Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Une fenêtre sur les ténèbres

i’m excited to see what happens next with the nightmare and Elspeth. I know she’s still in there, but I wonder how long it will be to get her back in the next book

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lillimariexo's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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notbambi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I liked a lot about this book - the atmosphere, the creepy nursery rhymes, the relationship between Elspeth and Nightmare, the magic system. It started slow, but after a few chapters, I was hooked. It wasn't quite a five star for me, in part because the plot and worldbuilding lacked depth and the romance didn't come together in a satisfying way for me.

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whynotreadwithalex's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Captivating. Haunting. Alluring. A dark fairy tale for the ages.
This is everything I love in a book -- mystery and political intrigue, forbidden magic, a bit of treason, a deep dark wood, history written by the winners only to be rewritten by the scorned, and, of course, found family with a dash of heartache. Rachel Gillig's writing is BEAUTIFUL. Poetic. And keeps you on the edge of your seat from the first page until the last.
This is a BookTok find for me, and I could not be happier with it! Cannot wait to devour Two Twisted Crowns!

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elustrabable's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It was a good read though I don't understand what part of this story was "dark fantasy". It does have some dark stuff to it but it was so not there that when I finished the book I kept asking myself where was the dark fantasy. I wasn't expecting anything super deep and dark like trigger warnings worthy theme but still expected some suspense which never came.

I also did not like the writting style of this book. Too many of the sentence structures read like over the top try hard one-liners which irritated me while reading. It really felt like the author was trying too hard to be whimsical in the writting. Hopefully the second book is not like that.

Nevertheless, it was a good story. I liked the world building, the FMC was not annoying or aggravating. At some parts she did irritate me but it wasn't enough to overshadow her as a character. Main boy was alright, nothing to go home about.

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kaylaswhitmore's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the second one! Gillig’s prose is both elevated and easy to follow, invoking something similar in feel to classic Victorian literature with a distinctly modern twist. Her pacing was great—neither slow or fast, and with just enough action to keep readers excited. However, I will say that I felt her world-building lacked a smidgen of severity. While we are often told in the first 2/3rds of the book that it is quite dangerous to be an infected person in Blunder, I think the tension could have benefitted from an earlier example of the King’s brutality (i.e. someone Elspeth knew being taken away, or her witnessing a public execution). In that regard, I do feel as if some of the stakes fell a tiny bit flat due to the lack of “showing” in comparison to “telling.” Despite that, I easily tumbled into the magic of the woods and mist and cards, and thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns of Elspeth’s journey through such a tempestuous town. Excited to see how this story concludes!

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mzquirk's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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