This book is an interesting conglomerate of YA, magic, romance, and gothic elements. Wren, the main character, has lots of rooms to grow through this book: she's a magic healer who craves the approval and love of her commander and the queen. But her loyalties are challenged when she takes a job at a gothic, creepy mansion under a mysterious man named Lowry. I liked the mystery aspect of this book and the gothic elements. But I didn't connect to the characters very much, and the romance seemed a little too fabricated to serve the plot. But this book has a great spooky atmosphere that was fun to read in October.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 4
Plot/Movement: 3
Character Development: 3
Overall: 3

Thank you, Wednesday Books and NetGalley, for the review copy!

Down Comes the Night was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I'm a mood reader and I found myself in the mood for a romantic, gothic fantasy, which DCtN fit perfectly. Wren is a healer and a soldier, descended from royalty, and struggling to find her place and make her mark. Things go wrong, and she finds herself fleeing the country to an isolated estate in the mountains just as a winter storm hits. Of course, her sworn enemy is at the estate.

I really liked Wren, but I adored Hal. His personal journey was so poignant, and his connection with Wren was sweet and compelling. The pace at the beginning is slower than I expected, but once Wren arrives at Lowry's estate, it picks up a lot. The climax and ending of the book left me breathless.

I would definitely recommend this book to any lovers of gothic romances or fans of YA fantasy! It has tons of appeal and I think it will find a wide audience once it is published. Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books for providing and advanced reading e-book copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This YA fantasy romance had me eagerly turning page after page with the intrigue of a murder mystery taking place in a gothic feeling creepy castle. The world building was incredible and had all my senses engaged making me feel like I was amidst all the action. The storyline flowed well and while I could see this world and these characters taking part in a continuing series, I was happy to see this book end with relatively no loose ends.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

I was lucky to get to read this book as an ARC via netgalley. If you want a story filled with political plots, intrigue, war, religions, medicine, magic, hatred, and love then you have found the correct book. This story contains it all! The characters draw you and the background scenery is vivid enough to feel. I especially like the mix of biology and magic in this world.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun fantasy with magic (for some of the folks) and definite gothic touches. It was pretty cool, though a bit weird with the gothic bits in such a fantasy surrounding. The gothic bits were all at Colwick Hall and the mysterious and creepy Lord Lowry. The magic was cool with the explanations of the fola and whether your genes for it are inactive (so you don't have magic) or active and how it can be over used and then you lose access to the magic.

Wren is likeable and Hal too (after they stop trying to kill or capture each other). They work well together to solve the mystery of the missing soldiers from both Vesria and Danu. I enjoyed reading their adventures, even when it got dark and there might be a chance that the guilty party would get away with it.

This was a good story and I like that it was a standalone and not a series so that it completed nicely.

This book was something else. I went into it looking for gothic horror and what I got was far more than I expected. It was in fact, a fantastic book. I thought the beginning was a little bit slow, but right about 20% it picked up and I became more and more invested in the story and the characters. It was a brilliant standalone book and honestly, I was so pleased with it. By the time we got to the end I wanted more of the world and more of the characters. Whether that will ever happen I do not know...

For those of you who are curious this is like a gothic horror fantasy YA book. If you like any of those things you might like the book. It has many of the typical elements of gothic horror interwoven with fantasy elements. But not only that it’s also...modernized in some ways? All in all, it had extremely compelling world building that I thought was done well because it gave you a great idea of what the world was like, but it wasn’t info dumping on you either. It struck a nice balance that I really appreciated. But the world building was really just a background for the plot of the story: which was Wren and her journey.

The main plot of this revolves around Wren and her choices. While it does have some politics (quite a few, but they’re worked in well) I felt the majority of the story was Wren’s. But we also have Hal. Oh, and there is enemies to lovers romance in this, and it is absolutely delicious on all levels. It is so wonderfully developed and drawn out that I was anxious to finish it and see what happened! It has got to be one of the best done tropes I’ve read. I FELT for these characters every moment. (Yeah...the romance was one of my favorite things about this book).

The character development was nothing to sneeze at either. I felt that it was drawn through the book in a way that made sense as the characters progressed and learned. I was invested in these characters and I really did not want anything to happen to them. The characters themselves are generally morally grey or at the very minimum ambiguous, and that was appealing to me. There is definitely more to it than that, but those would be spoilers.

I also enjoyed the writing and pacing of this book overall. Sometimes it felt the pacing was a little...off, but overall I was engrossed throughout the whole book. And the writing was great!

This was a fantastic book, and I am so glad that I got a chance to read it.

Honestly, I really enjoyed this. WIth it's warring countries and religious / gothic elements, this definitely reminded me of Wicked Saints in the best way possible. I loved that the main character was bi and it wasn't really a major part of the plot. The romance was definitely one of my more favorite parts, alhtough I wish the enemies period of the enemies-to-lovers relationship was a little longer. I also wanted more out of the gothic setting, it felt a lot more like a whodunit that transitioned to a fantasy. But otherwise a great standalone if you love romance and want just a touch of darkness.

I enjoyed this book, the story drew me in. I purchased the title for my library, my students have been excited about reading this book.

Down Comes the Night is the story of two enemies trapped inside a crumbling mansion, and it was the perfect read going into the Halloween season! Saft's writing is dark and gorgeous and I was super wrapped up in the science-based magic system she used.

I was excited to receive a copy of this ARC because I’ve heard great things about DOWN COMES THE NIGHT. Unfortunately, this book didn’t click with me. Part of the reason is that I think the story starts about eight chapters too soon, and over the course of those chapters we see Wren making one bad decision after another. While I agree that all protagonists don’t have to be likeable, I do believe they have to be rootable. Wren’s actions, especially in chapter one, put her firmly in the too-stupid-to-live category and I didn’t recover any confidence in her after that. The romance was highly telegraphed—I knew we’d encounter the Reaper again as soon as he was mentioned—but their chemistry felt flat. And although this novel is marketed as gothic, due to the setting in a wintry castle, it didn’t display the tension, foreboding, and terror quintessential to a gothic romance. Part of this is due to the overly descriptive prose which I found myself skimming often. This novel should have been about 30-5o% shorter than it is. I do think the magic as science was interesting, and one of the more unique aspects of this novel. I liked the idea of magical overuse injuries and the story potential from what aspect.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC.

I just couldn't get in to this book and did not finish it. The setting was described well, but the main character left me flat.

INCREDIBLE. I am heartbroken I don’t have more of this story to read right now. Fantastic characters, brilliant plotting, and atmosphere for days. I could not put this one down, lost sleep and read it on breaks at work. THIS is gothic done right. Absolutely keep your eyes on this author, they are a powerhouse.

**Review will be published on blog/Instagram, March 1st, 2021**

GREAT ATMOSPHERE.

I’m grateful I got an ARC for this one, because reading it in September with all of the fall, spooky, and Gothic vibes was the perfect combination. The atmosphere of Down Comes the Night was written beautifully.

I loved Wren as a main character. She was emotional, brave, intelligent, and devoted. I really loved her compassion for others and the fact she was emotional. It’s okay to feel things and to show those feelings and I loved knowing and seeing that in a character.

Her relationship with both Una and Hal worked amazingly in this standalone. It was somehow a love triangle, but not. Just a movement and progression of Wren’s relationships as the story grew. I thought the way it worked out with Una fit well, and appreciated that it wasn’t some blown out of proportion break-up, but an acknowledgement of where they both were in their lives. And moving with Hal felt right for the now, and he was just SO PRECIOUS. I love a brooding guy with a soft heart.

There’s a LOT of medical terminology used. More so than I’ve seen in any book I’ve read in a good long while. I do have a background in this kind of medical jargon so I didn’t mind it and kind of enjoyed this different addition to a young adult fantasy book. Wren works as a healer and whenever she explains something she’s trying to do, it’s in a more medical based format.

Our villain is a little roll your eyes worthy, but they have a flair all their own that was very creepy and fit into this entire setting well. I wish the story wasn’t confined to essentially one location, but there was enough overall to influence the narrative. Adored the ending and there’s plenty of highlight worthy quotes in here about choosing peace. Definitely a must read!

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy + romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses / make-outs; a very little detailed fade to black scene
Violence: bloody/gory; murder, physical altercations, poisonings, magic attacks

"Down Comes the Night" is a unique blend of an old-timey Gothic romance novel and a YA fantasy adventure. In a classic YA fantasy world where some have magic and others don't, two warring countries produce a pair of star-crossed lovers who must battle a mad scientist, a mysterious illness and the prejudices of their people to come together.

So there are three main plots/things our heroine, Wren, must solve in this book. Who is kidnapping her soldier friends, why and can she save them? What is this mysterious disease that is killing the staff at this creepy mansion and can she cure it? Can she and her new lover boy bring peace to their warring kingdoms and take down the baddies?

Not gonna lie, it was the romance part that had me interested and the magic part that solidified it. This multi-genre mixed plot was really interesting. You had the classic horror tropes - mad scientist, creepy castle, isolation, bit of gore (ooged me out!). Then the magic and fantasy elements - magical powers, political plots, warring kingdoms. And finally the romance tropes - sharing a hotel room with one bed, longing looks, lots of angst, fancy ball dancing, rescuing each other, slow-burn smooching and one low key love scene. All in all, the characters moved through them pretty seamlessly.

It felt a little long for me towards the end. I wanted the big battle with the mad scientist to be over halfway through and leave the Gothic part of the plot behind completely before moving on to concluding the secondary queen/execution plotlines. I think it could benefit from a different title and cover as well. These don't really reflect the story.

I also didn't really see the need to make Wren and Una's relationship a sexual love instead of just a close friendship. I'm all for inclusion, but that really blurred the lines of their motives for me and over-complicated an already complicated storyline.

Overall, I give it a 4 out of 5. There were a few things I would tweak, but the writing is very good and so is the pace. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC! It was a great addition to my Halloween reading.

Rating 2 (DNF)

As soon as I saw the cover for "Down Comes the Night" by Allison Saft I knew I had to read it. Then when I read the synopsis for the story I was more intrigued. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed and did not finish reading this story. I felt nothing for the main character and already in the first chapter I felt she had nothing that set her apart from the side characters. All she did was get on my nerves and the nerves of the side characters. Even though I kept being told there was a lot happening and a lot at stake I didn't feel it. I didn't feel any true emotion from the story, it just felt dry to me. I will say the author did a great job at world building and her descriptions were awesome. Maybe sometime in the future I will give this book another try because I really wanted to enjoy it.

**Received an advanced copy through NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

After reading the blurb on this one, I had to give it a go...especially with the colder, darker months approaching. And as it promised, this book did hold me in the pages pretty well.

Wren is supposed to be a princess, but after her mother's death, her aunt, and now queen, has put Wren's talents to use as one of the most amazing healers in the country. Unfortunately, Wren's empathy causes her to defy her orders, and she winds up in the worst position possible. Until an unexpected letter arrives. While she's ordered to ignore the letter, she can't, since it offers her not only the chance to redeem herself but also hope to give her country an edge in the approaching war. But when she sneaks away in hope of finding a way to save her country, she runs into the one thing she never expected—the bedside of her enemy and a prison guarded by unseen monsters.

Sounds amazing, right? And it is quite the woven tale. Wren is a girl with awesome healing powers and kind of a mess thanks to her tragic upbringing. But she does have a heart of gold, and that's what drives this tale onward and beyond. The book starts right in the middle of action and immediately draws in. It also quickly becomes clear that Wren isn't always the sharpest knife in the drawer. She makes stupid mistakes, but somehow, it fit to her personality. She has a lot to learn, and this book takes her down the hard path to do it. In some ways, it made her easy to cheer for and others, I wanted to flick her. But it worked and I still rooted for her.

This is a dark tale but not in the way I thought. There are two rivalry countries engaged in bloody skirmishes and on the brink of war. There is a nasty queen, very loyal soldiers, and a war based on magic and religious differences. While there is a mansion in the snow, which locks Wren up with strange happenings surrounding her, it wasn't what I expected. A bit of a mystery unfolds as she tries to figure out what's behind the moaning and secret East Wing. There's a blooming romance. There's uncertainty about loyalty and trust. But monsters aren't in the form I expected. Which isn't bad. This is quite the tangled story of intrigue, secrets, lies, lunatic-like desires, and all sorts of dark things. The weave (and constant growing romance tension) did keep me in the pages chapter after chapter. It could have been a masterpiece of a book.

'Could' because there were a few, tiny stumbles. My biggest problem was simply the very, very, very obvious clues, which Wren just constantly overlooked. These should have been more carefully woven in because it was clear what was happening, and it made her look more stupid than she already did (which doesn't help her case). Then, there were a few logic holes in the plot and the supposed 'genius' ideas of the evil-doer. While everything looked great on the surface, deeper thought unravels a few things. Still, it was an enjoyable read, and I can't say I regretted diving into this one. Because I didn't. It did keep me in the pages for hours, and I did fever for Wren most of the time. Plus, there were several well laid secrets and surprises, which definitely made for several exciting chills and thrills. And by the end, I was a fan again.

Lovers of darker young adult fantasy who love enemy-to-lovers romances, evil plots, gothic gore...and are ready to forgive a few dumb moves on the main character's part, are going to love this one.

I received an ARC and did get lost in the pages most of the time.

2.5/5 stars
I really wanted to love this book, but it did not do the job. I thought it was going to be a fantasy romance with enemies to lovers stuck alone in a house during a winter storm, but instead it's two characters in a house full of people, and there is no chemistry between the leads. The plot was boring, and even though it takes place during a war and between feuding sides, there is no political intrigue. The characters make stupid decisions and don't learn from them. The author also dangled a sapphic romance in front of us just to make it a heterosexual couple we are supposed to root for. Overall, super underwhelming and lots of wasted potential.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I loved the cover and the gothic vibes it gave, and the premise sounded right up my street, but I don't feel as though it lived up to what it was promising. There is a somewhat gothic atmosphere at points throughout the book, but for the most part it feels like it veers more firmly into being a mystery with a gothic-esque backdrop. However, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the writing in this book, it flowed beautifully and created a intriguing and fascinating story, on deep, detailed worldbuilding, and while it did take me a while to warm to some of the characters, once I had, they were were well written too. It just fell short of what I had been expecting, but it was still an entertaining read and a strong debut and it would be interesting to see more set in this world.

DOWN COMES THE NIGHT is a debut novel by Allison Saft. The synopsis sparked my interest, but I definitely wasn't prepared for what laid inside.

Wren is a healer in the Queen's Guard who isn't a favorite of the Queen even though she's a princess. However, we learn early on her rightful title was intentionally snatched away due to the Queen despising Wren's father, a commoner. A war rages between Wren's homeland and a neighboring kingdom. Wren is sent on errands with a watchful guardian to keep her out of her aunt-queen's sights, but a severe mistake sends her to a dreary place she received her magical training. A letter from a foreign lord asks for her talents at his mountainside gothic manor. In exchange, he promises to assist her in ending the war and getting back into her aunt's good graces. However, when she arrives, she discovers not all is what it seems as the ill patient she's been tasked to heal is actually a deadly war criminal.

I enjoyed this reading experience immensely. It was such an excellent tale to read as the weather gets colder and rainier. It was a gothic mystery suspense novel with a dose of magic, war, and politics. The magic system is so unique that I was drooling over it. Saft's prose is clear cut but lyrical. The pacing was just right. I liked all the characters. I also loved the enemies-to-lovers subplot. My only issue was the foreshadowing was too heavy-handed. When a major character is introduced, I genuinely believed they'd be a red herring to the grand scheme of things. I made attention to other characters because I was certain the author wouldn't chose such a stereotypical choice.

Well, she did.

The reveal was presented as a plot twist which dampened my excitement a little, but other than that, I'd recommend this story absolutely.

The ending tied everything up nicely.

I, also, appreciate this is a standalone and I look forward to more stories from Saft.

PUBLIC NOTICE: Wren and Hal both have permission to stab me. It's okay. I'd probably end up saying thank you.

Thing is, my heart has already been skewered and handed back to me thanks to DOWN COMES THE NIGHT. It has the intense, dreadful atmosphere of CRIMSON PEAK with writing that sings so clear and sharp, I found myself having visceral reactions: to the cold, to the longing, to the constant tension tip-toeing throughout the book. In a way, DCTN is bleak, dealing with powerlessness, guilt, death, and generational war, but at its heart this is a story of hope. Call me soft, but I'm always on board for a bit of amor vincit omnia.

I don't want to overwrite this review in fear of giving too much away, but here is a list of delicious things sprinkled throughout, in case they tickle your fancy:
-THERE'S ONLY ONE BED
-enemies-to-loves
-disaster bi energy
-sickly victorian LI vibes
-mysterious debonair in a crumbling mansion
-"I'm fighting you, I'm into you, oh NO" feelings
-kinda a murder mystery? yum?
-scientific magic
-THERE'S ONLY ONE BED.

What else can I say? DCTN is gorgeously romantic, expertly written, and aches in all the right places. It's an overwhelming 5/5 from me.