*Thank you to Netgalley, Wednesday Book, and Allison Saft for an EARC of "Down Comes The Night" in exchange for an honest review * So this was a good read. I liked Wren and Uma and Hal. (Although I selfishly wished Hal stayed dark.) The magic system was interesting and I'd love to see what other mages powers are besides Wren and Hal's.

When all I knew about this book was that it was about enemies trapped inside a crumbling mansion with monsters around every corner, I was still so, so eager to read it. All the early reviews I heard for it were nothing but praise and it sounded dark and snowy and gothic. I honestly couldn’t quite believe it when I was lucky enough to get an e-ARC. A bi main character, a mysterious disease, and snowy mountains. Really, the pull I felt towards this book was strong. Trigger warnings: death, blood, gore


This book is one that kind of left me in awe. The best way I can describe it is gorgeous. I know that seems like such a common word, but the beauty seeping through this book is truly gorgeous.

Alright, I’m starting out with the immense FEELING packed into this book. This is a book about emotion. It’s built on emotion, it revolves around emotion, it’s focused on emotion. It’s about compassion, it’s about the ache to be loved, it’s about feeling too much. It feels weird to even call it emotional development because it feels like so much more than that. It’s about learning what your emotions mean to you, how you allow them to affect your life, and learning how feel, the way you want to feel. It touched me, in a way that isn’t common. It was a ripple across me.

The characters, dang they made me fall in love with them. This book is incredibly character driven. They felt so REAL. They felt like flesh and bone and sweat and blood and tears and everything made real. I felt like I could touch them. Wren, a healer determined to prove herself, caught in the whirlwind of her compassion. Hal, a boy trying to find the good. In himself and what he can do for his country. He was so sad, but he has this dry humor and kindness to him. It was so easy to fall head over heals for him.

I also really loved the side characters! Una, a military captain who will always follow orders. She was so well written that I honestly thought she could have been a POV character. I think it would have been fascinating to see this story though her eyes. Hannah, a kind servant who helps Wren with her shenanigans.

And the WORLD. Yet another thing that I loved. It was another thing that was gorgeous. It was snowy and war torn. Two countries stuck a pattern of vengeance, with a third neutral party. Everything about it was so well written. The scenery left me breathless and the politics were fascinating. Also, I thought this was going to be hardcore fantasy, but there were modern inventions that popped up and surprised me. I thought it was kind of cool to see lightbulbs along with healing magic.

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.

The plot was something that surprised me. It wasn’t what I expected at all. It feels weird to say, but it felt like the main plot wasn’t the whole point of the book. It was what held the overall message and that’s what made it special. It felt a bit straightforward, and I think it would have liked for it to be a bit more twisty. But, I still ended up really liking it. It allowed the characters to grow, it allowed so much emotion to be showcased, and it still managed to be interesting and amazing in its own right. It might not have been what I expected, but I still ended up liking it!

Yes, this book truly is amazing. It has casual queerness, a say boy, a determined girl, snowy mountains, healing and destroying magic, a creepy manor, war torn countries, some amazing hugs, and a snowball fight. This book is full of feeling and all kinds of amazing.

I drawn to this book by the cover because it looked like a Victorian/Edwardian postcard Impressionist painting. Once I read the description of the book I knew I had to request an advanced reader. This was an enjoyable read - the dialogue was engaging from the start. The plot flowed very nicely and you truly got the sense of all of the characters trying to rebuild themselves after being taken down by through circumstances intentional or unintentional. This book is different from any other dark fantasy I've read in the past 2 years and I would encourage you to add this lovely title to your library. Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read this great debut author's book.

Down Comes the Night is an incredibly atmospheric story. It follows Wren Southerland, who is a healer in the Queen’s Guard. After receiving a letter from a lord asking Wren to come heal a servant from a mysterious disease, Wren sets off to try and prove herself. Upon arriving, Wren discovers that the servant is Hal Cavendish, a sworn and wanted enemy of her kingdom.

This story is a page-turner filled with beautiful descriptions of gothic manors, realistic characters, and a world full of clever politics. These characters were emotional, and I loved how they needed to work through their feelings and prejudices in order to overcome the real evil. The plot is well-written and full of surprises. I loved all of the twists and I couldn’t put it down.


I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this story.
We follow Wren, she is the bastard niece to the queen of a country ravaged by war. Wren is a healer in the military who seems to always get things wrong. After making yet another mistake on the field, she’s given a risky opportunity to prove herself, she’s invited to a Lord’s mansion to heal a friend of his. Things take a turn when she realizes the guy she’s there to save is the most notoriously deadly soldier in the opposing country’s military. A story about war and love, accepting who you are and making things right.
Although i enjoyed it, there were some aspects that fell a bit short for me.
The magic system was really interesting but I felt it could’ve been expanded on a lot. We really got to know Wren’s magic and her healing abilities, but aside from that we know of like 3 other people with magic.
It was atmospheric and gothic, however I felt at times it dragged.
From the synopsis you can tell there’s going to be a hate to love romance and it was done alright. We see them develop and get to know one another, but I wasn’t super invested in their relationship.
All and all, a fun fantasy story with magic and war but nothing super different. I’m interested to see what the author does next.

Wren, soldier and healer for her country, which had been in a war for decades, only wants to win the queen's (her aunt) favor. But Wren continues to make fatal errors; it seems her heart is just not meant for a soldier's life... at least that's what her commander and her queen keep telling her. So, after she is banished from all she knows, she answers a summons that may allow her to reclaim her life and the queen's favor. Or perhaps she may find something else...
Overall, a decent read that is action-packed and suspenseful with a dash of romance to keep up the sparks.

Nondescript. Poorly drawn and an insufferable heroine made for an unengaging read that I would not recommend to anyone.

I want to start this off with the most important part of this review, and that is that I would die for Wren and Hal.

This book made its way onto my list because the words, gothic, romance, and enemies were used in the span of a sentence. I honestly didn’t need to know anything else about the book other than that. Of course, when I did realize it was two kingdoms about to be at war again with each other and the main character had magic, I dove head first into this book.

I don’t think I ever willingly put this book down, except when I first started, simply because I thought I was reading it too fast and didn’t want it to end. That was just me at 20%! Next time I sat down I made it 70% and only put it down because I had to return to work. Safe to say that I didn’t take it slow for the ending of this book. I devoured it. I couldn’t stop reading it. Like yes, we had these two kingdoms at war, and I thought I would want to see the action of that, but since this story takes place mostly within this manor? Estate? You get a more creepier feel to it.

I don’t even know what more to say that wouldn’t be spoilers and isn’t just more of me screaming about how much I loved this book!

Down Comes the Night is an epic tale, full of mystery and intrigue. It sweeps you away from the first page in to a well crafted and fully immersive world that makes you feel you are experiencing the story along with the characters. An absolute must read.