BOOK REVIEW: One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

 

Title: One Dark Window (The Shepherd King #1)

Author: Rachel Gillig

Published by: Orbit

Released: September 27, 2022

Source: Electronic Review Copy Provided by Publisher through Netgalley / Physical Copy Borrowed from Library

Synopsis: Elspeth needs a monster. The monster might be her.

Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom of Blunder—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.

But nothing comes for free, especially magic.

When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure Blunder from the dark magic infecting it. And the highwayman? He just so happens to be the King’s nephew, Captain of the most dangerous men in Blunder…and guilty of high treason.

Together they must gather twelve Providence Cards—the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

My Thoughts: Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read an early copy.

I loved this one! As soon as I started reading it, I just had that feeling that it was going to be a great book, and it was!
I just really enjoyed the vibes of it. The atmosphere of the story was a kingdom cut off from everyone else by this dangerous, magical mist. If you get lost in it, you lose your mind. The magic of the book was really neat too. Most of it was a cards-based system, where different cards would give you different powers. The cards are very rare and only the wealthy families seem to have them. There is also a prophecy that if anyone can get the full deck of cards, then they can save the kingdom and banish the mist.
Magic also can occur in another way, but it's infinitely more dangerous. Some people catch the sickness. If they don't die, but recover, they can gain a mystery magical ability. Unfortunately, these children are usually hunted down and killed before that occurs. Elspeth did catch the sickness. Her family protected her, she recovered, and now she has to continue to hide her abilities. Magic isn't all good though. The more you use it, the more you degenerate.
Elspeth shares her mind with a creature called The Nightmare. A creature that came from one of the cards. The Nightmare talks in riddles. He helps her out, granting her strength and speed when she needs it, but she can tell he hides things from her.
Then Elspeth meets Ravyn, the Captain of the King's elite soldiers. Is he a danger to her or not?
Yeah, I just really enjoyed this. The writing sucked me in. I was captivated by the story. It had a fake dating situation, which I'm always a sucker for. I couldn't stop reading it.
It ended on such a cliffhanger, so I NEED the sequel to see what happens next.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 5/5!!