baddest of the bad guys. I did not love this book right away. It took me a little while to get into it but once I was in I LOVED it. Zerryn is a village girl who is “touched by the devil” is shunned by her people but when they need her to help save the boy she loves as well as the entire village she steps up without question. I really enjoyed following her through the trials and watching her growth from a simple village girl to a confident woman. Enemies to lovers is quickly becoming one of my favorite tropes. There is just something so hot about having to fight a bit for love.

Rating: 4.75/5

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book but I loved it! This is a Hades x Persephone retelling with a twist of fairytale and folklore. We follow Zerryn through her childhood of being death-touched and her growing into a brave young woman whom the fate of her village falls upon her defeating the darkness. There is a lot on the table: her village and all she knows, her goal of saving her childhood friend (and the person she loves), her battling the light and darkness within herself and figuring out what she wants.

I confess I read this in one go, it’s a quick and enjoyable read - specially for fans of dark gothic romance. Zerryn and Elrik relationship is toxic and intense and they are each other strength and doom/weakness. The only reason I could not give it 5⭐️ was due to how Elrik steals from her something without her permission and I can’t understand how she seemed to have easily forgiven him for it. He could have tried harder to explain why that particular thing was not sustainable in the Underworld and not simply remove it by force - I thought it was barbaric. In fact, maybe that would have been an advantage for when she holds his full power in the mortal realm.

There is also this competition storyline that I loved and I think this author really plotted it well - you can meet all relevant characters in dept throughout the trials and they’re clever and cunning and really interesting to follow as part of the big plot-line.