The Shepherd King duology has been all over bookish social media, so of course I got intrigued! A world covered in mists, a girl who has a nightmare in her mind speaking to her in riddles and a magic system based on a selection of valuable cards - this premise sucked me in from the very first pages. I was hoping for less predictable plot reveals and more finesse in the writing, but that doesn’t significantly lower One Dark Window’s entertainment value. In terms of world building, I like how it remains relatively simple and straightforward, though it irks me that the qualities of different cards aren’t explained properly apart from the few that are most important for the story. An appendix of all the cards, their abilities and history would have been so interesting, and it also would have helped to understand the world better! Lastly, I guess I have to mention the romance aspect, as this has been hailed as the romantasy of the year, and, the romance is nice. I wasn’t obsessed with the couple, but a few of their scenes did make me squeal of delight.