pinkandpurple44's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Probably my favorite book I have read so far

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was so easy to read, it was such a joy. The writing wasn't basic or anything, it was still beautiful but just easy to read and very interesting, kept me captivated! 

I am glad there was only one s*x scene and one kiss scene, much more preferred. I liked the world and the fantasy of it. I enjoyed our characters and I just love magic card stuff, always here for tarot related stuff. 

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m1n57r3l's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-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

4.0


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chronic_listener's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

Absolutely unputdownable, laced with magic and an eerie atmosphere, One Dark Window was a delightful surprise to me. 

I loved this so much more than I thought. The tension, the plot, the pacing, the characters, the setting, the romance, the writing - I was absolutely captivated.

More things I loved:
♥ the fmc not being a complete pushover 
♥ the magic system
♥ the tree family names
♥ the action scenes
♥ the tension between Elspeth and Ravyn
♥ the Nightmare
♥ the eerie rhymes 

This really felt like a movie in my head, the narrator did such an incredible job bringing this story to life. The writing was so horrifically great that I felt queasy at times because I could just imagine someone living inside my head and feel the pain of all the injuries like it was happening to me.

I can‘t wait to see where this story goes.

One thing I noticed: Considering our fmc seemed quite bright, it took her painfully long to realize what I feel like was quite obvious to the reader from early on.
The Nightmare being the Shepherd King and slowly becoming stronger the more she asks for his help.

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themis_biblos's review against another edition

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

2.75

Elm should've been the love interest. 

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iinavarro's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Me: well that was kinda dumb 
Also me: time to read the second one! 

Easy, quick read and palate cleanser for me after a bit of a reading slump. I think the premise was really interesting and the last third of the book was especially compelling. It was definitely entertaining and a page turner, and I will 100% be reading the sequel since the end is sheer cliffhanger. 

I wish the characters were better developed - the side characters in particular were inconsistent to me and I had a hard time keeping track of people's motivations and alleigances. Also total lack of diversity and I didn't get a sense of much growth from anyone really. Hopefully that's developed in the sequel but I'm not holding my breath. 

It was also fairly formulaic, predictable, and fell back on a lot of tropes that I find pretty tired these days. She relied heavily on telling us rather than showing us, even while she laid out plenty of more subtle clues to the direction of the story. And the paragraph break before a single line for emphasis?

Really drives me crazy. 🙃 

It felt like a strong premise that was ultimately undercut by conforming to the style of popcorn fantasy books that are really popular right now. I think the author's prose and world building have promise. She needs to trust her audience more to follow her lead and to show rather than tell. 

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the_castle_library's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

This book was AMAZING and I can't believe it took me so long to read it, especially since I was really eager to do so when I stumbled upon its existence last year! This reel doesn't even do it justice because I don't want to spoil ANYTHING! Part of the reason I'd waited is because it was always checked out and on 10+ holds at the library. This is a series hype I can fully understand! I am kicking myself right now because I can't check out the second book until I read 2 series i promised would be next after my library books were caught up 😅🤦🏻‍♀️ My ratings for spooky/dark and spice are 👻👻👻👻/🌶️

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kshertz's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

It’s been a while since I’ve lost sleep reading a book. But this magical world is filled with so many twists and turns. Elspeth and the nightmare are extremely engaging unreliable narrator and the love story has me hooked (not smutty tho only one love scene). But I immediately bought the second book and will begin reading immediately. It’s that good! 

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phoenixlovesbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I thought this book was amazing!! I loved that the cards played a huge role in the book! I thought the side romance was cute but
I'm devastated about the ending!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S GONE

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aehollins21's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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