Reviews with content warning for Blood - Okno skąpane w mroku

I went into this with minimal knowledge beyond it being a dark, gothic, somewhat fucked up fantasy world where the FMC is basically possessed by this world's equivalent of a demon. SPOILER ALERT:

he does fully take over her body. And she is so beautifully creepy throughout the book and even more so after she gives in to him.

The romance definitely needed to be explored deeper because I'm not really a fan of the more insta-love tropes, but I do love Ravyn, and I need him around all the time. And how he and her and everyone are connected (Ahem, Nightmare's origin?!) was neat.

Granted, there was a lot that I saw coming overall, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story because once we got to part 3, I was quite literally on the edge of my seat with goosebumps from the tension and the fear I felt for everyone. And a very warranted fear because..... fuck. IFYKYK.

And I ordered Two Twisted Crowns before even writing this review. So.....

Content Warnings

cassiealexandra's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

I had a great time with this book. The gothic and spooky feel with deep forests, infected children gaining magical abilities, and a mist slowly overtaking the kingdom were all positives. The opening was a little slow, but that doesn’t usually bother me. Once the plot picked up it was hard to stop. Here’s what I loved and what I struggled with:

— LOVED —
The interaction between Elspeth and The Nightmare in her head. The Nightmare’s snark, humor, and curmudgeonly attitude to anything or more often anyone that irked him brought a grin to my face multiple times. Usually in a book that has a strong romance subplot, I find the banter comes between the couple. Here, the banter was between Elspeth and her inner monster, which I loved.

The character of Renelm “Elm,” the younger prince of Blunder was so intriguing to me and I hope to get more insight into him in book two. He was complex and morally gray and his cruel sense of humor actually had me laughing out a loud a few times–a rarity for me in a book of this genre.

— STRUGGLED —
I struggled a little to understand the magic and worldbuilding; this added to the mystery of it, but at times, I felt a more forthcoming explanation could have benefited this title. The poems and quotations from a 500-year-old text sometimes pulled me from the story. I understood their purpose and this probably added to the story for some readers; for me, I felt like I had to enter the poetry analysis part of my brain and I didn’t really feel like going there so often.

I’ve said I grew to love Elm throughout the book, but at the same time the character of his cousin, Ravyn, started to fall a smidge flat. Besides our first-person narrator in Elspeth, the secondary characters are the ones that held my interest the most. This was a little surprising and frustrating at times. I enjoy books that get to the point and read quickly, but unexpectedly, I think this title could have been longer, exploring the depths of character backstories and emotions more.

The mission and quest of the plot made sense to me, but its importance and urgency was more spoken than felt. The characters’ actions and dialogue just didn't fully convey the emotion and utter NEED they had to accomplish their goals.

The plot twists came as nearly no surprise to me. There were multiple times something came across as vague subtext (I love being able to anticipate the plot and pat myself on the back), but my suspicions got confirmed within a page or two. I would have loved to be held in suspense with the mystery alive for a little longer.

The romance between Elspeth and Ravyn came with force and undeniable attraction; this was a good thing for me, but things moved very fast and furious, in my opinion. This would feel typical in a contemporary romance or romantic comedy, but somehow here, a move from hand grazes and heated glances to an open-door chapter over the course of a month or less was a little uncomfortable. The writing style and overall feel of the book leaned toward ones I’ve read that included fade-to-black scenes, so it was jarring when that open-door scene came. Was it extremely descriptive? No. But I’ve read vaguer.

Overall, it looks like there was more to frustrate than love in this book for me, but that would be a misinterpretation of this review. I’m not sure why I am analyzing this with such a critical eye. The truth is, I actually greatly enjoyed the whole experience of reading it, and with the ending I am ready to dive into the next immediately.

The bottom line: A great atmospheric read for fantasy, romance, and mystery lovers.

— NOTES —
Genres: fantasy; romance subplot
POV: first-person, single
Content: blood, fighting, coarse language in moderate frequency
Romance: one open door scene at the end of chapter 27

— MY RATING CONSIDERATIONS —
(all out of 5)

Pace: 4
Enjoyment: 4.5
Craft: 4
My Gut Feeling: 4.5
Total Stars: 4.25

Content Warnings

thecasestudyofmylife_'s review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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emsavors's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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wynnerad's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I hadn’t even finished this book and it climbed to one of my favorites of all time. The magic system is built on TREES and a DECK OF CARDS and INFECTION??!!! And the reveals - they were done in such a way that you were given things in pieces, but didn’t know that you didn’t have the whole picture until you got another reveal - INSANE!!! And Ravyn. My beloved. And Elspeth. I really don’t know what it is about these two. Just perfect.

Top book of the year and it’s only January.

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bubblegirl858's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book was such a thrill to read. It captured my interest and held it the entire book. The magic system in the book was unique and well-developed. Moody, dark, and steeped in magic and secrecy, this book kept me wanting to know more from the first page.

Elspeth in this book both infuriated me and also made me laugh out loud. She is a very interesting character, if not a bit useless. Her hypocritical nature was the most infuriating part of this entire book. She is constantly keeping Rayvn (A LITERAL STRANGER when they first become partners) at arms length and getting upset at him for keeping secrets. She is upset because he isn't telling her everything while at the same time she is keeping the Nightmare and her own powers a secret. That is what blew my mind the most. Their relationship felt a bit rushed and even though I can believe the enemies to partners to lovers trope, it just felt very rushed. I would have been okay with them just being friends in this book and it moving into lovers next book, but with the ending I am not sure how the next book will go.

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