One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig is a gothic fantasy romance and the first book in The Shepherd King duology (5/5 stars)

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig is a gothic fantasy romance and the first book in The Shepherd King duology.

Oh my goodness, I’m so glad I finally picked up this book!

When my partner and I were on a road-trip, I queued up the audiobook (thanks, local library!) when it was one of my turns to drive. Typically, my partner likes to doze off a bit when he’s not the driver, but this is the second time he’s gotten really sucked into the book I was listening to! The narrator does a PHENOMENAL job and was a major part of how quickly I got sucked into the story.

The gothic vibes in this book are great! The author does an amazing job setting the scene and really evoking a sense of horror and dread. There is a very interesting magic system that includes magical cards and also a magical sickness. The pacing is great, and while it leans a bit YA/New Adult that is not a criticism.

In terms of the romance side of the equation, I absolutely bought the love story from the very beginning. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and I really ate this one up.

I really appreciate works that are inspired by other writings, and so it really drew me in that this duology was inspired by the poem, The Highwayman, by Alfred Noyes. I was familiar with it going in, and I think it only enhanced my enjoyment of this book. It is definitely not a 1:1 but the heart of it is there, and I loved it.

Believe the hype and please read this book. I highly recommend it for fans of things like The Witcher series or A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson.

I received a complimentary review copy from Orbit Books. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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The Shepherd King duology is made up of:

• One Dark Window
• Two Twisted Crowns