Well it’s been a few weeks.
Between Christmas and New Years, time does not exist.
I couldn’t write a post even if I wanted to, but there comes a time when you have to get back on the horse.
Just because I’m not writing or posting doesn’t mean I’m not reading. But I will be honest, reading has taken on a different taste since writing this blog (a whopping 3 months! wow!)
I love both.
But as I read I am constantly thinking about how I will write the review. Quotes I might want to include. Analyzing the characters.
I think it has made me a better reader. Or at least better at recalling the actual events of the story.
I’ll take it!
But I digress.
I heard mixed opinions about the second book in the Shepherd Kings series and I firmly find myself with the minority.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
The first book laid a lot of worldbuilding at our feet. The wonderful, secluded, dark kingdom of Stone and it’s many inhabitants.
Everyone had a secret. And so few got a chance to live a life worth writing about.
It was an endless mystery, and you never quite knew what to expect next.
Book 2 felt slower but full of context and history.
Elsbeth is dead. The Shepherd King is alive. Ravyn is furious.
Rachel Gilig did a phenomenal job trapping Elsbeth in the Shepherd King’s mind, clawing her way back to sanity and reality. Peering through the window of his eyes as she watched her own body do things she never would have imagined.
It truly felt as if I was watching the twists of the story unfold by another’s fingers.
The Shepherd King tells King Rowan he will find and return the Twin Elders card to unite the deck and save Stone from the magic fog.
This sets the book in motion as Ravyn, his sister Jesper, and two other guards accompany the Shepherd King through the fog.
Over the bridge and through the woods to grandmother’s house they go.
They discover another city like settlement in the fog. Or rather its inhabitants discover them.
Those infected and survived the infection are now immune to its effects. They may have been cast into the fog by the King but they did not die. Instead they made house.
The impact of the small city is small and violent. The group is kidnapped and forced to fight each other, killing one of the guards.
Don’t worry we hated him and wanted him dead.
They escape though. Continuing on to the two trees. All the while the Shepherd King is showing Elsbeth is past.
His children.
His deals with the two trees.
His sacrifice for his people.
For magic.
He was not a bad king, he actually wanted to give his people everything they desired. But people are demanding, never satisfied, needy. You give them one answer and they want another.
You also see the Shepherd Kings eros. He was human, not perfect, and made bad choices with his cards.
Magic was new and freely given.
Big mistake.
When the group finally finds the Spirit in the Wood it is Rowan who must go on to obtain the Twin Alders card.
But in doing so he discovers the Shepherd King’s eldest son was also immune to the card’s magic, just like him. And that he alone was able to destroy the cards.
And that he also has dark eyes and a hooked nose.
The Shepherd King had a suspicion but the Spirit of the Wood confirmed Rowan as the heir to the throne.
He has no desire to rule though. After taking an obscene amount of time to get the card out of the hands of the Spirit of the Wood the group must trek back to the castle before winter solstice.
All the while Elm and Ione are falling in love in the most unique of circumstances.
Ione has been under the maiden’s spell, and grown heartless. Hauth made her hide the card from herself the night of their engagement. And without the card she can not dispel the magic.
But this doesn’t stop Elm from seeking her out. Trying to make her smile, building desire page after page.
I think I enjoyed their love story more than Elsbeth and Ravyn’s.
It’s become apparent Hauth has lost his mind and elm will need to step up to save the people of Stone, and himself.
When the group returns, just in time, there is an all out fight over the cards.
And it’s not good.
Ione dies, again.
Ravyn nearly dies.
Hauth escapes.
Everything felt like it would never end. But what would make a good book if not a little drama.
In the end Elm kills his brother and unites the deck.
The fog disperses and Stone is saved.
We get our happily ever after as the Shepherd King gives Elsbeth her body back, Ravyn is healed, Elm is crowned and Ione wed.
The 12 cards are replaced with a single card, with the ability to take away the magic and infection of anyone who touches it.
But of course Ravyn is immune and Elsbeth can not touch it for she will absorb everything it took to create it. But they like it this way.
It was a wild ride and a mystery unraveled to read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Overall ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | 📚 Glad I Read It | 💫 A – Adult (Ages 18+)
Spice🌶️🌶️
Worldbuilding🗺️🗺️🗺️🗺️
Ick Factor 😇
Fangirl Moments 💖💖
Errors/Plot Holes – None
Tropes: Fantasy, Gothic, Romance, Magic, Forced Proximity, Royalty, Mystery
Title: One Dark Window
Author: Rachel Gillig
Genre: Romance
Series: The Shepherd King
Format: Audiobook
Length: 14 hours and 12 minutes
Published: September 27, 2022 by Orbit
