(8/15/2020) Thank you Netgalley for granting my wish and providing this e-ARC! (5 stars)

Down Comes the Night is an incredible, eerie, edge of your seat, heart wrenching tale of a girl who can't help but feel an incredible amount of emotion. Wren Southerland is the star healer of the kingdom of Danu and the niece of the Paper Queen, Isabel. Always chastised for feeling too much, Wren finds herself in sticky situations because she cannot suppress her compassionate heart. The novel starts out in one of these situations where Wren goes against a direct order from her superior officer, best friend, and former lover, Una, and decides to heal a captured prisoner who then is able to escape. Wren's punishment? A banishment to the abbey and the contempt of her aunt. The events that follow are Wren's journey of self-acceptance, forgiveness, and her fight for what's right.

Saft presents three kingdoms, Danu, Cernos, and Vesria. Cernos serves as the Switzerland (aka neutral) land while Danu and Vesria are rival kingdoms. While they are currently at peace, Danu and Vesria's shaky truce is being threatened by Danu's string of missing soldiers, including Una and Wren's friend Byers. While Danu and Vesria both have denizens "blessed" with magic, Cernos is a magic-less land, which presents an interesting motive for the story's antagonist.

Saft has created an interesting magic system, one that is woven together with real life science and physiology. Throughout the novel, we see Wren use actual medical terms when she heals others. The magic is described as particles (fola) that activate on receptors, grounding this magic as a real world possibility.

The antagonist identity and motivations are predictable but that is not a bad thing. If an author weaves a story that lays clues in pointing towards a certain character and that comes true, it means the author did their job. Not everything has to be shocking. The tension was still incredibly palpable and I was stressed out as the story progressed.

Saft presented two contrasting romances for Wren. The first was Wren and Una, shown to be Wren's first, puppy love. Unfortunately it doesn't work out for them due to Una's loyalty to her post and her duty. It's fine though because Una's treatment of Wren infantalized her, suffocated her, and allowed for no room for growth. She constantly defended Wren instead of letting her stand up for herself, talked down to her for being emotional, and pushed her to become a colder person. Essentially, Una pushed for Wren to become someone she wasn't nor wanted to be. In contrast, we have Wren's sworn enemy providing her with the understanding and acceptance she always wanted and deserved. It comes as a surprise to Wren that she and her enemy have more in common than they thought. Both being used as tools of war, both negatively affected by it and driven by loyalty to their countries. The exploration of the romance also showcases the ravages of war, the propaganda that is used to motivate loyal subjects into dying for the cause, and the injustices the normal citizens face due to the pride and posturing of royals.

Now I'll move onto my fangirly feels about the romance. THE YEARNING. THE PINING. THERE'S ONLY ONE BED. STAR-CROSSED LOVERS. I'm not gonna lie, I felt a lot of *cough* a certain Star Wars ship *cough* in this couple, and I absolutely loved it. Certain aspects also reminded me of Air Awakens by Elise Kova (namely the magic tether and the man being seen as an unfeeling monster - don't worry I LOVE that angsty feelie stuff). Who isn't weak for an enemies to lovers romance and a man that deems himself unworthy of love because of the things he's done? The best part is that Wren is a heroine with a big heart that doesn't absolve him of his crimes. Instead, both Wren and her LI are all for accountability. He wants to stop the coming of another war, and do whatever he can to fix the wrongs between their two countries. I. LOVE. IT. Thank you Saft for giving this character that chance. Thank you for not doing a cliche redemption arc (which I won't define what my cliche redemption arc is to avoid spoilers).

I love Saft's writing and she successfully created a creepy, atmospheric gothic setting. And who doesn't love a scary haunted, house headed by a recent recluse?

I think this novel is fantastic, entertaining, and deeply romantic. I thought I knew what I was getting into but I was treated to even more. Saft says she based this story on a crackship from Naruto and I have a guess as to what it is but if that isn't enough to make this a five star read, the story stands for itself. What an incredible read.

This fantasy/romance is very atmospheric with a cold, dark Gothic vibe. Multiple mysteries keep the action moving. Add in intrigue, an enemies-to-lovers romance, a creepy castle with an unsettling host and an MC with all of the feelings for a adventurous debut novel.

Two countries, Danubia and Vesria each have magic. Magic that's allowed them to war with each other for generations. A third neutral country, Cernos has no magic so it's forced to develop technology instead.

Wren is empathetic, emotional and constantly in disgrace. She's also an incredibly talented healer with the Royal Guard and is constantly trying and failing to prove her worth to her aunt, Danubia's cold, merciless queen

After several career-ending mistakes, Wren receives an offer she can't but should refuse. Journey to a Cernos nobleman's remote castle, Colwick Hall, to heal a servant. In return, Lowry offers to help Wren set things right with the Queen.

Wren arrives to discover, unsurprisingly, that things are not exactly what she'd been told to expect. And now the weather has her trapped in a castle with an eccentric nobleman whose servants keep dying mysteriously. And the servant she was brought to heal? None other than Hal Cavendish, the Reaper of Vesria,

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Wren and Hal, from enemies, to friends to coconspirators and lovers was sweetly satisfying.

For fans of Shelby Mahurin's Serpent & Dove duology.

This book was a delightful enemies-to-lovers set in a super creepy Gothic manor. I loved how it blended fantasy/mystery/romance into one plot. The characters felt totally fleshed out, and the enemies-to-lovers pairing had actual reasons to hate each other. I'll definitely be recommending this one. Also one of my favorite covers! Can't wait to get the hard copy.

A fresh, brilliantly told narrative! Allison Saft does not disappoint with her debut. Characters you connect to instantaneously, prose that transports you to a glorious new world. I really enjoyed this one!

I enjoyed the story of this book very much. The atmosphere is overall very grim, especially in the old manor with a mysterious illness, narrow and ominous corridors and creepy sounds at night. It was dark and disturbing and I loved it! The setting - Colwick Hall - has all the feels of a gothic mansion. It reminded me of Crimson Peak and also of Jane Eyre, nevertheless, the owner of the house, Lord Alistair Lowry, was no Mr. Rochester. He is rich, mysterious but also very creepy.

The kingdoms of Danubia and Vesria have magic while the third country, Cernos, relies on technology. It reminded me of 19th century Europe and the Industrial Revolution. In Cernos they have electricity (in some places), steamboat and train are mentioned, as well as means of transport without horses. I always love books with contrasts, whether it is a case of different believes or magic versus science. I loved that Wren did not rely solely on magic but took the scientific route. The medicinal or anatomical descriptions were super interesting and refreshing. I was delighted to read them. I praise this magic system which has its limitations. It takes its toll on magic users, which is something that I deeply enjoy in books. I do not like it when everything is possible with magic, because magic should always have its price.

I fell in love with Hal Cavendish, Reaper of Vesria, very quickly. He is an interesting character and love interest. Wren´s dilemma to heal him or kill him seemed thought through and very well written. It was captivating to read how she and Hal started to question their beliefs and understand each other. I loved the slow burn romance between them. The nursing-back-to-health trope was a treat. I enjoyed all their talks and also the scene with one bed at the inn! Marvelous! I rooted for them from the start.

I wish we got more information about all the three countries and their history. Plus more time to explore the whole world. Plus I personally found the mystery within Down Comes the Night to be fairly predictable. I knew what is happening early on.

Overall, it´s a great atmospheric book full of tension, likeable MCs and plot that will keep you on your toes.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for sharing this exciting ARC with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Ahhh! Oh my goodness, I absolutely adored this book. "A healer torn between duty and her heart, a solider broken by his crimes, and a darkness that threatens to consume them"---I mean come on! That premise alone made me feel all the feels!! From the first page to the very end, I was totally captivated. The gothic mystery aspect kept me guessing and I really loved seeing the Enemies to lovers trope come to life in this story--that's one of my favorites! I thought Allison Saft did an amazing job of crafting a richly emotional and powerful story, full of heart and suspense and enough mystery to keep you turning the pages long into the night! A truly wonderful debut!

The beginning of this book almost had me dnf. But I am glad I stuck with it. About 1/3 of the way through the story picks up and you finallyike Wren as a character. The whiny baby stops and some growth happens. While I think the book is great and I will definitely buy it the synopsis did nothing to tell me what the book was actually about.

I really loved this dark and twisty book!
The world building and characters were so great. I.also loved the enemies to livers romance this book has!
Thank you so much NetGalley for this arc!

Thank you to Wednesday Books via NetGalley for the wish-granted early read of Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft.

Overall this is a decent standalone? fantasy/romance, and seems to be pretty YA appropriate.

Overall this is a decent standalone? fantasy/romance, and seems to be pretty YA appropriate. The advertised age range is 13-18 on Amazon and I can see that.  The description gives away the first couple huge plot twists though, so there's that.

Let's start with the world building. The religious and political bits are pretty well explained, even the military structure, but the humanitarian bits are totally missing. Saft mentioned pollution and a black river multiple times but hardly mentions the industry causing it at all. (A train and steamboat are mentioned). What's causing all that pollution? Factories? When asked about what Danu holds over Cernos (strong with technology), all they ever say is Magic. Is the industry stronger? Steam or iron? Why neglect this and just say "magic"? Also how do the people feel in the city? What do they eat even? The world was flat.  Vesria and Cernos were both better described than Danu. On a micro level though, the Colwick house was described excellently, ominous and dark and huge, and so was the North Tower.  I thought all those clocks were a pretty chilling touch!

The plot is fairly well done with a war between two countries that seems mostly based on lies and a generations old power struggle. Why are they really fighting though? I couldn't find any real good reason except religious differences and some contested land of which the value was never mentioned. It just seemed like needless killing. The plot kept moving at a solid pace. I did skim quite a bit where the main character was just endlessly pining over another character.

As far as content, the most they ever actually do is kiss and make out and I THINK there was off page intercourse, but I wasn't sure. Either way there is so. Much. Pining.

The actual action and plot kept moving along pretty quickly though. The action was fairly steady, with plenty of suspense and even a murder mystery involved. Lots of close calls, narrow escapes, murders and poisoners, even a dastardly political plot. The book reminded me of Stalking Jack the Ripper.... Just a little bit.

As far as the characters, I do like Wren and Hal. I think if Saft was going to leave those two together there wasn't much point in doing the whole Una thing, but it did give Wren something to keep working towards even if the relationship was horrible. I didn't like how Una kept belittling her, like right or wrong she was just being mean. I don't understand the collarbones thing either, I guess we will soon find out how many fans have collarbone fixations. Wren is wishy washy and kind of an idiot but it was interesting watching her grow as a character. Hal was just sad but seemed to have a much older view of the world than his age.

I loved all the medical bits, I think the author almost has to be somewhere in the medical field. Some of the medical analogies were a stretch or just weird, but I enjoyed it all the same. This is where the SJtR comparison came from. My only real issue was ..... If a corpse has been expired, you really cant draw blood from it. That was the only thing that didn't make sense. Magical healers are one of my favorite fantasy things though.

Anyway: yes I would recommend this to those who enjoy fantasy romance, enemies to lovers, and aren't bothered by some light homosexual content. I am kind of hoping this ends up being a duology or trilogy. When not picking it apart it's a solid read, although I hope a few of the plot holes get shored up in the final version. 3.5 rounded up to four stars.  The book comes out in March so there's plenty of time to preorder or request on NetGalley if anyone wants to read it sooner!

Thank you again to Wednesday Books for my early copy! All opinions are my own




***just for NetGalley there is a spoiler under this line that I truly don't understand*****





Here it is the biggest plot hole: when Wren was talking to the queen and Una about Lowry, and the queen didn't believe he had attacked Danu troops... WTF Byers' corpse was sitting in the basement. Why not just walk them down there? Why not show Una? For all the bitching and needling and complaining and self loath she has over Byers, they totally neglected his corpse once Wren found him. Huge oversight IMO.

The idea of sitting down to write this review makes me want to pick this book up all over again to reread instead. I binged it in about three hours the first time around, staying up until gone midnight just to find out what happened.

And yes, the sleep deprivation the next morning was so worth it.

Down Comes the Night follows Wren, a healer in the Queen’s Guard who, wanting to prove herself to her aunt, the Queen, travels to help a reclusive lord in healing his servant of a mysterious illness. Only the servant is in fact the Prince of the country that Wren’s is at war with. Meanwhile, soldiers from both of their armies are going missing and they are forced to work together to solve the mystery.

This book contains one of my favourite tropes: enemies to lovers who are forced to work together to resolve some problem. For me, that works way better than enemies to lovers alone, because it forces the characters into proximity to one another and makes the breaking down of their animosities much more believable. Which was the case here, for sure. I loved the development between Hal and Wren, going from enemies to reluctant collaborators to lovers. It felt realistic and believable (and also was the driving force behind me wanting to read this book in the first place).

And they are, predictably, the reason I loved it quite so much. The mystery is fairly simple, and none of the twists all that surprising (not in themselves real problems, I grant, but I usually care more about that than here), but I loved the book for its main characters and their relationship. I would read any number of further books about Hal and Wren (just saying, Ms. Saft).

Beyond the characters, I also loved that this was a fantasy world without homophobia. I’ve read way too many that are, if not outright homophobic, then entirely heteronormative, but that was not the case here. It’s clear from the start that no one bats an eyelid and that is my favourite kind of fantasy to read.

The only thing is, I think I massively erred in reading it so early. Because now all I can do is beg you all to think about reading it… in 7 months' time.

A really fun and interesting read. I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day! I enjoyed every page and thought that the plot/story was very unique. Would recommend to anyone!

Down Comes the Night was a none stop story. At first I was concerned it would be slow building and overly descriptive like a lot of gothic novels but this story never stopped, it was so hard to put this down because something was always happening. I never got bored with this story. It was also nice to see a bisexual main character, this is rare.
I loved the dedication in this book, “To all the girls who feel too much” Down Comes the Night battles against the idea that holding in your emotions or not feeling makes you strong. Saft uses Wren and Hal to prove the opposite, that feelings and openness are the real source of strength; that mercy is the hardest thing to show.
My favorite line from the book was “Maybe the only difference between a monster and a hero was the color of a soldier’s uniform.” This gives so much to the dilemmas faced by all people on all sides of all conflicts. It was one of those lines that made me stop and read it out loud and just sit with it for a little bit.
While the story did have some gore I felt that it was not over the top or distracting from the story.
While I read this as a digital ARC I will surely buy it when it come out in physical copy

A beautifully gothic story of finding love in the strangest of circumstances. This book was enchanting in every single way.

Down Comes the Night is a gothic, enemies to lovers romance with bisexual representation that’s normalized and not touted as a plot point for the MC! *THANK YOU!* I loved the snowy, dark world that Allison created, as well as the female protag being strong, quick witted, and extremely powerful. I loved the emotions that Wren went through with Una and the dark atmosphere created by the author in the beginning stages of this book.
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The first few chapters sucked me in, but when they got to the mansion, the tone switched and it’s incredibly hard to describe without reading it yourself. It’s almost as if the author wrote and rewrote the beginning chapters, perfecting them and then finished the rest in one go. It felt like I was reading two different stories, one about Wren and Una, the next about Wren and the mansion. The plot flowed together as far as the idea of the story but it was the shift in tone that threw me.

However, this book is for a young adult audience, not for a 32 year old and with that being said, I think that I would have much different feelings if I were young. This book reminds me a lot of Stalking Jack the Ripper, not so much scary but more suspenseful. There was a lot of medical terminology mixed in as well. I believe that most young adults 13-15 would really enjoy this novel!

Note: Review to be posted to Goodreads on August 1, 2020 and on retail sites (Barnes & Noble, Amazon) upon publication date, March 2, 2021.

This eARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Down Comes the Night reads like a snowy, gothic fairytale; one best enjoyed with a steaming mug of tea and cozy surroundings. Allison Saft’s YA fantasy debut can easily be devoured in a few sittings, offering a comforting escape from reality. However, though I found the story to be captivating and enjoyable, Down Comes the Night did ultimately leave me wanting more.

Saft’s tale introduces readers to Wren Southerland, a talented healer from a war-torn country, whose empathy and emotions continue to land her in trouble with her superiors in the Queen’s Guard. Without giving too much away, what ensues is a journey of self-discovery and personal growth for Wren, due in part to the broadening of her horizons through a truly swoonworthy enemies to lovers romance. To be honest, the romantic storyline was the highlight of this book for me and featured some of my all-time favorite tropes (enemies to lovers, healer/patient relationship, only one bed, star-crossed lovers, and more!). For reference, Down Comes the Night could be best described as Sarah J. Maas’s Tower of Dawn meets Emily A. Duncan’s Wicked Saints.

Wren’s character development throughout this novel celebrates the strength of emotional, compassionate female characters (even Saft’s dedication is “for all the girls who feel too much”), which only added to the book’s relatability for me. Yet herein lies my core critique for Down Comes the Night; I personally believe this book could have been much stronger if it was told in the first-person narrative, considering the emotional nature of Wren’s character. Saft’s writing seemed to focus solely on Wren’s experiences and feelings, which made the third-person point of view sometimes seem clumsy and awkward, and often left me puzzled at the narrative perspective choice. Furthermore, I personally found the mystery within Down Comes the Night to be fairly predictable; a few red herrings or plot twists would have added some needed complexity to this element of the story.

That being said, Allison Saft’s descriptions were breathtaking; she really nailed the gothic, Guillermo del Toro-esque atmosphere in Down Comes the Night. If you are a fan of enemies to lovers romance and/or gothic stories, you should most definitely add this book to your to-read list!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book! My opinions are my own.

Ah I don't know where to start! I really enjoyed this book and connected with the main character, Wren. It was so nice not to read about someone who rises up and fights to save the world, like in so many YA books (though I've enjoyed many of them too!), but about someone who [i]feels[/i] and shows compassion, instead. Even if it isn't easy.

Let's start at the beginning. Wren is a magical healer in the army of the Queen and she serves under her best friend and former lover, Una. These two girls have been through military training together and they mean the world to each other, even if saying that out loud is hard. Too hard, most of the time. Theirs is a world of fighting, of thinking with your head and not your heart. Soldiers needs to be relentless, if they want to win the war. The war with an equally harsh country.

As Wren makes a crucial mistake in the eyes of the Queen, she is sent to live a small and unimportant life away from the court. That would have been her fate, if she hadn't received a letter from a nobleman from yet another country. There is a mysterious disease in his estate and he needs her magic to find the cure. To escape her fate, Wren accepts. When she arrives at the estate, many of the household staff have already succumbed to the disease. There is one who is still fighting for his life...
And Wren is surprised to find out it's the most deadly enemy of her country.

This book has some great gothic vibes. The scenes in the old mansion made me think of Jane Eyre, even. Sometimes the storyline moved forward a bit too quick for my taste, to me it felt like some things were happening a little too easily. It didn't take away from the story though. I loved the main characters and the way they interacted. I also loved the magic system and the way it intermingled with science!

All I can say is: go read this book if you like a good YA gothic romance. You won't regret it!

What do you get when you put A bi main character, a mysterious disease, and snowy mountains in the same book? A work of art..

The major thing that I will take away from this book is the amount of feeling and emotion that is packed into this novel. The characters have such a profound amount of compassion, with some characters experiencing a great sense of unrequited love that I could feel through the pages. My favorite part about this book was that it was character driven. The characterizations were so real, raw, and heartfelt. There was Wren, a healer determined to prove herself, caught in the whirlwind of her desires; and then there was Hal, a sarcastic, hilarious, and honorable guy who is always searching for the good in everything.

The world building was O-M-G.. It was snowy and war torn. Two countries stuck in a pattern of vengeance, with a third neutral party. The writing and prose was so well done. The scenery left me breathless and the politics were so interesting to study.

The writing, wow the writing. It made the book come alive. It's what made this world so well done, it's what made these characters so lovable, and it's what made this book so full of feeling. It felt like a snowflake, a ripple across an always still pond. It was gorgeous.

I would recommend this book to everyone who asks for a rec!

I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gothic horror meets high fantasy in this dark, steamy tale!

Wren is punished for healing a spy and the only way she can regain her position is to take a mysterious offer by Lord Lowry to heal his servant. The servant is none other than Hal Cavendish, her country’s greatest enemy.

Wren is bi and both relationships are well developed (but not at the same time!). The second romance is slow burn. Hal is a morally gray character who has done bad things for his country, but can he find redemption and forgiveness? Should Wren heal him?

The setting has all the feels of a gothic mansion. This story is a spooky delight that will give you chills and all the feels.

This book was full of suspense and twists! I really enjoyed this book more than I originally thought. I really enjoyed the plot and where the author took the story. I will be recommending this book to my friends.

Okay! There are gothic, disturbing vibes, a blooming true romance, hateful kingdoms, references to Darwin’s theory of natural selection and Frankenstein and pure magic dances with fantasy genre. This combination seems like an intriguingly fresh, riveting, enjoyable debut novel!

A dark mansion reminds you of Guillermo Del Toro’s dark, claustrophobic world building, a rich, mysterious man keeps very dangerous secret beyond the closed doors, two rivalries dig out mysteries by roaming around the eerie, ominous corridors, looking for secret passages to find clues to stop the probable war between the kingdoms as they helplessly fall for each other.

As the epic rivalry brings both kingdoms of the Danubian and Vesria at the edge of war, Wren Southerland is the most skilled healer of the Danubian, at the service of Queen’s Guard, is punished by her own aunt Queen Isabel who is merciless, ice queen, never shows any sign of compassion. She sentenced to spend her days at abbey as like the days she’s been abandoned as a child when her mother has died. Even though she is talented healer she is insecure because of cruel attitudes of Queen and now her best friend, lover Una puts her rising career in the kingdom first, criticizing her emotional choices as weakness.

As Danubian and Vesria’s guards who have powerful magic start to get missing suspiciously, both parties start to accuse each other which increase the war threat.

Now Wren accepts an offer via getting a letter from Lord Alistair Lowry, a rich, powerful man, came from scandals needs her help to cure one of his men at his service. This kind of powerful man could be a great alias to stop the war and make her position restore, earn her respect she is looking for. But of course Queen is not pleased about the existence of this letter and bans her to leave the place.
So she get to deceive Una to run away from abbey to ride on the carriage which is sent for her by Lowry.

But as soon as she arrives at the mansion, the suspicious attitudes and mood swings of Lowry makes her question about her decision and as soon as she finds out the identity of the patient, she wants to run away without looking back because the patient is their kingdom’s arch enemy Hal Cavendish: ruthless warrior, killer, using his destructive magic by using his enchanting eyes.

If Wren heals him, that will be treachery crime but does she needs to make sacrifices for greater good or she has to kill the enemy by herself which will be against the ethics of being a healer.

And the worst thing is not her dilemma to finish her mission properly. As she start to know more about Hal, she starts to understand both of the kingdoms were deceived and the things she believed were the distorted facts. The mansion they reside is full of deadly secrets and she has to be accomplice of Hal to find out the truth to bring justice and peace. But as you imagine, the chemistry between them and forbidden love drag them into a dangerous line they shouldn’t pass.

Overall: Likable MCs, riveting story telling, action packed, exciting development were the strengths of the story. Only one thing bothered me: At some parts romance overshadowed the fantasy genre which brought out unnecessary drama in the story. But I mostly enjoyed the promising premise.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for sharing this exciting ARC with me in exchange my honest opinions.