A review by chaos_of_kati
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This is definitely not your typical magical story. I am really impressed by the unique magic system and the use of "tarot" cards. 
I love the lyrical writing style, even though it took me a minute to get into it (to be fair I am not a native English speaker). But the poems on the Provedence cards were really cool. 

I was most intrigued by the Nightmare, his powers and mostly the dynamic between the FMC Elspeth. 
I was delighted, that Elspeth is a rather strong female lead, with real fears and dreams. But she is not a pushover and/or Damsel in distress. It took her a minute to step into her power, but she was always level headed and strong. 
The MMC, was also interesting, even though a bit too one-dimensional. I wished there was more depth to the his story. I feel like the side character Elm, is more interesting with his past and relationship with his father & brother.

The structure of the plot is good, even though a bit foreseeable. Regardless, I enjoyed the mystery, and am excited for the second book.