Down Comes the Night is Allison Saft’s debut novel. As a debut, it is a perfectly adequate story involving two war-torn countries on the brink of another disastrous war and two enemies who learn to look beyond the surface to see the truths lying underneath. As an enemies-to-lovers fantasy, there too is it acceptable. While the story fails to wow you, it does enough to entertain as it drives home its lesson that emotions are not a form of weakness.
To me, Down Comes the Night is really more of a coming-to-age story. Wren must find her path as she waffles between her love for her best friend, wanting acceptance from her aunt, and following her heart. The story is Wren’s journey as she uncovers secrets, learns some hard truths, and discovers love where least expected.
The romance within Down Comes the Night is sweet but lacks any chemistry between the two characters. Even one very intimate scene is missing the heat one expects with such tropes. While I still enjoyed the trope, I missed the butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling a steamy, chemistry-laden relationship creates.
All of this reiterates that Down Comes the Night is a decent debut novel. After all, it follows a predictable path with one or two minor surprises to jolt you out of any sense of complacency. Ms. Saft’s writing is basic and simplistic, but I do think she shows promise. With a little maturity and more experience, I believe Ms. Saft has the makings of a good writer of young adult fiction.
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