368 pages
English language
Published 2022 by Orbit.
'Thick fog, shifting alliances and clever magic make the perfect backdrop for a sweeping romance - One Dark Window is enthralling from beginning to shocking end' Hannah Whitten, bestselling author of For the Wolf
ELSPETH NEEDS A MONSTER. THE MONSTER MIGHT BE HER.
An ancient, mercurial spirit is trapped inside Elspeth Spindle's head - she calls him the Nightmare. He protects her. He keeps her secrets. But nothing comes for free, especially magic.
When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, she is thrust into a world of shadow and deception. Together, they embark on a dangerous quest to cure the town of Blunder from the dark magic infecting it. As the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly, darkly, taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.
For fans …
'Thick fog, shifting alliances and clever magic make the perfect backdrop for a sweeping romance - One Dark Window is enthralling from beginning to shocking end' Hannah Whitten, bestselling author of For the Wolf
ELSPETH NEEDS A MONSTER. THE MONSTER MIGHT BE HER.
An ancient, mercurial spirit is trapped inside Elspeth Spindle's head - she calls him the Nightmare. He protects her. He keeps her secrets. But nothing comes for free, especially magic.
When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, she is thrust into a world of shadow and deception. Together, they embark on a dangerous quest to cure the town of Blunder from the dark magic infecting it. As the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly, darkly, taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.
For fans of Uprooted and For the Wolf comes a gothic fantasy romance about a maiden who must unleash the monster within to save her kingdom.
DNF. I waited for 22 weeks for this from the library. I started it and wondered what all the fuss was about. I keep going past my first nope in my head. I made it 20 percent before I decided I didn't want to finish.
4.25 stars.
Un incrocio tra Venom per il concetto e l'atmosfera di Carnival Row.
Il libro è ambientato in quel di Blunder. Purtroppo non sussiste una mappa e non viene nemmeno spiegato cos'è Blunder. Mi sembra di avere capito che sia un regno. Anche se al fine della storia, saperne di più, non avrebbe cambiato molto, mi sarebbe comunque piaciuto avere più informazioni sul setting. Un aspetto a difesa di questa decisione è che contribuisce a gettare un'aura di mistero sull'ambientazione.
E' scritto in prima persona dal punto di vista di Elspeth che, dopo aver contratto un'infezione, convive con un'entità all'interno del suo corpo, con cui dialoga (da qui, il concetto di Venom) ma sa ben poco sul suo conto.
Il sistema magico è basato su delle carte facenti parte di un mazzo (chiamate carte della provvidenza), simile al concetto dei tarocchi. Ogni carta ha un preciso potere magico …
4.25 stars.
Un incrocio tra Venom per il concetto e l'atmosfera di Carnival Row.
Il libro è ambientato in quel di Blunder. Purtroppo non sussiste una mappa e non viene nemmeno spiegato cos'è Blunder. Mi sembra di avere capito che sia un regno. Anche se al fine della storia, saperne di più, non avrebbe cambiato molto, mi sarebbe comunque piaciuto avere più informazioni sul setting. Un aspetto a difesa di questa decisione è che contribuisce a gettare un'aura di mistero sull'ambientazione.
E' scritto in prima persona dal punto di vista di Elspeth che, dopo aver contratto un'infezione, convive con un'entità all'interno del suo corpo, con cui dialoga (da qui, il concetto di Venom) ma sa ben poco sul suo conto.
Il sistema magico è basato su delle carte facenti parte di un mazzo (chiamate carte della provvidenza), simile al concetto dei tarocchi. Ogni carta ha un preciso potere magico ma se abusata il potere diventa l'opposto, ad esempio, se la carta fornisce a chi la usa del coraggio, in caso di abuso, fornisce paura. Il sistema magico, descritto nel dettaglio, è il punto forte di questo romanzo.
La trama è di per sé semplice, ma tutto ha un sapore misterioso-gotico, che mi è piaciuto molto, e non manca di suspense. Piccola avvertenza: il libro finisce con un cliffhanger. Nel mio caso, non è stato un grosso problema, in quanto il seguito è già uscito.
Sicuramente consigliato per il periodo di Halloween. Perfetto per una lettura di novembre, hehe :)
Credits for the template below go to Melinda
CHARACTERS
Very good debut, I enjoyed the gothic atmosphere mixed with a fantasy concept centered around cards, magic, a deadly mist, I also liked the characters, side characters too, and the plot unfurled quite well, will read book 2 of course^^
Omg forgot to mention I love the Venom in the head type of trope
I really loved this, except for the monster of a cliffhanger ending. I think knowing that ahead of time would have helped. As it was, I felt a bit cheated. Loved the romance, one of the best sex scenes I've read in a while. The villain is a little cartoonish for my tastes, but the rest worked for me.
3.7 / 5
The story didn't quite manage to hook me initially. The premise was interesting, the world building intriguing and the characters layered, yet there (initially) wasn't anything that really managed to draw me in. While the story meanders onward for a significant portion of the book, I doubted that I would even finish reading it. I was pleasantly surprised however when things started to spice up and the conflicts that had simmering below the surface throughout the first part of the tale, eventually broke through, escalated and had to be confronted.
While the characters and their motivations are being explored in depth throughout the narrative, I wish there would have been more descriptions of the world and the environment it takes place in. The author manages to weave beautiful, fresh and mysterious lore into the plot, yet I found difficult to envision what the setting might actually look …
3.7 / 5
The story didn't quite manage to hook me initially. The premise was interesting, the world building intriguing and the characters layered, yet there (initially) wasn't anything that really managed to draw me in. While the story meanders onward for a significant portion of the book, I doubted that I would even finish reading it. I was pleasantly surprised however when things started to spice up and the conflicts that had simmering below the surface throughout the first part of the tale, eventually broke through, escalated and had to be confronted.
While the characters and their motivations are being explored in depth throughout the narrative, I wish there would have been more descriptions of the world and the environment it takes place in. The author manages to weave beautiful, fresh and mysterious lore into the plot, yet I found difficult to envision what the setting might actually look like.
Overall it was an intriguing read and I can't wait for the second part of the series to be released.
Slow to start, and not interesting enough to keep me around longer.
