I loved this book and it’s been on my mind for days!!

It was mystical and beautiful with a touch of dark gothic vibes. Plus a mix of folklore and fantasy that completely swept me away. Instantly made me think of Katherine Arden’s Bear in the Nightingale(which I also love!!)

Kerryn has always had magic in her veins, then she was touched by Death when she was a child, always connecting her to the demons that roam the lands. Then when her childhood friend and love gets possessed, she’s risks everything to save him, even agreeing to compete to be the devil’s bride.

Kerryn battles her original goal of saving her village and the man she loves against her growing feelings for Death himself. And it a big battle against that type of love that’s all consuming - making the MC question if love is worth giving up everything for and if it’s even the right love.

But also, Erlik, he’s the villian of my dreams.

Thank you to NetGalley, Northern Light Press, and F.M. Aden for a copy of The Bride of Death in exchange for my honest and fair review.

The Bride of the Death is for folks who love dark, atmospheric, romantic fantasy novels. It has elements of folklore, and Hades/Persephone vibes.

What I loved:
I really loved the portrayal of the Underworld, and the Lord of Death, Erlik Khan. I’m a sucker for a well-written enemies to lovers, grumpy/sunshine trope, so I enjoyed the romance aspects of this book.
I also really loved the side characters, especially Beyza! She and Zerryn’s relationship is one of the best parts of the whole book.

What I didn’t love:
I felt that there wasn’t enough time developing Zerryn’s magic at the beginning of the book in order to justify it being such a major aspect.
Without giving any spoilers, I also didn’t like aspects of the ending. It felt a little unfulfilling for me personally.

Again, foiled by a "for lovers of [insert well beloved book here]"...

The Bride of Death by F. M. Aden might have been ok if I hadn't already read The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden and Uprooted by Naomi Novik and been absolutely in love with them! These two books, which Bride of Death is compared to, are far superior in writing, pace and plot. Aden tries to write in flowery, descriptive language but it falls flat here and the whole time I'm comparing it to the above mentioned works and wanting to put this down and pick them up instead!

It's my fault for picking a book based on it's false marketing strategy and this book just isn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Northern Light Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This a well written Mythological Fantasy by F M Aden. The author drew me in from the beginning, making it hard to put the book down. The story combines multiple mythologies and religions. This is my first read by this author and I will definitely check out other books if the are this interesting.

Zarryn was raised in a small town that has a mix of beliefs, with beliefs in old myths and gods. As she grows, she learns many stories, but the story of the Lord of Death, Erik Khan is forbidden by many, including her companion. The villagers bully and ostracize her because of her two colored eyes, believing she has been touched by the Lord of Death.
When she moves in with her grandmother, she meets Celik. He becomes her best friend and she begins to love him. In him she sees innocence and the light she has felt has been extinguished in her life, as death seems to shadow her.

“He had never seen darkness or lost a loved one, and she couldn’t help but feel as though he were her torch. The creatures stayed far away from her when she strolled either Celik, like they were averse to his presence. With his golden hair and flushed cheeks, he half resembled a prince, a golden haired sehzade .”

She believed that as long as they were together, the darkness would stay away.
“Celik was the only part of her that was light, and with him around, she didn’t feel so lost.”

But shortly after his mother dies, he becomes something dark and dangerous, no longer his bright golden self. As the villagers become more enraged and desperate over Celik’s behavior, they believe he is possessed by Erik Khan and that the darkness and destruction in the village are all tied to him. The villagers decide that they must do something drastic, even if it means killing Celik.

In an attempt to get Celik back, she searches out ways to break Erik’s hold. But doing so lands her in Erik’s castle, at his mercy, and worst of all, now without her life. And as she realizes the extent of her own fate, she finally realizes the entity which she is trying to reason with. Is there any chance that she can save Celik and her village? Or is she lost, just like everyone and everything she cares for?

“All evil was brought by his hand. He ushered in disease, famine, and destruction anywhere he rode, or so the myths said. It made sense that he wore Celik’s skin he could not walk the earth as himself. It was as her grandmother had said, that all of this was far bigger than her, and she had been foolish to think she could fight a greater demon. “

She quickly learns that the only way to try to save everything important to her, is by becoming the Queen of the Underworld. And in order to do that, she must complete three challenges and compete with three other women for the title and the man. But these women aren’t mortal, but are powerful mythical creatures.

The three women include “Lale the Beautiful” “Yuxa was a legend known by all, the Serpent Queen,” and Bayza, who was a terror.

I enjoyed the different mythology and reliefs references, even though I am not familiar with the ones mentioned. I liked the character development, especially the arc the different characters go through. The story has a little bit of spice. And I enjoyed the author’s imagery, but felt in some parts they could have described more. I do wish that the author had gone into explaining some more of the mythology as the ones mentioned in the story were unknown to me prior, and I feel like details were lacking in some of them.

Characters ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mythology ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Imagery ⭐️⭐️⭐️

It gives me a Hades and Persephone vibes/ trope
Standalone
Love triangle
Enemies to lovers
Morally grey mmc

I definitely enjoyed the tropes and wanted to root for the underdog, the villain.
The side characters were fun, especially Erik’s children. The complexities of their relationship were interesting, especially seeing the way they acted out to get their “fathers” attention. Even in the underworld, family dynamics cause issues.

I was definitely not the intended audience is a kind of getaway excuse, but I'd say it's more of a case of I expected something like The Bear and the Nightingale and it started that way, but it went into other direction with a larger focus on romance, with low risk for our main character.
In that sense, I would say this book one more akin to books like Kingmaker Chronicles by Amanda Bouchet or Pestilence, but not as smutty as those. A lot of smooching, darkening of eyes and lustful looks, but nothing graphic on the paper.
The comparison to TBatN is understandable because the author found the inspiration in Turkic mythology. And just like Arden, she built a story around of a myth of resident bad guy, Erlik Khan.
-Now, I will say this in regard of Turkic mythology and/or setting in the book: the thing about Katherine Arden book is not that she is just familiar with Slavic mythology, she is very familiar with people and circumstances these myths came to life in and she infused it all in her characters which gave it a specific style, a flair if you please. You feel the cold, you feel the hunger and you feel the religious fervor, the pessimistic, fatalistic view they have and why is the magical and fantastical as it is. This novel started so similar to TBatN I had a whiplash when I realized it's more on a superficial level. And that's fine, I have fun with those books as well, I was just surprised. So, I just switched gears.
So, on that note, imagine this more like a "light Turc mythology" take on Hades and Persephone romantic stories that are popularized in recent time, which in turn are in its core, always favorite The Beauty and The Beast stories. Elrik Khan is a God of Death, a devil himself and he had his eye on Zerryn to be his bride. But she has to win his hand in a deadly version of Bachelor in the Underworld. That's it, that's the premise. It has a few Turk words thrown in, but it is a rather modern take on the whole thing and it reads like author had a lot of fun writing it without making it deep.
I personally was pleasantly intrigued she made Elrik Khan kind of freaky looking with his additional eyes and appendages, but this book not having smut at all does come of as disappointing in that regard and like a missed opportunity. The huge black wings, hod body, long hair is still there to please average romance lover and all that, but we were robbed, in my opinion. :)
The setting description does make a few points of clash of newly spreading Christianity and old pagan religion, but she didn't make anything interesting with that in similar way Ava Ried didn't in The Wolf and the Woodsman . It's mentioned, it's not explored. (I realize I am probably the only one interested, sigh)
-The other thing I liked is that she didn't go the route of making every other female character looking bad compared to protagonist Zerryn. She makes a point of making them all look and be cool in their own way and she promotes a positive female vibing together and being friends which was refreshing to read. Sure, there was no suspense in any way because we know Zerryn was never in danger, both in underworld or in losing her place as Elrik's bride. Author gave her best to bring her version of the Underworld as a dangerous place, filled with dangerous beings, but it was clear this book was not meant to stress in any way, just to make it fun for the reader. And that's ok.

It's a dark, twisty love story with some adventure and gothic vibes.
It wasn't until I was immersed in the world, that I realized how much I would adore this book. I loved this!

This book was a collection of myths and folklore weaved into the story of a brave girl who sought to slay darkness himself. Unsure how I felt about some things in this, but overall, I loved all the characters!! Esp, Zerryn, I loved her sass and quick-wit

A special thanks to Northern Light Press and NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy of this book to review.

I could write paragraphs on how much I adored this book, but I will try and keep it short. This book was honestly stunning.

The world building, mythology, the writing and just everything was so dreamy and divine.

This book gave me chills and warmed my heart at the same time.

And Erlik. What can I say about Erlik. His words? Melted me. I hard not to fall in love with him for his words alone.

“I didn’t want you to wake up angry at me”

“You are the one in power, and you have brought me to my knees”

Definitely recommend.

I was completely captivated by the intense and fiery dynamic between Rix and her brother's best friend, Tristan Stiles, who is a professional hockey player. They had to live together out of necessity, and their constant clashes and undeniable chemistry made for an addictive enemies-to-lovers story. The perfect blend of humor, emotional depth, and scorching romance kept me hooked from start to finish. The audiobook version of the book brought an extra layer of intensity to the experience, thanks to the exceptional performances of narrators Connor Crais and CJ Bloom. Their ability to capture the characters' personalities and the tension between them added more depth to the narrative, making the steamy, heartfelt, and humorous moments even more impactful. This book takes you on a thrilling ride through the complexities of love, past traumas, and the journey toward understanding and acceptance, all set against the exciting backdrop of professional hockey. It was a truly memorable read and listen!

Thank you to NetGalley, Northern Light Press, and Ms. Aden for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I'm not sure how accurately the mythology (Turkish? Anatolian? Siberian?) is represented, as it seems to be a bit of a mishmash, but the story was entertaining. I didn't feel any particular affection for Zerryn, whose emotions and behavior gave me whiplash, but I absolutely loved Yuxa and Beyza. They were great characters and enlivened the story enormously. From what I can tell, Erlik Khan was romanticized considerably, appearance-wise, compared to the depictions I was able to find.

Overall, the story was enjoyable and gave definite old-school fairytale vibes. I wish the mythology had been a little clearer but it wasn't too bad. Yuxa and Beyza for the win!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy!
The Bride of Death is a dark fantasy, with a folklore feel, and I hated to see it end. Fantastic world building and interesting characters abound in this story of a girl who competes in three trials to win the hand of Death himself. At the start, she’s doing this to save her childhood love and her village itself, but life-and Death-gets complicated. Big recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

I really wanted to love this book and there were so many elements initially that made me excited but ultimately this book wasn't for me.

To begin with, what I loved:
- The relationship between Zerryn & Beyza. I love it when the female characters help each other and become friends rather than an unnecessary rivalry. In this case, they were literal rivals but I found their friendship heartwarming

What I didn't love so much:
- I found the pacing of this book very difficult to follow. We had a few chapters to introduce Zerryn & her childhood where we're introduced to Celik. Celik's spiral to the bride trials gave me whiplash as it came so suddenly. On the opposite end, I felt like the bride trials dragged and I really struggled after I was about 40% into the book
- The relationship between Erlik and Zerryn was another issue for me. I didn't understand how/why they fell in love. Their banter just wasn't doing it for me, and I found myself rolling my eyes at points.
- The ending, I wished that the ending was something other than Zerryn becoming a mass murderer??? Perhaps it's because I'm unfamiliar with the actual myth but I would've wished for something different for her.

I'm super disappointed that I didn't love this as it was premise that I really loved and I was engrossed in the beginning but it was just not for me, unfortunately.

A Captivating Journey into Folklore and Fantasy
Immersing myself in this intricately woven tale, I discovered a profound adoration for its depths and complexities. From the moment I stepped into its pages, was enraptured by the dark, gothic fairytale setting, wandering through bone forests teeming with eerie spirits and creatures.
The tapestry of folklore interwoven throughout the narrative, from irshi to jinn, captivated my imagination, adding layers of mystique and depth to the storyline.
The echoes of Hades and Persephone in the main characters' dynamics, with their intertwining magical energies of life and death, light and dark, provided a familiar yet fresh perspective.
The prose is adorned with exquisite quotes, offering wisdom and insight, particularly in the exchanges between women, which I found both empowering and enlightening. The gradual transformation of the
'monster' into a multifaceted character, seen through Zerryn's eyes, resonated deeply, challenging traditional notions of romance and heroism.
While the romance unfurls at a deliberate pace, the intricate plot and rich world-building compensate for the wait. The cover, a stunning invitation into the story's depths, beckons readers into a world full of Turkish, Greek, and Christian mythology.
Zerryn, though at times naive, embodies a resilient spirit and unwavering determination, making her journey to become Death's bride a compelling one.Erlik, with his unconventional appearance and morally complex nature, adds layers of intrigue and depth to the narrative.
The inclusion of a love triangle, enemies-to-lovers trope, and morally grey characters enriches the storyline, keeping readers engaged and intrigued throughout. While the third-person point of view may be a departure for some, the eloquent prose and immersive storytelling more than compensate.
In summary, this gothic fantasy is a mesmerizing tapestry of folklore and eerie themes, offering a captivating journey into the realms of life, death, and everything in between. For lovers of folklore, dark romances, and intricate world-building, this book is a must-read. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to delve into this enchanting tale.

I flew through this book. It has its faults, but I found the bones and intent behind the story to be fascinating. The author has a lot of potential, and I'm excited to see where she goes next. I rated it three stars for things that could have been addressed with more rounds of edits, but truthfully the book had me hooked from the start and kept me interested throughout. I would recommend this book to lovers of indie authors, folklore, and Hades x Persephone.

TROPES:
He falls first
Fated Mates
Banter
Folklore adjacent inspiration (takes elements from a few different fairytales/folklores)
Tournament to Earn Hand in Marriage
Dark x Light magic users
Winged MMC
Monster Romance
Mostly closed door romance
He's a reader (ok, that was one scene, but that's rare to see in books)
He's only kind to her
"I want you, but I shouldn't."
He kneels to her alone
Hurt me and I'll hurt you

POSITIVES:
The writing has so much potential. There are some beautifully written scenes, and it didn't feel forced. Other/magical beings that feel other.

The romance overall kept me interested. She think she's nothing, and he tells her she is more than she thinks. MMC has four arms, four eyes, and two mouths, which is different for sure but he acts like an immortal. She brings out his humanity. He wants to trust her and vice versa. She's the one who can hurt him the most.

This book kept me interested. It has a lot of elements that reminded me of different books but with some changes. I kind of enjoyed that in a lot of parts, like the Twilight level meadow scene but with a twist (sun burns him) and the Jude x Cardan callbacks. Erlik reminds me a little of Susebron from Warbreaker. He's immortal and innocent in love.


LESS POSITIVE (in chaotic order):
I'm gonna preface this by reminding that this is an indie author, and the story was still very compelling. There wasn't a point in the story where I wanted to stop or had to force myself to keep reading. These did not take away from the overall story for me.

At first, I really loved The Bear and the Nightingale vibes of the story. But then there was a side character named Vasily who was a forest witch, and he helped her catch a firebird. That felt a little too on the nose for me.

There are some pacing, timeline, plot, and writing style shifts that make the story hard to follow at times. It felt a little disjointed. But as an indie author, sometimes that's to be expected as that's something that an editor and additional rounds of edits would have helped fix. There were some grammatical errors that could have been fixed as well, but they were pretty minimal overall.

There is a deaf/mute servant at one point. This felt more like an attempt to bring some diversity into the book and less crucial to the plot. Especially when his terrible mistress says that boys are better when they can't speak? What? There are other ways to show that the mistress isn't a good person.

Lots of said, asked, demanded, whispered, etc. I would have liked more movement and less of that kind of phrasing. It didn't really bother me too much as I just skipped over those, but it might frustrate other readers.

Her first love is interesting. Çelik felt a little disjointed as a character, and some of his actions just felt very plot focused vs character driven, if that makes sense?

MMC's hair grows really fast and he uses it to make magical creatures? His wings are super sensitive (like it was much) but only for her? He's also got some red flags, but not as much towards her?

Nightmares include a marriage where the guy doesn't worship the ground she walks on. How dare he? It does turn out that her first love made some not so good choices, but he also has less information than her and does end up being a jerk.

Side characters who feel like they are just there for the plot but that's it? I don't know. They aren't there long enough for me to feel any kind of attachment to them.

CONTENT WARNING: one instance of language (sh*t), steamy but mostly closed door, there's a revel but FMC doesn't acknowledge details so very tame, self mutilation (servant of the dead takes off arm to feed to a pet of the underworld, one instance), gruesome injury (two instances: once skin melted to bone, other time a magical being is seriously injured by fire being), possession of human by demon/devil

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntarily written and the thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.

3.75⭐️

“I am heartless, Zerryn, and there will be days when you despise me more than you like me, but I won’t ever hurt you. You shall never be the victim of my wrath. You shall never be the one my coldness touches.”

Thank you netgalley and northern light press for an arc copy

This book is more on the fantasy side, romance comes later on. Its a slow story, it takes time to get into it, especially for romance readers. But the romance between them is quite good

The cover is stunning, that and the title was was drew me to this book

This book is a retailing of greek/Christian/turkish mythology. I cant comment much about it because i dont know anything about the background of turkish mythology. But i can say that Erlik khan is nothing like the christan devil. So it was interesting to read about mythical creatures I’ve never heard about.

I loved the writing despite being in 3rd POV

The story follows zerryyn completing in a trial to become deaths husband to save her village.

Zerryn was okay but she seemed like any other fantasy protagonist. The difference here is she grew up hearing all the stories/tales about all the creatures but she still ignores logic and does not take any advices given to her. She is too naive for her own good. But she is 22 so i will give her the benefit of the doubt.

I did prefer Erlik more in this book, Although his appearance did weird me out.

This story involves a love triangle
Enemies to lovers.
Devil was obsessed
Morally grey MMC

Overall, i am happy to have read it. And i do recommend it.

I was excuted to read this book as the blurb gave me Hades Persephone vibes and I am nothing if not a Greek mythology gremlin.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find the story had more Turkish folklore elements rubbing through it which is not something I am very well versed in so I cannot review those elements.

I loved the concept for this book, certain elements to the main characters personalities were giving me strong shadow and bone vibes and I loved the fact that the MMC is a true Morally grey male. The writing style throughout the book was beautiful and the story kept you captivated and engaged throughout. I did feel the ending was rushed a bit and could have been given a bit more time and depth and the world building was a little lacking for me but aside from that it was a great story.

The only gripe I really had with this story was the love triangle as I am not a massive fan of the Trope and didn't realise it was going to be there going in.

But it was overall a brilliant read and I look forward to more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Northern Light Press, and to F. M. Aden for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! The Bride of Death is a standalone fantasy romance with a very well done gothic ambiance. I would say this book is a 3.5/5 that I would round up to a 4. I think overall my favorite thing about this book is the writing style. This book is very well written and I found Aden to be a talented author! In terms of the plot and characters, there were times that did feel a little like it all belonged in a YA novel rather than an adult book. That being said, I didn't feel it was too much of an issue, just something I noticed that I thought a couple of times while reading.

I enjoyed Zerryn and her motivations a lot. The trials were well done. I think I liked Çelik more than Erlik (in part just because of um no spoilers but certain physical characteristics I had trouble getting past) but both characters are developed pretty well.

The Bride of Death is broken up into three parts. I think I would've liked the first part to be longer and the second part to be shorter. The third part (and epilogue) were a solid conclusion to the story though! If you like dark romances and historical fiction heavy with folklore/mythology, I think this is a worthwhile read! Also worth noting that this book feels like a Hades/Persephone re-imagining, and has a love triangle. Those are two things that don't really appeal to me, but if that is your cup of tea I think you'll enjoy how it's done here!

The Bride of Death was a tale of twisted emotions and had multiple possible endings fighting it out to the final pages. If you’re looking for an especially dark morally grey character, plus a sunshine character tainted by the dark, this book is for you.
Honestly, the cover and title drew me in and I went into this hoping for the best.

Zerryn has grown up in a small village learning the tales of Erlik Khan, the Lord of Death. She has lived a rather quiet life, keeping mostly to herself or in the company of her best friend Celik. Zerryn believes herself to be weak until Celik is possessed and the villagers grow too fearful of the demon growing stronger within him, and then she sets out to rescue him.
I found her character to be average, the typical doesn’t know her strength stereotype in fantasy novels type of character. Zerryn was complex in terms of her thoughts and feelings with noble intentions, but I personally didn’t click with her until she started being more open with herself. She struggles with the reality of the Underworld, the war between it and the above, and all that she must sacrifice regardless of what she chooses.

Celik played a small role in the story. He was the one who needed saving after being possessed, and he is posed as a potential suitor for Zerryn but otherwise, his character is rather dull. This may have been a creative choice to keep his nature out of the storyline in order to tease out the many possible endings until the end.

The Lord of Death, Erlik Khan, is the embodiment of cruelty. He is selfish, tortures others for his own amusement, and only cares about being able to expand his power and torture beyond the Underworld. While he doesn’t take the top spot for my favourite character, it is refreshing to see his authenticity and being unashamed of who he is.

By far my favourite character is Beyza, a ubir/vampire, who would make this story worth reading on her own.

The storyline overall is interesting, but I felt like we switched between fast and slow pace a few times. I had to go back and re-read parts to make sure I understood what was going on, though this felt intentional like the reader is supposed to be asking “What’s going on here?”. I personally struggled to get through some of the slow points, and I found it difficult to connect to the story, but those final few chapters were my favourite and worth the wait. It wasn’t exactly the ending I wanted, but it certainly checked a few boxes of what I was hoping for.

I would actually love to see this made into a movie, I think it would be hauntingly beautiful to watch some of these characters come to life.
I also want to note the spiciness of scenes, as that can be a deciding factor for some readers, and while there is a lot of flirtation and a couple of lightly detailed moments of intimacy, there wasn’t a lot and not overly explicit.

I feel like it had potential to be a 4 star read for me, but it just didn't quite hit the mark I hoped it would.

3.5/5 rounded up to 4

Let me preface this by saying that I’m not typically a romantasy reader, but the description caught my eye and I actually ended up enjoying this. Here’s to branching out!

I’d describe this book as a Turkic folklore inspired romantasy with heavy elements of a Hades x Persephone retelling. The book follows Zerryn as she journeys to the Underworld to save her small village and best friend Celik from the Lord of Death (Erlik Khan). To do so, she must win the Lord of Death’s hand in marriage by completing three trials.

Interestingly, the writing improved further into the story, as if the author was growing more confident in her narrative. The romance was pretty good but nothing stellar, and essentially another Hades x Persephone retelling, which has been overdone in my opinion. Though I do think the Turkic folklore inspiration was an interesting twist on this common framework and breathed life into the story, so I’d definitely recommend this for anyone who typically enjoys these types of reimaginings. As for the love triangle, I felt like so much effort was spent on setting up the gothic woodlands atmosphere of Zerryn’s time in her village that development of her relationship with Celik took a backseat. Unfortunately this resulted in less buy-in of their feelings for each other from myself as a reader. Zerryn and Erlik’s characters are quite well written and I adored their banter and found their emotional connection, though unhealthy, exceptionally tangible.

Of note, I do think this story is a little confused on its historical setting. It’s set in a vague time period, but Zerryn mentions the Byzantines more than once, which really threw me off. I do believe “Byzantine Empire” is a term coined by historians to distinguish the Eastern Roman Empire from the West, and that the people of the time simply referred to those people as “Romans”. Not a big deal if you aren’t familiar with that particular arm of history, but something to note as a plug to do adequate research before writing anything (subjects / history / cultures).

All things considered; this is a good romantasy with all the makings of a popular “booktok” book. So if you typically gravitate towards those types (think “booktok” table at Barnes & Noble, SJM, Fourth Wing, Powerless), then you’ll probably have a good time with this one. Tropes include enemies-to-lovers, morally grey character, love triangles, and more.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

The writing was strong, and I loved exploring the world within this mythology. The different creatures and characters were interesting. However, I had trouble connecting to parts of the plot. Some of the character development and changes felt abrupt rather than built up, and although I love the world and premise, some elements were just a little too dark for me personally. I would still recommend this to readers I know who enjoy those themes, though.

2.5 stars rounding up to 3.

The cover of this is so well matched to the book and absolutely stunning. This is a hades and Persephone retelling, and it is definitely for some people. However, it was not for me. I was completely drawn in from the first page and was loving the writing, storytelling and overall atmosphere. At about the 20% mark (part 2), everything changed. It was like a completely different person was writing and it threw me so much that I wasn’t sure I was even reading the same book. The first part was definitely reminiscent of The Bear and The Nightingale (part of the reason I was so excited to read it), the rest was not.

I found the characters to be underwhelming and didn’t really care about them. The side characters felt more developed than our main characters. The setting was done really well and I loved all the details. So, I should mention I didn’t read the synopsis past the comparison because I like going into certain books blind. I didn’t know this was a hades and Persephone retelling (which is not my favorite), on top of that though I was confused about why our fmc had to go through these random tests. I did like how strong she was, as well as the personal growth she shows throughout the book.

Overall, while this book is mostly not to my preference I do recommend it because I know others will enjoy it. Especially if you love this type of retelling.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this for my honest review.