One Dark Window

One Dark Window

Rachel Gillig

This may be a perfectly good book. For someone, it may be their favorite book. It’s a fairytale setting with courts, knights, and royalty. There’s a curse on the land that causes a mist of madness to slowly creep towards the center of the land (Fortnight anyone?). Only by bringing together twelve magical cards, can the mist be stopped. Bringing the cards together may also cure Elpeth Spindle of her card-given curse.

Elspeth lives with a demon-like voice in her head that shares her mind, take control of her body, or gift her will unusual strength. She guards her secret while she visits the royal court, but when she meets the king’s nephew, the captain of the guard, who also has a secret to hide, they decide to team up to rescue themselves, their loved ones, and perhaps the kingdom itself.

Writing this summary, I get excited about the book and all its potential, but I know that when I was reading it, the engaging premise fell flat for me. The plot moves forward slowly with secrets revealed only after they are overripe and no longer interesting. Plus, this book is only the first is a duology which takes the wind out of my sails as a reader. When there is a second book coming, the first can meander, world-build, and get away with a lousy cliffhanger and not much resolution.

I don’t think I’ll be picking up the second book, but like I said at the start, this may be someone’s favorite book. For me, it came down to what I perceived as a lack of momentum, conflict, and stakes. Never have I so badly wanted to inject a book with more pizzaz. This book is like chicken and rice, a solid meal, but seasonings could have taken it so much further.