Thank you to Wednesday Books for sharing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
He saw the darkness in her magic. She saw the magic in his darkness. Wren Southerland’s reckless use of magic has cost her everything: she’s been dismissed from the Queen’s Guard and separated from her best friend—the girl she loves. So when a letter arrives from a reclusive lord, asking Wren to come to his estate, Colwick Hall, to cure his servant from a mysterious illness, she seizes her chance to redeem herself. The mansion is crumbling, icy winds haunt the caved-in halls, and her eccentric host forbids her from leaving her room after dark. Worse, Wren’s patient isn’t a servant at all but Hal Cavendish, the infamous Reaper of Vesria and her kingdom’s sworn enemy. Hal also came to Colwick Hall for redemption, but the secrets in the estate may lead to both of their deaths. With sinister forces at work, Wren and Hal realize they’ll have to join together if they have any hope of saving their kingdoms. But as Wren circles closer to the nefarious truth behind Hal’s illness, they realize they have no escape from the monsters within the mansion. All they have is each other, and a startling desire that could be their downfall. Allison Saft’s Down Comes the Night is a snow-drenched romantic fantasy that keeps you racing through the pages long into the night. Love makes monsters of us all. This gothic medical fantasy novel set in a creepy castle lives rent-free in my mind most days, and it's bound to be one of 2021's hottest releases. It features on my upcoming list of queer reads, too! Delighted to see a bisexual main character in a fantasy novel (and her initial love interest is a lesbian!) because that's a rare treat. The bisexual rep is really well-done. Wren isn't a token character, and her sexuality isn't used as a cheap trick or capitalized on for marketing's sake. She has real heartbreak and love, where her queerness doesn't have to be questioned at every turn to still be real and part of her. We also love a fantasy world without homophobia. This is what we mean when we say not all fantasy has to be grimdark and "reflect the real world"! Books can examine societal problems without harming readers! Wren and Hal are literally enemies--their countries are fighting a war, and they're both soldiers. The romantic tension? Immaculate. Especially when they're forced to work together to find out the secret behind Hal's illness, a truth more sinister than they could have expected. These two drove the novel for me. Stuck inside a castle with your mortal enemy is such a vibe, after all. Even through all of this, I couldn't help but ship them. They get to know each other while Wren is working through the illness, and there's heated banter, but also boundary testing and slow affection. I'm so so in love with their story. There's a significant murder mystery glossed over in the synopsis--it takes up quite a bit of the book, and although I sort of had a suspect in mind, it was the catching of the suspect that really engaged me. Wren and Hal are quite adept at elaborate plans, and stumble into some of my favorite tropes along the way: there's only one bed, sacrificing yourself, and secret midnight investigations. There's just something so attractive about working to find a murderer while trapped in a Gothic castle, right? Extraordinarily sexy. Thank you to the author for this gift. I shall treasure it forever. I was also into the medical aspect. Wren has healing magic, but also an extensive knowledge of the human body and regular medicine. She's clever but impulsive, and the blend of science and magic behind her character intrigued me. DCTN has some slightly gory moments, but none more than most high fantasy series. I appreciated the darker elements. This recent trend in YA really does it for me, as I've mostly had enough of fantasy that isn't willing to fully embody its principles. The worldbuilding is a bit basic beyond the war and political intrigue, but what really drew me in is how they're used to fuel the characters' motivations. Everyone's hiding something in this novel, and I had a grand time discovering all the small mysteries Saft locks in. It's definitely worth the read for all the small intricacies. 5/5 stars for a brilliantly written novel.
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The BaronessHey, I'm Shreya! I love to read, write, travel, and drink tea. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of bookshop.org and I will earn a small commission if you click the above link and make a purchase.
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