One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig on September 27, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy, Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, Fiction / Gothic
Pages: 432
Format: Paperback
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“There once was a girl clever and good, who tarried in shadow in the depths of the wood. There also was a king – a shepard by his crook, who reigned over magic and wrote the old book. The two were together, so the two were the same…The girl, the King…and the monster they became.”
Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom of Blunder, she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets. But nothing comes for free, especially magic. When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure Blunder from the dark magic infecting it. And the highwayman? He just so happens to be the King’s nephew, Captain of the most dangerous men in Blunder…and guilty of high treason. Together they must gather twelve Providence Cards, the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.
FANTASTIC PERFECTION! I haven’t devoured a fantasy novel this fast since ACOTAR. It’s so exciting and engaging. For an adult gothic fantasy it does read slightly like a YA, but when a book is this good, that fact is barely significant. The dark gothic fantasy atmosphere, dark magic, creepy woods, fog, mists, and tarot cards with potential monsters vibes were just immaculate! Everything from the world building, the characters, the plot, it was all written and explained so well. This gothic fantasy had such a beautiful magical system that was entirely imaginative and unique in it’s own right. I’ve never read anything like it! It was so thoughtfully explained and was quite frankly, really fucking awesome! All the Providence Cards were a bit confusing at first and I needed to make a list, but they all had a different magical ability such as speed and strength, mind control, truth serums, even other wordly beauty. I thought the magical elements were absolutely enchanting.
Highly rated five stars on this fantasy. I can not wait to jump right into the next book. I am also loving the fact that there are only two books in this series. Sometimes when you have too many, I tend to trail off. Make sure to have the next book ready to go, because that cliff hanger….. 😲