Not really feeling the gothic much, more fantasy, mystery. Was slow going to me and I didn't care for the main characters either. the story could of been shorter, seemed to just drag on and I kept hoping it got better but it never really happens for me.
I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion from NetGalley.

Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me to read this book!! I still can't believe this happened! :D

In my honest opinion, I think this is a quite enjoyable read, a fun mix between a murder mystery novel and a gothic forbidden romance.

The aesthetics in this book are immaculate, strong Crimson Peak vibes. It does not read like a horror novel but the slight spookiness of the place creates a nice atmosphere.

I enjoyed the forbidden romance, not because it is a trope that I enjoy in general, but because their relationship is so wholesome and soft and they are so cute.

The whole emotion vs. reason trope is probably my favourite part in this book. Wren's character development is fantastic. I think Wren fighting her emotions to be what other people want her to be is a great parallel of the villain's duality.

The storyline is probably what's keeping me from rating it 5/5 because, although it is interesting, the first half of the book seems a bit too slow and at times predictable. Aside from that, I liked it and I think the idea was nicely executed. The ending is satisfactory, in my opinion.

*Thank you to @Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this digital copy in advance, in exchange of an honest review*

I had lots of expectation for this title because the setting seemed to be very difficult to write but also so original. Plus, the trope enemies to lovers is one of my favorite, so I was eager to read it.
Unfortunately, it wasn't entirely my cup of tea.
The idea was good, really, but too predictable. I couldn't believe the only villain of the story would be so obvious. The more I kept going, the more I found myself losing interest in the whole story. For that reason, I was bored even when something really remarkable happened and I felt just the need to finish the book, without enjoying it..
The main characters are interesting, but if I was emotionally drawn to Hal, I hadn't the same connection with Wren. Sometimes she was so annoying in her reaction I wanted to enter in the book and shake her; at the same time the author, through her, expresses properly the theme of prejudice between two countries.
Unfortunately the rest of the characters was too flat and common to be mentioned.
In other words, I think this book needed an additional run of revisions and work on both plot and characters before thinking to release it.
And I'm really disappointed because the idea of the conflict between technology and magic would be very interesting to exploit! Not to mention the different kind of powers mentioned. Why was it all in the background?ç_ç The love story was very cute too but it could be developed with more depth.


It could be amazing, instead it was a good but forgettable.

My review as posted on goodreads (not linking through here because it tends to mix up the progress and edition read):

I don't quite know what to say. There's these kinds of books out there that you take one glance at and you know you'll love them. I don't even mean just because of a pretty cover - I'm pretty sure DCTN didn't even have one when I first heard of it - but rather because of something not fully palpable about the book itself.

This is one of them. I knew I would love Down Comes The Night and I do, I do, I do. I haven't read a book that managed to give me exactly what I wanted in such precise, perfect measurements in ages and to say that I wholeheartedly recommend it is the understatement of the year.
If the title, the synopsis, the cover - whatever it may be - speaks to you, please trust that voice and pick it up. It's a beautiful story about kindness and forgiveness that comes wrapped in wintery, gothic goodness. What's not to love?
I should also mention that the writing is stellar. Very beautiful, almost lyrical at times, but never too much and always fitting to carry the right atmosphere for the scene.

I will probably add some plot and character specific snippets to this review on goodreads closer to release date because it's still so many months away, but I'll let the star rating speak for itself until then.


Thank you so much for Wednesday Books and Netgalley for letting me read this gem early.
I cannot WAIT to hold a finished copy of Down Comes The Night in my hands

For me, finding an author who writes a clean, sweet romance with magic involved? SIGN ME UP.

I loved this little alt universe nod to historical romances. Like, I fell in love with the dialogue, the characters, everything really. It flowed nicely and it wrapped up well.

I honestly have no qualms with this book. I think people would or could say the down-point would be the magic and it's use. However, I found the story stronger without it to be honest that the use of magic was not entirely needed or something that I dwelled upon. However, I can see it as a fault people would and or could have with the book.

The first 50% hooked me. The second 50% lost me. What started as an electrifying premise faded into a confused middle and a bit of a rushed ending.

The good: I was delighted by the presence of our bisexual MC. There isn’t nearly enough explicit bisexual rep in SFF literature, and I thought the f/f/m love triangle was an interesting take on the typical YA genre (Although, to be honest—I really wanted Wren to end up with the f/f side of the triangle) Still, I did appreciate the acknowledgment that her romantic feelings for another woman were still REAL regardless of the fact that she ended up with the man.

I also really enjoyed the atmosphere of the first half of the book. It takes place in a fantasy world reminiscent of Victorian England, with dirty rivers and factories and electric lights warring against ancient healing magic. The novel takes place in the middle of winter, and the entire story feels deliciously cold and claustrophobic as Wren is hemmed in by the endless snow. The magic system was also really interesting, with all of it fundamentally rooted in the human body, healing, and anatomy. Wren’s magic felt more scientific than I was used to, and as a scientific researcher professionally I must say I did love the nod to her experiments and the scientific method.

The bad: Unfortunately, things seemed to fall apart a little bit in the second half. I was hoping Hal and Wren would get to creep around the manor investigating, uncovering grisly secrets (a la Mexican Gothic or Jane Eyre) but it quickly descended into a lot of canoodling, a lot of rushed pacing and not a lot of motivated decisions. Wren’s character fell a little flat to me from the beginning, and I became frustrated by her routinely impulsive decision making (like, of COURSE the army is going to look for you at the home you grew up in…). The most tender relationship for me was the friendship between Una and Wren. I would have loved it to be more romantic, but I did appreciate the idea that you can fall out of love with someone and still remain fast friends.

All in all, a vividly atmospheric world that lacked a straightforward plot and memorable characters.

This book was beautifully crafted and a brilliant combination of fantasy, romance, and adventure. I'm usually not one for fantasy novels unless they're done in a certain way, and this book certainly swept me off my feet. From multilayered characters, to a well-spun plot, I would recommend anyone looking to support a new and upcoming author to check out "Down Comes the Night" by Saft.

Something I wish there would have been more of in the text is the overall world. We hear a lot about it, and there are some good moments of imagery painted here and there, especially when Wren speaks on the war, but it felt disconnected. Now, as I go back and try to remember the world, all I can really recollect are the insides of a few buildings and the remembrance of a castle where Wren's aunt lived. For any novel, especially a fantasy novel, the world building is essential. It is the book. It's where the journey unfolds, and it's where the plot routinely tests the characters. Without the world, there would be no story, so I definitely feel this aspect of the novel could be painted a little better, so it didn't feel so distant.

Overall, I absolutely adored the plot line and falling into this world. I could easily see this becoming a series along similar lines of "Red Queen" series, and I hope it does. There're tons more I want to read about Wren and her story and what comes next after Down Comes the Night, so I hope Saft takes her writing expertise and craft us a second novel.

Review to come on my website 12noon EST

I am... disappointed. <b>Turns out, this is not the book for me.</b>

Listen, I heard gothic vibes and an enemies to lovers romance and I was automatically HOOKED. So when St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books granted my wish on NetGalley, I celebrated like it was Christmas. <b>I enjoyed the first 20% immensely, but after that my enthusiasm waned.</b>

First of all, I really love the worldbuilding. I know this is meant to be set in a Victorian-inspired universe but it gives me early 20th century Europe in anime vibes. A war reminiscent of WWI, gaslamp fantasy elements, lavish nobles and war-torn countries and wow. Exquisite.

<b>However, my biggest concern is that I enjoyed the initial doomed f/f romance more than the main m/f one.</b> Una is Wren's best friend and commanding officer, and their forbidden romance was the perfect mix of tragic and swoonworthy. I don't see this situation in a lot of YA fantasy, so I was immediately hooked. Unfortunately, they can't be together, and soon Wren is whisked away into a manor in another country, and there she meets an enemy she's previously warred with on the battlefield... Hal Cavendish.

<b>This is probably my favorite instance of bisexual MC rep in YA fantasy.</b> The fact that Wren has such clear emotional (and physical) attractions to male and female characters... That Una is a major part in her life, and not just a dead ex or some random girl she slept with... I don't know. I really appreciate it.

<b>The moment we hit the 20% mark, it becomes a different story entirely: a more gothic one that reflects the summary.</b> A spooky house, another forbidden romance, a murder mystery... Sounds excellent on paper. Sadly, I was bored.

<b>Saft has a tendency to over-write.</b> The pacing is already off at times, but her insistence on describing every little detail just made it worse. I know that's a staple of the Gothic genre but I felt like a lot of it was unnecessary, boring, and didn't even contribute to the spookiness. Also, meh, the Wren and Hal romance lacked chemistry, especially after Una.

<b>I DNFed this before I even reached the halfway point. It's not you, book, it's me.</b> Maybe <i>Mexican Gothic</i> has set my standards too high.

<i>Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for granting my wish and providing me with a free e-copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

As soon as I read the description of this book I knew I had to read it. YA; gothic romance; enemies to lovers -all my favourite subgenres and tropes combined. And I liked this book, I really did, but I cannot help to be a bit disappointed as well and that's why I'm only giving it 3.5 stars.

This novel is a great YA mystery with a touch of fantasy and romance, but it wasn't gothic. Gothic is more than an old house and a somewhat Victorian setting. It didn't have the emotion of a gothic romance. Instead we got a heroine who cries about everything and a love interest that doesn't talk much. I had such a hard time relating to any character in this novel -despite being a person who also cries about everything. Wren, Una and Hal were all fine characters, don't get me wrong: they were not too flat, but also not rounded and complex enough to truly fall in love with them.

The romance was a saving grace. I very much enjoyed it, although the love was somewhat instant. It seemed like some of their bonding moments took place in between chapters and the love was therefore slightly sudden and perhaps even a little unbelievable at times.

I don't know for sure if the book is a standalone, but I do know the story would have worked better if it had been split up into at least a duology. Around 70% in it seemed like the story was mostly over as the "big mystery" was solved, and the last 30% read like the perfect start of a sequel. I think especially that first 70% would have benefited from getting an extra 100 pages for more world building, better character development and a proper 'enemies to lovers' romance. Plus the last 30% was incredibly amazing, but it was also very rushed and some things were left unmentioned, so giving it an extra book would have definitely helped me love it even more.

All in all, despite me being an annoyingly critical reader, I did truly enjoy it and I would not be surprised if this book became quite popular. This is an author I will definitely return to once she releases more books (and hopefully one of them will be a sequel to this).

Thank you to the publisher for granting me the wish to read this book. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it. I had thought it was going to be a traditional gothic story, but instead it was about warring kingdoms in a fantasy realm meant to be Victorian England? I do not enjoy books about kingdoms and warriors so I didn't connect to the story. If this was a traditional gothic story with a classic moody atmosphere, it would have been a better read.

Somewhere between a 3 and a 3.5 star! Overall, I enjoyed Down Comes the Night, but I did have a few issues with it.

Firstly, this book was described as a deeply romantic, gothic story with a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance, when, in actuality, it is none of those things. The romance between Wren and Hal felt pretty generic to me and while they had some cute moments, their relationship developed a little too quickly for my liking. I question the “enemies-to-lovers” part because neither Wren nor Hal actually seemed to ever *truly* hate each other, but perhaps Wren and Hal’s relationship is described as enemies-to-lovers only because Vesrian and Danu (their respective countries) are rivals—I honestly don’t know. The only gothic part of this story was the setting, but overall, it veers more toward a dark fantasy than a gothic story.

Also, a couple important events in the story were skimmed over, the most notable being the scene where Wren finds the cure for the mystery illness that has incapacitated Hal. She apparently spent days researching and testing, but all of that is just briefly mentioned and then suddenly, she just...finds it and cures Hal, and then they move on. I wish the process had been written a little more in depth to actually show that it was difficult to find the cure, since that was the reasoning for Wren’s being at Colwick Hall in the first place.

And lastly, the mystery—I had really hoped that the mystery would be more captivating and shocking. I wasn’t at all surprised when everything was revealed. However, I was still intrigued to see how Wren and Hal would defeat the person behind it, and I found myself almost unable to stop reading.

Despite these three things, Down Comes the Night has redeeming qualities. I was able to appreciate the unique magic system, the lovely writing, and the themes this book delivers.

I had a fun time reading this book and I’m very glad I had the opportunity to read it. I would recommend this book, because maybe others will enjoy it more than I did.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to review this book for my honest opinion.

I thought Allison Saft did a great job with Down Comes the Night. With most novels, it takes a bit to get going at the beginning but then the storyline speeds up and becomes more interesting. This novel is not much different from other YA novels since it has adventure, love story, tragedy, a character wanting acceptance, war, etc. However, the way Saft weaves everything together is really quite good.

The story follows Wren Southerland who is ousted by her Aunt who is also the Queen of their country. Wren’s father was a commoner and not of nobility. After Wren’s mother dies when she is quite young, the Queen sends her off to the Abbey to be raised. She learns that she has magic and evolves to be a great healer in their military. The countries in this world have magic and it is war torn. One country is isolated and does not have magic, only technology like gas burning electricity the others countries do not possess. I do not want to give too much of the plot away, but I highly recommend this book.

This was a really good book and I give it 4 1/2 stars. I look forward to reading more from Allison Saft in the future.

What a great Gothic standalone! Down Comes the Night had detailed, descriptive writing, complex, soft characters, and an intriguing storyline. Wren Southerland is a royal bastard and the most talented healer in the Queen's Guard. However, her biggest downfall (or so she thinks) is her soft heart. When Wren is given an opportunity to finally impress her cold aunt Queen Isabel, she jumps at the chance and travels to Colwick Hall (without permission) to heal an eccentric lord's favorite servant. But when she gets there, she realizes her patient is not a servant at all, but the most dangerous soldier in the opposing army, Hal Cavendish, who can kill with a single look. As Wren gets to know Hal, she starts to question whether he is as evil as she's been taught to believe, and she must put aside her hate to work with him to uncover a plot that could destroy both their kingdoms.
Wren and Hal start off so solidly as enemies that even though the summary said they would fall in love, I honestly had no idea how that could be possible. Their relationship is incredibly complex and I loved reading all of their interactions. I also liked the focus put on emotions. Wren is considered too soft by her best friend and commanding officer Una, as well as her aunt, but it turns out that her kindness and gentleness are her greatest assets. Hal, on the other hand, is not necessarily a good person, but he is incredibly kind and loyal. I found that Hal's character and his backstory were somewhat a commentary on the nature of war. I really liked how Hal could have all of these horrible things in his past, but he never tries to justify them.

I received an e-arc of Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This story follows a healer named Wren who is too emotional and reckless for her position on the Queen's Guard, so when she is reassigned from her current position she takes up the offer of investigating and curing a mysterious illness that has befallen a lord's estate. Once Wren arrives at Colwick Hall, she realizes that one of the servants that she has to heal is in fact Hal Cavendish, the Reaper of Vesria, her sworn enemy.
This book took me a bit to get into as it was very slow-paced, but around halfway through it had my attention.
I was interested in the slow burn enemies to lovers romance between Wren and Hal, and I'll be honest it's why I kept reading even though I wasn't that interested in the plot. I was getting vibes of Elide and Lorcan from Throne of Glass from Wren and Hal,
I agree with this book being pitched as an atmospheric, gothic novel, with a romance at the core of the story... if you're a fan of the 'there's only one-bed' trope then you won't be disappointed.
The book was twisted and dark at times and I thought I knew what direction the plot would go, but I was surprised in the end.
I would advise readers of a content warning for graphic medical descriptions if you're squeamish about any sort of medical procedure especially involving eyes proceed with caution.
Overall I gave Down Comes the Night 3 out of 5 stars, it was a good fantasy debut and I was here for the romance.


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Down Comes the Night is a YA fantasy gothic set in a world akin to our own 19th century, with the main difference that magic exists and is used in a bloody war between two countries: Danu and Vesria.

The main character, Wren Southerland, is the niece of the queen of Danu and a talented healer. She is keen to prove herself in the conflict of her queendom with its rival, so she accepts an offer which might help turn the tide of the war. She arrives at a mansion plagued by death and has to solve the riddle of what is happening there, as well as why Danu’s most horrifying enemy, Hal Cavendish, the Reaper, is in the same estate.

I quite enjoyed going back to YA novels after a rather long break. The book was interesting and fun to read, with lots of mystery and a juicy romance. I hadn’t read the description carefully enough to understand that magic is involved, but, after my initial surprise, I was pleased with the situation, as the magic was an important but not overwhelming part of the story.

I can’t lie that Wren was my favourite character – partly due to the fact that I, not unlike her best friend Una, am not a huge fan of emotional and impulsive reactions (which were what Wren had most of the time), but she was far better than many other YA characters. I don’t particularly enjoy the usual overhyped, can-do-everything type of heroines, so Wren felt quite fresh. I liked Hal a lot – he was very self-possessed and his attempts to repent for his previous actions were a nice change. (That’s not to say that it didn’t bug me that he was 19 and already an infamous war criminal.)

The book definitely sparked my enthusiasm for reading YA once again, so I’m really happy about that, hence the additional half a star in the rating, and I’d recommend it to the fans of the genre.

I was drawn to this debut novel by Allison Saft over the cover art, its gothic elements and the promise of enemies to lovers!

I can safely recommend Down Comes the Night to anyone who wants to read a novel with characters who possess a gradual and natural enemies to lovers dynamic, mystery elements and political intrigue. While the main character might not necessarily be considered as a gray character, almost everyone else is, and in a convincing way that doesn't overlook their past mistakes.

The theme of redemption, one's worth beyond their work, the murder mystery were all things that kept my attention alive beyond the main characters falling in love.

I think it could be said that it takes some time for the story to actually start though, so if you find the first few chapters a bit slow, I recommend you stick along.

I went into this book with an open mind, the cover is amazing and I am still a cover judge! The plot was interesting and I connected with Wren. I enjoyed her journey and the mystery around everything she thought she knew. Solid 3-4 star read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the granted wish. The premise was really interesting, I loved the gothic vibes and the "haunted mansion" setting. I found the beginning of the book strong, but things got complicated towards the middle, particularly when Wren, a healer and the protagonist, entered the mansion and met her patient. It was in the blurb that the novel was a deeply romantic YA fantasy, and it was exactly that, but the romance ruined it for me somehow. I enjoy slowburn enemies to lovers, but I wasn't super invested in this one. As for the characters, I found them to be okay at the most, I don't think any of them would be my faves but I didn't think they were bad- they had their moments, good and bad. I was intrigued by the plot at first but I started to feel detached from it as I read along, and I felt like there were still a lot of plot holes. Aside from those, I thought the writing was good.

“She wasn’t weak for feeling. Hardened hearts were breakable. But hers had endured again and again”


2.5 stars.

I think the biggest issue with this book was the marketing (but hey, there's still time to fix that!). Or really, it's just how it was presented to me and the rest of those readers I see anticipating the release of this book. This book isn't bad, but it's not great either. Goodreads says two stars means it's okay and really, this was okay. Down Comes the Night felt more young adult-y (in all its trope-y young adult-y ways) than what I was expecting: a slow-burn, gothic, enemies to lovers. This book was none of those things. For someone who enjoys young adult novels, especially the fantasy kind, you'll probably really enjoy this. However, if you're looking for a delicious gothic tale that leaves you claustrophobic and scared with some romance mixed in ... this isn't it.

My other gripe with this book was how long it was. I would have shaved off at least a hundred pages, easily. So little happened in so many pages that I considered skimming the book instead, but stopped myself and kept waiting for the book to pick up. It sort of did but nearly towards the end which, for me, was too little too late.

We start the story with Wren Southerland, a healer in the queen's army. Her and her commander, Una, are on a mission trying to find any information regarding fellow soldiers who have gone missing while on patrol on a border shared with a neighboring country they're on rocky relations with (and have previously gone to war with). Wren has always tried to prove herself to the queen but her compassion has often led her to choices that have left her on thin ice. While I admire compassion and a kind heart (something the book really wants you to know is so important), I have to say that the book didn't really start off too great for me. Wren's empathy or whatever we want to call it is important, but as a member of the army, should be balanced with rationale, which we see none of. I get it, the message is to be kind no matter what, that kindness is a strength, not a weakness but it's a little too in your face and kind of impractical. Or just a little bit far-fetched. Not to mention how this soft-heartedness is contrasted in a way to make another character's (Una, my favorite and the true gem in this book) less "emotional" demeanor look really bad.

Now, after making yet another bad decision, Wren is taken off the guard. An opportunity arises where Wren believes she can prove her worth to the queen and get reinstated, yet when she gets there, nothing is as it seems. When she gets to the house that has requested her services as a healer, she finds the place eerie, cold, full of odd noises at night, and worst of all, harboring her country's most notorious enemy, war criminal Hal Cavndish. To make matters worse, he's who she's been asked to heal.

It is important to note that when this book mentions heal, it doesn't mean healing in the traditional sense but in a magical sense. There's magic in this universe, some are able to heal with it, other to kill and ... some other stuff I'm assuming that isn't really delved into. That's the other thing, I wasn't expecting there to be any magic and that definitely changed the tone of the novel for me. When I saw healer in the synopsis, I thought it meant healer like a medic. This might have been my bad, but with this added element of magic, this book felt more fantasy than gothic novel. I would have liked to have known more about the universe and how the magic works exactly, but this isn't really expounded upon.

Actual meaningful interactions between Hal and Wren are scarce, yet we're supposed to buy that how they start to grow, understand, even care for each other. I just didn't feel it. Wren's behavior towards Hal is downright confusing and frustrating. He even calls her out on it.

“I can’t figure out what you want from me.” He sounded almost anguished, but his eyes still held accusation. “If I keep my distance, you needle me. If I’m vulnerable, you burn me.”


She's mostly awful to Hal, with the occasional "kindness" when she ... you know, doesn't kill him when she could. That's really it. It's frustrating because every time you think a step or two towards trust or some sort of progress is being made, Wren says or does something that takes us three steps back. This is especially confusing to read because we've been constantly told how compassionate and loving and soft-hearted Wren is. I felt nothing for the two of them, although I was slightly intrigued by Hal as a character. (Once again, Una is the unsung hero of this novel.)

The only gothic part of this book is the setting sort of but it's only a fraction of the story. This feels more like a mystery than a gothic novel. I was under the impression I'd be reading a slow burn with forced situations where two enemies had to work together, only having each other to rely on and begrudgingly trust. Instead, we get I think one instance where that happens and it's very brief. (view spoiler)

At the end of the day, the idea was interesting but I think the execution just didn't work out for me.

Please note that I received an advance reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My most anticipated read of 2021 became one of my favorite reads of 2020. Luscious and exquisitely gothic, this story is written so well you will feel like you're a character in the mansion. My only gripe is a very slow start (about the first 1/3) with pacing that did not flow with the rest of the book, and that is what kept my rating from being a full 5 stars. The writing style, character development and world building were executed with natural passion and mastered talent; I'm very surprised the author has no former published works. This will be a book (and author) I will be sure to recommend to all of my friends. Thank you to #NetGalley for granting my wish by providing an eARC to review.