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isabyrne's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Court of the Undead is a gothic story set in the Ottoman Empire about two sisters. When one of the sisters is kidnapped by a court of vampires, the other runs away to train with a group of vampire hunters in order to find and rescue her. This book is fraught with relationships, politics, and scheming.
Read this if you are looking for a:
- Historical setting
- Love triangle
- Court politics, but with vampires
- Angsty romance, enemies to lovers
- Sister bond
Thank you to Northern Light Press, NetGalley, and the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Atmosphere and Setting: The historical atmospheres was my favourite part: from Turkey to Italy to a vampire court. I feel like it is rare to see historical fiction + fantasy, and would have wanted a whole book set in fantasy Turkey. We don’t get to see a lot of gothic book set in this setting/region of the world, and I really enjoyed that.
Characters: I loved the relationship that the sisters have in this book and would have wanted even more from it (or maybe that develops in book 2). I was also drawn by the love triangle, and curious to know how it will resolve. The romantic tension on all fronts was engaging, but I wished we could have had more details and more payoff to let us sit in that tension even more. It does feel a bit confusing that Yara goes from loving to hating the brothers scene to scene without warning, too.
Prose: My biggest challenge with this book was the prose and pacing. The stakes are often established what feels like too late, after the action has started; as a result the way that tension escalates feels a bit out of order or makes it feel like you are missing information. Occasionally the perspective changes abruptly and sometimes it is confusing or disorienting. In the dialogue, I wasn’t a fan of the banter between characters: sometimes it moved too quickly or was a bit stilted. At several points the dialogue was a bit strange, like one character could read what was going on in the other’s head without having spoken it. Sometimes it feels like the characters are spelling out their “big evil plans” detail by detail in dialogue rather than letting the reader gather them through inference.
Overall thoughts: This book was conceptually strong, especially in the atmosphere, the settings, the tropes, and the pairings. I know that this book was written for YA, but I think might have done better if pushed into adult fantasy with even darker themes for a more mature audience, more explicit romantic tension, and more developed prose. However, the plot twists and ways the book turned at the end were surprising, and set up well for the sequel. Those who really enjoy this book will be itching for the second one immediately.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Blood
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