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One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, 1)

THE FANTASY BOOKTOK SENSATION!

For fans of Uprooted and For the Wolf comes a dark, lushly gothic fantasy about a maiden who must unleash the monster within to save her kingdom--but the monster in her head isn't the only threat lurking.

Elspeth needs a monster. The monster might be her.

Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom she calls home--she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.

But nothing comes for free, especially magic.

When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it. Except the highwayman just so happens to be the King's own nephew, Captain of the Destriers...and guilty of high treason.

He and Elspeth have until Solstice to gather twelve Providence Cards--the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly, darkly, taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.

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Published Sep 27, 2022

432 pages

Average rating: 8.08

1,681 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *One Dark Window* offers a compelling gothic fantasy with a unique magic system and a brooding, mysterious tone that kept many hooked, esp...

KelBel
Sep 07, 2025
8/10 stars
4 star read. I liked this book. The magic system was interesting. I liked the balance aspects of using magic and the Providence cards. The world building was good and I liked the main male and females characters. I'm eager to read the next installment to find out what happens to Elspeth and Rayvn. I wonder why she (or the shapard king) never tried to touch any of the other cards to absorb those powers... The shapard king created the cards.. But why. Magic was around when he was. Something about the "infected" isn't what it seems. To come into powers like that.. But then what of the degenerarion?? So many questions.
Kristin Rose
Apr 01, 2025
8/10 stars
Be wary ~ be clever ~ be good.

Zya The Book Dragon
Mar 05, 2025
8/10 stars
Very slow to get going, but the whole book was full of hints and clues that dragged me in. Forced proximity may be a new favorite trope of mine.
Biancamoodreads
Nov 18, 2024
10/10 stars
Really flawless but don't expect a grand love story because this is not that!
T_Sander
Aug 30, 2024
10/10 stars
Beautifully eerie. Wonderful symbolism of trees too. I had fun with this story

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