Themes: YA, Fantasy
The synopsis
In the luscious, dark sequel to One Dark Window, Elspeth must face the consequences of what she’s wrought – perfect for readers of Hannah Whitten’s For the Wolf and Alexis Henderson’s The Year of the Witching.
Elspeth and Ravyn have gathered most of the twelve Providence Cards, but the last, and most important one remains to be found: The Twin Alders.
If they are going to find it before the Solstice and cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it, they will need to journey beyond the dangerous mist-cloaked forest that surrounds their kingdom.
And the only one who can lead them there is the monster that shares Elspeth’s head. The Nightmare. And he’s not eager to share any longer.
The review
This sequel was the occasion to read one of my favourite books, One Dark Window, which I enjoyed as much as the first time I read it. I am not too used to duology so I was afraid of being disappointed after loving the first book but I’m so glad I was mistaken!
It was both exceptionally good and surprising. Surprising because we are switching the main character, Elspeth not being extremely present in person but rather through the other characters, and more secondary characters of One Dark Window taking precedence and having their own POVs. I expected to be a bit disappointed to see Elspeth fading in the background given I loved her so much in the first place, as well as her relationship with Ravyn, but instead was happy to learn more about Elm and Ione and see another romantic relationship develop. This relationship was hinted at in the first book and the change in the POVs allowed the author to develop it in parallel of Elspeth’s and Ravyn’s in a way I’ve rarely seen even in a series.
The plot itself was simply perfect, tying every loose end while allowing the reader to discover even more about this world and its history, all that in the beautifully dark writing style of the first book. Even though it’s considered YA, know it’s spicy enough for me to put it in the upper YA category if not the NA one.
In brief: This book is more about the fantasy than the romance, but I just loved it. If you haven’t picked this completed duology up yet or hesitate (like I did) to finish it please do, you’ll not regret it.
My rating: 5/5
A Book by the Fire 