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annaka's review against another edition
5.0
Rachel Gillig is definitely an author I’ll return to.
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Terminal illness and Vomit
straybutterfly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol
amanda_reads13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I enjoyed this one a bit more than the first. First off, I am so glad that it switched to multiple POVs. It added so much more to the story and character development. Also, I really liked that there was a lot more world building and history of the magic throughout the book. For those who found the first book slow, the pace was a lot faster in this one.
I am so glad we got Nightmare's POV. That was exactly what I was looking for. In the first book, I found it was lacking information about his story and motivation. In book two, we got all that and so much more. We learn about the creation of the cards, his family, and the truth of what happened to him.
In this book, we also get Rayvn and Elm's POVs. We get to see the development of Elm and Ione's relationship. They are so cute together.
Adding Ravyn's POV added a lot of emotion to the story. We see his story reflecting that of
Tropes: found family
Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Moderate: Infidelity
briannagriffin567's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is the sequel to One Dark Window and the conclusion to the Shepherd King duology.
I adored the first book in this duology, and although this one took me a bit longer to get into and therefore to get through, I think I ultimately loved it even more! I ADORE Elm, and getting to see more of his storyline and a love interest for him made me so so happy—I honestly could have read an entire book focused only on him and been fine. I seriously count Elm and [redacted for spoilers] among my all-time favorite book couples and will never ever stop thinking about them.
I did hope for a slightly longer ending, and there were a few “resolution” scenes I wanted and didn’t get…but that just means opportunities for bonus content later, right? Right.
Overall, this is a FANTASTIC duology and I cannot WAIT to see what Gillig does next! Please read these IMMEDIATELY (you’ll thank me later).
Big thanks also to my buddy read crew, and also to my friend Alx for being the ultimate cheerleader for this duology!
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: Gothic fantasy; Tarot cards; found family vibes
CW: Blood/injury/violence; death including death of child; confinement; misogyny; physical abuse
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
tired_cicada's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
No going forward there are going to be several spoilers throughout this review! The bigger ones all kind of separate off, but I am going to be discussing plot points, and character decisions. So be aware!
New povs
One thing that I was obsessed with in one dark window was the incredibly brave thing that Gillig does and essentially destroying her main character. At the end of book one the POV character essentially does not exist anymore. That is an incredibly brave thing to do, both narratively and as a debut author. So often it's characters that we connect with so to have the character who's story we've been following the entire time be gone is a risky business. That said it's handled so well. The one thing I can see some people having issue with is that we are going from a first person point of view with a singular narrator, into a book that has third person multiple povs. It didn't bother me but I know that can be something that other people find issue with.
That said I was obsessed with each of the new povs we got. Each character feels distinct from the others. There isn't a flat narrator voice simply telling you what different characters are doing it actually felt like each character had their own voice to tell their own story. Now let's get into it... We get three povs in this novel Rayen who is struggling with the fact that he is stuck traveling with the monster that is taken over the body of the woman he's fallen in love with, then we have Elm who is dealing with the ramifications of his father's brutal court, and his brother's blatant abuse without the protection of his cousin that he's come to rely on. Finally we have
One thing that you should know about me is that my favorite character in any piece of media is always going to be the saddest boy available. There is something about a fictional man who is sad and expressing emotions that hit just right. So Elm was next level. We have childhood trauma, we have feelings of inadequacy, we have mutual pining, we have abandonment issues! I was being fed here!
With elms story we are largely watching a cinderella-like story play out juxtaposed against Ravyn's race against Time to save the lives of those he loves... And lo -key I was more stressed out about the Cinderella story. The way Elm and Ione interact was so entertaining. The way they clash heads, and the way they work together toward a common goal was rippled with tension. Now I had the vaugest inklings in book one, and I was fully prepared for this to be a crack ship I was RIGHT! Don't you ever doubt my ability to sniff out a romance! Where as last time we got the delightful fake dating trope this time we are having a delightful time with this forbidden Love. I was having a stellar time thank you very much!
Then of course we have, as mentioned before, Ravyn embarking on a race against Time to find the twin alder card! He is balancing the line between staying just well enough inside of the king's good graces, well also committing blatant treason. All the while having to look into the eyes that no longer belong to the woman he loves knowing that anything goes wrong he will never get her back. The banter between all of the characters in this POV is delightful. We have the ivy twins back and I love them in the first book. They were so light-hearted and they gave an air of humor to everything. So I was delighted to have them back. And then I love how Gillig writes siblings. The interactions between Ravyn and his sister feel like interactions that actual siblings would have. It is so hard to write sibling Dynamics in a way that don't come off entirely cringy, so I enjoyed feeling like this was real. Like they actually had a relationship. And to watch the give and the take, to see the way that their sibling dynamic plays out to both their strengths and their detriments was done incredibly well. And blends so well against the backdrop of the historical information that is being sprinkled throughout. Showing that if history doesn't repeat it sure does rhyme.
Magic system
Now you cannot talk about this series without talking about the magic system. It is a stunningly done incredibly unique system, where we're dealing with two types of hard magics. We have the fever, which grants individual powers to different people seemingly involuntarily. And the more we learn about the fevers brought on by the mist, and how the spirit of the wood fit into the larger society the more we're starting to understand how the Rowans came to power and why.
Then of course there are the cards themselves. The whole point of the story is to get the final card out of the deck so that people can be cured of the sickness that comes from the mist. So that their magic will no longer be killing them. The way the different cards are handled is so beautiful. Taking simple cards that can largely be overlooked and showing that in the right circumstances they are phenomenally powerful was such a fun ride.
Also seeing the way that other users of the cards are affected by them, and showing the character's strengths by being able to push through the negative aspects of the cards when pushed to their limits. It showed off an inner strength to these characters that really sink in how much they've grown throughout the course of the story.
What we could have done without
Now just like any other story it wasn't perfect. There are a few things that I thought were just thrown in there to add extra pages. Like we meet a society of individuals who are living outside of the reaching hand of the Rowan Kings, who are surviving within the forest shrouded in mists... And we spend a whopping 10 minutes there. Like it had so much potential to be so interesting. It starts so many cool conversations to have, and then it's just brushed over and forgotten. It really could have been taken out of the book and not affected the plot in any substantial way. That might just be a me thing though, cuz I'm not a huge fan of travel books. Where the entire plot is just getting from point A to point b and, oh no unforeseen circumstance that slowed us down? However are we going to get there on time?
If I'm going to have to read about travel I want each moment to feel like it meant something, so unnecessary detours like that really take me out of the story.
In a similar vein to that I feel like Emery (I literally had to look up his name cuz I forgot what it was) was such a non-character given that the entire reason anyone is doing anything is to save him. Really all we know about Emery is that if he touches you he can see the future (kind of sort of) and that he's frail. But there's nothing in the story that really shows us the connection that they have to him, other than the text simply telling us that they do. I would have liked to see more interactions with his family, with Ravyn, really just something that made him feel like a character and less like a prop.
Those are really my only hang ups, otherwise I absolutely adored the story. I thought it wrapped everything up nicely. It lived up to my expectations, and it is something that I will definitely recommend to others. My one regret is that I didn't get to Buddy read it with my friend who I read one dark window with. But because of that I do have a list of spoilers without context for any of you who would like to enjoy those!
SPOILERS WITHOUT CONTEXT
So you know that one scene from bridgerton season 2 where Anthony falls in the lake? If you know you know....... Yeah that or something similar happens like four times. These men are getting dropped in lakes left and right, and I for one was here for it!
You know how in the first book (and this one too) people were constantly making comments about how distinctive Ravyn's nose is? Yeah that's plot relevant.
There are significantly less mentions of how warm Ravyn's hands are. (If you're looking for a drinking game then read one dark window and take a shot every time Elseph mentions how warm Ravyn's hands are, or someone mentions his nose)
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Self harm, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism