One Dark Window (The Shepherd King #1) by Rachel Gillig
Elspeth needs a monster. The monster might be her.
Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom she calls home—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.
But nothing comes for free, especially magic.
When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it. Except the highwayman just so happens to be the King’s own nephew, Captain of the Destriers…and guilty of high treason.
He and Elspeth have until Solstice to gather twelve Providence Cards—the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly, darkly, taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.
Review: "There once was a girl,' he murmured, 'clever and good, who tarried in shadow in the depths of the wood. There also was a King - a shepherd by his crook, who reigned over magic and wrote the old book. The two were together, so the two were the same: 'The girl, the King...and the monster they became."
In this fantasy, we follow Elspeth, a young woman who has an ancient spirit trapped in her head. When she meets a highwayman on the forest road, she is catapulted into a dangerous quest to cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it. Little does she know that the mysterious highwayman is the king's nephew and together they are hunting for the twelve providence cards. But they are working against the clock, as the spirit in Elspeth's mind is coming closer and closer to taking over.
This gothic fantasy was so atmospheric and haunting in the best way. Every scene felt dark and mysterious and laced with meaning and magic. This was also beautifully and lyrically written. This book had one of the most unique magic systems that I have come across in fantasy between the enchanted cards that different characters own and use to their advantage and the mysterious infection poisoning certain people and also imbuing them with magical abilities.
I was also really intrigued by Elspeth's family. There was a Cinderella element to her story, as she was the beloved daughter of her father's first marriage. But after her infection, she is banished from her family home to protect her stepmother and stepsisters and sent to live with her late mother's sister. I found her cousin especially intriguing, as she is clearly ruthless in pursuit of her goals but yet still makes overtures to protect her cousin when she doesn't have any particular cause to do so. I enjoyed the love story element to this story too but was honestly more intrigued by other characters than I was by the romance.
As this is a duology, it obviously ends on a significant cliffhanger, and I am so curious to see where this will go in book two. Maybe this is controversial, but I actually loved the spirit in Elspeth's mind and very intrigued by his backstory and wanted to learn more about him and hoping that happens in book two.
The only reason I'm not giving this five stars is because it did feel like a slower read. The pacing just felt a bit off and it did drag at times. I ended up enjoying it and was very intrigued by both the plot and the characters, but it did feel slow at times. This pacing issue reminded me of similar thoughts I had while reading another book by this author, The Knight and the Moth.
A few favorite quotes:
"Apprehension built like soil tossed upon a new grave."
"Of all the things I pretend at,' he said, his thumb drawing small, gentle circles along my waits, 'courting you has proven the easiest."
"Be wary the man who bargains and thieves. He'll offer your soul to get what he needs."
Stars: 4
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