The Court of the Undead (Trueborn #1)
F.M. Aden
A stunningly dark fantasy novel set during the rise of the Ottoman Empire. Perfect for fans of Netflix’s Castlevania and From Blood and Ash. 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.
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actual rating: 2.5
this clearly has an audience who love this story based on the reviews so don't dismiss this book if it interests you. my big issues were the writing style (mainly because it took me forever to get into the story and by then it felt too late) and the romance. there is not a lot of romance in this but all of the love interests made me uncomfortable, none of these men were decent or worth wanting. enemies to lovers but the men are just cruel, not for me.
due to the writing style (i usually enjoy whimsical, flowery purple prose) i could not connect with these characters and found myself bored and uninterested in either pov. yara was the better perspective because of the vampires and politics but still didn't work for me. men, ew.
the plot is interesting but nothing new. the worldbuilding wasn't there enough for me. the pacing was off for me, some parts very quick (the ending) while other's that really drag (the first half). but this isn't a bad book just could've used another draft or two to flesh out more. i think this author will only improve from here and i'll be interested to check out some of their future works, i mean cover for their 2024 release is stunning!
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