This is the second book I've read from F.M. Aden, who is an exciting new author. Her books would be a great fit for fans of Katherine Arden, Ava Reid and Naomi Novik. The author excels at unique premises; this book takes place in Anatolia a thousand years ago, and is rich with regional mythology. Unfortunately, I think this book deserved a better editor to make it what it could be. I was disappointed that the plot moves inconsistently, sometimes it jumps around and the beginning and end are not as strong as the middle of the book. The ending also didn't feel right for the story, it was sort of sinister and depressing but seemed to be framed as romantic. All in all, I am looking forward to more books by this author and I would still recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC!

This is very much in the same vein as folkloric, similar to Katherine Arden, and yet different. It pulls on the tropes of Death and his Maiden a lot throughout this book. Overall, I enjoyed the book, however at the same time I was just...not as entranced as I wanted to be by it?

The writing was beautiful, I will say that, and this really was a true enemies-to-lovers romance, and there definitely were some dark moments in the book. But I just did love the romance side of this book. I just wasn't convinced by it. And I think that is more about me than it is the book.

I also got bored at certain points in the book, things felt drawn out unnecessarily so, and I struggled to be invested in the storyline. There were definitely moments that I loved some of the side characters, but overall, I just felt the book fell a little flat to me.

In some ways it is like an adult Cruel Prince/Grishaverse book, but not nearly as compelling characters or storyline.

**Contains Spoilers**
I LOOOOOOVED this book. It was impossible to put down and I read it in one sitting.
I loved everything about the main character and the friendships she was able to forge in her quest to, begrudgingly, win the hand of Death. I thought her struggles were believable and related strongly to her sense of justice.
I wish she would have been able to keep her magic and was disappointed that in the end, it feels like she settled. I wanted her so badly to have it all! I can 't stop thinking about this book and I do understand that what I view as "settling" was really her getting her happy ending but it would have been cool to see this story played out over a sequel where she maintained or recovered her magic. I think she could have had both. I wanted to see the girl save herself, truly, not just in theory. 10/10 though. No notes. Can't wait to read more from this author.

14/150

The Bride of Death by F.M. Aden

Zerryn was raised on tales of Erlik Khan, the Lord of Death. She lives quietly in her village until her best friend Çelik becomes possessed by the demon. As Çelik's condition worsens, Zerryn discovers it's Erlik Khan himself who controls him and that he is seeking a bride. Knowing she must confront Erlik to save Çelik, Zerryn faces the daunting task of completing three impossible tasks to become his bride and gain the power needed to defeat him.

I read the blurb for this book and was immediately interested. It took me a little while to get into but ultimately I really enjoyed this story. It was dark, it was gripping and in its own way it was lovely. I found myself a bit frustrated at certain points and did feel it was a bit of a slow read but the positives definitely outweighed the negatives. I really enjoyed both Zerryn and Erliks characters and the challenges introduced lots of interesting elements to the story.

3.75⭐️

I recently had the pleasure of delving into this book, and I am beyond impressed with the mesmerizing world that the author has crafted. From start to finish, the intricate plot weaves a tapestry of suspense, emotion, and unexpected twists that kept me eagerly turning the pages.

One of the standout features of this book is undoubtedly its characters. Each one is meticulously developed, breathing life into the narrative with their unique personalities, motivations, and flaws. The protagonists are not just names on paper; they are relatable, complex individuals with whom readers can form a genuine connection. The antagonist, too, is not a mere foil but a multi-dimensional force that adds depth to the story. The author's ability to create such well-rounded characters is a testament to their storytelling prowess.

The plot unfolds seamlessly, drawing the reader into a richly layered narrative that expertly balances tension, drama, and moments of poignant reflection. The pacing is impeccable, maintaining a perfect rhythm that keeps the reader engaged without sacrificing the depth of the story. The author skillfully navigates through various plot arcs, interweaving them with finesse to create a cohesive and satisfying whole.

What sets this book apart is its ability to tackle profound themes while maintaining an accessible and engaging narrative. The book seamlessly combines suspense and emotional depth, making it a truly immersive experience. The author's prose is both elegant and evocative, painting vivid imagery that lingers in the reader's mind long after the final page is turned.

As I reached the conclusion, I found myself yearning for more from this talented author. Their ability to craft a gripping plot and bring characters to life is truly commendable. I eagerly anticipate future works and would wholeheartedly recommend this book to any reader who appreciates a masterfully told tale. If you're searching for a book that seamlessly blends captivating characters with a compelling plot, this is a shining example. I can't wait to explore more literary worlds crafted by this exceptional storyteller.

I am still trying to work out my feelings on this novel and I think what I've come to so far is that the reader should expect the unexpected. This is neither a good nor bad trait of the book, but if you enjoy stories of the Underworld with a crafty, dark, and temperamental ruler then you should definitely give this one a read.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, & Northern Lights Press for the eARC in return for an honest review! All thoughts and feels are my own!

If you liked The Winternight Trilogy that starts with "The Bear and the Nightingale" by Katherine Arden, then you are going to like this one as well. There are some of the same elements involved and the same feel of a fable tale within a fable tale using folklore from Hungarian or Buddhist mythology. In this aspect, the story held my attention and I craved more of the scenes in which the author gained inspiration from the mythology and applied it with creative license to the tale.

My constructive criticism has to do in part with Erlik himself and the main character Zerryn. Their relationship boggles my mind. On all counts she should hate him and I think the author tried, in her way, to explain how a relationship sprung out of the trauma of falling in love for your captor, but this wasn't enough for me. Nor did the painted picture of Erlik spring forth any images of a beautiful man as he was painted. He had four arms, four (+) eyes, long train length hair, and more mouths than any one being ought to need. In the words of Austin Powers, "That's not my bag baby!"

It was a solid tale and worth the read!
No Regrets!!!!

3.5 out of 5 stars

I’m only about half way thru but I am enjoying this story so far. I love a good gothic atmosphere. What better morally gray character then the devil himself.

As a young girl, Zerryn was dancing in the woods, fell and hit her head and dies. She travels 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.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Northern Light Press for this e-arc.*

This book was very well marketed but fell prey to a common issue. You can’t compare a book to another that is soooo much better. I was so excited to read this. The tropes all appealed to me but most of all, it was compared to The Bear and the Nightingale. That has become a classic in this area of fantasy for good reason. This book did not live up to that hype. Aden does a good job of writing a magical setting with a cool magic system. The characters however, were incredibly lackluster. Their growth and motivation was underwhelming. This made the ending feel abrupt. I wish there would’ve been more internal conflict leading up to it. Overall, it’s a fun story. Just not quite the pinnacle of literature that it’s compared to.

4.5 stars

I could not put this book down!

There is something about the lines " your safe, I have you" That makes me fall in love with the MMC! It never falls to make me love a book!

Things I liked the most:
-FMC is strong willed, and sassy
-MMC is possessive, protective and grouchy
-betrayals for everyone! it was like Oprah was giving out gifts
-"your safe, I have you"
-"call my name and Ill be there!"
-trials
-finding friends along the way!

F.M Aden is now on my instant read list! I cant wait to read more of your books!

This book is extremely ill-served by the comparisons to Novik and Arden. Both write extraordinarily complex, thematically dense, and in Arden's case meticulously researched fantasies. The character development and dialogue is rich, and the worldbuilding is strikingly well-thought out with clear historical parallels and no plot holes. This is a less than average quality romantasy in the spirit of SJM but with more tonal inconsistencies and less character development. It's painfully anachronistic, with startling moments of juvenile dialogue that feel ripped from the early twenty-teens despite it's pseudo-historical setting, eye-rolling plot devices, and a deeply uninspiring love triangle at its heart that relies on really dramatic and abrupt changes in characterization. I truly did roll my eyes several times and would have stopped if I didn't receive the eARC for review. The first third seems to be written by a different person, or at least at a dramatically different time than she wrote the rest of it—the language is more polished and the worldbuilding more interesting. The rest is truly poorly written and feels like bad ACOTAR fanfiction. Again, this would have been okay if I went in expecting SJM's worse works, but opening it thinking of The Bear and the Nightingale or Spinning Silver makes me anticipate a depth and quality that only makes it's deficiencies more striking by comparison. Being marketed as an ACOMF and Fourth Wing knockoff will be make it much more successful as well as just being more honest. I also think it could probably be moved into upper YA—the erotic moments aren't particularly detailed and the juvenile dialogue, character development, and simplistic themes make more sense for a younger audience. You could very easily make the MC 16, remove a few sentences in the romance scenes, alter nothing else and have it be fine for 16+.

2.5🌟

Inspired by the Hungarian mythology of Erlik Khan, Hades kidnapping of Persephone, and the trials of Eros and Psyche, this author creates a dark and seductive tale of death and destruction.

Unfortunately I found this novel really messy, there were times when the writing was unbelievably beautiful, and times when the writing was nonsensical.

Fair play to the main character for finding four eyes, multiple mouths, four arms, claws, and pointy teeth attractive though.

Roses: This book was interesting. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it. It is a very fast-paced and immersive read. Erlik is great. He is morally grey but also swoon-worthy. Some of the side characters added to the story well. We get a clear background of Zerryn, which helps readers understand her flaws better.

Thorns: I was not too fond of Zerryn. She seemed out of touch and too indecisive about everything, making it hard to connect with her. Erlik is description was super weird, so I couldn't get a good image of what he looked like. For me, that's a huge issue. The pacing also was weird at times. Because of that, it also became hard to follow in parts.

4⭐️

This book had me so lost at times, but was it so beautifully written! The story feels like a combination of folklore and myths woven together to create a tale of a girl full of light, who faces darkness head on.

There were moments where I felt frustrated and a little bit lost with the plot, but overall I really enjoyed this story and it was a great standalone!

The Bride Of Death by F.M. Aden
~
4⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was really interesting. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it, but I absolutely ATE. IT. UP. This book is very fast-paced, so while maybe lacking a little bit of description, it is a quick and immersive read.

I requested this one because it has a beautiful cover and the promise to be reminiscent of Katherine Arden's The Bear and The Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy is hands-down one of my favourite series ever). Also, the idea of a mortal woman competing in the underworld to become the bride of the god of death in order to save her village?  Sounds intriguing, right?!

Erlik / Death is an amazing character. He is definitely morally grey (I actually don't know if he has any morals at all), but he has so many swoon worthy moments. His description is a little weird - more monster than human with multiple arms and eyes - so it was hard to picture what he actually looks like, but his dialogue and pining makes him very loveable.

I didn't adore Zerryn, our FMC, I did like her sass and quick-wit, but she is a little dumb and so back and forth in how she feels throughout the book. It was a little bit difficult to connect with her for this reason... so I'm glad we had her backstory of growing up because I felt that helped to give me a connection to her from the beginning and overlook her flaws.

Some of the side characters were the best part of the story, Beyza in particular... who is a somewhat cruel and lovable vampire.

I had a few hang-ups with the book, first of all the pacing felt a little choppy at times and I was confused about the setting (particularly in the beginning when we follow Zerryn as she grows up, which is very fast-paced). I'm not sure I loved the ending either, but I think everything was very conclusive. I also wish we had a bit more description of the Underworld, but I loved the overall gothic vibe and setting.

A fair warning that the relationships are somewhat toxic, there is a love-triangle (but it's practically non-existent), and it reads very much as romantasy, which is definitely the main focus of the story.

I was also excited to find out that F.M. Aden is a Canadian author, and I will definitely be picking up other books by her in the future.

"Rarely were women hailed as heroes or were ballads sung for them. Rarely were they written of in epics. Nobody ever looked at the wives who raised families while men fought wars. Nobody ever spoke of the women who took up the jobs of men while they marched into battle. Nobody ever spoke of the women who donned the dress of their brothers and became national heroes."

This is a story about Zerryn and the Lord of Death (aka the devil or Erlik Khan). After possessing the best friend/boyfriend of Zerryn, Celik, she decides to participate in 3 trials in the Underworld to hopefully become the Bride of Erlik. Our naive Zerryn has a plan...

"Maybe she could steal his magic and use it to destroy him."

... and what could go wrong? It's only the f*cking devil, right? 🧐 I was really into the premise, the dark, twisted, and gothic world but then I got sooo bored with it. The world building lacked details, Zerryn is super naive and annoying after some time; I can't even say how often the four arms and eyes of Erlik as well as his black hair that reaches the floor are mentioned and romantizised...

"She wished everyone had four arms. It felt like she was wrapped in a blanket of stars and dreams"

I know that F.M. Aden stucked to her sources, but I could not enjoy the banter while picturing those 4 arms and 4 eyes staring at me... her writing confused me from time to time, and the pace varied (some scenes went on over multiple chapters but the second trial got rapped up in a few paragraphs, like what?)

I did like the idea behind the story and enjoyed the last scenes of the book way more than the other 250 pages, but nothing too surprising here as well. The play with the powers could have have been introduced earlier and added some intensity.

Everyone knows about the devil and has heard stories about him. And either through those or after reading Faust, First Part you know that the devil is here to play games and loves to manipulate. So why was I the only one in the story who always kept that in the back of my mind and just waited for a turn of events? ("Oh how the turntables" ~ Michael Scott 😉)

I expected nothing less (probably more from the Lord of Death) and also Celik did not surprise me with his actions. Zerryn not being able to see more than one step ahead did bother me though and made me just want to end this book. I think that the same story with the POV of Erlik would have been way more entertaining and interesting.

So sadly, this book disappointed for the most part, but this does not mean that it cannot be the perfect gothic book for you. Definitely check out the book description and decide for yourself if you want to give this one a try 💗

Special thanks to NetGalley, Northern Light Press and F.M. Aden for the ARC. I leave this honest review voluntary.

I was underwhelmed BUT I think this will be a hit with the right audience. The writing was good, all the characters were done well and the story keeps you engaged. I'm just not a fan of the "super powerful girl has to decide between two equally terrible men" trope. I kept hoping she would recognize that she didn't need either of them but alas some people actually enjoy romance and will most likely enjoy this one. It's pretty steamy without being obnoxious about it.

Whatever I thought this book was going to be, it wasn’t. Very interesting read for fantasy lovers who have also enjoyed Hades and Persephone retellings. I really enjoyed the fact that it doesn’t take place in what you would assume to be some imaginary town in the west, because anyone familiar with south Eastern Europe (including turkey) will find the story telling very believable.

Thank you for the eARC, NetGalley!
Gorgeous cover, folklore, mentions of Katherine Arden and Naomi Novik, plus the Lord of Death as the love interest? Of course I was hooked, so excellent marketing there! XD

I will say that I think this would appeal more to fans of Wolf and the Woodsman and The Serpent and the Wings of Night. I didn't really like either of those, so, unsurprisingly, I didn't like this one either, unfortunately. It just wasn't for me.

I was interested at first. I know nothing about Turkish folklore, so it was intriguing. I could see similarities to Bear and the Nightingale too, although Katherine Arden took her time to introduce young Vasya, her family and surroundings. By contrast, F M Aden seemed to rush through that stage of Zerryn's life, to the point where I was slightly confused about her 'powers' and early encounter with Death. 15% into the book and she was already going to the Underworld. I didn't get a chance to care about her love for her grandmother, her childhood sweetheart or her village, but that plays a big part in her decision-making.

Once in the Underworld, I found Zerryn very irritating. Extreme bravado expressed by being unreasonably rude. It worked for her, since Erlik liked it, but I'll never understand why you'd want to antagonise a ruthless god you allegedly fear by treating him like an idiot (for example, he discovers her somewhere she shouldn't be, asks her what she's doing there, and her answer is 'None of your business').

Erlik did nothing for me as the love interest. I think part of it was the world building, which was very sketchy, so his background and motivations were also unclear to me. I also have this problem a lot with romantasy where characters are immortals who have lived a long time. I always expect them to behave differently, less 'contemporary' and human, less young.

In terms of romance, I had no clue why Erlik was drawn to Zerryn. He had clearly singled her out since she was a child (bit questionable, but never mind, she's 21 when they meet again) - was it just due to her magic? No idea, because he seemed pretty obsessed. Kudos to Zerryn for finding a man with four eyes, four arms, claws and sharp teeth super attractive, though XD

Finally, the plot, the three tasks set by Erlik to those competing to become his wife. Honestly, those were the weakest part for me. Not only did they highlight the lack of worldbuilding, with no clear explanation of how the Underworld did or didn't work, but they were very repetitive. A lot of walking and travelling, and each time I thought things were too easy. I didn't find it believable.

There was one aspect in the ending that I appreciated, but other than that, this really wasn't for me. 1.5 stars.

I was provided with an advanced reader copy of this book in return for an honest review.

As so often happens I was drawn to the story first by it's cover art a tangle if flower covered vines that wrap around swords with blood coloured jewels in their hilts, beasts, serpents and bones and skulls. Then hidden in the background is a black palace behind which is a darken night sky strewn with a handful of stars. The longer I stared at the art more I had to know what the story was.

So that is how I met Zerryn, a young girl who was raised on stories and fairy tales of the old gods and Erlik Khan, lord death or some say The Devil, and his penchant for stealing away young ladies .
Along with an odd up bringing she also has no fear of wild things. The woods and it's creatures seem to welcome her. As She grows and spends her time tending her garden , going to temple and with her best friend a boy named Çelik.

Then Celik starts to act strangely and disappears. Things in the village start to go wrong crops fail, and other terrible things happen. Zerryn is determined to save Celik and her village.

But then she finds herself as a contestant to be The Devil's wife. Will she win the day ? Can she remain true to herself or will she be changed by her time in the underworld?

This story weaves together several mythologies and it is hauntingly brilliant. I enjoyed this read very much