jolietjane 's review for:

The Bride of Death by F.M. Aden

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Overview :

- He fell first
- Unrequited love
- Monster Romance
- "Survival games"
- Hades and Persephone
- One sided insta love
- Enemies to lovers

⭐⭐ Check out more of my opinions on Enemies to Lovers books on my blog Enemies To Lovers Source ⭐⭐


The Bride of Death follow Zerryn, a young woman chosen to fight for death's affection. But she doesn't want the underworld. She wants to save her childhood love. The lord of Death Erlik has other plans for her. He wants Zerryn to be his bride, and in order to become that, she must first become ruthless. Imagine a more lyrical Kingdom of the Wicked.

This one sadly did not do it for me. I am a die hard F.M Aden, but this book is far less original than her amazing, unreal good Court of the Undead series. Nevertheless, I will give some positives and negatives.

Starting with what I liked, the side characters were INCREDIBLE. Zerryn has the misfortune of fighting for Erlik's hand against some of the most vicious women in the world. From snake girls to fae, and one vampire who is prepared to kill just about anyone, these ladies are so much fun. Unlike other "Hunger Games" trial stories, I love how much personality Zerryn's rivals have and how much they color the book. I thought she had better chemistry with the vampire girl than she did with her love interest.

Second, FM Aden can write a damn book, and her prose is beyond lush. She can craft an absolutely beautiful fantasy world that truly feels lived in and magical.

Also this is a legit monster romance. Homie has like multiple eyes and arms its awesome.

Now onto what I didnt like, but my attract some readers:

The Court of the Undead was made for romance and fantasy fans sick of standard romantasy tropes. The Bride of Death is a romantasy for people who love romantasy. You want the evil character pining obsessively over the main character with absolutely no build up? You want a full blast of unresolved sexual tension? You want the main character getting the hots for the villain out of nowhere? You got it. All of the things the girlies like. This book felt like it checked off the boxes of this type of story that is becoming very popular, though I will say its written FAR BETTER. FM Aden knows her way around prose and actually knows how to write side characters.

I just found the main romance boring. I am over an allegedly evil guy whose obsessed blindly with the main character while she grumbles about what a meanie he is. Erlik is just not that interesting, though he had the potential to be.

If you are into this Hades Persephone romantasy subgenre, you will love this. As I like relationships that burn slower and hate insta lust, this was a miss for me.

Merged review:

Overview :

- He fell first
- Unrequited love
- Monster Romance
- "Survival games"
- Hades and Persephone
- One sided insta love
- Enemies to lovers

⭐⭐ Check out more of my opinions on Enemies to Lovers books on my blog Enemies To Lovers Source ⭐⭐


The Bride of Death follow Zerryn, a young woman chosen to fight for death's affection. But she doesn't want the underworld. She wants to save her childhood love. The lord of Death Erlik has other plans for her. He wants Zerryn to be his bride, and in order to become that, she must first become ruthless. Imagine a more lyrical Kingdom of the Wicked.

This one sadly did not do it for me. I am a die hard F.M Aden, but this book is far less original than her amazing, unreal good Court of the Undead series. Nevertheless, I will give some positives and negatives.

Starting with what I liked, the side characters were INCREDIBLE. Zerryn has the misfortune of fighting for Erlik's hand against some of the most vicious women in the world. From snake girls to fae, and one vampire who is prepared to kill just about anyone, these ladies are so much fun. Unlike other "Hunger Games" trial stories, I love how much personality Zerryn's rivals have and how much they color the book. I thought she had better chemistry with the vampire girl than she did with her love interest.

Second, FM Aden can write a damn book, and her prose is beyond lush. She can craft an absolutely beautiful fantasy world that truly feels lived in and magical.

Also this is a legit monster romance. Homie has like multiple eyes and arms its awesome.

Now onto what I didnt like, but my attract some readers:

The Court of the Undead was made for romance and fantasy fans sick of standard romantasy tropes. The Bride of Death is a romantasy for people who love romantasy. You want the evil character pining obsessively over the main character with absolutely no build up? You want a full blast of unresolved sexual tension? You want the main character getting the hots for the villain out of nowhere? You got it. All of the things the girlies like. This book felt like it checked off the boxes of this type of story that is becoming very popular, though I will say its written FAR BETTER. FM Aden knows her way around prose and actually knows how to write side characters.

I just found the main romance boring. I am over an allegedly evil guy whose obsessed blindly with the main character while she grumbles about what a meanie he is. Erlik is just not that interesting, though he had the potential to be.

If you are into this Hades Persephone romantasy subgenre, you will love this. As I like relationships that burn slower and hate insta lust, this was a miss for me.