Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Wednesday Books for sending me an ARC via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Warning: I’m not sure if this is a trigger warning, but as the main character is a healer there is some gore in the book as she heals injuries and also examines dead bodies. There’s one scene towards the end that involves eyes, and it made me pretty squeamish.

5/5 stars

Oh my goodness how I enjoyed this book! It was so much more than I was expecting and I loved it!
This is a book about a girl, Wren, who has magic called the Healing Touch. She’s a healer in the army of a country that is just recovering from a long war, and her aunt is the Queen. Wren is constantly told that she’s too compassionate, emotional, and kind, and that these things make her reckless. When an emotional decision costs her seemingly everything, Wren accepts an invitation to Colwick Hall to heal a servant.
I really connected with Wren while reading. I loved her character growth, and I loved the lessons that she learned not just about herself, but about the people and the world around her. I also liked that she was able to learn to accept herself, and that while she showed a lot of growth her core character values seemed to stay the same.
Colwick Hall is this dark and gothic manor house in Cernos, a country that has stayed neutral in the war between Danu (Wren’s country) and Vesria (Hal’s country). As soon as Wren got close to Colwick Hall the writing became so atmospheric. It was creepy and mysterious, and I really loved the way that the author described it. At Colwick Hall, Wren discovers that her patient is actually Hal Cavendish - the Reaper of Vesria and her kingdom’s number one enemy.
I loved the relationship between Hal and Wren. It was a slow-burning, back-and-forth between the two as Wren tried to heal him. I also loved Hal’s character. I thought the author did a great job in creating a character who appears monstrous from the outside, but who might not be that way on the inside.
While at Colwick Hall, Wren begins to realize that something isn’t quite right, and with Hal’s help they begin to investigate. This leads them to uncover secrets and horrors that could lead to another war. I really enjoyed how the author tied in the political aspect of the story. It was more present than I thought it would be, but I think it worked really well.
One thing I noticed was that at times it felt like things were moving almost too fast, but this is a stand-alone (I think) and after finishing it I realize why it had to progress at the pace that it did.
I thought the ending was really good. It wrapped up in a satisfying way for me after some stressful and tension filled pages/chapters. I’d recommend this one to anyone who likes a bit of magic, a mystery, some political intrigue, and a slow-burn enemies to lovers relationship with a strong female character.

I feel the issue here was 100% me.
The synopsis intrigued me but I just couldn't force myself to read this. Even going days without picking up any book because I knew I had to read this.
Soon as I started this I zoned out. Which makes me sad because I wanted more Gothic books.
This just came at the wrong time. I hope.

If you want a swoon worthy enemies-to-lovers romance with a dash of gothic mystery and a whole lot of tension, then look no further than Down Comes the Night.

This book surprised me! I wasn't expecting to be rushed through such a whirlwind of emotions and tension. This is the kind of book that makes you want to grab the two characters and shout, "Just kiss already!" I loved it.

But in addition to such a gripping romance, this book twists and turns with a compelling murder mystery-esque plot set in an eerie, dark mansion and a world on the brink of war. The setting and the world just added to the stakes and overall tension, leaving me feeling as if I was right beside Wren in the drafty rooms and corridors of the mansion.

I also really love that this book emphasizes forgiveness and change, that people on different sides of a conflict can come to the conclusion that they are neither right nor wrong but that it's much more complicated than that and they can change their minds for the better. I also love that emotions and feelings are not a weakness or flaw!

The magic was interesting, though slightly confusing at times, and I wanted a little more scope to the world in certain moments. But I kind of just let that slide because the rest of it--characters, plot, romance--was so well done.

Overall, this was a heart pounding read that left me wanting more. I'll be looking forward to more books by Allison Saft in the future.

Down Comes the Night was exactly like the synopsis said, a dark gothic fantasy that pulls you in and keeps you guessing. Wren is a healer and should be the queen, but her aunt stole that from her. She instead is a healer out in the war and can heal anybody with her magic. She lets go the person they had held captive and her aunt punishes her, by taking her out of the army. While Wren is not working, she gets a letter from the enemy, Hal, who needs her help to heal one of his servants. Should Wren help the enemy and save the people dying on the other side of the war? Wren agrees to help, but once she gets to the other kingdom things are not what she expected. She becomes close to Hal and they start to discover something dark and sinister is happening.

I really loved Wren and really related to her passion for saving everyone. I wish we could have gotten some more backstory and what happened to her growing up, but I did love the character depth we saw of Wren in the present. I could see why she did the things she did and they were justified. The love triangle between her, Hal, and Una was fun. I really enjoyed all of the characters and had such an amazing time reading this.

I did think the beginning dragged quite a bit, but once it hit like a third of the way through I was hooked. I wish the magic system would have been more developed, as I feel like we only got to know the bare minimum with Wren’s magic and how it worked. All in all, this was a great fantasy that had me flipping pages to find out more.

A beautiful, deep, dark, gothic fantasy debut that left me completely mesmerized. It features two enemies trapped together in a crumbling estate where terrors and secrets lie, as well as shocking discoveries. This was a compelling and beautifully written story and a phenomenal debut.

Ehhhh... I don't think this was a bad book, it was just REALLY not for me.

I should preface this by saying that YA high fantasy is generally not a genre I reach for and had this book not been available as "read now" on NetGalley, I most likely would not have picked it up. And, well, I guess my instincts are more trustworthy than I thought.

Down Comes the Night is essentially a murder mystery infused with all the vibes of a typical YA fantasy, so if that sounds up your alley, then this book would be perfect for you. We follow a healer named Wren who is summoned to a mansion where servants have been dying off from a mysterious illness. Upon her arrival, she discovers that her patient is no ordinary servant, but her country's mortal enemy. However, this discovery is only the beginning of the sinister secrets that await her.

Let's start with the positive. The writing was really quite nice and the book was very atmospheric. Even though I didn't particularly care for the story, I definitely found this book very immersive and Saft did a wonderful job of transporting me into the world she has created. The story, and watching the elements of the mystery get revealed were also pretty cool! Although not something that I'm going to be gushing about or anything.

Now for what I (and note the use of "I") didn't particularly like:
1) The characters: Didn't love 'em, didn't hate 'em. Just really didn't care about them or find them particularly compelling. Some of them were kind of annoying at times.
2) The romance: There was a very prevalent romance subplot in this book. I found it rather lacklustre.
3) The worldbuilding: I hesitate to mention this because this is an issue present with practically every YA high fantasy, and I know it's fantasy and doesn't have to be realistic. But, like, why tf are these 19-year-olds in charge of everything? I don't know, I just found it frustrating.

In conclusion, this book was very much a YA fantasy, which is exactly what it is marketed as, and I really do think fans of YA high fantasy will enjoy this book. However, that is not me and I rate books based on my personal enjoyment. If the premise sounds interesting to you, please! Do pick it up! Don't let my rating deter you from doing so!

This story is a murder mystery fantasy romance? I want to name this new genre MMFR. From the gorgeous cover to the end, I was all in. Throw in that lesbian rep, and it's a sure-fire recommend from me for teens who also love fantasy. It did start slow, but stay with it, and everything makes sense around the 35% mark.

If you like fantasy and mystery with a Gothic vibe, this is the book for you. This story follows Wren, a healer, who is being used by her aunt for her talents even though she took the throne from her. One day a letter arrives from a neighboring country summoning a healer, and Wren goes. What she doesn’t realize is that it’s to heal her enemy. Can she heal him? But then she realizes even more forces are working, and they must team up in order to survive.

This book has several strong female characters which I appreciated. The MC was also bi which created an interesting love triangle. It did start off a bit slow but got better. The prose was well written, and I liked the dark, Gothic tone. This was a different read for me which I appreciated.

This has to be one of the ARCs I was most excited to read, and I nearly swooned when I was granted this book by the publisher. So let me start off by thanking Netgalley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this interesting gothic YA fantasy romance.

I wish it was a gothic romance, really. That's why I wanted it. Not because it ticks the right boxes: LGBTQ characters and women in power (pretty much all the highest ranking positions in the Queendom's military is occupied by women like Una). But I wanted a gothic romance! So why did it fall flat?

I think it was trying too hard to be too many things and tick too many boxes instead of just being the traditional gothic romance the synopsis implied it was. I wasn't expecting magical kingdoms (and queendoms) at war. I suppose it was more a murder mystery that takes place in a gothic mountain fastness with a mysterious crumbling wing in the dead of winter which Wren is defined access to under some suspicious pretext. The weather and the cold dark mystery of Colwick Hall leant this story a little of the gothic flavor I enjoy, but the romance... Well, there was very little of it to be had and it was pretty tepid at best. Also, the romance only really takes off at chapter 25! Thought the sparks were missing. I generally adore an enemies to lovers trope, but this was more a mildly disliked person to lovers trope. And Hal (despite how beautiful and alluring Wren found his collarbones) was frankly...boring. He's ill most of the book and I suppose it's only natural his personality is colorless--sick people aren't at their best when their trying not to die.
Frankly, Wren had more chemistry with Una, her best friend and almost-lover. I'm definitely in the minority here, but I found Una a bit two dimensional. I skimmed a lot of her parts. If I'm honest, Wren wasn't fascinating either. I appreciate that all she wants is to be loved and accepted and how she's struggling to be more ruthless and less compassionate because that's what Una and the queen expect of her, but she just didn't inspire much but irritation in me. Especially when she tried to betray Hal. I almost stopped reading then.
Nothing griped me about this story or the characters. I struggled through the first few rambling chapters and only really found myself skimming less around...no, I lie, it was all a struggle and I skimmed a lot, which you wouldn't believe because it took me forever to finish this. But I was determined not to DNF it.
I hate leaving harsh reviews because I know the author bled for this novel and its a looooong one that probably took forever to edit and polish and perfect. The writing is lovely, especially the way Allison Saft paints the gothic atmosphere. And the medical/biological aspect was well executed:
"Brewing a poison was as foreign as it was satisfying. It was all passion and imprecision, mixed with equal parts intention and rage."
And there are some great quotes to love:
"Maybe the only difference between a monster and a hero was the color of a soldiers uniform."
But, in the end, I just didn't care very much about what happened to the characters. If Hal was a monster, I never saw much of his monstrous side. It was more a case of his reputation preceding him. He was more the nineteen year old sullen, pensive boy than the monstrous Reaper of Vesria I was expecting.
In summary, the book was too long and the parts that needed fleshing out or needed thoughtful execution were stitched up too quickly and too conveniently. Case in point: the way Hal is rescued from the tower. SPOILER: he just walks out basically. And Una suddenly doesn't care about her big promotion and goes out of character to help Wren save the Reaper of Vesria. A bit unbelievable and... yeah, too convenient. The Queen's character arc was messy too. Again, suddenly convenient to have her change sides at the end. A deus ex machina if I ever saw one. There are other frustrating examples, like how the proof of Lowry's evil could have been better handled had they just dragged Byers's body out and let everyone at the ball see what a monster he is. Why even have the discovery in the dreaded west wing (or was it east wing?) if it wasn't going to affect the plot at all? As to the Key around Lowry's neck...I thought it was painfully obvious that was the key they were looking for and I'm supposed to believe Hal and Wren are super soldiers, but they didn't immediately cotton on to the fact that the key they were looking for was the very same key dangling around Lowry's neck the entire book. Come on!
Anyway, this book was just OKAY. I struggled to get into it and struggled to get through it.

Down Comes the Night follows Wren, a healer and the unwanted niece of the Queen. Wren wants nothing more than to be accepted by her aunt. However, her impulsivity and sensitivity prove detrimental to gaining her aunt’s favor. When a letter from a mysterious noble from another kingdom implores Wren to help heal a wounded servant, Wren agrees in the hopes of brokering peace between the two kingdoms. This, she knows, will earn the Queen’s respect. However, things aren’t what they seem at Lord Lowry’s mansion, and Wren finds herself entrenched in solving a murderous mystery alongside an enemy she loathes. Can Wren figure out Lowry’s secrets before she loses her heart and everything else she holds dear? Will Wren help create peace between countries that have been at odds for decades?

This is an atmospheric and immersive standalone fantasy with a suspenseful mystery and a wonderful enemies-to-lovers romance. The setting, the weather, the desolate mansion are dark, desolate, and eerie, and evoke a dark and ominous mood. The gothic elements create a mysterious and creepy vibe throughout the story and set the tone right from the beginning. I love a story with vivid imagery, and this novel does not disappoint!

Wren is a fabulous protagonist, and I loved her story! She is passionate, emotional, and empathetic, and she shows strength and resilience throughout the novel. Wren is also a crier, which I totally relate to. She cries when she is happy and sad and angry. She wears her emotions, which most people, even Wren, see as a weakness. She is considered less than, broken, foolhardy, and reckless. I like how Wren becomes more self-aware and more accepting of her emotions. As she begins to see what a strength it is to have such emotional depth, she becomes more confident and more true to herself. There are great messages here about judging others and not being ashamed to express one’s feelings.

Saft dedicated the book to, “All the girls who feel too much,” and, as a person who is judged and teased for having strong emotions, feeling deeply, and crying often, I felt like she was speaking directly to me. The characters who don’t express how they feel (Yes, I’m talking about you, Ula!) have much to learn from people like Wren, who is more authentic, sincere, and able to relate to others.

Hal is a fascinating character as well. He has done many things in the past that he is ashamed of, but he knows that regret does not make up for his actions. Hal often feels undeserving, especially when it comes to Wren’s affections, and his insecurities contrast with the killer soldier he’s known to be. Hal’s transformation from a ruthless killer to a peace-making leader is intriguing and complicated, and I like how the author shows Hal growing and changing throughout the story.

Ula, Wren’s best friend and former lover also goes through a crisis of conscience similar to Hal’s, which I found interesting. Saft offers some thought-provoking messages about loyalty, trust, and putting politics before people. As much as Ula cares about Wren, she always puts her duty ahead of her feelings for Wren. However, as the story progresses, Ula comes to realize that her unwavering loyalty to her Queen and country is misguided and built on mistruths. I think it took Ula losing almost everything to see what was true and important.

The magic system is also really intriguing, and I love how the author integrates magic with science. Wren, for example, has the power to heal, and she uses science and medical practices to enhance her healing power. This is a unique and interesting take on magic, and I love how science and magic intertwine. I selfishly wish the magic system was explored a bit more, as there are some characters with unusual powers that I wanted to learn more about. This story focuses mainly on Wren and Hal’s gifts and their relationship.

The romance between Wren and Hal contrasts Wren’s previous relationship, which seemed very one-sided. Theirs is a slow-building, enemies-to-lovers romance that defies all odds. Hal is a notorious soldier and killer of Wren’s people, and when tasked with healing him, Wren learns much more about the man who has haunted her ever since she witnessed his raw and murderous power. I like that this couple sees past the lies, the politics, and the war. Hal’s deep and profound regret, as well as his determination to invoke change, appeals to Wren’s moral goodness. And their chemistry is fantastic! I love that Wren found someone who encourages and accepts her completely, and I love that Wren sees Hal for who he really is.

The mystery behind the missing soldiers, as well as the mystery of Lord Lowry and his enigmatic home, are also intriguing. This is a story where danger lurks around every corner, and there are many twists and turns that surprised me. Wren and Hal work together to figure out how the missing soldiers, the long-standing wars, and Lord Lowry tie together, and it is never clear who they can trust.

An atmospheric, suspenseful, and romantic read, Down Comes the Night is a great story for readers who like young adult fantasy with Gothic elements, great characters, a creepy mystery, and a wonderful enemies-to-lovers romance. Thanks so much to NetGalley, the author, and Wednesday Books for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a pleasant surprise. I was intrigued by the gothic setting of a creepy house and got a lovely fantasy romance as well.

I will say that I wasn't too into the political side of this fantasy world and it honestly was not the focal part of the story. But I could also see some real-world elements and issues blended into this fantasy realm.

The best part of this story for me was the romance. A classic enemies to lovers which for me is always a win. Add in the one-bed trope and I was head over heels.

I do with this would be a series, even a duology, just so we could get more insight into the characters and the world.

But overall, 4 out of 5 stars.

Dang, this one really packed an emotional gut punch. I quite enjoyed myself reading it and would happily read other things by this author. What amazing world building

Wren Southerland is a magical healer and the niece of the Queen, but that hasn't won her any favors. In fact, her Aunt treats her very poorly. After Wren's empathy causes her to make a mistake on the battlefield, she gets banished from the Queen's Guard and sent back to live in a remote abbey.

Most upsettingly, this causes Wren to be separated from her best friend, Una, a Captain in the Queen's Guard. She also happens to be the woman Wren loves. Wren is kicking herself for her mistake and just trying to figure out a way back to Una. Certainly her Aunt will find it in her heart to forgive her.

While at the abbey, stewing in her misery, Wren receives a letter from Lord Alistair Lowry, inviting her to his home, in order to help him with a little problem. His servants are sick and dying from a mysterious illness. One man is still alive, suffering and he wants Wren to try to heal him before it is to late.

She considers it a great opportunity and decides to take him up on his offer, traveling to the neighboring kingdom of Cernos, to Lowry's estate of Colwick Hall.

((cue the gothic ambiance))

Her movements weren't exactly approved by the Queen, so Wren finds herself a bit of an Outlaw. In her eyes, it is worth it though. Shockingly, her new patient turns out to be someone she knows. Hal Cavendish, the infamous Reaper of Vesria, her kingdom's sworn enemy.

There's political gains to be made here. Perhaps Wren can still work her way into the Queen's good graces and be reunited with Una. As she begins to get to know Hal, however, she starts to question a lot of her previous beliefs. Soon, Wren and Hal are working together to solve a murder mystery chilling enough for even the sturdiest of characters.

Down Comes the Night was such a pleasant surprise. A great debut for Saft!

There were so many aspects to this that I enjoyed, but first and foremost would be the atmosphere. Colwick Hall felt like the creepy, gothic mansion of my dreams. Reading this, I felt like I was there. I could smell it, feel the cold and dread what was hiding in every shadow.

Hal and Wren working together, watching their relationship evolve, was fantastic. They were complete opposites, but grew to understand and appreciate each other because of that. I was genuinely afraid for them. The dangers they faced as the explored the secrets of Colwick Hall were palpable.

I also thought the magic was well done. Wren's work as a magic-based healer was quite detailed and I liked that it was a bit on the gruesome side. Saft definitely didn't shy away from blood and gore, so if you enjoy that, as I do, you should definitely check this one out. You know who you are.

Overall, I think this is a very fun standalone YA Fantasy. There were a few little things that didn't work as well for my tastes, but they were definitely overshadowed by the aspects I enjoyed.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I had a great time with it and look forward to reading more from Allison Saft!

This is one I was anticipating and was my debut pick for this year! It did not disappoint!

Dark, Gothic and romantic!!! Powerful magician, cute mage boy, murder, and enemies to lovers! What else do I need!...Answer absolutely nothing!

"Love makes monsters of us all."
How good is that?

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this and to be honest, I didn't know much about it going in. I didn't read the blurb, I was just expecting a Gothic story in a creepy mansion, so where things start and how it's built was a pleasant surprise for me.

Things start a little slow as we meet healer Wren and realize that her soldier companions are going missing. I didn’t expect this build up, I think it might have thrown some people, but it sets up the story really nicely and gives great insight into Wren and her relationships with the people around her.

Of course, everything picks up when she arrives at the mansion. There's a little bit mystery, a little bit love story. A lot more magic than I was anticipating. The magic system was really interesting to me and I love what it meant for Wren. How her kindness and compassion for the injured was seen as a weakness, but how human and real that made her. Her emotions were constantly held against her, but as someone who has a lot of emotions, it was nice to see a character that wasn’t ashamed by it, who didn’t try to stuff everything back down.
Enemies stuck in a gothic castle forced to work together to solve a mystery? I am a sucker for this and this definitely delivered. The dynamic between Wren and Hal was electric and while this romance kind of overshadowed the story itself at times, I was here for it.

Darkness, yearning, enemies to lovers, seriously, what more do you need?

Enemies to Lovers, Murder Mystery, Magic, Treason, and everything in between, this was one heck of a book. I absolutely adored this book! It was one of my most anticipated reads this year and it did not disappoint!! The story follows Wren Southerland, a healer and a soldier with a very compassionate heart, and when one of her acts of compassion leads to the prisoner escaping, it is the last stray for her aunt, the Queen. Wren is stripped of her rank as a soldier and sent off to the abbey where she receives a mysterious letter offering her a position and the ability to get reinstated if she agrees to work for the mysterious owner of Colwick hall.... With no options left, Wren decides to run away and accept the job as she does not want to be stuck in the abbey as a healer, or completely severed from her magic. Upon arrival things are off at the mansion, it is located in the mountains and the owner is verging between manic and eccentric, and on top of that the weird screams and moaning sounds can be heard at night in the mansion. With missing soldiers and people mysteriously dying at this mansion, there is more going on than meets the eye. To wren’s surprise she finds the servant she was hired to heal is none other than the enemy of her country, the Reaper of Vesria, known for being the most ruthless killer, except now he’s on the verge of death and is pretending to be a servant at the mansion. Wren and Hal soon find they are both looking for the same answers at Colwick Hall and that they have more in common than they had thought.

I really had such a wonderful time reading this book. Wren was a strong protagonist and her struggles with being a healer and maintaining her stance on kindness and compassion in a time where she is constantly at war was a great read. My all time favorite character was Hal, I absolutely adored reading about his struggles, his pain, and how he was trying to make amends. I loved the chemistry between these two and seeing them slowly break the walls between each other was beautiful. I also had fun reading about the murder mystery in a haunted-esque mansion, it completely worked for me!

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

3/3/2021 Terrible. Full review tk at <a href="https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/">TheFrumiousConsortium.net</a>.

3/4/2021 To give you an idea of how much I hated the heroine, the first time she's in mortal peril, I was hoping she wouldn't survive. When she unfortunately does escape the potentially fatal consequences of the (self-inflicted) accident only to be later gravely wounded by a villain, I literally shouted with laughter because I was so over her nonsense and wanted her to die.

Honestly, I can put up with a lot from my reading, but to have a heroine -- in this case Wren Southerland, a healer for the Danubian army -- start out stupid and just keep doing stupid things while holding on to the bizarre idea that her stubbornness and selfishness come from <i>being emotional</i> instead of <i>being a moron</i> was almost too much for me to handle. I had to put the book away at the 92% mark when the heroine does something so idiotic that I needed to just sit by myself and take deep breaths in order to handle the swelling in my breast of rage, both at the author and at my need to persevere to the end of this deeply ludicrous book.

I mean, any sympathy I might have had with this protagonist was strained very early on in the book. Wren and her hardass commanding officer, Major Una Dryden, are out on patrol when they scare a spy right out of a tree. The spy breaks his arm rather grotesquely and Una makes the questionable, on many levels, decision to shackle him to the tree by his broken wrist. Wren wants to heal the boy, protesting sepsis and the need to interrogate a living subject, but Una tells her not to be so soft-hearted (!) and to guard him while she goes off to scout.

At this point, I was all "only assholes torture prisoners" and I was super glad Wren disobeyed orders and went to magically heal him anyway... except that the only way this complete numpty could think of to do so was to free him altogether from his shackles, NOT restrain him in any manner whatsoever, and then be terribly, horribly surprised when he runs away as soon as she heals him. I was aghast at how this allegedly seasoned military veteran could make such a rookie mistake but thought to myself, well, her heart's in the right place, and surely the author is only having her start out daft only to redeem herself by learning to make good choices by the end...

But that's a huge NOPE because Wren doesn't learn a goddamn thing as she bumbles her way through high treason, betraying her only friend and running away to a creepy house in the neighboring, neutral country, where she finds herself not only healing but falling in love with her nation's greatest enemy, Henry Cavill, I mean Cavendish, who is allegedly 19 years-old but talks like a hot, middle-aged British actor playing a particularly <a href="https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2020/11/23/from-page-to-screen-the-witcher-by-andrzej-sapkowski/">angsty</a> <a href="https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2020/09/29/the-case-of-the-left-handed-lady-enola-holmes-2-by-nancy-springer/">role</a>. It's not exactly instalove but she does get all "I've been waiting so long for you to say I love you" when they've known each other maybe <i>three goddamned weeks</i> at that point! Plus, he's an entire <i>war criminal!</i> Whose whole shtick is "I know I've done terrible things, but I'm sorry for them and will happily pay the price... once I've fixed my country and its relationship with yours, however long that takes, I guess." Anyone with half a brain knows that that is total avoidant <i>bullshit</i> that does not actually take responsibility for his heinous acts but plays into the authoritarian "only I can fix it" mentality that people need to stop having if they actually want to build civil societies! (Ofc, Wren thinks this makes him romantic and noble, because <i>she would</i>.)

The plot itself is riddled with holes, particularly around that ridiculous climactic scene, and tho I did enjoy the merging of the medical with the mystical, as well as the bi representation even if it was in the form of this hopeless ninny, I was just deeply incensed by the nonsense idea that empathy makes you stupid. Wren is self-centered and self-pitying, but <i>none of that</i> is due to her ability to identify with the feelings of others. If anything, her empathy is depicted as a physical pull bordering on pain, thereby making it a selfish choice for her to do something seemingly kind, if seemingly foolish, for others when it's really her way of remedying her own internal discomfort. Folks, that is not how empathy works in the real world! Empathy means offering what aid you can to those in need, not because you want to assuage your weirdly-placed guilt but because you know these people are suffering and you want to do what you can to alleviate their pain, <i>not your own.</i>

Absolutely infuriating novel. There was some good writing but it was otherwise a complete dumpster fire of dumbassery.

Down Comes The Night by Allison Saft was published March 2, 2021 by Wednesday Books and is available from all good booksellers, including <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15382/9781250623638">Bookshop!</a> Want it now? For the Kindle version, <a href="https://amzn.to/2O0tosT">click here</a>.

I was really looking forward to this book and loved the cover. There were gothic vibes and some interesting elements to this story but I didn't find it quite as compelling as I wanted it to be. I enjoyed the relationships but felt some characters weren't as fully formed as I would like and most of the plot was pretty predictable. I can definitely see why a lot of people really loved this book but it just wasn't a great fit for me.

Down Comes the Night is a debut fantasy novel by Allison Saft. It’s advertised as Gothic YA romance, and it’s set in a unique world with both magic and early technology like electricity and steam engines.

Wren is a healer in the military, skilled both in magical healing and more scientific approach. She’s also the queen’s niece, and the two have an antagonistic relationship. In an act of defiance after the queen sends her on a fool’s errand, she accepts an invitation from a friendly neighbouring country to come and heal a random servant in a nobleman’s castle. But when she arrives there she learns that the servant is actually her country’s greatest enemy Hal Cavendish. She has to choose whether to heal him or take him to the queen so that she can finally earn her approval.

There’s something sinister going on in the castle. Hal is there to find out what it is, and since the mystery concerns Wren’s country too, they begin to solve it together. But the corruption runs deeper than she could’ve imagined. If they can’t solve it, she and Hal both will be lost, and both their countries plunged into a war.

The book starts well, with an interesting and concise backstory about two countries in a permanent war, Wren antagonism with the queen, and Wren’s relationship with her commanding officer Una, whom she ends up betraying in order to leave the country. Then comes the middle part, which is some sort of Gothic romance with all its clichés (a castle with odd restrictions of movement, peculiar host, snowbound couple with only one bed etc.). And then the last quarter is again like from a different book as it returns to the earlier setting. From a triangle between three strong women, need for love and the lack of it, to a very boring romance that never really takes flight, and back to the three women again.

If I were to guess, I’d say the middle part existed first as a standalone romance into which the author then added the backstory. The middle is much too long for its contents and not terribly interesting or romantic (Wren and Hal are seasoned soldiers yet they suddenly behave like innocent teenagers). The backstory barely plays a role. It’s as if Wren is a different person with completely different motivations; she doesn’t spare a thought for Una whom she’s loved for years. The book changes for the better once the Gothic castle is left behind; the pace picks up and stakes get higher. But while there’s some emotional payoff, it’s not really enough to compensate for the clumsy middle section.

The world is a mishmash of everything. Two countries have magic and one doesn’t for some reason, as if interbreeding never happened, but they have electricity, which the other two don’t have. Yet Wren has a working knowledge of genetics. But the concoction sort of works, if one doesn’t pay too close attention. What did annoy me were the many contingency issues, especially in the middle part. The time of day changed from paragraph to paragraph (like, the sun shines, yet it’s pitch black and then snowing in the next instance) so that I never knew if it was morning or evening. This wasn’t a bad book, but it could’ve used a more careful editing. But the ending was satisfying for all parties and it doesn’t set the scene for a sequel. If you like stand-alone fantasy, give it a try.

I'm DNFing this book for now, I might try it again at a later point but from what I have read so far I don't feel like this is the book for me. I couldn't get into the writing style, the pacing was off, and I just wasn't connecting to any of the characters. I don't think that this is a bad book, it just wasn't one for me personally.