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izzyreads13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I did not personally enjoy this book. I was drawn to it due to the dedication and because I knew the main character had a flaw that I could personally relate too however I found myself having a hard time empathizing with her and finding her character enjoyable.
Wren, our female main character is the typical heart driven protagonist and for a good chunk of the book, that’s all it is. We read about her impulsive choices and how they affect her and eventually when she meets the male love interest, who is supposed to be her enemy she talks down on him all the time. Which of course, would be understandable given the circumstances but the way it plays out is icky to me. There’s multiply points where the mmc, Hal, tries to prove himself or get her to understand that he’s not this big machine gun she believes him to be but she throws careless insults at him all the time to the point where I don’t even know how he ends up falling for her. Their love story was meh at best and even though they did share a bit of cute scenes within the last maybe 50 pages of the book I still didn’t find myself in love with their love story. I also had a hard time warming up to wren despite her “character development” mostly because it feels as though every other character in the book makes it a point to give her some heartfelt apology but she never apologizes as sincerely as they did to her and it just threw me off as she definitely had some “sorrys” to give out.
Overall if anything, I would much prefer a book about Una who is Wrens first love and friend in the book as I found her character more intriguing and complex in comparison.
Additionally the book was very predictable, I was never shocked or taken aback by anything that happened, I could’ve literally guessed how this book was gonna end but finished it to know if I was gonna be right and I don’t like the idea of DNFing books but I very well could’ve gone without reading it and wouldn’t have felt like I missed out on something. It took me over a month to finish reading this book when it takes me about 3-4 days to read other books of similar lengths and it just wasn’t intriguing at all. I had to push myself to finish it on multiple occasions and ended up skimming majority of the book at the last 100 pages.
This book also read like a teens book instead of the YA book it was marketed as to me, i feel like this would’ve been more enjoyable for a 13-14 year old who’s maybe trying to get into reading if we avoid the 2 instances where the book has those in intimate “fade to black” moments. Overall, it wasn’t my kind of book. The romance was hard to fall in love with, the main character didn’t connect with me at all and the answer to the mystery was clear from the very beginning.
Overall if you do decide to read this book I wish you the best and hope you have a great time doing so, it just wasn’t for me, however to some extent the side characters were worth the read as I previously mentioned I did fall for Una and Hal, just not wren. Happy reading!
Wren, our female main character is the typical heart driven protagonist and for a good chunk of the book, that’s all it is. We read about her impulsive choices and how they affect her and eventually when she meets the male love interest, who is supposed to be her enemy she talks down on him all the time. Which of course, would be understandable given the circumstances but the way it plays out is icky to me. There’s multiply points where the mmc, Hal, tries to prove himself or get her to understand that he’s not this big machine gun she believes him to be but she throws careless insults at him all the time to the point where I don’t even know how he ends up falling for her. Their love story was meh at best and even though they did share a bit of cute scenes within the last maybe 50 pages of the book I still didn’t find myself in love with their love story. I also had a hard time warming up to wren despite her “character development” mostly because it feels as though every other character in the book makes it a point to give her some heartfelt apology but she never apologizes as sincerely as they did to her and it just threw me off as she definitely had some “sorrys” to give out.
Overall if anything, I would much prefer a book about Una who is Wrens first love and friend in the book as I found her character more intriguing and complex in comparison.
Additionally the book was very predictable, I was never shocked or taken aback by anything that happened, I could’ve literally guessed how this book was gonna end but finished it to know if I was gonna be right and I don’t like the idea of DNFing books but I very well could’ve gone without reading it and wouldn’t have felt like I missed out on something. It took me over a month to finish reading this book when it takes me about 3-4 days to read other books of similar lengths and it just wasn’t intriguing at all. I had to push myself to finish it on multiple occasions and ended up skimming majority of the book at the last 100 pages.
This book also read like a teens book instead of the YA book it was marketed as to me, i feel like this would’ve been more enjoyable for a 13-14 year old who’s maybe trying to get into reading if we avoid the 2 instances where the book has those in intimate “fade to black” moments. Overall, it wasn’t my kind of book. The romance was hard to fall in love with, the main character didn’t connect with me at all and the answer to the mystery was clear from the very beginning.
Overall if you do decide to read this book I wish you the best and hope you have a great time doing so, it just wasn’t for me, however to some extent the side characters were worth the read as I previously mentioned I did fall for Una and Hal, just not wren. Happy reading!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Alcohol, and Death of parent
edamamebean's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Definitely not my favorite Allison Saft, but still very enjoyable. I liked the gothic vibes, even though the mystery ended up being kind of predictable. I also really liked the overarching message that empathy and emotion isn’t weakness, and that your identity is made up of more than just your work. The romance was hard to root for at first because GIRL, THAT IS A WHOLE ASS WAR CRIMINAL!! PUT HIM DOWN YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE HE’S BEEN!!! But ultimately Hal Cavendish did win me over…not so sure I like what that says about me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, and Medical content
Moderate: Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Death of parent
mimmixoxo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Body horror, War, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Death, Violence, Murder, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Drug use
Minor: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Stalking, Torture, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Deportation, Gore, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, and Gun violence
theonlybaillie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Physical abuse, Torture, Body horror, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
hmbrokaw's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
TBH would have been more enjoyable from Hal’s perspective
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death of parent
sarahamuller1's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Gore, Body horror, and Death
Minor: Gun violence and Death of parent
girlonbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
🌨️🌨️🌨️🌨️ Four Stars (as rated in the snow clouds in this splendidly wintery read)
Niece to the queen herself, Wren Southerland might as well be a nobody. Sequestered in the Abbey from a very young age, Wren fought to establish her worth with her exceptional (and magical) healing abilities. Having worked her way up to Lieutenant in the Queen’s army, all Wren wants in the whole world is to be recognized for her value; to be told she matters. But when one moment of misplaced compassion leaves her at the mercy of an enemy spy – compromising her entire mission – Wren risks losing everything she’s spent years worked for. Getting back in the Queen’s good graces will require a bigger gamble than she’s ever taken before, and necessitate allying herself with the very enemy she’s sworn to defeat.
Niece to the queen herself, Wren Southerland might as well be a nobody. Sequestered in the Abbey from a very young age, Wren fought to establish her worth with her exceptional (and magical) healing abilities. Having worked her way up to Lieutenant in the Queen’s army, all Wren wants in the whole world is to be recognized for her value; to be told she matters. But when one moment of misplaced compassion leaves her at the mercy of an enemy spy – compromising her entire mission – Wren risks losing everything she’s spent years worked for. Getting back in the Queen’s good graces will require a bigger gamble than she’s ever taken before, and necessitate allying herself with the very enemy she’s sworn to defeat.
“Maybe the only difference between a monster and a hero was the colour of a soldier’s uniform”
This book really grew on me. I loved the narration from the start (Kathleen McInerney deserves her own genre of the word talented) but I took a minute to connect with the story. Once things get going, though, and the mystery “intensifies,” so to speak, I was officially in it for the long haul. Just something to keep in mind if you’re on the fence about DNFing within the first 50 pages.
✨ Read this book because: you want a cozy winter read with some mystery, the tiniest bit of sexual tension and a lot of politically motivated backstabbing.
✨ Content warnings for this book: descriptive medical stuff, graphic medical trauma, gore, blood, death, death of a parent, murder, poisoning, body horror, war, violence
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and War
literarycherub's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This post was delayed a day, but I just had to listen to the audiobook! I am happy to say, it was magnificent. It was just as atmospheric as I had hoped and I adored all the accents. I actually read a physical review copy as well which I won from the author’s giveaway! I am extremely grateful for that because I was anticipating this book for months!
I first heard about Down Comes the Night from my lovely friend Cossette and ever since I was itching to get my hands on it. She knows I am obsessed with gothic literature and fantasy novels. Once it arrived, I just stared at it for a long while because the cover is so beautiful. As I started to flip through, I saw the dedication and instantly I knew I would fall in love.
For all the girls who feel too much.
Down Comes the Night was atmospheric, emotional, and romantic. We are quickly introduced to Wren who is seen as being weak for her empathetic ways. She is always trying to do the right thing, even if it gets her in trouble with the queen, who is also her aunt. This was a running theme throughout and I loved how Wren constantly stayed true to herself and her ways. I got very emotional at the end of chapter 28, where Wren reflects on the way she is and how she needs to be seen and cared for.
On the topic of being seen, Wren is a bisexual character. As a bisexual myself, it was refreshing for me to see. Not only is it not a big deal in her world, but she cares for someone of the opposite sex, which usually isn’t the interest for a bisexual character. Sometimes people discredit bisexual people if you don’t end up with the same sex. I am married to a man and am constantly being seen as “choosing a side”. Seeing characters who end up with the opposite sex and not be disowned for it is what we all need more of. I am happy I am properly seen in this novel. I will move on now because this can easily be its own post.
Hal. My broken and misunderstood babe. Saft really crafted this antihero perfectly. Seeing him and Wren grow close was so beautiful to watch. Who can resist enemies to pining to lovers? Not me! They were such a delight to read and I my heart was constantly fluttering and swooning over them!
A terrible fate indeed, to be your prisoner.
I don’t want to spoil too much, but yes this lives up to the hype. The writing is gorgeous and the atmosphere is eerie. This has been marketed as Crimson Peak if it were a young adult novel and I definitely agree!
This was also a buddy read with Victoria, but really she finished immediately and I read a couple weeks later.. I’m sorry Victoria! I had some other deadlines that caused me to pushback my reading, but as soon as I hit ‘publish’ on this review, I am moving into her DMs to scream.
Thank you to Allison Saft for the arc! This title was released March 2, 2021.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Blood
Moderate: Murder and Torture
Minor: Death of parent
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