One Dark Window
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4.6 • 672 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
THE FANTASY BOOKTOK SENSATION!
For fans of Uprooted and For the Wolf comes a dark, lushly gothic fantasy about a maiden who must unleash the monster within to save her kingdom—but the monster in her head isn't the only threat lurking.
Elspeth needs a monster. The monster might be her.
Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom she calls home—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 the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it. Except the highwayman just so happens to be the King’s own nephew, Captain of the Destriers…and guilty of high treason.
He and Elspeth have until Solstice to 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, darkly, taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gillig's spooky, unpolished gothic fantasy debut and series launch introduces Elspeth Spindle, who has spent her life hiding how a magical fever known as the "infection" gave her the ability to absorb the power from Providence Cards, 12 playing cards used to perform specific kinds of legal magic. Touching just one card led to a monster, Nightmare, taking residence in Elspeth's head and frequently commandeering her body. Nightmare helps Elspeth fight off a highwayman searching for her uncle's Providence Cards—only for the highwayman to be revealed as the king's nephew, Ravyn Yew. Now Elspeth is drawn into a desperate conspiracy to collect all 12 card types by the solstice to cure the infection before the King kills Ravyn's infected younger brother and Nightmare completely takes over Elspeth body. There are some hiccups here: Nightmare's penchant for speaking in oddly metered rhyming couplets feels inappropriately twee in such a blood-drenched book, and the twist reveal of Nightmare's true identity is entirely obvious. Still, the steamy romance that emerges between Elspeth and Ravyn delights. Fans of Sarah J. Maas, Naomi Novak, and Hannah Whitten will want to check this out.
Customer Reviews
Love
Loved this book and the one after. Unique world.
A beautifully crafted, haunting gothic fantasy
The narrative crafting and simple yet deceptively immersive world building keeps you coming back. To count the number of times this book made me feel intensely; the CHILLS, the tears, the sensuality. 10/10. Will be reading book 2.
Love!
Loved the twist and turns!
Keeps you on your toes!!