Book Review | The Bride of Death

When the Lord of the Underworld, Erlik Khan, possesses Zerryn’s childhood friend, the two strike a bargain. If she can win a series of trials and Erlik’s hand in marriage, he’ll release her friend or else her friend will die before winter.

The Bride of Death by F.M. Aden weaves a flawed but enthralling tale inspired by Turkish folklore.

Let's start with what I liked about the book. I think this is actually the first fantasy book I’ve read that includes Turkish folklore and mythological creatures, so it was a refreshing departure from all the Nordic and Greek-inspired fantasies that are so prolific.

The romance itself is deliciously swoonworthy. That part was great! I mean, the main love interest has extra arms ... for hugging, and I’m sure it’ll delight fans of Death and the Maiden trope, I-offer-the-world-at-your-feet dynamics.

However, there were certain rushed plot developments towards the end that I felt undid so many of the themes the story had built up, and, for me to dive into that, I’ll have to get into major plot spoilers. For instance, I found it baffling that Erlik completely destroys Zerryn’s magic, she forgives him over the course of a chapter, and he ends up saving her from the villagers.

What happened? Throughout the story, we’re told over and over again that Zerryn has the power to save herself:

“You must never wait for someone to save you,’ her magic whispered. ‘Only you can save yourself.’”

And

“No, it was not Erlik who saved her. It was her own magic, bright and fervent. Zerryn knew that now. It had never been Erlik. It had always been her.”

I thought Zerryn’s magic was supposed to be inherent to her. Why must she lose the power that she had spent the majority of the novel trying to regain only for it to be casually tossed aside and not addressed again? This is the same issue I had with Alina losing her sun summoner powers at the end of Ruin and Rising, and maybe it’s partly a matter of preference, but it frustrated me to no end and quite frankly soured the book for me.

Thank you, NetGalley and Northern Light Press, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Details:

Publication Date : March 1, 2024

Publisher : Northern Light Press

ISBN: ‎1738963136

Pages : 378

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