Abstract
Reviewed by: Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Saft, Allison Down Comes the Night. Wednesday/St. Martins, 2021 [400p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781250623638 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781250623645 $9.99 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad Gr. 8-12 She might be the best healer in Danu, but eighteen-year-old Wren still can't win the approval of her ruthless aunt Queen Isabel, and when an act of mercy by Wren sets an enemy free, the queen officially strips her of duties in the Queen's Guard and sends her back to the abbey. There she receives a letter from an eccentric lord, requesting her services to tend to an ailing servant at his estate in exchange for his efforts to broker peace between longtime enemies Danu and Vesria. Wren arrives at gloomy Colwick Hall, with Lord Lowry as her manic, moody host, and realizes with horror that said patient is Hal Cavendish, known by Danubians as the merciless Reaper of Vesria. Still, she swore an oath as a healer and as she nurses him back to health, she realizes Lowry might be more dangerous than Hal and her queen might not want peace after all. The separate plot elements here—the kingdoms' history of wars, the gothic feel of Colwick Hall, the increasingly erratic lord, even the inevitable forbidden romance between Hal and Wren—all work well separately, but when they come together, the plot strands become muddied with no aspect rising to a compelling level of intrigue or interest. Between Wren and Hal, the two have an abundance of regrets, past sins, insecurities, and really awful decisions that make them painfully sympathetic, and their romance unfolds with both heart and heat despite some generic platitudes of love and devotion. Readers are unlikely to be surprised by the political machinations behind Lowry's actions, but the final fifty pages are an exercise in breathtaking action and a happy ending makes for a pleasing close to it all. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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