Book Review: ‘One Dark Window’, a Gothic Fairytale Perfect for Fall
Can we just oogle this gorgeous cover of One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig for a second? I’m not even ashamed a little bit for seeing this cover and immediately adding this book to my TBR last year without knowing anything about it. Yes, it’s taken me this long to get around to it, but it’s one of the last books I had left on my BAMTP Summer Reading Challenge. It’s also a perfect fall read since there are a lot of dark elements—not scary necessarily—but very atmospheric. I also loved the romance in this book. While at times, I wish we delved a bit deeper into the character building, I did love the characters and the world Gillig has created. The magic system was super unique, and the way she weaved in the fairytale elements was beautiful. As far as tropes go, there’s enemies to lovers, fake dating, and a dance scene (why am I such a sucker for those?!). Now, here’s where I might lose some people. There’s a LOT of rhyming. Lots of little fairytale-esque rhymes, and poems, which I personally love, but I know some people aren’t big fans of, so know that going in. Is the story itself predictable? Sure, but it’s also a tale I’m now invested in, and I can’t wait for book two.
Things to Know:
Gothic Fairytale (loosely Red Riding Hood, but she’s the monster)
NA Romantasy
Low spice
Card-based magic system
Book one of an incomplete series
Lots of rhyming and snippets of poetry
We meet Elspeth, our FMC as a little girl, and Gillig drops us right into the middle of it. There are black death physician vibes, and anyone caught with the sickness plaguing the kingdom is unalived. Elspeth survives and stays under the radar, living on her uncle’s estate in the woods. There are two kinds of magic in this world—magic born from the sickness, and magic from providence cards. Providence cards were created by a long dead King, bartering with the spirit of the wood to create them. People granted magic from the sickness degenerate and there’s no stopping it. But anyone can hold a providence card and each one grants its owner different powers. But like any magic, they all come with a price.
“There once was a girl,” he murmured, “clever and good, who tarried in shadow in the depths of the wood. There also was a King—a shepherd by his crook, who reigned over magic and wrote the old book. The two were together, so the two were the same: “The girl, the King… and the monster they became.”
Elspeth happens to touch her uncle’s Nightmare card, and is shocked to find she’s absorbed the Nightmare itself. A monster in her mind. And I’m not telling you anything else about him other than that he reminded me a lot of Nightblood from Brandon Sanderson’s Warbreaker. Lots of snark, loves violence, but the Nightmare almost exclusively speaks in rhymes and riddles. For years, Elspeth has managed to keep her condition hidden. The Captain of the King’s Destriers, Ravyn, discovers what she is, but his motivations aren’t clear to Elspeth. Should she trust him? We also meet some loveable side characters like his sister Jespyr, brother Emory, and the King’s second son, Elm, so there’s definitely a bit of found family. And, some Cinderella vibes with Elspeth having to deal with her evil stepmother (the sisters aren’t evil though).
"Be wary. Be clever. Be good.”
Overall, I really enjoyed this and it was a super quick read. This story isn’t perfect. I definitely predicted everything, but sometimes that’s ok. And, like I mentioned above, I do wish we delved a bit deeper into each of the characters—I feel like we’ve just scratched the surface. While I really liked the side characters like Jespyr and Elm, I wanted to know more about them. So I’m hoping we see more in book two. If you’re looking for a quick read and you love dark, atmospheric fairytales, this one’s definitely worth picking up! P.S. The cliffhanger wasn’t terrible, but it more so makes you incredibly excited to read book two. It comes out in October and the cover is every bit as beautiful as book one!
“I love when they argue,” Emory said into his soup. “Keeps my weak little heart beating.”
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