Honorable Mention to Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft, a cold, gothic fantasy YA that features queer romance that also delivers a suspensful, athomspheric thrill ride.

Review goes live on Lair Of Books on 3/22/2021 at 8amEST

THE 411...

A Gothic Bi-Sexual Fantasy/Murder Mystery with a hate-to-love romance?!?! sounds too good to be true but Allison Saft truly delivered. MC Wren Southerland is orphaned at a young age and taken in by her aunt (The Queen) as a healer in the Queen's Guard. While in the military she falls in love with Una Dryden, a career ambitious general who loves her in return but will always choose her rank and service to the Queen over Wren. There is a long lasting war between the Danubians (Wren's People) and the Vesrians while the Cernosians remain neutral and apart from their war. The body count is rising and soldiers have begun to go missing while on guard. Una is the sole reason for which Wren continues in the military, she is ill suited for the jobs more harsh requirements when handling enemy hostages. Wren has a couple of infractions for displaying what is considered to be too much empathy.

“I need you by my side. And there Wren would stay, even if it she couldn’t always stomach what at any and all costs entailed. She cursed the empathy that flowed in her blood as surely as her healing magic did.”

Dismissed from the Queen's Guard, Wren decides to accept a mysterious invitation from an eccentric reclusive Lord. He writes of a sick member of his staff and the urgency with which he seeks out Wren's medical expertise in exchange for assistance with her dilemma. She arrives at his estate to find a cold and crumbling mansion, the Lord welcomes her in his study with a contract for her to sign should she accept his terms and conditions. All seems quite odd but given her predicament and desire to redeem herself with the Queen, she accepts. The identity of the patient poses a HUGE conflict of interest for her and the ultimate test of empathy. Things begin to unravel at Colwick Hall, Wren is determined to uncover the truth behind her missing comrades and exactly what role the Lord of Colwick plays in the war.

Content Warning: War themes, gore, murder, kidnapping, detailed surgical procedures

WRITING & FINAL THOUGHTS

Haunting and at times disturbing, this slower paced Gothic Mystery sometimes left me cringing at the medical procedures described. In some ways it reminded me of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic which also took place in a Gothic styled mansion. In this stand-alone Fantasy there are Danubians and Vesrians who have been gifted with magic and the Cernosians who are a people without this gift. The magic system is where I would've like to have seen more exploration. Other than Wren who has healing magic and one other MC who has a different type of magic, we don't really get discussion on the different types of existing magic in this world. Otherwise, I'd say this is one super atmospheric character driven story that would be perfect for the Fall/Winter seasons. I enjoyed the romance even if  many scenes were fade to black (expect a ton of sexual tension), it is still Young Adult and my guess is that it was written with that in mind.  Would I have read an adult version of this story? ABSOLUTELY! our MC Wren craves real genuine connection and affection, seeing her navigate her own feelings/emotions leaves you with a deep sense of yearning. I empathized with this character who at every turn was told to stop feeling so much and basically go against what is second nature to her. I won't go into too much detail on her love interest(s) since I consider that to be spoilery but I was very pleased to get a complex character who was trying to atone while also acknowledging that their transgressions can't be erased. I love who Wren ultimately ends up with simply because that person made her feel seen and appreciated those qualities that others tried to root out of her. A solid debut Book Lovers! I'll be on the lookout for Allison Saft's next book.

This book is a gloriously gothic novel with such lovely prose. Wren and Hal have my heart and I loved the murder mystery angle of the book, and seeing how the characters got closer and closer. This is an excellent debut novel and I look forward to reading her work in the future!

2.5 stars
This was a solid debut! Keep in mind that a 2.5 rating means that I found it okay - there were a few things that did not gel with me personally.

Down Comes the Night has lovely atmospheric writing and Saft has a way of painting vivid images with her descriptive writing. I was transported into Colwick Hall’s claustrophobic walls.

Initially, I went into the book blind and I wasn’t expecting a fantasy with war and military themes. This was a welcome surprise because I really enjoy those themes. However, I had a problem with the world-building and magic system. Nothing was explained and I was left confused with how the magic system worked.

In terms of the pacing, it was rather slow and character-driven. This did not stop me from enjoying it but I had expected a lot more in terms of the characters. Wren and Hal had interesting backstories but I felt that it was very surface level. I wasn’t connected to them on a deeper level. Uni was an interesting character and I wished we got to learn more about her. I felt that the point of her existence was to cause tension between Wren and Hal. She did not offer anything else apart from that.

Overall, this was enjoyable but it had so much potential to be better.

*eARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Many mixed feelings on this one. I had heard so many good things, and I craved a gothic villain romance, but this wasn't really that. Our main character does fall for the boy who committed many war crimes against her country (all totally in the past, he never commits any atrocities in present time in the book), but he is never really portrayed as evil, just a sad boy filled with regrets.

I found the plot of the story to be somewhat weak- Wren is hired to heal a sick servant in a neighboring country, which (slight spoiler) turns out to be Hal, the "bad boy." Together, they start investigating the disappearances that has be plaguing both their countries. The ending is predicable, though happy.

I think my main disappointment for this book was that I has such high hopes and it failed to fill them. I will keep searching for another book to fill the void and cravings Wicked Saints has left with me.

3.5 stars

I really liked the atmosphere and the romance, and the magic system was super interesting, but while I thought this started strong, the story really got slow and dragged for me. I wasn't interested in the political intrigue, unfortunately, and [SPOILER ALERT] it seemed strange to me that for all the talk of Byers being such a close friend of Wren and Una's, once Wren discovered his body they didn't actually talk about him [END OF SPOILER].

So overall, I liked this but I didn't love it.

2.5 stars rounded up
I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

This novel had so much potential and sounded incredible, and then was disappointing in many ways. The novel was absolutely good enough to finish and I feel like this author still has a lot of potential, but this debut novel was only kind of meh.

The first point is this novel seemed to have TOO many storylines. The first seven chapters were boring for me and I was not feeling the novel where Wren is so madly in love with her best friend and that seems to be all that is focused on. Then we went to a new storyline and within a few chapters that changed as well. This strange flip-flopping love stories and lack of consistency and then just down right too wordy at time. Wren and her family relationship was dramatic and then the ending chapters magically fixed EVERYTHING and it was all happily ever after...a little too nicely for as much tension this had all been building. This novel was good enough to keep me interested until the end, however, be warned that this very much felt like a scattered novel. I did see that this author started out writing fanfiction and I feel like this novel needed to be more polished before publication. I would totally be willing to try another novel by the author in the future, I do hope it is more polished though.

When we get to the positives of the novel this is a cool magical world and fighting between three different kingdoms. Wren has magic and is a healer and is drawn to healing people, even when it gets her in trouble. It seems time and again she gets in trouble! Her unrequited love story with Una starts out as intriguing and then seems to get uncomfortable obsessive at times. Then her next love story is an almost immediate hate to love, however, their chemistry actually fits a lot better. The twists and turns and various mysteries and interconnected stories were interesting and intriguing, I just feel like there were too many storylines in the end and the focus was spread too thin amongst all the stories. All in all, it was entertaining most of the time and eye-rolling cringe-worthy at other times. Again, I would totally pick up another book by this author in the future.

This book was part gothic horror, part mystery, and part love story, all wrapped in a fairly unique fantasy world. Wren’s journey was one that I think is reflected in a lot of people’s journies. I thought the magic system could use more of an explanation, but overall the world building elements were there.

Wren wants nothing more than to have the love of her best friend and superior Una and to heal those who need use of her magic. Unfortunately, her country is at war and healing the enemy is treasonous. Cast aside by her unloving strict aunt who just happens to be queen, Wren takes matters into her own hands to win favor back and to hopefully stop the death of war.

I feel like there were some really interesting ideas in this story but overall there was way too much going on in the book for it to feel cohesive and a lot of the ideas were not fully formed just hinted at or brushed over. The romance aspect jumped around (from forbidden best friend love to forbidden enemy love), the main character seemed more like a fan of love the one you're with (or really, the one that shows you positive attention of any kind) than actual character development. On top of the angsty romance, there was a mad scientist with devious experiments, there was an evil queen/aunt, there was court intrigue/machinations, and basically the main character was super wishy washy and hard to understand since she did not really know herself. She was fabulous at all kinds of healing but basically lacked any kind of common sense and self preservation and it was hard at times to watch her make choices.

This could easily be a case of it's me not you here and others readers will probably love the story (especially with the HEA ending), I just think my expectations were really high since this was one of my most anticipated releases for the month. I can see this being a great read for those who want a fantasy story that wraps up in a single book, low on actual fantasy things like magic or world building but high on political intrigue and romance.

**Thank you Wednesday books publishing for providing this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All quotes are taken from the ARC and are subject to change.**

“Whatever is done unto you...let it be repaid thrice over”

Wren is a powerful mage, a combat medic. She is compassionate and she is ruled by her emotions, which made her seem weak in the years of her aut the queen and especially Una. Una, her commanding officer, her best friend and the woman she loved.

“You are a disaster, period. But mine.”

When her compassion leads to one to many reckless decisions, she is suspended from her duties. Later, she receives a letter from a lord in a neighboring nation begging for her help. His servant has fallen ill and she is to be his healer, cure him from a mysterious disease that has befallen the estate. Only to find out that the man she is to save is Hal Cavendish, the reaper of Vesria and her kingdom’s most notorious enemy.

“He looked like a man seeing sunlight for the first time starving almost… awed?”

If you love queer rep, enemies to lovers, murder mysteries and happy endings, this book is for you. I was entertained throughout the entire story. The angst!!! The banter!!! I fell in love with this world and it’s characters. Down comes the night is beautifully written, a perfect debut which is why I am rating it 4.5/5

This book just oozes atmosphere and fulfilled all my gothic fantasy dreams. The pacing was great, the mystery and magic all flowing together to keep me turning the pages. I also loved the romance, which lightened up the darkness in all the right ways. It's been a while since I've picked up a fantasy, and I was delighted to find a well-developed magic/science system and excellent world-building. I would've liked a teeny bit more background on our main character before the story kicked off, but overall, an action-packed and atmospheric read that I highly recommend!

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. Intriguing premise but writing style felt odd and I couldn’t find a hook in.

PLOT
This book, as promised by the reviews and promos you may have already seen, has a unique and memorable plot. While things did initially start out a bit slower than I had expected, by the end of the first chapter, I was flipping pages without thinking. On the rare occasion that I had to put the book down, I could not stop thinking about it. Some of the plot twists were predictable but were still enjoyable and furthered the plot.

CHARACTERS
As intriguing as the plot of the novel was, the characters were just as fascinating and gripping. Wren is a frustrating protagonist, as she constantly makes choices that you know will result in more problems, but there is a complicated wholesomeness behind her actions that make it hard for you to take your eyes away from her. Additionally, the author does a great job of developing complex relationships that feel realistic and well-rounded. Even more impressive is that the reader is quickly able to get a sense of these relationships in a way that feels organic and doesn’t slow down the plot.

SETTING
The world in this book is established almost immediately. We immediately get to the magic system at work and understand the protagonist’s role in both that system and her setting. While the magic on its own was fairly generic, the author did a great job of adding some new dimensions to the magic that was unexpected and I hadn’t seen in other novels. Both the world and magic were memorable and will stick with me for a while.

MY RECOMMENDATION
Down Comes The Night is a one-of-kind read that is sure to grab any Young Adult Fantasy fan and pull them into a beautiful story. The characters are complex and although, they can be frustrating, just as engaging as the story. If you’re tired of YA magic systems that are all the same, you’ll love the new twists to familiar systems that this setting introduces. I highly recommend Down Comes The Night.

3.5 stars I had high hopes for this book but honestly felt like it was a bait and switch. Here I am thinking I’m getting a dark romance and that did not happen... Very disappointed

Thank you so much, St Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book!

Wren is a soldier and an healer, but when her reckless use of magic and her compassion costs her dismission from the Queen's Guard, she's determined to get back to her best friend and the girl she loves. When a famous lord asks for her help, to cure his servant from a mysterious illness, Wren sees as a chance to redeem herselt. But the estate, Colwick Hall, is icy and peculiar, the host imposes curfrew and strange rules and the patient she was sent to cure is her country's sworn enemy, Hal Cavendish. Wren and Hal are forced to join forces to understand what is happening in the estate, finding out the truth behind Hal's illness and to save themselves, while dismissing lies and prejudices about each other's countries and themselves too.

I really LOVED reading Down comes the night! It's a thrilling and captivating fantasy, told by Wren as main character. Wren is reckless, stubborn and compassionate, fiercely protective of the people she loves and determined to do the right thing, even in the most difficult situations.
She wants her worth to be recognized, to protect her family and country and when she has to heal one of the person she fears the most and they get to know one other, everything changes. It was so interesting reading how much they change one other, discovering truths and lies about their countries, rejecting prejudices and old fears and how much they grow to like and rely on one other.
I really liked reading about the political tension between countries, the magic system and how the atmosphere was gothic and eerie and I loved everything!
The story is intriguing and romantic, the mansion is creepy and crumbling and it was captivating, I needed to know what would happen next!

I totally recommend this book to those who love strong heroines, eerie mansions, fascinating villains/heroes and mysteries.

Not many fantasy books center around a bisexual character, and I was gladly surprised to find and read one. The gothic ambiance and romantic plot was to die for, but I must admit that there were parts of the story in which I found myself dozing off. Nevertheless, Down Comes the Night was a wonderful read overall, and I'm excited to see more from the author.

4.5 stars!

Now and then, a book comes along that feels like it was written according to your exact (and often weirdly specific) fictional preferences, and Down Comes the Night was one of those books for me. I’m not kidding — it was like Allison Saft had looked at me and thought, “this is one odd little duck of a reader, hang on while I write a story just for her.” There’s an enemies-to-lovers romance where they’re trapped on opposite sides of a war; there’s a compassionate badass of a heroine and a monstrous hero desperate for redemption; there’s magic and medicine coexisting; there’s even a snow-blanketed Gothic castle amidst the mountains… what more could I possibly ask for?

Our heroine, Wren Southerland, is the illegitimate niece of the Queen of Danu, ruler of a country teetering precariously on the verge of all-out war with the neighbouring kingdom of Vesria. Soldiers patrolling the border between the two lands keep going missing, however, and the citizens of Danu speak with fear of Hal Cavendish, nicknamed the Reaper of Vesria for his ability to kill with just a single glance. Driven by her need to feel useful and to win the praise of her distant aunt, Wren works as a field nurse using her healing magic for the good of her country, but when she tends the wounds of an enemy and inadvertently jeopardises her mission, she’s expelled from the Queen’s Guard and banished to a remote abbey lest she be stripped of her powers. There, a letter arrives from the eccentric Lord Alistair Lowry inviting her to Colwick Hall, where she realises just who her patient is and that she could use him to win back the Queen’s favour — or perhaps work with him to uncover a sinister plot, for nothing is as it seems…

I really enjoyed the dark fantasy atmosphere Saft created here! Looking at Down Comes the Night’s beautiful cover evokes guttering candelabras, melancholy rainy nights, and wind howling against the windowpanes, and the story inside well and truly delivers. Thanks to Saft’s wonderful descriptive prose, I could imagine myself tiptoeing down the elaborately decorated corridors of Colwick Hall, walking through streets pulled straight from a bleak Victorian novel, or bundling up against the freezing air, which is for sure a marker of a good author when you can actually feel the cold they’re describing. In other words, this one is a mystery through and through! I might have solved it fairly early on (thank you, lifelong love of true crime TV shows), but I still had a lot of fun following Wren and Hal as they strove to uncover a web of treacherous secrets.

What I appreciated most of all, even more than the unique takes on magic and the air of mystery woven into the pages, was the care Saft takes when writing about Wren’s deeply compassionate nature. In many of today’s YA fantasy novels, there’s a lot of focus given to ruthless heroines (which isn’t a bad thing whatsoever; I’m all for complex, flawed literary ladies), but I love it when they’re allowed to be soft-hearted, and when the story itself doesn’t treat that soft-heartedness as a flaw that needs to be overcome. In Wren and Hal’s world, where Danubian and Vesrian children are raised to view one another as enemies, compassion is seen as a weakness — but as the story progresses, Wren realises that it can be her strength, and gradually, she and Hal come to learn the importance of staying kind in a cruel world and of seeing each other for who they are, not what they’ve been brought up to be. As someone who recognised herself in Wren’s strong emotions and easy crying, I thought it was especially lovely that Saft dedicated her novel to “all the girls who feel too much”.

Beyond the forbidden love, the inevitable and delectable snark, and the witty banter, my favourite aspect of enemies-to-lovers romances (and one of several reasons why I keep reading so many of them) is the bit where the couple begins to understand and appreciate themselves thanks to the love of the other. The way Down Comes the Night does this will likely cement it as one of my favourites for that particular trope: Hal is the first person to encourage and accept Wren, which teaches her that she doesn’t have to change her deep-feeling, empathetic soul to be worthy, and as she slowly sees him for himself and not his deadly Reaper of Vesria image, she shows him that he is both capable of and deserving of softness. It’s very tender, very believable, and above all, very kind to the characters themselves.

Overall, Down Comes the Night is packed with tropes that anyone who’s read enough enemies-to-lovers will recognise (there’s only one bed, wound-tending, and the good ol’ “I could kill him right now” internal monologue) but that’s part of what made it so entertaining, and I’ve gone as far as recommending it as a ‘must read’ for friends of mine with the same fictional tastes! This is a debut novel, which means I’m fully expecting more great things from Saft — hopefully dark fantasy things with complicated protagonists and love stories based around compassion, but a bookworm can dream, right?

Down Comes the Night did not live up to the gothic marketing. The premise was strong, but it did not deliver. The romance had a lot of potential, it was an enemies-to-lovers with some slow burn, but we saw almost no interaction between the characters for us to believe they had fallen in love. Even though this book was not for me, I know that a lot of people will absolutely love it, so I'd still recommend it!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC!

Down Comes the Night has been one of my most anticipated releases for the past few months. Everything about it sounds right up my alley, so I was so excited to pick it up.

The start was really promising. Wren seemed likable and I lived for the angst between Wren and Una. As the story continued, however, I never found myself fully invested in either the story or the characters. By the end, it felt like this book couldn’t decide which genre it wanted to be in (fantasy or romance), so it didn’t lean into either enough for it to make an impact.

Characters
Wren as a protagonist is not inherently unlikeable. I am a big believer in the idea that kindness is too often equated erroneously with weakness, so I thought I would vibe well with Wren. Unfortunately, Wren comes across very naively throughout the story, which can make her a frustrating protagonist to follow.

Plot
This book has some of my favorite tropes, but I still never found myself with the urge to keep reading. The plot was not bad, but it was nothing special. There was a clear set up for a mystery, but it also seemed pretty obvious which roles the different characters were going to fall into.

Additionally, the main motivator for many of the characters in this story is the political unrest and each characters’ role within the political system. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like I had enough world building and understanding of the political structure to completely understand the motivations and feel that stress. Which leads me to…

World Building
I think one of the biggest reasons why I never could get fully into this story is the underdevelopment of the world. I never really figured out exactly how the magic system worked, but enough time was spent describing it that I felt like I was supposed to be understanding something more about it than I got.

I really enjoyed the authors writing but the plot fell flat for me. It was pretty obvious where the story was going. Sadly, I was left feeling quite underwhelmed. Im eager to see what this author does next. I did enjoy her writing style immensely!