One Dark Window

I found myself drawn into this series primarily because of its unique take on magic--something genuinely fresh in a genre often filled with familiar tropes. While the plot followed some predictable paths, it still managed to surprise me with a few unexpected twists. The author did a fantastic job developing the characters, making me genuinely care about their journeys. Though I enjoyed the standard audiobook narration, I can't help imagining how amazing this would be as a graphic audio production. Despite enjoying the experience, it's probably not one I'll revisit--but it was certainly worth the first read through.

Dark gothic, interesting characters, unique mystery

I want an monster friend to chat with in my head

I think my expectations going into this were too high. The character/relationship development was not as fleshed out as I’d like, and it was a bit predictable.

2.5*

Holy s#!t this book

Alright—I have mixed feelings about this book, so hopefully, writing this review will help me work through my thoughts.

One Dark Window was undisputably unique, at least in my reading experience. The magic system was a refreshing twist on the usual power dynamic seen in fantasy novels. If you read this book for nothing else, I recommend you read a bit of it to see how Gillig developed her magic.

Between the gothic atmosphere and Elspeth's character setup, the first third of this book had me completely entranced. Elspeth started as this hard-to-read, reserved, mysterious character, and I feel that we gradually lost that as the story progressed. She didn't make the best decisions, which felt like a lazy excuse for tension. Plot points occurred (in the majority) due to those around her and the power of the entity within her. Elspeth, personally, did very little to move the plot forward.

I didn't feel genuine emotion from her relationship with Ravyn, which was a major bummer. With a personality like hers—guarded, hesitant, and secretive—it would be easy to develop a slow-burn romance between her and another character simply by taking the time to develop their interactions and reactions. Independently, I liked both of them as characters, but together, their relationship felt pretty flimsy. One example of how their relationship is fate, or whatever, is this line from the 81% mark: "There was a line between us, drawn by fate and magic, that stretched out over space and time. Ravyn and I had walked that line our entire lives, unaware we were headed straight for each other." I'm not a fan of the whole fated-mate trope in the first place, and this felt like a lazier step down from that.

The pacing felt arbitrary, and it didn't help that the characters were two-dimensional at best. The story explored the bare minimum of what could've happened in this novel, which doesn't bode well for any sequels.

Having written out all my thoughts, I think this book deserves the three stars I gave it. I was genuinely interested in seeing where the plot would land in the end, and while the journey getting there wasn't as polished as I would've liked, I think this author has a lot of promise. Now, reading any additional installments in this series is highly unlikely. There are too many great books to risk my free time on a likely just-OK sequel.

Was insanely bewildered by how much i was enjoying this book, the characters and worldbuilding more than making up for the first person perspective (nothing wrong with it, I'm just usually not a fan) and relatively shallow descriptions. But there's just things that kept bugging me like how some cards are essentially useless (looking at you chalice and griffin.) Or nullified by other cards (scythe nullifies like 4 other cards. Including chalice again, unlucky.)

And wow holy smokes i was astonished by how bad the book gets around chapter 28 till the end of the book. Including the """""main villian""""" using the literal same gimmick twice and it working both times.

The first time was obvious to me, but it's at least clever how the author sort of leaves you little clues so you can figure it out before it's revealed. The second time is so hilariously obvious and it still works on the main character. These two instances happen within literal hours of each other in universe and actually in neighboring chapters in story.

It's baffling how bad the conclusion to the story is. It's like she wrote the last hundred pages in an hour. Here's hoping for more consistent quality in the sequel.

I so loved this book (and the next book in the series). The author does a wonderful job of building a world to allow for a romantic story of found family quickly. My favorite part of this book was the magic system the author creates. I've read a lot of fantasy (and romantasy) and this is one of the best examples of an author creating a world with magic that is nothing like I've ever seen before. It reminds me of Arthurian legends, a bit of romanticism, a sweet love story and a strong FMC. I highly recommend!

3.5 trending to 4!

Loved the world and the magic system. Very nicely written, gripping and what sold me was the last few chapters.

Definitely worth a read.