This story built nicely to the ending that sets up an intriguing book two.

However, the opening was a struggle for me. I felt like chapter two should've been chapter one and that is was just a bit disjointed.

Things did pick up along typical YA paths in the first few chapters and I wasn't super into it. I also think this felt YA to me because the world building wasn't deep or intricate it was relatively surface level.

It took until 3/4s of the way through for it to really interest me. Elspeth was fine but not memorable as a main character for me and the rest of the characters weren't super well defined, although I did like Elm.

I would likely read book two if given the opportunity but probably wouldn't seek it out.

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Actually updating to 4 stars because I'm thinking about book two now.

This was a decent debut. It's not my new favorite YA fantasy, but there are many qualities to it that make it commendable. I really enjoyed the author's worldbuilding. It was colorful and very detailed and it got me really immersed in the story. The writing and prose side could have been better though. There were some that felt awkward, and the pacing really wasn't the best. I did like the ending, and the way this book is set up for the next one in the series is a kind that will make you eager to get your hands onto the next book.

It was okay.. It took me a bit to connect with the book and characters, especially the plot. It took me sometime to understand it and really catch up with it, same as the characters. It was and overwhelming about of characters and trying to keep up with them and their names, I found myself confusing them sometimes. Pace wise It was a bit slow for me, I like and prefer fast paced books with tension and to me it took more than half book to deliver that. Hope that in the next we can have more action and a fast pace. Characters wise I really like Raven, it's the kinda character I like and root for to get the girl.. he's brother, the prince he irritated me but vital part for the story. Same as jasper I loved how she made El feel more comfortable and a bit confident. And let's not talk about the nightmare, my fave character of all them.. loved the mistery he presented, the riddles, the way he acted and how he cared for El. Simply amazing.

Amazon Summary

ELSPETH NEEDS A MONSTER. THE MONSTER MIGHT BE HER.

An ancient, mercurial spirit is trapped inside Elspeth Spindle's head - she calls him the Nightmare. He protects her. He keeps her secrets. But nothing comes for free, especially magic.

When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, she is thrust into a world of shadow and deception. Together, they embark on a dangerous quest to cure the town of Blunder from the dark magic infecting it. As the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly, darkly, taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.

My Review

I really liked this book, great world building including an interesting magic system. the plot was ok a bit slow in some areas but the characters were brilliant and i loved how their relationships develop. This is the first book in a series and i'm really looking forward to the next one.

It's a good fantasy with some gothic elements and a cast of intriguing characters. I liked the Nightmare and liked Elspeth.
The plot kept me reading and i wont to know more about this world and I'm curious about what will happen.
It's a debut and there's a lot of potential.
Enjoyable and entertaining.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review!

I really enjoyed this book! Elspeth, Ravyn and their allies are a great cast of characters, with some great humor and heart. The Nightmare is suitably creepy and I liked the reveal of his true identity. The romance is really nice, sort of a medium burn and has a lot of pining moments and some spicier ones as well. Another highlight of the book for me was Elspeth's aunt.

The lore and magic system I found a bit difficult to understand, and it took me a while to wrap my head around the cards, the stories, the Shepherd King and the Rowans, and to be honest, I think I'm still a little lost. There's a lot to take in and it's fed to the reader quite quickly.

I definitely want to know what happens next, and there are a lot of loose ends to tie up, for me, the big one is Ione's character. I'm very interested in what all of that has been about.

Overall, this was a fun, interesting read, but I did find myself having to reread to understand what Gillig was getting at for the world-bulding. 4 stars from me!

If you like YA fantasy romance, you might enjoy this one too. It has all the important fantasy romance elements as well as an interesting magic system. I just think that this genre is not for me anymore.

A deliciously gothic and exciting tale, I couldn't put it down! I am intrigued by the Nightmare and was is to come in this story. The slow burn was also well done with a great build up of tension. I will admit I was a little confused as to who all the characters were for the first half of the book, but once I figured it all out everything made a lot more sense! The character that captured my interest the most was Ione - I think there's a lot more about her coming our way in the sequel and i can't wait!

This book blew me away and surpassed my expectations!! It was so creepy, atmospheric and exciting. I couldn’t stop reading because I was so absorbed.

I loved the concept of the providence cards and the mystery Blunder was cloaked in. The author did an amazing job of building the world and it felt like I was stepping into the book and walking alongside the characters. It had the perfect gothic vibes, weaving some of my favourite elements into a unique and fascinating story.

I am definitely going to hate waiting for the next book!!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author, for a chance to read and review this book.

I really enjoy gothic novels and this one definitely holds a high position in my rankings. I started reading it as a part of a gothic marathon challenge and I'd recommend it to all mysterious-vibes adorers.
I really liked the magic system and the "quest" of collecting providence cards by main character who is trying to get rid of the monster living in her mind. Can't wait for the next book!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This was an engaging read but didn't feel particularly original, and the Nightmare character felt uncomfortably close to an analogy about mental health at times. But the world was well built and I am intrigued enough to read the next one when it comes out.

I don’t know where to begin with reviewing this book
To keep it to the point, I loved it with every fibre of my being! I felt that the writing was beautiful, the story was compelling, the characters were loveable. I just wanted to know what happened next and I cannot wait for the next instalment of this series because I gasped at that ending
I loved the card elements and the addition of the lore, the possession, the sarcastic comebacks. For me, this was perfection!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback. I’ve found a new favourite and am utterly delighted

I struggled with the first 20% or so of this while I got to terms with the world building and the wide cast of characters, but once I understood the magic system and who everyone was I could not stop!

What a unique and beautifully written fantasy. I love the Providence cards, I love the mist and the general spooky vibes of the magic system. It’s unpredictability and it’s erratic-ness.

This story kept me on the edge of my toes. I had no suspicions or guesses as to what was going to happen and I was thoroughly shook by that ending.

The slow burn romance was epic. I kept expecting it to feel rushed or predictable but it wasn’t. It was pining and surprising and I loved every second of it!

Everything has a price...
Nothing comes free

Dark and brooding, One Dark Window is a gothic fantasy/romance set in the kingdom of Blunder. Surrounded by deadly mist, children may randomly become Infected which leads to their magic developing. As the only legal means of performing magic is by using the rare Providnce cards, being infected is a death sentence.

Elspeth Spindle has been Infected since she was nine and that alone could see her killed. However, she is also carrying another secret. A much deadlier secret in the shape of the Nightmare. A demon trapped inside her head, the Nightmare can lend Elspeth supernatural speed and strength. But nothing comes free.

An enjoyable book lurking somewhere between adult and YA, One Dark Window has a lovely gothic atmosphere. It is also quite heavy on the romance, with the enemies to lovers trope featuring. It is quite trope heavy, with the psychopathic heir, the brooding captain with his secrets and the power hungry cousin, but it didn't seem to ruin the story. Instead, it lent more to the gloomy atmosphere, adding to the enjoyment. A neat little twist at the end and a mother of cliffhangers means I will be looking out for the sequel when it comes.

Thank you to the publisher Orbit and to NetGalley for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

I adored One Dark Window from the very first page and I couldn't get enough of it. This dark fantasy set around mist filled woods follows Elspeth Spindle, the "infected" daughter of a prominent noble, as she tries to live with a spirit she calls the Nightmare in her head. This is a world that operates with using magic through Cards, which keep the Spirit away from dragging people into the woods. After being confronted by highwaymen on her way home, Elspeth falls in with the nephew of the King Rayvn, the head of the guards that hunt down people like Elspeth. Working alongside Rayvn and his allies to cure the dark magic over her country, Elspeth soon realises that the Nightmare in her head and her reality are getting far too close to being connected.

Elspeth Spindle is a wonderful main character and I loved following her through the misty, cursed woods and through the parlours of nobles in this story. She's brave but terrified, loyal but private and that made her all the more interesting. Her relationship with the Nightmare in her head, and with Rayvn, were beautifully written and I loved how things developed into a huge cliffhanger by the end. I also enjoyed the side characters, especially Elm (the king's son) and Emory (Ravyn's brother) and there was some excellently dark and twisted moments throughout this book. I picked this up knowing that it was a rough retelling of the Highwayman poem by Alfred Noyes (which I love) but I kept reading because Rachel Gillig's quality of writing never fell flat. The connections between this book and the poem are brilliant, and I can't wait to read the sequel.

Thankyou NetGallery and little, brown book group uk for providing me with a review copy via netgalley.
I have just binge read this in one sitting! I found it so captivating and fast paced. The Magic system based around a deck of cards was well explained and thought out.
Things I enjoyed:
Dialogue between the main character and her ‘nightmare’
Finding out about individuals powers (unique to them)
Found family elements
Slow burn romance (hopefully will amp up a little in future book/s- a reason its not quite a full 5 stars)

Things I didn’t enjoy:
CLIFF HANGER ENDING! But honestly its forgiven as im just glad there will be a second, as im just not ready for the story to end.

One Dark Window was a promising debut gothic YA fantasy romance. The story was followed Elspeth Spindle who infected by magic, keep mysterious entity inside her head and special ability to absorb powers from magical playing cards.

I think this book was full with potency. The narration is eerily, angsty and dramatic but suited the darkest atmosphere the story. I love the magic system. The writing style is okay but the plot development and pace are less my favourite. At some part it felt slow and dragging. The characters and world building are okay but need extra digging.
With extra development this will become truly amazing read.

Thank you Netgalley and Orbit from Little Brown Group UK for provided me with this copy. I am enjoyed my reading time and my thoughts are my own.

I really enjoyed the concept of this fantasy. Using magic providence cards as a way to grant abilities to those who possessed gave this story a dark edge and lots of power play amongst the characters.

This story follows Elspeth Spindle who had been infected by the plague and had to live with a monster in her head. The monster is called the Nightmare, an ancient spirit loving to be free. Instead, he protects Elspeth but it comes at a cost especially when magic is at play. She is tasked to collect twelve magic providence cards that gives power to those to possessed it. The downside? Being infected if you overuse the magic but Elspeth is desperate for a cure to rid the monster inside her head. Will be come out scot free?

I went in expecting an adult gothic fantasy but it really felt more like a YA fantasy instead which would still be good but it kind of altered my expectation for this story. Despite enjoying the premise of the plot, this just didn’t wow me. There is so much potential to develop the plot which I am hoping will be explored more if there is a sequel. I also feel that the love trope kind of overshadowed the darkness of the plot which was a shame. I did love the atmosphere and setting of the whole plot which did give out dark spooky vibes all the way through and I also love the card intros in the beginning of each chapter!

Elspeth’s character is very intriguing! She was infected with the plague 11 years ago and has been living with the Nightmare in her head since then. I feel there could have been so much character development between these two but instead I find their interactions bland and lacking character. Elspeth also understood the consequences of engaging the Nightmare for help but she still begged him when she is in danger instead of attempting to solve the problem herself first. I would have liked her character to show more strength and resilience. The side characters were also quite underwhelming and underdeveloped. It would be nice if they are more fleshed out.

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown Book for the arc.

I did not finish reading this book.

1) I think it was marketed wrongly. I thought I was going to read an adult Gothic horror fantasy, but it read more like a Young Adult Gothic romance fantasy.

2) The characters are supposed to find twelve specific Providence Cards, which enable the wielder with certain magical abilities. This will then help to overcome a magical plague that leaves children infected with dark magic which causes them to degenerate and die. [That's how I understood it. The premise might be more or less difficult.]

3) The MC, Elspeth, was infected 11 years ago. She's been living with a demon in her head since then. She keeps repeating that using the demon, called the Nightmare, makes it stronger, and she won't let it overpower her mind. But as soon as she gets into a spot of bother she begs the demon to help her.

4) The characters have no urgency to find those magical cards. Instead they have the 'usual' enemies-to-lovers insta-love romance that takes over the plot.

That's when I bowed out. I read a few reviews and apparently the last bit of the story gets more action, but ends in a cliffhanger that will hopefully be resolved in the next book.

Initially I struggled with this book and considered putting it down at around 15% due to not understanding the magic yet and feeling a bit lost, but I’m so glad that I persevered!

The magic in this book is cleverly designed, and not something that I could guess at.

I am absolutely rooting for Ravyn and Elspeth, I really enjoyed seeing their journey, and that ending!! I couldn’t believe that was the end and I am desperate to get my hands on book 2.

This is absolutely worth your time, I gave it 4.5, and I’m anxiously awaiting the release of book 2.