One Dark Window

An ancient spirit lives in her head, and it grows stronger as she grows weaker.

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig is set in a kingdom where magical Providence Cards decide who holds power and where infected children rarely grow old. Elspeth Spindle has hidden her own infection all her life: ever since she touched a card as a child, she has shared her thoughts with a creature that calls itself Nightmare. When a masked highwayman stops her on the road, he turns out to be Ravyn Yew, the king's nephew. He has a proposal: to collect all twelve cards together before the solstice.

This first book in the Shepherd King duology is gothic romantasy with mist, masks and a forest you would rather avoid. Good companions in the same corner are Serpent and Dove and The Hurricane Wars, and readers of Holly Black will quickly feel at home here too. The romance is given plenty of time, and the voice of Nightmare in Elspeth's head gives the whole story a menacing undertone. This English edition is pleasantly compact and a good place to start if you want to begin the series.