A gothic, atmospheric novel revolving around a kingdom cut off from the rest of the world by mist and how a group of individuals tries to stop this. I enjoyed the premise of this, it was very plot driven and unfortunately due to this I felt the characters were a bit flat and didn’t have a lot of personality. An overall ok book but I felt like it was trying too hard to be like other books in the gothic fantasy genre. A solid 3.5 star read.

An absolutely gorgeous dark fantasy that I was thoroughly gripped by.

Reminiscent of Uprooted and For the Wolf, Gillig creates a sumptuous, immersive and intriguing world , with one of my favourite sizzling, slow burn romances. I loved our little band of highwaymen equally, though Emory had a special place in my heart from the very first introduction (and, in many ways, i was quite fond of the Nightmare!).

And the ending.... are you kidding me?! I was truly gutted that I now need to wait for the sequel !

A solid 5/5 for me.

Actual rating: 3.5/5 stars

Many thanks to the Little Brown Book group, the author, and NetGalley for my copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

You can always tell when a writer loves their work. I mean REALLY loves it—loves their world, their story, their characters. "One Dark Window" is one such book that is very, very clearly the product of an incredible amount of time, research, care, and love poured into it, to the point where I'm truly surprised that this is a debut novel. So much care and thought went into every aspect of this, from the poems to the rhymes to the lore, and I respect and envy that enormously.

We meet Elspeth, a young woman who lives in a town surrounded by magical mist that chokes and confuses. Magic is feared here, and is treated like a terminal disease; those who become infected are either murdered by the ruling royals, or live in secret, subjected to decaying in body and mind as the magic takes over. The mist is also magical, and should you venture into it without a charm to protect you, you can be sure to meet your end in there.

Through Elspeth's unlucky turn of events eleven years prior to the story, she now has the ability to see Providence Cards, magical cards that grant their user different powers depending on the card chosen. Due to this ability, she becomes embroiled in a plot to aid the king's nephew, Ravyn, and his various family members in their goal to usurp the ruling king and complete their deck of twelve cards.

There's one problem: no one has seen the first card of the deck for hundreds of years.

This was a strange read for me for two simple reasons: 1) this is overall far more YA than adult, and 2) I found the first 50% rather boring and was close to DNFing, but then the second 50% was utterly captivating. What gives?

The first 40% of the book is part one of three, and it revolves around world building, getting to know the characters, and all that comes with them. We learn very quickly of the Nightmare, and the Cards, but otherwise the first part was really rather dull and a bit of a slog to get through. It could have easily been cut down to half its length and still retained all the information needed.

After that, though... wow. The magic system is one of the most interesting I've come across recently. The dark take on magic - calling it an infection - was a relief, and so up my alley as a horror lover. The atmosphere of the book is ever-present also, the weight of the mist and the fears it inspires never far from the reader's mind.

The lore is imaginative and something I found myself eager to learn more of, and I'm genuinely excited for the next book in the hopes of learning more about Blunder's history (and what happens to our cast, of course). I'm particularly morbidly fascinated by the mist and what really lies in it... and just the whole vibe of the isolation the town faces... it speaks to me. I have chills.

I came to care for certain characters, like Elm and Emory, far more than I first anticipated, and Hauth turned out to be far more of a presence than I had guessed. Its really actually pretty hard to get me caring for characters for some reason, but Rachel Gillig managed it in a slow-growing and comfortable way. By the time I realised I was actively enjoying Elm's parts, I was amazed and ensnared.

I'm really looking forward to the next book, and that ending is definitely going to keep me up tonight!

(I will post this review to Goodreads (link to my account on my NetGalley profile page) two weeks before the book's publication date, as requested).

This book was always going to be a bit of a tough sell for me, as it's both YA and in first person, which is not a combination I particularly enjoy. However, it managed to keep my attention and interest all the way through to its sudden ending, as I hadn't realised it was the first of a series(!).

Our protagonist is Elspeth, daughter of a noble family in a kingdom where all the families surnames are different kinds of trees (hers is Spindle, in case you're wondering) - as a child, she'd succumbed to a magical illness which her family had hidden, since people with this illness are usually killed. Magic is present there in two forms, the malign nature of a creeping mist that's threatening to overwhelm the entire kingdom and imbued into a set of cards, some of which are missing.

Elspeth's particular experiences leave her able to see the power of those cards, even when they're not being used, and she's drawn into a plot to find the missing cards and save the kingdom as a whole (and possibly usurp the throne, they're a bit vaguer on that small detail!). There is, of course, a number of handsome but troubled young men of approximately her own age for Elspeth to get involved with (this is YA, after all!) and more hazardous experiences than you can shake a stick at.

In general, it wasn't the worst thing I've read and the pace cracks along well. I was a bit startled by the abrupt ending, as well as the usual problem with importing names where someone is Sir XY then is addressed as 'Sir Y', which always sets my teeth on edge a little. At times the plot gets a little too YA (hello, raging teen hormones!) and I'm currently ambivalent on whether I'll seek out book 2 or leave it there...

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.

By FAR one of the best books I’ve read EVER. This was beyond fantastic. The creativity that went into this book is absolutely mind-boggling, I loved the cards and I loved the eerie dark feeling and setting that follows you while you read. Absolutely fantastic.

Elspeth as a character was so complicated yet easy to root for with her being infected, and the Nightmare consuming her thoughts. At so many points I wanted to hate the Nightmare, but they also made quite a good team. Ravyn is everything I love in a male interest, brooding and moody and smart. Absolute dreamboat.

The riddles and the card searches were keeping me on the edge of my seat. I LOVED IT SO MUCH. How
different the cards were and what magic they possessed has me eating this book up. So clever, so captivating and an absolute breath of fresh air.

This is a masterpiece. That ending had me shivering. I absolutely need book two as in TOMORROW.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC

I have REALLY to thank the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book in advance in exchange of an honest review.

I start saying that this novel is one of the most interesting story I've found in 2022. This is a dark fantasy greatly written and so atmospheric you'll find yourself "drowning" in Elsbeth's darkness too. The plot presents itself quite simple, but on the contrary, it gradually reveals its complexity in a crescendo that I've personally adored.
I've also appreciated the writing style. It's so lyrical and smooth, I'll read hundreds and hundreds of pages of her without being annoied. Not to mention all the parts in rhyme related to the Cards! They are anything but trivial and make the story even more peculiar. And talking about the Cards... the magical system is SO intriguing, easy to understand and unique.
The characters are well defined, and it's easy to get attached not only to the main characters, but also to the secondary ones too, interesting as much as the leading figures - I really hope they would have more space in book 2. There is also no lack of morally grey figures. Most of the protagonists find themselves on a thin line between right and wrong, and what I've loved the most about Rachel Gillig is that she had no fear to dare, avoiding the easy paths where the story could turn, preferring more twisted and darker ones.
So, expect to be shocked by the ending, that will lead you to yearn to have immediately the sequel in your hands!!

Strongly recommended reading <3 I can't wait to read more books by this author!

One Dark Window is a dark fantasy with gothic vibes and a unique magic system. The prose was eloquent and the plot was intricate and highly entertaining. I heard somewhere that this book was loosely inspired by 'The Highwayman' poem so my expectations were pretty high. I've never read or even heard about a fantasy book that featured highwaymen so I'm so glad that this book lived up to its promise!

I loved all the morally grey characters and Elspeth really stood out as an interesting and entertaining main character. I really enjoyed the slow burn romance and became really invested in Elspeth and Ravyn's relationship.

One Dark Window was a very good book with a strong ending that makes me incredibly excited for the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. My review will be posted on Goodreads on the publication date.

Great first book in a new fantasy series. I was thinking while reading this, what makes a great fantasy novel. Is it the writing, relationships, humour, correct setting, adventure, a search, danger, twists and turns in a good story, villains, love, hatred? This story has them all. This is a fast paced fantasy with a lot of magic and plenty of mystery. Elspeth Spindle has two secrets.. Both of them could get her killed in the mist sealed land of Blunder. If she helps collect all the magical Providence cards then she may be able to free Blunder and herself. But with magic nothing is free, there is always a cost. Will Elspeth find the cost too high? Get this book and settle into an entertaining dark gothic fantasy. Thank you to Little Brown Books and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

One Dark Window
Rachel Gillig
September 29th 2022
3.5 stars

"It's just that, sometimes when I look at you, I feel like I know you-understand you. And other times..." His brow furrowed. "Your eyes flash a strange yellow colour. I feel a stillness about you I do not recognize. A darkness."

Elspeth caught the dreaded fever as a child. Law dictates she is handed over to be tested for signs of magic and be locked away. Instead, her father sends her to live with her Uncle and Aunt. Now grown, Elspeth battles with the magic that runs dark in her veins. Everyone is affected differently, it just so happens that Elspeth now has a powerful monster with yellow eyes living in her mind that seems to grow ever stronger. When offered a chance to rid herself of the burden, she takes it- despite having to trust the captain of the Destriers, the very people who's job it is to hunt down those infected.

This novel has the overall feel of a dark fairytale. The world itself is rich in history and has a unique magic system that I haven't seen before. The characters are interesting but I didn't find myself overly attached to any of them. The number of Providence (magic) cards made it hard to keep track of their abilities, I think some kind of index at the start would be helpful. The beginning of the novel had a promising start, but overall I found myself waiting for something big to happen long into the novel. That being said, it had a very strong ending and I enjoyed it overall. I'll be looking out for the sequel.

(Review to be posted on September 20th on Instagram and Good reeds)


http://Instagram.com/_lostintheplot_

Great atmospheric fantasy. I would recommend this one to fans who like atmospheric reads that pull you into the story. This was a great story with good writing and characters.

I enjoyed this read it was well written with a storyline that engaged me the whole way through and had a dark atmosphere subtley woven through it.

An engaging enough read on its own, missed expectations aside. This was marketed by the publisher as an "adult" fantasy, which I'd have never guessed simply from reading the story alone. As well, the "gothic" label is misleading, as this would suggest some atmosphere to the story, rather than commonplace descriptions and vaguely defined settings. Certainly, there will be readers who will enjoy this for what it is, although I myself was disappointed by the disparity with what the publisher promised.

2.5/5

2.5

I honesty don't know how to rate this one. Great premise ruined by cringey, common, immature romance. Really, Orbit should stop publishing YA books masquerading as "adult sff" or the editors should do better jobs and tell the authors to write mature and realistic love stories and not the cringe we keep reading over and over again. I am forced to lower my rating for this reason. This book had so much potential. The author has a nice style and obviously worked very hard and no one is more heart broken than myself as the first half of this book was excellent.

One Dark Window was such an atmospheric, dark novel that I was captivated from the first page. The lyrical writing style swept me away in this intriguing, magical story and I found myself devouring the book in a few days. The worldbuilding was well developed, as well as the characters. They were multifaceted, with their virtues and flaws, and I immediately cared for them. Not to mention the slow-burn romance, so achingly beautiful. I loved Elspeth and Ravyn with all my heart. The ending was unexpected and I need answers now.

“Nothing is free. Nothing is safe. Magic is love, but also, it's hate.”

The girl, the King and the monster they became.

Gillig takes us to the beautiful isolation of Blunder, a city cut off from it’s neighbors due to a curse spun centuries ago, that drapes the entire surrounding in steadily creeping mist and whispers.

Our MC, Elspeth, is forced to keep her head down and confirm. Blending in is safety, in this strange land were fever and black veins marks you as infected, cursed to use magic, cursed to degenerate.

In Elspeth’s quiet life tucked away at her uncle’s farm, out of sight from those bloodthirsty Destriers and Physicians, who cull those who had fevers, and those who dare to hide them; she passes her days with her cousin, Ione, all goodness and light and her aunt, a gentle healer, who reminds her of the mother she lost.

Elspeth’s life goes topsy-turvey when her secret is found out by those she had considered her enemy and she’s forced to strike a dangerous bargain in exchange for freedom from the curse of the nightmare haunting her every thought.

I certainly enjoyed this windswept, dreary book and the imaginative yet simple magic system employed! It’s a story told mostly from the POV of the MC, and her journey takes her through self discovery, to protecting something greater than herself and becoming a monster. It’s also filled with adventure and daring and highwaymen that you grow to love.

I’ll certainly be tuning in for the next book! So curious as to what the nightmare has in store for the treacherous Rowens, and for Elispeth and her allies.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for a fair review.