Review – Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft

Posted July 20, 2022 by Carole in Reviews / 5 Comments

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review – Down Comes the Night by Allison SaftDown Comes the Night by Allison Saft
Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld
Published by Wednesday Books on March 2, 2021
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy
Length: 12 hours 47 minutes
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Library, Publisher
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four-stars

New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft’s Down Comes the Night is a snow-drenched romantic fantasy that keeps you racing through the pages long into the night.

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.

Love makes monsters of us all

I liked this book but have to say that it was very different from what I expected. I guess I made a few assumptions based on the cover that didn’t quite pan out. That’s okay because this was a very worthwhile story that was definitely worth a read. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, which proved to be a great choice since she did a fabulous job with the narration.

Wren is a healer who really wants to make people feel better if it is in her power. She loses her position in her unit for not following a command and decides to take an offer to care for someone at the home of a powerful man. She hopes that her work could also help bring some peace. She finds that the man needing care is none other than the Reaper of Vesria who happens to be an enemy of her kingdom. As she gets to know Hal, she finds that he is very different than what she imagined.

I liked the characters in this book. Wren had a lot of spunk and I loved how brave and caring she proved to be. Hal had a very interesting story of his own and he was a genuinely nice guy underneath everything. I thought that they were great together and enjoyed seeing them work together to achieve their goals. This was a fantasy and I really liked the extra abilities we say in some of the characters. The mystery was incredibly well done which helped to make this a very engaging read.

Saskia Maarleveld did a fantastic job with this story. I thought that both her male and female voices were well-done and I liked the fact that she added just the right amount of emotion to her reading. I really felt like she brought this story to life and I found myself wanting to listen to it for hours at a time. I believe that her narration added to my overall enjoyment of the story.

I would recommend this book to others. I found this to be a very entertaining read with great characters, just the right amount of romance, and an interesting magic system. I do hope to read more of this author’s work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Wednesday Books via NetGalley and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.

5 responses to “Review – Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft

  1. I’ve been off fantasy lately, but I do like the idea of a healer caring for her enemy and I do like Saskia’s narration work.

  2. The magic in this one is intriguing. And Wren sounds so great. Am putting it on my list. 😀

  3. I think I would have expected some serious Gothic undertones from the cover and the general premise. Even though it really isn’t that this does sound like a good read.

  4. It’s tricky for me when I have certain expectations and find out I was off the mark. I have to really readjust my thinking. Sounds like Maarleveld did a great job with the narration!