🐦‍⬛ Had me at Gothic Aesthetics. Anyone who knows me, knows I will eat up anything even vaguely gothic -  the drama, the tension, the eerie beauty. One Dark Window leans into those elements but with a softer, more atmospheric take, blending gothic fiction with a touch more female empowerment than is usual in the genre. I'm often sceptical of books made popular on social media, I will state that I did start One Dark Window with low expectation and was very happily surprised on my enjoyment.   

🎴Use of Poetry: A really fresh, lyrical quality to the story. I love the depth of each card with its own poem.  The rhythmic, almost chant-like structure of these lines makes them feel like old spells or warnings.

 🎴  Magical Card Magic System. I loved this concept. Each card is activated with three taps, giving it an almost ritualistic feel, like a mix of tarot cards or card-based video games. 

🐦‍⬛Duology: Big fan of duologies : very picky on series (burnt too many times by middle filler book syndrome). Keen that One Dark Window fits this criteria - even if the ending on One Dark Window was a bit of a cliff-hanger. From a marketing point of view, it was very successful. I  was not willing to wait 14 weeks on hold at Libby and immediately bought the second book at 1am, desperate for answers.

🎴  Sometimes it feels like fantasy authors never say their characters’ names out loud before finalising them—this feels like one of those instances. Elspeth Spindle is a mouthful of hissing 's' sounds, and Ravyn Yew has that same issue. While visually striking, but awkward when spoken. They look cool on the page, but try saying them three times fast, and you’ll see what I mean. 

🪟 For Fans of: A Study in Drowning, Ink Blood Sister Scribe, Dragon Age magic-at-a-cost concepts/demon possession.