The Court of the Undead is the first book I've picked up by F.M. Aden and it won't be the last. The summary is what grabbed my interest but I was truly interested in seeing how things were going to turn out for these characters.

Yara and Aylin are our main characters in the book so we get the story from both POVs. I have to admit...I kind of hate when chapters rotate. It's mostly because it usually happens just when I'm getting into what's happening and then I have to switch but it was important as they are both going through something and it is important to know what as you get to the climax of the story.

Essentially, Yara is kidnapped and brought to the fortress of the Undying King as a slave. Having grown up in the Ottoman court, she is determined to escape but she finds herself trapped between Volkan and Eldar, vampir twins who are determined to use her for their own games and deceptions within the court. While I like to think Yara was a great character, she drove me nuts sometimes. The decisions she made and her desire for revenge put her in danger the most and I just wanted her to be smarter...unfortunately she seemed to be outwitted every time she tried to make a move against Eldar.

Aylin (Yara's sister) is determined to find Yara and bring her back home. The only way she can do that though is disguised as a boy and with the help of a group of trained vampir hunters. Her story was pretty straight-forward with some interesting bits along the way but I'll admit that Yara's had a bit more to it. I mean, she is a human surrounded by vampir and thrown into all the politics and court intrigue you could imagine while trying to survive.

If you're looking for a new Fantasy to pick up, consider this one. The characters are interesting and the story - while it started slow, was well done. Not to mention that the ending has definitely prompted me to add the next book to my tbr because now I NEED to know what is going to happen next. This was a solid book one that kept me turning the pages!

2.5 ⭐️

✨️"Better to be a slave with power than a slave without."✨️

half Volturi fan fiction half arya stark training 😵‍💫

I don't know how many beta readers read this and didn't think to suggest making the three problematic love interests less psychotic? and I don't mean hot psychotic I mean ear chomping, non-consensual physical touch, legit physical assault and emotional abuse love interests. the author saw dagger to the throat trending on booktok and made full on menaces to society

the only good love interest with the perfect amount of tension and banter and protectiveness is pushed aside for the lunatic like be fr

✨️“I’m upset with all men. They are selfish creatures.”✨️

vampire wise, both options are concerning and miss girl's feelings feel so forced and out of nowhere. wdym "I can't stand the thought of anything happening to him" he treated you like a dog and gave you almost-org*sms without your consent pls

other than that I still somehow enjoyed reading it, maybe because I've read far worse or because the writing style is actually genuinely good but it was nice, I just wish the men were less like actual irl MEN and had shorter hair 🫡

✨️“Men will always find an excuse for violence. It is always a war for king, for God, for family. As if justifying the reason for carnage somehow makes it acceptable.”✨️

+ was the waist long straight hair really necessary for the twin vampires?? i cannot NOT picture the volturi guy from twilight

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story. I'm a big fan of vampire books so when I read the description of this book I immediately wanted to read it. Aylin was by far my favorite of the two sisters. I found myself very excited any time I was reading a chapter from her point of view and just slightly intrigued when I read chapters from Yara's point of view. They were both very strong characters, but something about Aylin held my attention way more. The world created in this story was very interesting and different from any vampire book I've read before.

One of my favorite parts of this book was that there is some real potential for a real enemies to lovers romance in the next book. I love any kind of enemies to lovers story, but a lot of the time it's more like they annoy each other and then decide they love each other, but in this story they are for sure enemies at the beginning.

This book really held my attention and I read it in two days. I'd definitely recommend it if you like vampires, sister bonds, and a little bit of romance.

Yara and Aylin are the pampered daughters of one of the most powerful men of the Ottoman court. When beautiful and kind Yara gets kidnapped and sold to the dark vampire court, Aylin takes it upon herself to travel to distant enemy lands in order to rescue her. Along the way, both sisters discover new things about themselves and are forced to face the truth about their feelings about those around them.
It starts out feeling way too generic, and it honestly plays out super predictably all the way to the end, but there's something about the characters that Aden created that made me want to keep reading. Every single main character has a full story arc with growth and reveals that add to the story as much as they do to the character. You end up caring for people you never thought you would even as you're left feeling like there's more betrayal on the horizon. It truly hooked me.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Northern Light Press for the interesting read!

Enjoyable book with a heavier focus on the story rather than the romance.You have vampires, enemies to lovers, love triangles and a very interesting plot.

I really liked the premise of the book, it feels a little slow to start because of the world building. It picks up again at 35-40% and then is hard to put down.

The main characters are likable and although I am not a fan of love triangles I was curious to see where this went.

Thank you NetGalley and F.M Aden for the ARC.

A very enjoyable YA Fantasy read. It was well written, with great characters and a well thought out plot. I actually really enjoyed that it didn't focus solely on the romance aspect and left room for the rest of the story. There wasn't many aspects that really jumped out to me to make it absolutely brilliant, but it is definitely a great read and I would recommend it to fellow YA Fantasy readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Northern Light Press for the ARC.

The Court of the Undead
by F.M.Aden- 1st time author for me
Thanks to NetGalley and Northern Light Press for this ARC🖤! I voluntarily give an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.
Publication date: 12-20-23

WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ vampires
✨ enemies to lovers
✨ sibling bonds
✨ no sex scenes
✨love triangles
⚠️ TW: human trafficking, cannibalism

My Thoughts: I pictured many TV show characters while reading this from the Stark girls to Damon from TVD. I believe that means Yara, Aylin,and even Volkan and Eldar are relatable, likeable, and engaging.

What I liked:

- FMCs The sisters Yara and Aylin are complete opposites and are taken on different paths when Yara is kidnapped by vampires.

-MMCs The twin brothers Volkan and Eldar are ones you root for and hate at the same time. They do some despicable things with flashes of kindness.

-The BIPOC rep is an added bonus. African Muslims in the Ottoman empire-something I know nothing about but learned by the political climate.

What I didn't like:
😞Slow start. It was hard getting through the first 60 pages or so.

I'm not usually a fantasy girly, but the description really intrigued me on this novel. It ended up falling a little flat for me though. For example, in the dual POV, I only enjoyed Yara's and found myself losing interest in her sister's perspective. I did enjoy real life ties such as the Muslim religion and real geography and ethnicities, which you don't normally see in the fantasy genre!

First of all thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I LOVED this. Enemies to lovers, dual POV, vampires, twin brothers, and so much more. I went in not having high hopes, but this book was everything I needed.

This is such a gem. I absolutely devoured this book. Author’ lyrical sense of writing is absolutely mesmerising, and the plot had me sat on the edge of my seat throughout the beginning. However, that cliffhanger was brutal for my fragile heart. Definitely can’t wait enough for the next instalment.

4.5/5 ✨️

I am really struggling to understand the hate that this book has been receiving. I absolutely DEVOURED this book and am very excited for the second book to come out.

• Vampires
• Love Triangles
• Morally Grey Characters

What else could you want?

We have a dual POV of two sisters, one is taken by vampires, the other fights to get her back. I found the book to be fast-paced, intriguing and absolutely loved the Islam/Muslim representation. I enjoyed the character development and the story lines. Was it a little predictable? Yes. Was it still throughly enjoyable? Yes.
Also, pretty sure our author has a spit kink....I'm not mad at it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this earc. This books was a lot of fun... VAMPIRES.. Love them. Such an entertaining read.

<i>I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.</i>

i thought this was marvelous! it went sooooo strong for pretty much 75% of the book and honestly reminded me of like an Afro-Turk version of Folk of the Air, meets something like a YA version of Game of Thrones.

is it perfect? No absolutely not. BUT neither were the two series i'd mentioned above, nor anything else setting fire to the shelves in teen/ya. what i most enjoyed in The Court of the Undead, is that it featured characters who were ethnically diverse, and had personality and dimension beyond the two-dimensional <i>"here be some courtesy BIPOC folk"</i> inclusivity sentences <i>stop-gap</i> that is pervasive in genre fiction.

so, that being said, it was awesome to read! but most importantly, FMA 's narrative didn't shy away from the fact that race relations are always complicated, and for a soft category such as this in general, i thought this rep supported the plot with energy, expansive characterization and enhanced character motivation. the end did succumb to that whole ott teen/ya romantasy vibe, but i expected it because it STILL IS what it is. just with African Turks and vampires.

i loved the writing style, and i would love to see more maturation in the characterizations moving forward, but on the whole i am extremely happy to have discovered this book/series, and storyteller, as FMA adds much needed representation and value to a saturated market whose readership can only benefit from the enrichment of fantasy fiction featuring more diversification.

I’m in two minds about The Court of the Undead. I really wanted to love it, and some parts ticked all the boxes while others fell flat.

The start was super slow and I found myself tripping over the unfamiliar words which just stopped the flow of the book.

The middle seems to go from zero to a hundred in a blink of an eye. I enjoyed Yara’s POV a lot more than Aylin which just didn’t interest me as much.

The brothers/love triangle vibe was interesting but Yara just felt very indecisive about what she actually wanted and who she was helping.

An interesting read, and a good start to the series overall.

The Court of the Undead is book one in the Trueborn series by F.M. Aden.
An outstanding romantasy story.
This fast-paced story kept me gripped right until the end.
I thought the character development was done so well and the world-building just outstanding.
Her writing technique has the story coming to life right off of the page creating vivid and captivating images.
This world is so imaginative, so immersive, you'll never want to leave it.
Action packed, with a hint of romance and entertaining characters.
I can’t wait to read book two The King of the Damned.

Thank You NetGalley and Northern Light Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Unfortunately, I did not have a great time reading this book. It started off well but I did not like the progression of the story. I do believe that this book will find a wide audience that will love it, I am just not a part of it. The plot had potential but I found it to be hollow. I wish the sisters’ relationship would have been more developed. And the weakest aspect of the book is in the guys, because they are all « alpha males » and I truly hate that. I found them really annoying and irritating. (I prefer softer guys.) They definitely took the enjoyment that I could have sometimes away.

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

oh yes I highly enjoyed it and I think its because I love anything vampire. I highly recommend this book to everyone and I will be buying a physical copy once its released.

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

I did not finish this book.
I’m normally a sucker for fantasy with political intrigue, vampires and strong FMCs. The first part of the book did keep my attention well and I became more interested, however, about a third of the way through, I found the plot dragging quite slowly to the point I wasn’t as interested in what was happening.
I loved the writing style and found the descriptive language beautifully written. The setting was something new I hadn’t read before and this I enjoyed.
If the pace had maintained at the same pace as the start of this story, I think I would’ve been kept more interested in continuing the story.

In this captivating dark fantasy set against the rise of the Ottoman Empire, two sisters, Yara and Aylin, navigate a world of vampires, love triangles, and political intrigue. While the story starts slow, the second half is a riveting mix of suspense and forbidden romances. The sibling bond between Yara and Aylin stands out, adding depth to the story. The book expertly balances dual perspectives, offering diverse representations of Muslims and plus-size main characters. Despite the initial slow pace, the novel is an original, fast-paced read that hooked me until the end. Its richly layered plot, intricate world-building, and unpredictable character dynamics left me eagerly anticipating the next installment.

The Court of the Undead is about two polar opposite sisters. The beautiful Yara and the headstrong Aylin. Yara is kidnapped and sold to the vampire twins, and Aylin takes it upon herself to save her sister with the help of one particular soldier.

I saw so much potential even though I found the novel very simple. I understood what the author was aiming at but the writing didn’t quite take me very far. The characters were almost one dimensional, the dialogue wooden. Many of the choices made by the characters were confusing or frustrating.

Yet… I’m still curious to see where the sequel takes us because there were moments I enjoyed. Most of them were with Yara and one of the brothers.

The court games were good, with better writing I think they would have been excellent. I found the romance to be more of an obsession, in both cases. The author touches upon race, religion, sex and class. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoyed Belladonna.