Elizabeth (Plant Based Bride)'s Reviews > One Dark Window

The hype for this book is intense, and all I want to say is...

Why are all y'all out here LYING???

Beautiful writing? Loveable characters?? Intrigue??? Stakes???? Romance????? A plot that isn't just Pokemon?????? Nary a one can be found here. Nary a one, I say!

First of all, this is not adult fantasy. Nope. Nada. The protagonist may be 20, and her love interest a bit older, but this reads like a poorly executed amalgamation of every other YA fantasy that's been flooding the market lately, with all of the excessive tropes to match. If you're a fan of this brand of YA fantasy (think Sarah J Maas and Fourth Wing), maybe this will work for you. But if you're looking for something truly adult, or even just unique and compelling, look elsewhere.

I will give Gillig an extra star for the magic system, which was interesting in and of itself (if severely underutilized). But a good magic system alone can't carry a fantasy book, especially when the world-building is as minimal and nonsensical as it is here. The constant insertion of references to trees (or characters just literally exclaiming "Trees!" ad nauseam) without any real consideration as to how their reverence for the aforementioned trees would shape their society left my eye twitching.

Speaking of eyes twitching, Elspeth, our 20-year-old protagonist, is the absolute worst. She's judgmental, helpless, and constantly assumes the worst of everyone. Her interactions are melodramatic and soap opera-esque, full of lingering glances and over-the-top angst. She has the maturity of a high school freshman and is one of the most petulant main characters I have ever had the displeasure to read about, throwing tantrums and just generally being a useless asshole to everyone around her at all times.

Ravyn is slightly less annoying, but Gillig's insistence on referring to him by his job title every other sentence had me ready to throw my Kobo across the room. Here's just a small sampling of what I had to suffer through just under 80 times over the course of this book:


“If my cheek took him aback, the Captain of the Destriers did not show it.”

“But I could not say the same thing about going head-to-head with the Captain of the Destriers a second time.”

“I clenched my jaw, hardly able to fathom that I, Elspeth Spindle, was willingly following the Captain of the Destriers into the King's castle.”

“The Captain of the Destriers ran his hand over his brow, impatience cutting through his low voice.”

“I had not meant to say it, there in the mist, alone with the Captain of the Destriers.”

“I watched the Captain of the Destriers make his way across the hall, his steps hurried.”

“He was a strange man, the Captain of the Destriers.”

“I tried to keep my mouth from moving to lessen the deep unease I felt to be trapped so near the Captain of the Destriers.”

*It would be one thing if this was all before she learned his name, but she was introduced to him officially after maybe the third time and just kept thinking of him by his job title for NO APPARENT REASON.*


As you can see, the writing is another point of contention. It's awkward, full of clunky sentences and weirdly placed phrases, and just so damn repetitive. The overuse of certain words and phrases, like "bramble" and "oil slick," stuck out like sore thumbs and don't get me started on Ravyn's gray eyes, which are mentioned a staggering 21 times in the first half alone.


“Ravyn Yew watched me with gray eyes, his head tilted to the side.”

“At first, the Captain said nothing, his gray eyes lost in the darkness twisting down my arm.”

“But as I watched Ravyn Yew's face, his gray eyes
tracing the darkness in my veins…”

“When I did not move to follow him, he turned, his gray eyes unreadable.”

“Ravyn held it open for me, his gray eyes tight on my face.”

“The Captain of the Destriers watched me, his gray eyes momentarily lowering to my mouth.”

“The Captain leaned back in his chair, his gray eyes never leaving my face.”

“He watched me, something I could not read flashing in his gray eyes.”

“The Captain's gray eyes tightened on my face.”

“I looked at the Captain of the Destriers, his gray eyes full of me.”

“No sooner had our eyes met - a flash of gray -”

*Oh my god we get it!! His eyes are gray! Please just make it stop, I beg of you.*


And then there are the poems. Oh, the poems. Juvenile, simplistic, and honestly laughable. The "terrifying" 500-year-old monster spouts nursery rhyme-level poetry that's so bad it makes you wonder how he hasn't given up and picked up a new hobby at some point in the past few centuries.

“Yellow girl, soft and clean. Yellow girl, plain - unseen. Yellow girl, overlooked. Yellow girl, won't be Queen.”

*…?? Like, okay? Thanks for sharing I guess? Didn’t know I signed up for monster slam poetry, but cool.*


As for the "twists"—yeah, they were pretty obvious. The whole plot is telegraphed from the second page, and we're forced to wait hundreds of pages for our clueless protagonist to get with the frickin' program.

Oh, and that cliffhanger ending? Infuriating. If you want me to read the next book, just write a good book. Don't hold the ending hostage. It felt like a cheap trick to manipulate readers into buying the sequel, but it didn't work. I have zero interest in continuing this series.

Honestly, I'm shocked at how highly rated this is on Goodreads. The premise wasn't interesting, to begin with, but the potential of the magic system was entirely wasted. The writing remained subpar, the rhyming was atrocious, the characters were bland, and the tropes were piled on without care. Save yourself the time and effort—there are plenty of better books out there. This one? A complete and utter waste of time.


Watch me rant about all the ways this book let me down in my Romantasy reading vlog: https://youtu.be/c0BdT5DdPUA


Trigger/Content Warnings: violence, death, child abuse, loss of parents, blood, murder, child murder


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