Although the premise of the book captivated me and the story quite unique in its structure, the vampire lore, the rich historical prospect of the Ottoman Empire, and the politics in between both. It had everything a reader could want, but the character development and romance seemed to be lacking.

The sisters, Aylin and Yara, have been living comfortably in the Ottoman Empire, growing up on tales of the vampire, and always told to beware of what lurks within the shadows. When Yara is kidnapped and taken to Wallachia and the Court of the Undead King, she becomes the obsession of two brothers - Vokan and Eldar Demirci. Drawn into the Vampir Court and its politics, Yara has to not only stay alive but learn how to be just as cunning as the Court itself. Her sister, on the other hand, is determined to find her and bring her home. With Iiyas in tow, Alyin sets out to find her all the while coming across the vampir hunters who know how to kill them.

If I am correct, this book is going to be a series and it still has room to grow. Most first books in a series are bare bones and characters are coming into their own. Although is some speculation that many should already have growth, you need to understand that it does take a bit more time to do so. Stories and world-building are just getting started.

I do understand that authors tend to heavily-laden their imagery and although this is good, it also slows the progress of the story. Again, since this book is the author's first novel, it may be too heavy for the first book. One just needs to establish the mood of both the book and its characters.

Given time and much more fleshing out of the series, I think this series has quite a chance and I really hope the author does take this chance to make any necessary changes and not be discouraged.


*Disclaimer: Thank you to the author, her publishers, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. The opinions of this review are mine and mine alone.

This is an absolute nope from me. I didn't like anything about this and couldn't make it past 40%. Cringe and bad writing, the characters were meh, the details were meh.

Thank you for providing me with an arc through NetGalley.
Not going to lie, the beginning of this was a little boring. I struggled trying to get into it. Not my favourite, but of you enjoy the slow burn of plot you might enjoy this.

I enjoyed a fantasy book after such a long time🥲🙏 I was hooked on this book!!! For the first time, I like the younger brother more lol. We need book 2 asap i want to know who eldar falls from his throne😞🤌

Thank you to the publishers for providing an early copy through NetGalley!

I really struggled with getting into this book, it was incredibly boring and the prose was extremely formal for a book classified as YA. I wish it wasn’t so long winded and the plot never grabbed me. I DNFed a little before the halfway point. I enjoyed the setting where the rise of the Ottoman Empire and the heavy influence of Arabic and African culture. The time period was unique for a fantasy and I appreciated the author making that choice. However, the pacing needs work and perhaps adjusting the prose.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book! The is not my normal read but I really enjoyed this! Yara is truly wonderful and I loved seeing her story unfold. I enjoyed the diversity and the culture of the story and setting. Excited to see what happens next!

The Court of the Undead
By: F.M. Aden
While the cover and the description of the book initially caught my attention, the plot and characters carried the story. After Yara is abducted, her sister Aylin is determined to find her way back to her. There were beautiful descriptions of culture and religion not often seen in fantasy stories that allowed for a greater connection to the characters. At times I found the characters lacking dimension, large emotional, internal, and physical growth could be seen at the end of the book. The plot kept me turning the page wondering if the sisters would ever reunite, about the love interests, and how the politics would play out.

There was some confusion around the love interests, but kept options and plot twists open. The world building's foundation was strong, as I was never confused on where or how something was occurring.

The Court of the Undead flawlessly build a world to become enraptured with, creating characters, though cliche, just as lovable, as well as weaving a fascinating cabal throughout.

The Court of the Undead F. M. Aden
Description: “A stunningly dark, blood-soaked gothic fantasy novel set during the rise of the Ottoman empire. Perfect for fans of Netflix’s Castlevania and Jennifer L. Armentrout’s, From Blood and Ash.”

This is F.M. Aden’s debut novel and unfortunately, this book just did not manage to hook me. The first few chapters felt heavy and historical rather than intriguing. We are first introduced to our main characters through two flashbacks (one to childhood and one as teens), then in the present, the sweet, beautiful, quiet sister (Yara) goes missing and the feisty, tomboy sister (Ailyn) runs away to find her. Yara is taken to the Court of the Undead as a blood-slave, but works to change her station by gaining the favor of opposing families at court. Ailyn is joined by childhood not-so-sweetheart, Ilyas, who infiltrate a group of vampir hunters.

The story is told from third person perspective, but we do get the point of view of Ailyn, Yara, and Eldar.

I found it difficult to connect to the story since I am unfamiliar with much Islam or Turk history or culture. It was a great way to add diversity to my reading with two “African-Turk” FMCs but I think I missed a lot of the nuance because I couldn’t follow all the historical aspects.

The action picks up a bit around 40% and there is a teeny bit of tension between possible love interests, but there is also a lot of “so then X must die” vibes which felt a bit repetitive. I did not feel any connection to the story or characters, so I was not invested in their outcomes. The book did pick up speed with about 20% left, but not enough to fully turn it around for me.

This book has 0 spice - which contributes a great deal to how much I enjoy a book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an advanced release copy of this book.

The court of the undead is a captivating young adult fantasy novel which takes place during the rise of the Ottoman empire. The book covers the lives of 2 sisters after the abduction of Yara.

Yara is abducted and sold to 2 twin vampir residing in the court of the undead. Aylin, her sister, travels with Ilyas to find and recover Yara after he abduction.

I absolutely adored Yara's character, and her undying strength and charm. Aylin is a sharp tongued and fiery counterpart to Yara's sweet self. Although we had little interaction between the two in this book, their love for each other is clearly shown. The dual POV in the book allowed me to understand both the characters better, and I really enjoyed seeing both perspectives.

Although the plot was interesting and kept me on my toes, I would have loved for the plot lines to be explored more, as it was a bit hard to keep track of. However it was really interesting to see how all the components played out in the end. The cliffhanger at the end left me wanting for more, and I cannot wait for the next book,

The Court of the Undead is perfect for fans of ACOTAR and for young adult fantasy lovers, it offers a unique story with loveable characters.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing a free advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Yara and Aylin, sisters living in the Ottoman Empire, grew up with stories of the vampirs, but are unprepared when these stories come true. Now Yara has been taken by the vampirs and must learn to survive in their court while Aylin joins a group of vampir hunters to find her sister.
Plot: The plot itself was fine, if a little cliche. It just felt very basic, and while the scenes themselves may have been unique, there wasn’t anything particularly engaging. The writing irritated me a little because of the unusual metaphors. The worldbuilding was a little under done. Although I understood generally what vampirs were and what the Ottoman Empire is, there wasn’t enough detail to give the world any depth.
Characters: I felt like all of the characters in this book were lacking a lot of depth. They all went through development, but it was only surface level development. I had a really hard time understanding who the couples were, and the characters in those couples had very little chemistry.
Overall: A mediocre vampire novel, with a basic plot and poor characters.
Recommendation: none

Yara and her sister Aylin grew up on tales of vampir. Yara is kidnapped by vampir and Aylin tries to save her sister with a group of hunters. Aylin meets twin brothers Vokan and Eldar... and doesn't know who to trust...

Love the Ottoman background and the magical world in the book. I like Aylin a lot. She's terrific. I like the suspense and the plot too. The plot is a lot though... a LOT of things are happening. I wish that there was more romance though. It's there but I just want more. There is a lot of potential there. Overall, an interesting book.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

I went into this story with high hopes that I would like the book, based on the blurb, but I didn't really connect with the writing style.

I was very intrigued by the vampire and fantasy elements presented in the story. I really enjoyed how creative this universe was, compared to the typical fantasy universe.

I thought the romance aspect that was teased in the blurb ("Yara must decide who to trust with her loyalty. And with her heart." ) was not explored as much as I thought I would be. I'm not sure if there is going to be a series, and that was just a tease for where the story is going, but in my opinion, it did not make sense to throw that line in the blurb when there was very little romance present in this book.

In the beginning, there was a lot of buildup to the main plot. The unnecessarily in-depth details and explanations slowly made me lose interest in the story line over the course of the book.

In my opinion, I didn't find the characters to be that likable, so I wasn't very engaged with their personal stories or relationships.

Overall, I'm sad that I didn't end up liking the book, because of how much I enjoyed the fantasy world, I just wish the characters were more dynamic.

I would give this book 2.5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and author for allowing me to read this story. This truly is a dark, gothic tale of vampires and court politics.

Yara and Aylin live a comfortable life in Constantinople with their eunuch father serving the sultan. One day Yara is captured and sold as a blood slave to two brothers in a twisted vampire court. Yara’s sister, Aylin, and her somewhat platonic friend, Ilyas, set out to bring her home. Aylin and Ilyas join a group of faithful vampire hunters and learn how to kill the beasts that rule the night. During this time, Yara becomes entrenched in court politics and learns to navigate the King and nobles while becoming the obsession of the two Demirci brothers. She has to be careful and cunning as she tries to gain her freedom and one day see her sister again.

In terms of spiciness this book is bit lacking and it was hard to get through the first several chapters as the writing felt a bit heavy. Some of the descriptions were drawn out and it sometimes felt as though this were instead a historical fiction instead of a dark romance. I did not know many of the terms being described and would have appreciated if the glossary was listed in the table of contents so that I could refer to it as I read.

Overall the plot was interesting as it follows the Demirci brothers and Yara as they plot for revenge and power at court. I just would have liked more romance, especially from the vampires at court. These dark creatures who have no problem eating each other’s hearts and having blood slaves can at least show some level of affection. I hope more romance is added in the second book!

I have never read anything quite like this book. I thought the premise was very interesting. I enjoyed the timeline, the different cultural elements, and the type of vampire lore that was described. The vampires in the book were very interesting. The romance was very light. I could see some enemies to lovers happening, slow burn maybe, and the book also ends with a cliffhanger. Definitely some morally grey characters in here as well.

Plot- 2/5🔆
Spice- 0/5🌶️

There was a lot to unpack with the plot. So much in fact, I wish there was more time spent building the plotline, or some plot lines taken out. It felt rushed and like pieces were missing while I was reading. The rush of the plot also made it harder to feel more depth with the characters and relationships that were being built. Some of the characters felt immature in their behaviors.

Aylin's storyline was the first that caught my attention. It became brutal though, in an unsuspecting way, and I felt unsure of where the story was supposed to be headed. Not being able to guess the plot is maybe a good thing though. Domenico and Aylin's relationship is twisted and made me uncomfortable. Him being so violent and gross towards her, and then becoming a potential love interest felt strange.

Yara's story intrigued me the most. I felt there was a lot of potential in her story, especially with Eldar and Volkan. I could have read a whole book just on the three of them engaging in the vampire politics. I wanted more vampires and romance to be honest.

Overall it was a pretty original story, I wish there was more time spent with building the plot and characters.