“The berry of Rowans is red, always red. The earth at its trunk is dark with blood shed. But a prince is a man, and a man may be bled. He came for the girl… And got the monster instead.”

3🌶️

This was such a unique read for me. I have always loved fantasy books because of the world building and variation of characters. My favorite thing to read is something that I can get lost in the picture of what it appears to be and focus on getting lost within the world the author creates. Rachel Gillig did just that. She clearly paints a picture with her characters, the entire magic system, the environment, the monster called The Nightmare... It truly was amazing.

“I am the shepherd of shadow. The phantom of the fright. The demon in the daydream. The nightmare in the night.”

The Nightmare that has taken up home in Elspeth's mind made me a little hesitant to read this at first, but oh boy, was I wrong in that thought. I really enjoyed the narrative that we get and all of the cryptic rhymes from The Book of Alders. The relationship that develops over time with these two is definitely interesting.

“There once was a girl, clever and good, who tarried in shadow in the depths of the wood. There also was a King—a shepherd by his crook, who reigned over magic and wrote the old book. The two were together, so the two were the same: “The girl, the King… and the monster they became.”

The magic system in this book is honestly my favorite part of it. I love that the Providence Cards are sought after items but that there are some that are more common than others. Then, the author adds on to the cards appeal by giving each one a magical ability. And we still aren't done! There is so much to the workings of legal vs. illegal magic. I was truly impressed at the complexity of this aspect of the book.

I started out listening to the book but decided I needed to get a trophy copy. Then I impatiently finished reading the physical copy because I can read faster than I can deal with sped up audio. The narrator was great... I was just too impatient.

I cannot imagine how book 2 is going to go. This is a duology and I went into this book knowing that I would need to read both books. There was just enough suspense to keep you attached at the end.

“There was a way to lie and tell the truth at the same time. That’s how the best lies are told—with just a sliver of truth.”

This is a great suspenseful mystery/thriller read. Peter Swanson is apparently known for his twisty suspense novels and I believe his twists got the best of me with this one.

“They had a secret, the two of them, and there was no better way to start a friendship than with a secret.”

We follow two couples Hen & Lloyd and Mira & Matthew through this book with the focus on Hen and Matthew. After meeting, they have a dinner get-together where Hen recognizes a trophy on Matthew’s bookshelf. She then spirals into manic obsession over a local murder that she had been obsessed with in the past... This time, she’s positive Matthew is the killer.

I struggled a bit with the audiobook edition because I really didn't vibe well with the narrator's tone. Ultimately, this turned me to rent the ebook edition and I am really glad that I did. I FLEW through the ebook in a few hours. I was so engrossed that I did not see any of the twists coming.

This is a gripping tale that has multiple twists with LOT of secrets and dark pasts all around. There are some dark themes here including murder, rape, abuse, etc. so be cautious when reading. With that said, anyone who loves a good psychological thriller should read this book!

“I’m saying that they were going to spread unhappiness—that they were going to make life miserable for people. By subtracting them from the world, I’ve added to the world’s happiness.”