One Dark Window is a high-fantasy world, focused on a kingdom called Blunder surrounded by an enchanted mist that keeps it isolated from other kingdoms. It is a dark, gothic fantasy, with (in my opinion) a perfect amount of romance. We follow Elspeth, a 20 year old girl, living as a bit of a recluse ever since she became infected as a child - in a world where catching this infection is labeled a death sentence by the current monarchy.

Things I liked:
• Elspeth and Raven. I am OBSESSED. I devoured every single scene we got with them together.
I like the originality of having the two different kinds of magic, one based in cards and one based in surviving an infection, plus the lore of how they came to be was really cool as well. I also liked that there are consequences to overusing any kind of magic, rather than it just being a free-for-all forever.
• I genuinely lost myself in this story, I enjoyed it sooo much.

Things I didn’t like:
• Truly, there’s nothing glaring that I feel that I need to say in terms of disliking anything.
However, I will say that the name “Elspeth” made it incredibly difficult for me to imagine the beautiful 20 year old she’s described as. I don’t know why, but my brain immediately pictured the name Elspeth as only being able to look like the Evil Queen in her scary witch form at the end of Snow White.

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Be wary. Be clever. Be good.

Woah. This book is amazing. Absolutely worth the hype. 10 out of 10 would recommend.
First, the whole atmosphere of this book was the best! It gave me Sleepy Hollow vibes. Dark, historical, and misty. I loved how the characters all had tree names. I, personally, thought it added to the whole vibe. And instead of saying ‘Oh my God’ it was ‘Trees’. I loved it so much.
Second, the magic system is unparalleled. So so so incredibly good. I love the whole card system. I love that there is a price to pay for the magic as well. Honestly, the magic system in this book is pure perfection.
The characters were also perfect. I loved Ravyn from first sight on the page. I can’t wait to see him fight for our girl in the second book. Elspeth is also amazing. She’s strong in her own way. I want to be her if I was in this world. I’m also jealous of the Nightmare in her head. It was really fun trying to figure out if he was bad or good but I still loved him/it either way.

This book is so good! I’ve read almost 200 books this year along and this is def in the top 2 out of all of them. If you have been wanting to read this do yourself a favor and do it! The second one is out and I’m so excited. I’ll be sad to leave this world though.
Ok, no one talk to me because I’m diving into book two now. ✌ ( )

3.5 ( )

I really enjoyed this book! I think the nightmare's commentary was so funny and Ravyn was so charming. I was nervous because I saw that many people on TikTok say it was over-hyped but I don't agree at all. I can't wait to read the next book! ♥ ( )

As I'm sure we've all learned by now the start of a fantasy series is always a gamble. However, I think after a couple of chapters this one did an amazing job of keeping me invested in the story. I think it does a phenomenal job of adding the world building throughout the entire story. I really enjoyed the magic system that was created in this one and the cards the use for magic. I really liked that in this world magic comes with a price and you can use the cards but overuse has repercussions. I really liked the idea of some of those who work closely with the king being part of a treasonous plot to be honest. I love how well written the characters are and how they all have individual motivations for the choices they make throughout the story.

Elspeth is a really great character to me. I think the dynamic between her and the Nightmare is incredibly interesting. The book has a lot of found family elements and Elspeth finds a lot more acceptance among the group she begins to work with than she did her own family. I honestly think Elspeth is very stoic in the way she handles the reality that slowly she is losing to the Nightmare. I really enjoyed the last like thirty percent or so of the book because so much action starts taking place. It was an intense build up to the critical parts of the story and we got some twists and turns throughout that part that were surprising. I think the ending really nailed the you are going to want to keep reading this series motivation. I am honestly very curious to see how the rest of this story plays out. ( )