ARC Review: Down Comes the Night | Allison Saft

Down Comes the Night | Allison Saft

Book Info

Page count: 400

Publication date: March 2, 2021

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Genres: YA, fantasy, gothic, romance

Synopsis

“He saw the darkness in her magic. She saw the magic in his darkness.

Wren Southerland’s reckless use of magic has cost her everything: she’s been dismissed from the Queen’s Guard and separated from her best friend—the girl she

loves. So when a letter arrives from a reclusive lord, asking Wren to come to his estate, Colwick Hall, to cure his servant from a mysterious illness, she seizes her chance to redeem herself.

The mansion is crumbling, icy winds haunt the caved-in halls, and her eccentric host forbids her from leaving her room after dark. Worse, Wren’s patient isn’t a servant at all but Hal Cavendish, the infamous Reaper of Vesria and her kingdom’s sworn enemy. Hal also came to Colwick Hall for redemption, but the secrets in the estate may lead to both of their deaths.

With sinister forces at work, Wren and Hal realize they’ll have to join together if they have any hope of saving their kingdoms. But as Wren circles closer to the nefarious truth behind Hal’s illness, they realize they have no escape from the monsters within the mansion. All they have is each other, and a startling desire that could be their downfall.

Allison Saft’s Down Comes the Night is a snow-drenched romantic fantasy that keeps you racing through the pages long into the night.

Love makes monsters of us all.”

I was honestly not expecting to like this one very much. My recent reading seems to be full of surprises!

I’m so grateful that it was just as atmospherically gothic as the synopsis made it out to be! When a synopsis seems that good, you always have to be a little cautious. Thank goodness it was true in this case!

I loved the characters. I’ve heard complaints about Wren’s character, but I enjoyed her character arc! It’s also one that the novel’s readers can empathize with: being too touchy-feely. Emotions aren’t a bad thing. And Hal. Don’t get me started, he’s absolutely swoon-worthy.🥺

While Down Comes the Night is definitely a fantasy novel, there are some fantastic gothic thriller/mystery vibes. Just enough to keep you on the edge of your seat without overdoing it or losing sight of the plot.

I’d just like to quickly mention the writing and dialogue. While at first glance it may seem run-of-the-mill, it’s actually quite humorous and entertaining. Humourous writing in an otherwise dark book is an all-time favorite of mine!

I rated this book four and a half stars. I do that for books that I really enjoyed, but still have flaws. There were just a few things here and there that made me pause, so let me brush on those.

While I liked the whole idea of fola, which are basically another set of veins that magic-wielders have that pump their power instead of blood, I wish that we got a little more worldbuilding. At first, I thought that the only kind of magic was healing magic, but then we were told about different kinds more or less out of the blue. So healing magic is just a common type? And how exactly does fola work? Are they just like normal veins? Is there a second heart to pump the magic? I’m probably overthinking this, but I’d love to know more!

There was also a huge plot hole that a noticed that’s going to be hard to say without spoiling, but here goes: basically, Wren and Hal got caught in a sticky situation that wasn’t their fault while there was literally evidence to back up Wren’s claims right behind them. I understand Isabel ignoring it, but Una was there! It’s just a little off.

All in all, I liked Down Comes the Night! It wasn’t a perfect book, but the reader’s satisfaction outweighs the few little mistakes here and there.

What did you think?