I love gothic romances so much. The creepy atmosphere, the romantic trysts happening in the darkness, and the danger that lurks within the walls of mysterious manors always calls my name. Of course, the building tension and blossoming romance add to the thrill and soon you’re flying through the pages of this book dying to find out what answer behind the murders happening at the Colwick estate. Add to that a female lead whose only downfall is her kindness and emotion fuelled actions, and you’ve got a ticking time bomb. There’s a lot to untangle in this book, and I absolutely recommend reading this book under cover of a frigid winter night, or under the cover of a fierce spring rainstorm.
At the center of this story is Wren Southerland, whose been dismissed from her duties at the Queen’s guard, separated from her best friend and girl she loves, all because of her reckless use of magic. When a letter arrives from an elusive lord, Wren jumps on the chance to redeem herself and heads to Colwick Hall. The dilapidated mansion, eccentric lord, and the fact that she can’t leave her room after dark have Wren wondering what’s going on. Even worse, she discovers that her mission is to heal not a simple servant of the mansion, but Hal Cavendish, the Reaper of Versia, and sworn enemy of the kingdom. Colwick Hall was Hal’s attempt at redemption, but the secrets held in the mansion might be more than Wren and Hal can survive. They’ll have to join forces if they want to save their kingdoms, but their desire might be their downfall.
While I didn’t feel the gothic-ness of the story until later on, I feel like the beginning plays an incredibly important role in setting up what’s getting ready to happen with Wren. Her character is full of life, she’s spirited and emotional, and unfortunately her kindness is seen as a flaw by others. It’s hard not to feel for her situation, because it almost seems common sense to be understanding to Wren’s plight. However, her actions do have consequences, which are handled by her aunt…who seems to hold a peculiar grudge against her. Wren’s relationship with female figures is probably strained at best, with the exception being her best friend. However, even that relationship becomes difficult as Una fights with her feelings for Wren vs. her responsibility to the crown. Ultimately, both their choices affect the outcome of their relationship.
I’ll fully admit that I was uncomfortable with Wren’s relationship with Una at the start because of Una’s controlling personality qualities. She doesn’t treat Wren like an equal in the relationship (partially because of their rank/stations), but even worse, as the story progresses, it takes on a borderline abusive stance. Some readers might find this triggering, so approach it with caution. There is some resolution of this at the end of the book, but I won’t go into details to prevent spoilers.
As Wren makes the transition into Colwick Hall, the story begins to take on more gothic qualities. The atmosphere is cold and forbidding, and the people at the mansion are equally so, save for the lord of the mansion Lowry. However, his eccentricity just leads to quite a few questions as to why such a man is living by himself with only a few servants for company. Then Wren meets Hal, and an enemies to lovers romance begins, in the dark of the night. While their initial distrust for each other is palpable, they both agree there’s something much larger than them that has brought them together.
The romance blossoms slowly and burns warmth into the story that feels like we’re going from watching a movie in grayscale to colour. It’s delightfully lush to read and I love when we get into the political aspects of this story. Wren’s involvement at the mansion only gets murkier as she has to navigate both the political consequences of her presence there, and what it might mean for the kingdom to be saving someone who’s supposedly harmed so many of her countrymen. Her defiant attitude to authority quickly becomes the strength she needs to help her figure out how to survive her time at the mansion.
Now, the magic system is something that I wanted a little more, because both Wren and Hal’s magic was fascinating. Wren’s magic has to do with healing, while Hal’s is a little more intricate (and I won’t spoil what it is). Although Wren spends a great deal trying to research, I feel like it’s vague enough that I could have used a more thorough explanation of it.
Personally, this book ended too soon for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. Though I would have loved a little more to the magic system, I would definitely recommend this story if you’re looking for something atmospheric and ultimately romantic.
Down Comes The Night is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of March 2nd 2021.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
He saw the darkness in her magic. She saw the magic in his darkness.
Wren Southerland’s reckless use of magic has cost her everything: she’s been dismissed from the Queen’s Guard and separated from her best friend—the girl she loves. So when a letter arrives from a reclusive lord, asking Wren to come to his estate, Colwick Hall, to cure his servant from a mysterious illness, she seizes her chance to redeem herself.
The mansion is crumbling, icy winds haunt the caved-in halls, and her eccentric host forbids her from leaving her room after dark. Worse, Wren’s patient isn’t a servant at all but Hal Cavendish, the infamous Reaper of Vesria and her kingdom’s sworn enemy. Hal also came to Colwick Hall for redemption, but the secrets in the estate may lead to both of their deaths.
With sinister forces at work, Wren and Hal realize they’ll have to join together if they have any hope of saving their kingdoms. But as Wren circles closer to the nefarious truth behind Hal’s illness, they realize they have no escape from the monsters within the mansion. All they have is each other, and a startling desire that could be their downfall.
Allison Saft’s Down Comes the Night is a snow-drenched romantic fantasy that keeps you racing through the pages long into the night.
Love makes monsters of us all.
