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A review by escapinginpaper
Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.0
There was a lot about this book I liked. It's an enemies-to-lovers story, set in a high fantasy world with a time period that seemed equivalent to about Victorian-Edwardian times, about two countries that have been at war for centuries.
Main character Wren is a magic-user whose specialty is healing. She is kicked out of the Queen's Guard after one-too-many mess-ups, which devastates her because she has to leave behind the woman she loves, her chance at proving herself to her aunt, the Queen, and her chance to help solve the mystery of her comrades disappearing. When she's invited to heal the servant of a mysterious lord from a neighboring neutral country, she jumps at the chance to prove herself. However when there she discovers the "servant" is actually her mortal enemy & perceived war criminal, Hal.
This was a super slow-burn romance, high fantasy, and gothic murder mystery all-in-one. I really liked the vibe of the whole story, the setting, and the magic system. This has a lot of tropes, but they were done really well and I loved reading them – enemies-to-lovers; "there's only one bed"; mysterious, brooding hot dude with black hair.
My biggest complaint about this one is that it reads like it was rushed – especially towards the end. I think this would have been well-suited as a duology. The romance is really good... but ultimately the characters know each other for about two weeks and they decide they're in love. This bothered me... There are also other redemptions & character developments at the end that felt like they needed more time to... well... develop.
I did really like the ending, but it also really really made me wish there was a sequel! There is so much that the two main characters could do that I would really love to read. Overall, what a great debut novel – I can't wait to see what else Saft will write.
Main character Wren is a magic-user whose specialty is healing. She is kicked out of the Queen's Guard after one-too-many mess-ups, which devastates her because she has to leave behind the woman she loves, her chance at proving herself to her aunt, the Queen, and her chance to help solve the mystery of her comrades disappearing. When she's invited to heal the servant of a mysterious lord from a neighboring neutral country, she jumps at the chance to prove herself. However when there she discovers the "servant" is actually her mortal enemy & perceived war criminal, Hal.
This was a super slow-burn romance, high fantasy, and gothic murder mystery all-in-one. I really liked the vibe of the whole story, the setting, and the magic system. This has a lot of tropes, but they were done really well and I loved reading them – enemies-to-lovers; "there's only one bed"; mysterious, brooding hot dude with black hair.
My biggest complaint about this one is that it reads like it was rushed – especially towards the end. I think this would have been well-suited as a duology. The romance is really good... but ultimately the characters know each other for about two weeks and they decide they're in love. This bothered me... There are also other redemptions & character developments at the end that felt like they needed more time to... well... develop.
I did really like the ending, but it also really really made me wish there was a sequel! There is so much that the two main characters could do that I would really love to read. Overall, what a great debut novel – I can't wait to see what else Saft will write.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Xenophobia, Torture, Sexual content, and Murder