Blurb:

For fans of Uprooted and For the Wolf comes a dark, lushly gothic fantasy about a maiden who must unleash the monster within to save her kingdom—but the monster in her head isn't the only threat lurking.

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:

I’m not usually one to review with mixed feelings but I think that, despite my qualms, this book has earned its right on the many shelves it dwells. It is, as the cool kids once said, a whole mood. The ambiance takes you through the fog on a rather satisfying adventure with a very cool magic system set in mysterious lore that unravels quite well. 

We are met with Elspeth, a girl with forbidden magic and a voice in her head that protects her from being discovered. She also has a very valuable gift that keeps her aware of those around her that carry Providence cards. When she meets our dark and storm male lead (though we all know the real male lead is the monster within), what starts as true enemies leads to a partnership with an unlikely band of rebels who are trying to collect the twelve cards before the king does, solidifying the future of Blunder for their own moral ends. The story unfolds in a quick paced secretive scavenger hunt of epic proportions as the group tries to outwit the ruling family and protect the ones they hold dear. But with all the fears Elspeth has had to grow up with, will she be able to open up to those around her and accept the help? Or will she fall deeper into the darkness that calls her from within herself? I thought the answers to these questions were well worked and really entertaining. There wasn’t a minute I wasn’t faced with a hilarious quip, a fun twist, a bit of panic, or a gorgeous scene. 

“I'm just the wind in the trees, the shadow, and the fright. The echo in the leaves...the nightmare in the night.”

And that’s because this book was superbly atmospheric. I thought the world building was beautiful. Though I think it’s a bit more gothic-lite in the sense that I didn’t feel particularly dark or macabre in nature, it was a bit darker than your typical courtly fantasy. That said, I loved the details, from the cards and colors, to the houses and grounds, the terrifying woods, and the mist that roams the land. The dresses, capes, and disguises all leaned towards its cinematic feel. The political structure was quite interesting, though I wish we got a little more depth with it. I think Gillig could have leaned a lot harder into this dynamic rather than telling us so much about it. 

But really it was the magic system that had me. Not only with the way it functioned and the variables its manifestations accounted for, but in the way it was written, thought out thoroughly and beautifully crafted. There was variety, consequences, and diversity in power all while feeling logical and easy to follow. Elspeth’s demon within brought to life mysteries of the whole system with great reveals, while the structure of the chapters gave you a more straightforward approach to trickling (and keeping track of) the pertinent information on what all the cards do. I was never left having to go back and remember, which I was concerned I’d need to do in the beginning. 

“Nothing is free. Nothing is safe. Magic is love, but also, it’s hate. It comes at a cost. You’re found, and you’re lost. Magic is love, but also, it’s hate.”

Now to my struggles with the book…I felt the characterization was sorely lacking. I know I know, I’m in the minority. Our monstrous inner antagonist is by far the most interesting character. With a PHD in gaslighting and an adept lyricist, his poetic speech was the comic and intellectual relief we longed for in the vacuum of fairly one dimensional side characters. I believe in the second book they grow quite a bit, and I really do hope so because otherwise really what is the point. But when we look at our main characters, the outcast Elspeth that’s not like other girls and the mysterious, stoic Ravyn with a firm savior complex, I’m left wanting more. Their “enemies” set up is a rather good one, by all accounts he should be hunting her down, and early in the story they meet on such pretenses. Their agreement to work together with her abilities, while dealing with their forced proximity, growing romantic tension, and outside pressures should have made this a smash. But the constant and unreasonable miscommunication, unbacked secrecy, and out of character escapades made the whole romance fall very flat for me. It feels like a trend in romantasy to replace meaningful relationship growth with a spicy scene and for me it leaves the characters feeling more vapid than is portrayed by the rest of their development. In this case I felt it both didn't lend to the story and subverted the character building I’d come to understand. I kept waiting for her to spill the beans only to be rolling my eyes, and the game played towards the end had them in the back of my head. That said, the romance wasn’t why I was here, and luckily it was fairly easy to focus on the other wonderful aspects, which kind of makes the point. They were all, with the exception of the monster, easy to ignore and left me almost completely uninvested in their personal stories, craving overall plot, politics, and intrigue instead.

“Are you still pretending?” I said, reveling in his gaze. Ravyn gave a surprised laugh and, in front of everyone, leaned in and kissed me. “I never was,” he whispered into my lips.

The story, however, was made better by the beautiful and evocative prose. Gillig knows how to write. The poetic nature of the beast within was brilliant, as was all the lore and limericks. I loved how well thought out this book really was in terms of world building. That aside though, the character development felt written very much in a YA style. The themes are obvious and the emotion is fairly surface level and spelled out. I don’t mind a good YA, but it didn’t feel like it matched the other aspects of the book. At the very least, make the characters make sense. And this is where I constantly land with popular romantasies, with very few exceptions. So much so that I’m yet to read book two. I think though it will be better, or at least I hope it is, it has to be right? For so many to love it so much. I think really you can skip this moment of doubt and just jump into the next book, but here I am left reflecting on this one book on its own. And on its own, it falls short. 

All in all this book is a whole vibe, delectably atmospheric, with so many elements I love dearly. Though I have said my peace, I still think it’s an entertaining and beautiful escape into a pretty spectacular world. If you’re not looking to dig too deep into it, I think you’ll find it to be a really fun read!