An Editor Read "One Dark Window" So You Don't Have To

Hello! This is u/XusBookReviews with a review of a popular romantasy novel - it's coming a little earlier than I planned as I am have approved for a slew of ARCs on NetGalley that I need to get to. Also, as I have read ODW before, it was a bit easier to plow through than something totally new. Hope you don't mind me already breaking schedule, but I didn't feel like waiting to post just because.

As a reminder, I’m not reviewing if I *liked* the book, but what I would say if one of my clients turned this in for a professional opinion. Let’s get started!

Book Details:

Title: One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
Series Name: The Shepard King (Book 1). Series is complete.
Page Count: 392 pages (extra “sneak peek of Book 2 pads the official page count to 423)
Publish Date: September 27^(th), 2022
Publisher: Orbit Publishing (Part of the Hatchett Book Group)

Publisher’s Plot Description:  "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."

Fantasy Style: High Fantasy

Spice Level: 3/5 (Open Door, Mildly Explicit) – This book leans New Adult. Would not recommend for young readers; though the intimate scenes are not as explicit as others in the NA genre, it’s still a bit much for the >18 crowd.

My Means of Reading: Paperback.

Review TLDR: Absolutely worth a read. It’s pretty cheap now that it’s been out a while, so pick up a copy wherever you find books best.

Overall:  There’s a reason this one is so popular: it's just good. That said, it does have pacing problems and outside of the main characters the people in the story can be a little flat, but the FMC’s monster (the “Nightmare”) is fascinating and the magic system is wholly unique to anything you’ll find in this genre. The ending is satisfying as well, even if it is a cliffhanger.

Pacing: This is my largest complaint about this book. It’s very slow to start (the first big plot point comes after over a hundred pages in FFS), has a big scene, then slows down again. Then another big scene…and slows down again. It’s very stop/start and if you’re looking for a fast-paced, plot heavy narrative I think you will find this book a bit frustrating. Even the “big” moments feel a bit ponderous at times. This is not a thriller by any means.

Character Development: The FMC does have a narrative arc that is meaningful – she starts one way and definitely ends another – while other characters are not afforded the same treatment. I would not say the MMC has any big development as a person, nor does the majority of the cast. One character does undergo a massive personality change, which is hand-waved off in a way I found…lacking. Those who know, know. But Elsbeth’s growth and change is nice and shows that the author has a plan. Gotta love a gal with a plan. Also, shout out to the dad, who I was suspicious of because his name is Erik with a “k” – everyone knows Erik with a “k” is sus. But there are moments when he shines and I think he deserves special mention as one of the few of the supporting cast who shows real growth over the course of the book.

Filler/Padding: Oddly, for a novel with such massive pacing issues, there is only some padding involved. The pacing issues come from the author spending so much time in the FMC’s head, in describing the environments around her, and in character talking…which is odd, since there is remarkably little growth in the characters. I hope all this world building pays off in the second book, which I will be reading (it’s been on my TBR shelf for a loooong time).

Obvious Errors an Author/Editor Should Have Caught: I’ve heard rumors of misspellings and poor grammar in this book, but I didn’t see anything of note. I should say that my copy of the book is from the 5^(th) printing, so maybe the publisher heard the same rumors and had the book revisited by an editing team prior to this print. I do wish the editor had taken more time to smooth out the stop/start of the pacing, but maybe that’s just how the story is meant to be. As always, YMMV.

 

Previously Reviewed: Kiss of a Siren’s Song by E.A.M. Trofimenkoff

Next Review Is: Flutter by Melody Percario (Provided by NetGalley) 

Thank you for reading. Please let me know what you think of this review and of One Dark Window!