I’m glad that I have notes to drive this review home because I can see this one getting ramble-y and fan-girly. I knew that I would fall in love with this book, but I had no idea how invested I would become. Sure, I expected a Gothic fantasy romance story that involved magic, but this was something else.

Multiple Genres
Down Comes the Night crosses genres beautifully. The primary genre is fantasy because there’s magic in a war torn world and the main premise is to bring peace across the nation. I have to say that the magic system is brilliant. There are different types of magic. For example, the main female character is a healer while the main male character kills people with eye contact.

Then there’s the romance component, which I could argue is an enemies-to-lovers romance. The main male character, Hal, is this viscous war criminal who can kill you just by looking you in the eye and Wren hates him with a burning passion. When the plot forces them to be near each other, they form this romantic connection. The plot does this by forcing her to heal him.

There are some pretty adorable scenes because of this healing process.

Atmosphere
The feel of this book is probably my favorite part. I love the dark, creepy vibes of the mansion and the snow. It’s just a great winter read, despite reading it in the middle of a false spring.

In addition tot he wonderful atmosphere, Saft writes some very relatable scenes.

“Bone-weary after a long day of work, she often felt euphoric crawling into bed. Like she was the only person left in the world to watch the dawn sprawl out over the fray miles of hoar-frosted hills.”


Down Comes the Night, Allison Saft
This is exactly how I feel after a long night of writing. She captures feeling and emotion so well in her writing that it gives me chills.

As a side note, this young adult novel can get a bit gorey for my taste. Since Wren is a healer, she is a master in the human body. She knows more medical terminology than I could keep up with and some of the scenes are very descriptive when she’s healing. I don’t mind it, but Saft had me covering my mouth quite a few times just because I wasn’t expecting it to go there.

Plot
The plot is deceptively simple. We have missing soldiers in a war torn world, where everyone is pointing fingers at each other. Wren is a compassionate healer and wants to find the soldiers, regaining her position in the Queen’s Guard. Finding soldiers and proving herself makes for a weak plot, but it’s not. Down Comes the Night is truly about the journey and character development. There’s so much more to the plot than meets the eye.

Overall
This is a terrific book that combines fantasy with romance on an equal playing field. Usually fantasy-romance books lean one way or the other, but Down Comes the Night balances both genres beautifully. There’s a unique magic system, beautiful and atmospheric writing, and a ghastly mansion to explore. What’s not to love?