One Dark Window drops you into a city surrounded by a creepy mist thanks to some old disaster—probably something a man did—and now there’s this fever that gives people magic powers. Sounds cool, right? Except it’s really not, because anyone who catches it is in serious danger. Well, unless you’ve got magic cards—those are somehow the exception.

Enter Elspeth, who catches the fever but gets sent off to live with her aunt in the woods by her dad, who’s busy with his new family (think evil stepmom vibes). While she’s out there, she keeps to herself—except for the evil, shadowy Cheshire Cat thing living in her head. So, you know, nothing too weird.

Then, as one should expect when an introvert is forced to be social, nothing goes as planned and she ends up not only a mission to collect magic cards before the King can, but she gets a fake boyfriend/courter/fiance 🤷🏻‍♀️. Yep, fake dating with high stakes, and it’s as awkward as you’d hope. But the slow burn romance is just the right pace—two people who are figuring each other out, while also pretending to be a couple. And it works. 

This book has all the things—dark secrets, tense moments, and a romance that sneaks up on you. I’m going to go out on a limb and call it a cozy gothic fantasy.