Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Okno skąpane w mroku

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Okno skąpane w mroku by Rachel Gillig

216 reviews

mari1532's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I have been hearing about this book everywhere and was finally able to get the audiobook through my library after several weeks of having it on hold with Libby. Overall, I was not gripped by this story until the third act and then I was absolutely invested. For the first two-thirds, I was more just going with the flow learning who all the characters were and the world-building facts that Gilling was integrating into the story.

I am a bit confused by two things throughout the story. First, Ione's whole subplot confused me. How did Ione and Elspeth grow up so close and then diverge so quickly on their paths? Elspeth was a well-constructed character and throughout her motivations were clear, but I have no idea why Ione was making the choices that she was. The game that all the characters play toward the climax of the book did make things slightly clearer, but overall she did not feel fully fleshed out. I hope that she gets a bigger subplot in the next book.

The second thing that was confusing for me throughout the book and it is possible that I just did not understand this in the text is how many cards there are in total. There are rarer cards that are much harder to find, but some of the cards are quite ubiquitous. The cards seemed to be important for displays of power, but I'm not sure if two different decks are being constructed by the two factions or if one group is ahead in the number of cards that they have.

I really enjoyed the romance subplot of the book. The dynamics between the characters were fun to watch develop throughout the book.

The ending of this book was absolutely shocking and gripping! I have no idea how Gillig is going to resolve all the loose ends in the next book, but I cannot wait to find out.

Highly recommend. It starts a bit slow but the plot is worth the wait.

Content Warnings

bronzel's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

margaret_k30's review against another edition

3.75

dark mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Content Warnings

jitterbugwhimsy's review against another edition

4.5

challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Elspeth is the daughter of a man who should have turned her in as a child for having a magic infection. Her infection she calls the Nightmare who helps her when she is too weak to take care of herself. She lives with her maternal aunt, her uncle who is unscrupulous, cousin Ione who is like a sister to her, and two ruffian boys. Her stepmother is unpleasant, her younger sisters sound like teeny boppers, her father is absent at best.

The magic system is different, based on Providence Cards, which sound like tarot cards. Tapping a Providence Card three times will enact its magic for the bearer, and three times again will end the magic, and all the magic comes with a price. If anyone steals the card, they own the magic. Meanwhile there is old vengeful magic in the mist that is ticked for being forgotten in favor of the magic in the Providence Cards.

At the beginning of the book Elspeth is held up by highway men in the forest near her home searching for a card. The highway men turn out to be the prince, Elm Rowan, and his cousin and captain of the king's guard (called Destriers) Ravyn Yew and what they're doing - collecting cards - is high treason. So of course she joins the search for the Providence Cards while also trying to remain under the radar of the Destriers with her magical infection, evade high prince Hauth Roan (who Elspeth maimed during a bid to retrieve another Providence Card), and fight her literal inner demon the Nightmare and her deterioration.

It was fun to hate the antagonists, so many of my notes were "Hauth needs to die." Elspeth was frustrating in her inability to open up to Ravyn, and really anyone else, about her magic until it was literally too late to save her. I really enjoyed this book though I hate to end on a cliff hanger.

Content Warnings

nightknight217's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really enjoyed this book -- the setting and lore felt very rich and fleshed out, which allowed me to become invested not only in the characters, but in the world itself!
There were a few moments that where tropy

enemies to lovers, and drama that could have been entirely avoided if characters could just TALK TO EACHOTHER!!!

But even they felt justified for the most part.
I'm looking forward to reading the second!

Content Warnings

heathermiccolo's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

arthie's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It was my year to read The Shepherd King duology and I enjoyed every bit of it! This is a story of dark magic, revenge, and a terrifying illness brutal enough to kill. Rachel Gillig’s writing is incredible and absolutely captivating. It is very descriptive, and captures a dark atmosphere ridden with magic. She smoothly laid out the world-building and the folklore that controls this story. She tells an amazing tale of retribution, balanced with a beautiful, slowburn romance in the background (and more :D). Elspeth and Ravyn are amazing characters, and their chemistry was through the roof! The tidbits of affection that they shared in this novel was perfect. Lastly, for fans of found family, we also have a prickly brute and an ice princess roaming the pages (this is a sign telling you to read it).

Content Warnings