Court of the Undying Seasons

Absolute perfection!!!!

I was instantly hooked from the beginning, I was sucked into this story and completely immersed that I never wanted it to end! I adored the characters, the plot was intriguing and had me guessing the entire way through, absolutely incredible!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is one of the most addictive books I've ever read!!!! It has blown my MIIIIIND from page one with its compelling voice, amazing characters, incredible plot twists, and a romance that leaves you breathless.

I looooove vampires, and I've been longing to read a queer vampire book. But sadly almost every vampire book I read was poorly done with the glorious exception of The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh. But here comes Court of the Undying Seasons (even the title is so COOL!!!) to save our queer vampire fantasies.

Fin is an outstanding main character. You root for her from the beginning and throughout her entire character arc. I truly felt her development so painstakingly close to my heart. She was the outcast, the unlovable girl that no one wanted. She was so used to be unseen that she literally turned herself into mist. t was such a sad but relatable combination: when people approached her it was because people only wanted her harm or to take something from her, and at the same time, that she was nothing so why would people approach her, to begin with? Her need to belong was so raw that it screamed off the page (or my kindle, in my case).

Gavron was reflected as the hilariously broody type (and he was and he had every right to be) but he's so much more than that. He has that delightful sense of humor that I wished real people had. Or perhaps I need to become friends with Gavron's creator.... I also have a thing for competent people who takes no one's c***p so yes, I loved Gavron a great deal. ///Fin, don't come after me, I won't survive you.///

I was also surprised and mind-blown by the character cast in this book. Every character was extremely fleshed-out and had a life of their own. I could feel and see how every character would react and all these "of course he'd say that" or "that's such a Kashire (or Jaen) thing to say" are those sparkling moments that make you realize this book is magical in every sense possible. It's the little things, people! And yes, Kashire and Jaen are my favorite side characters....Kashire with his unyielding loyalty and LOL humor, and Jaen's unpredictable and lovely personality.

The plot was sooooo RICH AND TWISTY that I think I got chest pain while reading the last 30% of the book. My body was on the edge of the bed, and my head jerked with every plot twist. I had quite a visceral reading experience, and I loved every minute of it.

And did I say that all this is set in a VAMPIRE SCHOOL?????????????? That was incredibly COOL??!!!

As for LGBTQIA+ representation, there are plenty characters with various identities, and the vampire world is LGBTQIA+ normative.

Saying that I love this book is an understatement. Court of the Undying Seasons (seriously, the title is so cool) is one of my favorite books not of 2023 or latest years but of all time. I am so enthralled that you could mistake me for a thrall!!!! (those of you who have or will read the book and later see this review will appreciate my pun)

Gloriously addictive. Absolutely perfect in every way possible. I'll rever this book forever, partly because it rejuvenated my reading heart and partly because it is the queer vampire book we all deserve to have.

Now I know what you're thinking...ANOTHER vampire romance novel? But trust me when I say you have NEVER read a vampire romance this good.

A stabby FMC with a hatred for vampires and an inability to believe that anyone could ever love her finds herself in a Vampire school surrounded by a confusing and flamboyant group of vampires that seemingly hate her. She has two choices - learn the skills of each vampire court well enough to be turned at the end of the year, or spend the rest of her life as a thrall, bound to serve and feed these monstrous creatures.

Oh, and did I mention its also a queer murder mystery with an element of cultism?

It's been a very long time since I've been so /enthralled/ by a novel, but I'm not surprised. I'm a big fan of AM Strickland and this has only compounded that further.

Truly a delight to read and I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy.

Summary:

Fin is a human girl selected through the Finding to train to become a vampire. But Fin has a vendetta against the vampires who killed her mother and she’s on a mission for revenge. However nothing is straightforward and Fin soon becomes immersed in the vampire world, a growing attachment to her maker, Gavron and a string of murders make things more complicated than she’d ever planned for.

Review:

This book is fast paced, interesting and completely captured me. The world building and politics were great.

Fin is the epitome of feminine rage and I enjoyed seeing her character develop.

The side characters were interesting and funny and really supported the storytelling.

The plot twist was unpredictable and had me guessing right until the end. This was a great read and I would definitely recommend.

I really loved Court of the Undying Seasons!
This was actually the first book I've read by A.M. Strickland and certainly won't be my last as I'm now really excited to check out their other books!
This was such a good vampire book, it's probably my favourite that I've read this year!
The writing was really good and absolutely loved Fin!
I definitely highly recommend this book!
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying this book has been my favourite read this year and is now officially my #1 vampire novel! At the half way point of this book I went in search of a special edition copy for my shelves and now I’m eagerly awaiting its physical release!

This book follows Fin, a girl with not much going for her asides from her one true friend and a need for revenge, as her tale unwinds we find out that not everything is as it seems and those who she thought without doubt she could not trust, turn out to be the allies she has wished for her entire life.
From the very beginning of this book I had an inkling that I knew where this book was going, later on I decided I had no clue. While my hunch was somewhat correct by towards the end, I was still kept guessing along the way.

Like some in this story - I WAS TOTALLY ENTHRALLED!!!

Aside from the found family trope (which I love!) this story is about progression from human to vampire with the help of blood and vampire school! Lovers of zodiac academy, such as myself, will adore this!

While staying true to being a YA book, there is enemies to lovers vibes and great tension. 10/10 for me all day long.

A big thank you to the author, the publishers and of course Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This book was addicting- From the moment I began to read this book I was hooked.

Fin, the protagonist, is both likable and badass. She initially struggles to come to terms with her circumstances, which is conveyed brilliantly through the internal battles she faces throughout the book. Despite starting out as an outcast, Fin eventually encounters others and forms a found family.

The romance aspect of the story is a slow burn, featuring a brooding lover. There were times where I found myself rooting for them to get together, but the twists and turns along the way made the journey well worth it.

Each character in the book has a distinct personality, making it enjoyable to see how they interacted with one another. Their disagreements and sense of humour made for a great dynamic in their shared goal. However, I would have loved to see more backstory on side characters like Kashire, to understand what shaped their personalities.

Also, vampires duh what's not to love!

Overall, I would highly recommend this book.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with the ARC to review.

What an unexpected joy to read! Fast paced, intense and action packed, this atmospheric story turns the typical vampire tropes in their head to become a brilliant and engaging read.

I was a big fan of In the Ravenous Dark so was impatiently eager to read the author's next book. I'm pleased to say that it did not disappoint. It's about a vampire school in a dark fantasy world and it's also queernormative (please see the author's review on Goodreads for representation and content warnings).

It was just so much fun from start to finish and felt like '00s YA vampire fiction but a thousand times better. All of the characters were fantastic and the plot never lets up. There are plenty of twists to keep the reader engaged and even a love story filled with betrayal and yearning. The academic setting combined with life or death stakes is utter perfection. If you want a dark and fast-paced fantasy, I'd highly recommend trying this one.

This is the second book I've read by AM Strickland, and I loved this as much as the other one (In the Ravenous Dark). Both amazingly written gothic fantasies. I love the way Strickland writes her characters. They're imperfect in the best way. The books although contain common themes (vampires, magic based school, etc), still find a way to feel completely unique.

I enjoyed this vampire romance with a dark twist, not something I usually see in YA and I loved the queer rep, the found family, the dark fantasy (and I mean dark) if you’re not good with blood and gore this probably isn’t for you. I love a slow burn romance and this is the slowest of burns, but I’m here for that, it’s not the ultimate focus of the story. The characters are fantastic, I loved them all, the ones I’m meant to , the ones I’m meant to dislike or be unsure, but I loved Fin best. I thought Fin was an amazing strong FMC , she has a hell of a time but she’s so determined, The pacing, the story, the ending I loved everything, it’s a stand-alone but the ending leads me to hope for possibly more, I’ll defer be here for that. Highly recommend to fans of dark vampire fantasy.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

One of the biggest delights of reading for me is when you pick up a book that sounds good, but you kinda don't expect too much, and then it just completely blows you away.
I have been excited about Court of the Undying Seasons because, well, queer vampire dark academia, but in a year filled with amazing releases, this just wasn't at the top of my anticipated release list.
Well, joke's on me, because this book just straight up made it into my top three books of the year.

I loved it so so much, I was sucked into the story almost immediately and having to stop reading because of my life was almost painful because I just wanted to binge it.

I'm a big fan of school settings as long as they're done well. I think there's always the risk of it either feeling like a copy of a certain very famous series that shall not be name; or not finding the balance between showing the academics and day-to-day life, while also not forgetting the overarching plot.
CotUS did a perfect job at that in my opinion. We see the classes, we have a house/court system with a twist (since the school is located at the heart of the vampire courts' 'castle', the courts are the ruling institutions but also structure the classes), there's some school drama going on, but then we have a murder mystery that turns into something bigger.
The flow of the plot was done very organically, it kept building and building until the grand finale that just blew me away.

The worldbuilding was really cool. I love vampire books even though in the post-Twilight era, there's a slight risk of falling into certain tropes and clichés. Court of the Undying Seasons was deliciously dark, the vampires were both sexy and dangerous, and the way the magic system worked added so much to the lore.

In general, I really loved how cohesive everything was. The political system, magic system and school curriculum all went hand in hand with one another and it perfectly fed into the history and the big revelations at the end.

I ADORED the characters. Fin is headstrong (without being stubborn), she's smart, she recognizes her flaws and uses her strengths to her advantage.
I loved the many side characters, I don't even want to talk about anyone in particular because the development of the relationships was such a lovely surprise, so I'll just say that I really enjoyed all relationships, whether it's friends, lovers or even enemies (some of them later becoming friends).

The LGBTQ+ rep was AMAZING, there are multiple genderqueer characters, pansexual, bisexual, lesbian and gay characters, I loved it.

The book felt atmospheric, and the writing really created a great, dark and slightly spooky mood. I will say that some sentences felt a bit clunky, though that might be subject to change in the final published version.

In case it hasn't come through so far, I absolutely adored this book, I'm obsessed with it and I have not stopped thinking about it. If you love vampires, this is a must-read in my opinion. If you enjoy school settings (or are maybe riding the high after a certain currently-very-popular book that is also set at a college), add Court of the Undying Seasons to your TBR.
I loved it so much and cannot wait for the sequel!