Book Review: Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft
January 10, 2025
I have to say, I think Allison Saft is my favorite author of 2024 ( even though this review comes to you in 2025 ). I love her world building and the way that they feel so realistic and relatable. I love her characters and how she does her romances. This book was exactly what I needed to end and start the year.
We follow the story of a woman named Wren Sotherland, who is a healer in the Queens Guard. We meet her kind of in the middle of her story, which makes this story all the more intriguing. Prior to where this story begins, Wren has been disowned by the only family she has, the queen, after her own mother passes in attempt to save the life of the man she loves, Wren’s father. She has been sent to an abby to be raised by the women there to be a healer. She makes herself so good at it that she gets recruited into the Guard during a time where the war seems to be unending. Wren has one major flaw, according to her aunt, the queen, and her commander - and the woman she loves - Una, and that is her compassion. She is always doing what she feels is right, even if it goes against her orders, and this leads her into trouble over and over again. Much to her dismay, it even leads her to being removed from the Queens Guard and sent back to the abby she grew up in, and felt to stifled by. She receives a note from a neighboring kingdom, from the ruler himself, that he has had a bout of sickness tear through his staff, leaving him with more loss than he knows what to do with, and more fear than he can handle on his own. He asks for her help in healing one that seems to be hanging on by a thread, and to see if she can figure out what is causing this mass destruction among his people. Feeling like she has no other option, she runs away to his palace and agrees to help heal his servant and come up with a diagnosis. Just when she thinks that she has her feet under her, she meets the young man that she is to be healing, and it is none other than the destroyer of her people - the reaper of her land. What is she supposed to do? Will her compassionate heart lead her astray again, or are things really not what they seem?
I loved this book. I am a huge fan of this author and I love how many things she packed into this novel. A sentiment that is repeated over and over is that you are more than your talents and abilities; you are more than what you can do or what you can provide. Which I always need to hear. There was friendship and betrayal and forbidden love and enemies to lovers and seeing past what someone has done to who they really are and honesty and finally coming to terms with the fact that, even though you love someone, they might not be the best person for you. I cannot say enough good things about this book, and highly suggest it to anyone who likes higher stakes, fantasy with romance and coming of age sprinkled in.
