One Dark Window
the gothic and spellbinding million-copy bestseller
-
-
4.4 • 114 Ratings
-
-
- £5.99
Publisher Description
'Thick fog, shifting alliances and clever magic make the perfect backdrop for a sweeping romance - One Dark Window is enthralling from beginning to shocking end' Hannah Whitten, bestselling author of For the Wolf
ELSPETH NEEDS A MONSTER. THE MONSTER MIGHT BE HER.
An ancient, mercurial spirit is trapped inside Elspeth Spindle's head - she calls him the Nightmare. He protects her. He keeps her secrets. But nothing comes for free, especially magic.
When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, she is thrust into a world of shadow and deception. Together, they embark on a dangerous quest to cure the town of Blunder from the dark magic infecting it. 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.
For fans of Uprooted and For the Wolf comes a gothic fantasy romance about a maiden who must unleash the monster within to save her kingdom.
Praise for One Dark Window:
'An enchanting tale with sharp claws and teeth - Gillig's prose will pull you in and won't let you sleep. Pulse-pounding, darkly whimsical and aglow with treacherous magic, One Dark Window is everything I love in fantasy and more' Allison Saft, author of A Far Wilder Magic
'An evocative tale of romance, mystery and alluring monsters, told in beautifully lush prose' Lyndall Clipstone, author of Lakesedge
'The steamy romance that emerges between Elspeth and Ravyn delights' Publishers Weekly
'A beautifully dark fairy tale of blood, rage and bitter choice, that whisked me away to mist-wreathed woods ripe with romance and menace' Davinia Evans, author of Notorious Sorcerer
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
I read this whole duology in two days
It was a fun tale and I’ve spent two days singing riddles to myself (I love it when an author rhymes like this, adds a magical feeling to the book)