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A review by bookishntea
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
โจ ๐
๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ฐ: ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ค ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐จ๐ฐ โจ
Tropes:
๐ด Unique Magic System
๐๏ธ Enemies to Lovers
๐ด Monsters
๐๏ธ Secrets
๐ด Paying the Price
๐๏ธ Gothic Medieval Setting
๐ด Fake relationships
Spice level: ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ
Rating: โญ3.75โญ
"The Hawthorne tree carries few seeds. It's branches are weary, it's lost all its leaves. Be wary the man who bargains and thieves. He'll offer your soul to get what he needs."
- One Dark Window, Rachel Gillig
_________________________________________
One Dark Window was a book that I both enjoyed and struggled with a bit. It was beautifully atmospheric, the characters were amazing and the plot was setting itself up to be incredible. However, for me it fell a little flat due to predictability and pacing.
We are immersed into the world of Blunder, where 20-something year old, Elspeth Spindle, was plagued years ago with a highly feared disease causing a forbidden magic to creep through her mind and body. She's kept her magic and the creature that lives within her a secret for years up until now when she finds herself amongst others who, in part, she allows to see her for who she really is. Although she still keeps some of her magic to herself, there now exists a use for what she believes is her curse. They embark on a treasonous quest in search of magical cards in an attempt to break Blunder free from the clutch of an ancient bane.
The book is a dark atmospheric read in which the reader can easily imagine the setting, castles, mist, and ruins. I found the world building to be well done and interesting. With a complex magic system and interesting magical cards this makes the book incredibly unique and the occasional rhyming laced with well chosen words gives the book an eerie, sinister feel.
The characters were also well developed in my opinion. I despised the villain and loved the FMC and the MMC. I enjoyed reading about the flourishing and struggling relationships and friendships. I would have liked if we could have seen more development or destruction of these relationships, especially one relationship in particular that was supposedly very detrimental to the FMC. Yet maybe there is more development of this relationship in the second book of this duology.
I've seen so much hype and I wanted to love One Dark Window but I felt like the pacing was a bit slow. I wanted more events, more action, I would have gladly read another 100 pages if I could have had more epic edge of your seat moments. In my opinion, it had all of the right elements to become a fantastic read but for me it felt a bit predictable, especially the ending.
Overall, I think One Dark Window was worth the read but for me it didn't live up to the expectations that the internet hype created. It had all the parts to be an epic read, atmospheric, great character development and story so I still do plan on reading Two Twisted Crowns and I am hoping that the second book peaks my interest more.
___________________________
Check out my profile for other reviews and my socials
IG: @bookish.n.tea
Tiktok: @bookish.n.tea
Tropes:
๐ด Unique Magic System
๐๏ธ Enemies to Lovers
๐ด Monsters
๐๏ธ Secrets
๐ด Paying the Price
๐๏ธ Gothic Medieval Setting
๐ด Fake relationships
Spice level: ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ
Rating: โญ3.75โญ
"The Hawthorne tree carries few seeds. It's branches are weary, it's lost all its leaves. Be wary the man who bargains and thieves. He'll offer your soul to get what he needs."
- One Dark Window, Rachel Gillig
_________________________________________
One Dark Window was a book that I both enjoyed and struggled with a bit. It was beautifully atmospheric, the characters were amazing and the plot was setting itself up to be incredible. However, for me it fell a little flat due to predictability and pacing.
We are immersed into the world of Blunder, where 20-something year old, Elspeth Spindle, was plagued years ago with a highly feared disease causing a forbidden magic to creep through her mind and body. She's kept her magic and the creature that lives within her a secret for years up until now when she finds herself amongst others who, in part, she allows to see her for who she really is. Although she still keeps some of her magic to herself, there now exists a use for what she believes is her curse. They embark on a treasonous quest in search of magical cards in an attempt to break Blunder free from the clutch of an ancient bane.
The book is a dark atmospheric read in which the reader can easily imagine the setting, castles, mist, and ruins. I found the world building to be well done and interesting. With a complex magic system and interesting magical cards this makes the book incredibly unique and the occasional rhyming laced with well chosen words gives the book an eerie, sinister feel.
The characters were also well developed in my opinion. I despised the villain and loved the FMC and the MMC. I enjoyed reading about the flourishing and struggling relationships and friendships. I would have liked if we could have seen more development or destruction of these relationships, especially one relationship in particular that was supposedly very detrimental to the FMC. Yet maybe there is more development of this relationship in the second book of this duology.
I've seen so much hype and I wanted to love One Dark Window but I felt like the pacing was a bit slow. I wanted more events, more action, I would have gladly read another 100 pages if I could have had more epic edge of your seat moments. In my opinion, it had all of the right elements to become a fantastic read but for me it felt a bit predictable, especially the ending.
Overall, I think One Dark Window was worth the read but for me it didn't live up to the expectations that the internet hype created. It had all the parts to be an epic read, atmospheric, great character development and story so I still do plan on reading Two Twisted Crowns and I am hoping that the second book peaks my interest more.
___________________________
Check out my profile for other reviews and my socials
IG: @bookish.n.tea
Tiktok: @bookish.n.tea
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death, Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Child death