Dark Vampire tale full of morally grey characters! Slight spoilers below.

The book is not for the faint hearted as contains the following: human trafficking, scenes of gore and violence in graphic detail and cannibalism (Vampire cannibalism). Surprisingly, no sex scenes.
I devoured this book in one go and am writing this review fresh from reading the book (it's nearly midnight- it's one of those books where it's so fast paced and intriguing I had to keep going!). I received this as an ARC from netgalley but chose to read it due to the book synopsis. Really thankful as one of my favourite reads of 2023 and i look forward to reading the next in the series.

So this was… a weird book. First off, the authors description of ‘for fans of Castlevania’ was the most accurate ‘for fans of that I’ve legitimately ever read. This is Ottoman empire, dark romance, Castlevania, and it <i>delights</i> in that identity. The two protagonists and worldbuilding are fascinating, I really enjoyed both sisters and the very strong focus on Islam. My biggest issue with the book however, was all the technical aspects of the book. The writing style, the pacing, the communication of worldbuilding, are all incredibly clunky and poorly done.

However the book remained incredibly fun with it’s oddly quick pacing and off beat writing style. At the end of the day the best thing to say about it, is that the author genuinely shows promise. I can imagine them going on to write fantastic epic fantasy. Like there were lines and moments in this that I genuinely couldn’t help but laugh out loud at. The dialogue is witty but not unrealistic, and the characters feel so real. But the author genuinely needed to go through 5 or so more drafts of this story to flesh it out, evening the pacing, and rewrite like 80% of the sentences. All in all I honestly do look forward to seeing what they write in the future, but this book wasn’t it.

The premise of this book is amazing and honestly, with a bit of revision this could be a 4/5 star book! I just wish the author would find the flow of her writing a little faster - the beginning felt clunky and the worldbuilding lacked that immersive, all consuming escapism needed to make the world believable. There is a LOT going on plot wise and I know this is book 1 in a series, so hopefully it all gets wrapped up!
A really really promising start!!

Oh, this book was something else. slow-paced for sure, as it took a lot of time for me to get into the novel but the moment I got through that wall I was hooked. I mean who doesn't like a vampire novel with a touch of romance? I love a good enemies-to-lovers trope when it comes to books, and this definitely has it, extra points to possessive men too. chef's kiss to the author

I love vampire stories and I instantly requested this in netgalley after reading the blurb.

I always find it fascinating to read about vampires in other culture and this book was about Turkey vampire renaissance, The Ottoman’s Empire.

The story was about two sisters who grew up listening to vampir stories until Yara got kidnapped in the fortress of The Undying King.

The pace of the story was very slow and confusing for me. It jumped from when they were children to adulthood without any background whatsoever. The character building was lacking for me and I didn’t connect to any of the characters at all.

I was really looking forward on world building but I find it lacking which was disappointing as I was really looking forward to read vampire stories from other culture.

Thank you NetGalley, F.M. Aden and Northern Light Press for the ARC.

If I could give two different ratings - 2 stars for Aylin's POV and 5 stars for Yara's, I would. If this book was only Aylin's POV, I do not know if I could have finished it, every time it switched to Aylin, I found myself skimming because I was so looking forward to switching to Yara's POV. Yara's arc is perfect for vampire aND dark romance lovers. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley, Northern Light Press, and F.M. Aden for granting me a copy of this book in return for my honest opinions.

Vampires? Yes, sign me up!

It was wonderful! The characters Yara, Aylin and Volkan became my favorites.
The author a great job and I felt like a knew them personally. I felt Eldar could use a bit more development. Would love to get to know everyone more in a series perhaps (hint, hint).

I became deeply invested in the story and the complex storyline was perfect. I did not have difficulty following, but I would recommend reading with no outside distract as it is complex.

Love the touch of romance, but hoping we get a series and see some more romance in future books!!!

The Court of the Undead releases in December 2023. It is a great read for vampire lovers like me!

Recommend.

I enjoyed this book! It did take me a while to get through the first 40% but once I got past the 40% mark I absolutely flew through! The world building was well done and I really enjoyed the court dynamic. The scheming and backstabbing was fun to read! I liked some characters more than others, and some siblings more than others but that is to be expected. When the sequel comes out I will definitely pick it up! If you are looking for a book with vampirs (vampires) and tension, no spice, this is definitely for you!

thank you netgalley and f.m aden for the ARC!

From a young age, Yara and her sister Aylin grew up on tales of the vampir whispered to them in the dark by their superstitious nursemaid. It isn’t until the fateful day, Yara is kidnapped and brought to the fortress of the Undying King that she realizes that she is far from the safety of the Ottoman court. Tucked into the high mountains of Wallachia, the court of the undead is home to the trueborn vampir, their sired vampir flock, and their miserable hoard of blood slaves.

While Aylin joins a group of trained hunters to bring her sister back home. Yara finds herself trapped between a set of beautiful and manipulative twin brothers who intend to use her for their own amusement and deceptions. Caught between the free-spirited and obsessive Volkan and the power-hungry and villainous Eldar, Yara must betray them both if she ever hopes to make it back home alive.

As tension builds at the vampir court and the hunters start their march, Yara must decide who to trust with her loyalty. And with her heart.

REVIEW:
okay - the synopsis is the main reason i applied for this ARC. i was so looking forward to reading an angsty book with vampires and a badass FMC. however, i was left disappointed. the world building and the character development felt a little clunky and all over the place. while i will say the setting is unlike any ive ever read, i just couldn't fully imagine it. there was so much more 'telling' instead of 'showing', and i feel like in order to help a reader form a clear picture in their head, you need to be able to show. the characters were in desperate need of more depth and emotion - they kind of seemed as stiff as a board as far as personality goes.

the potential of this book, though, is unreal. f.m. aden has a knack for storytelling, and she knows it. with a little bit of polishing, she could do great things with her writing.

Vampires and gothic romance have always gone hand in hand and Court of the Undead is no exception.
The world building feels both traditional and fresh at the same time. Taking the political and social/ cultural conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and surrounding groups adds a feeling of a larger world while still holding a dark and mysterious atmosphere.
I also found Yara and Aylin fascinating in the ways they grow throughout the story. Both sisters feel consistent and realistic in their growth as they deal with their respective situations..
I will say the pacing does feel uneven. With Aylin the conflicts feel like they build on each other at a steady rate. But with Yara it felt at times like she is jumping from problem to problem at a rapid pace.

On a side note: I noticed this book is listed in the YA category. I’m not sure if this would be a good fit for younger readers considering the intensity of some of the scenes.

Overall I feel that Court of the Undead has a lot of potential and I do hope for the best when it reaches publication.

After reading a little bit about the book and seeing the cover, I was really excited to read this book. I unfortunately had a hard time getting through it, it was almost a DNF for me. I’m not really into vampire plot lines so I think that’s why I struggled with this book. The story wasn’t terrible but the characters weren’t my favorite. Thank you NetGalley, F.M. Aden and Northern Light Press for the ARC.

I really loved this book. The premise was very interesting and it really didn’t disappoint! I absolutely loved the writing style and every chapter hooked me in to the point where I stayed up until 3 a.m. when I had an exam the next day! The two main characters Aylin and Yara are sister living in the castle of the Ottoman Empire. One night Yara gets abducted by vampires to be sold as a blood slave. Through her cunning nature, she’s able to go up in rank and even get in favour of the Undying King. Her sister Aylin is sick with worry and goes to search for her sister with the help of her childhood friend Ilyas.
The romance in this book was the perfect start for what is to come in the next book and the fantasy aspect was executed exceptionally. I can’t wait for the next book in this amazing start of a new fantasy romance series!

YA Historical Vampire store featuring two sisters and two love interests. All little confusing and convoluted at times. I DNF'd at the half way point and skipped to the end to see how it ends. I feel like it was trying to be like Scarlett St. Claire's King of Battle and Blood too much.

The setting of Court of the Undead was incredibly enticing, and the main reason that I requested the novel. I love historical fiction and I love vampire books, and I thought that this was the perfect combination of both. However, I had a lot of trouble settling into the characters. I adored the opening, but very quickly as more characters were introduced, it seemed as if the narrative's grasp on the character building seemed to slip. The secondary characters, particularly the vampire twins, didn't feel very dynamic or fully fleshed out, and that made it quite difficult for me to continue reading. I am rounding up to 3 stars because I did enjoy the premise and the uniqueness of the setting.

The Court of the Undead begins with two sisters, Yara and Aylin, living at the Ottoman court. They’ve grown up hearing stories about dark, blood drinking creatures, thinking they were just that: stories. But when Yara goes missing and rumors indicate she was taken by the vampir, Aylin takes it upon herself to set out and find her beloved sister.

I actually liked The Court of the Undead far more than I was thinking I would in the beginning of the book. It’s a bit of a slow start, and there is a lot of telling rather than showing in the beginning, but that gets better around 30% in. At that point, I was hooked and didn’t want to put the book down.

I found that I ended up really liking certain characters that I was iffy about at first while not liking characters I expected to like as much. Yara ended up being my favorite, and I just was not expecting that based on how we started the book. She ended up being a far stronger character than I thought she would be while I actually found Aylin a bit lacking. Yara was far more fleshed out than Aylin in my opinion. Though I expected this to be more about both sisters, it felt like Yara was the true main character (which I loved as I enjoyed her antics while she was trying to survive in a cutthroat court of vampir). Volkan also ended up being a far more interesting character than I anticipated, and I actually ended up really loving him and his dynamic with Yara. At first, he seemed like he would be a sort of one dimensional villain type, but as the book progressed, we discovered more and more layers to him. He was definitely more than meets the eye, as was his twin brother, Eldar.

I did hope for a bit more romance based on the blurb with the mention of FBAA, but I do know this is the beginning of a series, so I hope we get a little more in the next book! There was also zero spice in this book. I had expected at least a little.

Overall, I did really end up enjoying this book and will be looking forward to the next in the series.

The Court of the Undead releases in December 2023, and I would recommend it for people that enjoy vampire stories (and particularly those that enjoyed The Vampire Diaries).

Thank you NetGalley, Northern Light Press, and F.M. Aden for the review copy of this book. All opinions are my own and I am freely giving this review.

Loved the blurb.
Loved the story. Amazingly put together and kept me reading well into the night on a work day!
Thanks NetGalley and publishers for the arc.

I personally really liked this book filled with hella tension, about two sisters very different from each other. One wants freedom while the other craves power, they also share a strong bond together after their mother died and they were left alone for some time. One night one of them gets kidnapped by cruel monsters looking to inflict as much physical and emotional pain as possible, while the other one is racing against time to find her and bring het home. Along the way both sisters find themselves entangled with two different men with that want have them as theirs. I can’t wait till the next one comes out! Thanks Net Galley for the read before release!

Yara and Aylin grew up on ghost stories, specifically stories of vampirs. When Yara is kidnapped by the same creatures they were warned about, Aylin will stop at nothing to get her sister back.

This book was great! I loved the European setting and Aylin’s character. The book kept me on the edge of my seat, and I had to know what happened next. Great read!

It was the blurb of The Court of the Undead that first caught my interest. The story sounded very much my cup of tea, so I decided to request it and give it a try. Unfortunately, it didn't really live up to my expectations. On the plus side, the setting and the premise were both interesting and helped to set the book apart from others in the same genre. However, the execution was a little lacking. The world building felt clunky, with too much 'telling', especially in the first quarter or so of the book. The characters, too, lacked depth, their actions and speech wooden and their relationships feeling forced. There was plenty of promise here, though. F.M. Aden clearly has a great imagination and I think if the prose style and characterisation could be improved they could produce something good in this genre in the future. This book gets 2.5 stars from me overall, but I will raise that to three on Goodreads for the sake of the interesting story idea.

(As a note to the publisher, it took me a while to read this because I had to read it on my PC. The text was fine on Adobe Digital Editions on my PC, but when I transferred the book to my e-reader all the pages were showing as blank, except for the sword and flower images at the start of each chapter - they were the only things visible. I also note a number of issues with incorrect comma usage throughout the text, for your information while completing final edits/proofing.)

At the beginning of the book- I did not think I would like it, but I was wrong. The beginning started out rough for me with all the names/nouns I wasn’t sure of. It took me awhile to develop the differentiation of characters in my head. The plot really hooked me about 60% through and I couldn’t stop. The world building wasn’t my favorite, BUT the character really grew on me and now I feel invested. I need to know what happens next with Yara & Aylin especially. Eldar at the ending….what the heck-shocked. I am interested to read more from F.M. Aden. Overall, good book and I am anxiously awaiting to read more of the story!!!