“𝑨𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒘, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒎 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍.”

In the enchanting realm of dark fantasy, Rachel Gillig's "Two Twisted Crowns" unfolds as a narrative masterpiece, guiding me through a mesmerizing journey filled with magic, intrigue, and profound choices. It's the perfect blend of big personalities, epic character relationships, and a slightly messy, adventurous plot that kept me hooked and wanting for more.

“𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒙. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆.”

The way One Dark Window ended, I had no idea how the author would continue the story but she used such a smart way to do it 💖 The plot is mainly following three gripping storylines – the otherworldly dream state, the hunt for the final Providence card, and the battle for the throne. Each plotline moves at a brisk pace, keeping the excitement alive. The magic system continues to shine and we learn a lot more of it through this book, adding layers of intrigue and making me care about the cards and how they interact with the characters. Elspeth and Nightmare's relationship remains the crown jewel of the story. Nightmare's role in the story surprised me in the best way possible, and Elspeth, while taking a backseat at times, acts as a crucial bridge between humanity and the captivating cast of characters.

Gillig's characters shine as the pièce de résistance of the story. She crafts her villains with a brush steeped in the pure essence of malevolence, while her heroes become an intricate tapestry of flaws and redemption. The spotlight on characters like Elm and Ione, especially after the gripping cliffhanger of One Dark Window, exemplifies Gillig's audacious approach to defy conventions and infuse her tale with layers of depth.

“𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝒍𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓.”

This book is a whirlwind of emotions, beautifully captured through Gillig's evocative writing. At every twist and turn, it intricately weaves darkness with beauty, and hope with despair. She nailed the gothic vibes, and it's easily the most atmospheric book I've read in a while. The entire setting is dripping with the kind of dark, mysterious energy that makes you want to curl up with a cup of tea and get lost in the story. While the trajectory of the narrative may have been anticipated, Gillig's brilliance lies in her presentation—dark, twisted, poetic, and metalinguistic. The predictability of the outcome doesn't diminish its impact; instead, it enhances the journey, making each moment all the more poignant.

Two Twisted Crowns not only lived up to my expectations but surpassed them. It's not just a sequel, but a magnum opus in its own right. It addressed all the small issues I had with the first book and Gillig penned a tale that's both hauntingly beautiful and intensely gripping. It stands as a testament to her talent, weaving a finale that is hard to forget and impossible not to love and I couldn't have imagined a better way to end the series.

The Shepherd King duology by Rachel Gillig just joined my all time favourites list. I finished the conclusion, Two Twisted Crowns, today and when I say it gave me everything I wanted and more I really mean it! I absolutely adored One Dark Window and I’m so happy that Two Twisted Crowns lived up to the precedent set in book one.

I was initially nervous going into this that there was so much weight on characters that were prevalent but not the main characters in book one. I was left so pleasantly surprised and completely wrong in my worries because Rachel Gillig blew it out of the park and the characters I wasn’t even wholly sure I wanted to know more about might have somehow become my favourites!

Such an amazing follow up to an incredible first book. Loved this one! The gothic vibes were perfect and I loved the new romance.

What a sequel!! I adore this duology, it's fun, absorbing and swoon-worthy!

Two Twisted Crowns hits the ground running and never really stops. It's full of action, adventure and some top-tier tension-filled romance!
The plot and lore expand upon what we learned in One Dark Window without overly complicating it.

I already loved the dual magic system and the backstory/history which is revealed in Two Twisted Crowns. It is unique and interesting how different yet linked the magics are. The card concept is *chefs kiss* and I love anything relating to a witch in the woods!

I'm obsessed with these characters. The introduction of Elm's POV was perfection in my eyes. I was living for his and Ione's plot line and romance. It worked seamlessly with the main plot line following the Nightmare/Elpbeth, Ravyn and Co on on their adventure.

The Nightmare is of course a stand-out. He is such an eerie and mysterious character while also bringing excellent comic relief with his short temper and one-liners.

While I'm sad Elspeth's story is at an end and The Shepherd King duology is now complete, I have enjoyed every second of this adventure and excited to see what Rachel Gillig releases next!

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

I loved Elm and Ione's relationship, and the development around their characters and POV. The world building is excellent and the magic with the cards is incredibly original and enjoyable, in a genre that can be oversaturated with similar content.

As a dark horror/fantasy romance this hit the mark, and I read it in one evening.

5/5

I was really excited but a bit anxious to read Two Twisted Crowns because One Dark Window is a favourite of mine. However, the second book did not disappoint. I found Two Twisted Crowns different in pacing and style from book one, but it was so exquisitely written and beautifully presented that it stole my heart. Again. This will be one of the series I go back to reread over the years!

In this book, we see the origin story of the Nightmare and Blunder and we go deeper in understanding all the other characters. I thought Rachel Gillig had done an amazing job in character-building. For example, the shift from Elspeth with the voice of the Nightmare to the Nightmare with Elspeth hidden underneath is brilliant. One of the central points here is Elms and Ione's blooming relationship, which I'm not going to lie, is the dark fairytale romance I've seen so far. I enjoyed the time given to both characters and the depth of their development. It made me really invested in the story and incredibly satisfied with the conclusion of the duology.

As in One Dark Window, I have nothing to share other than superlatives for the world-building and the magical system in this series. It's different, imaginative, smart and thought-provoking. The books are a piece of art and for me, showcase the perfect dark adult fairytale! I was blown away! I cannot wait to see what else the author publishes but I will be buying it for sure.

Highly recommend The Shepard King duology for anyone who likes dark fairytales, it's a must-read!

Im pretty disappointed that I didn’t love this book as One Dark Window was an incredible read that I decided to jump straight into Two Twisted crowns the day after finishing the previous book- I never do that, I space my series’s out to the point I forget most of the previous books but I was eager to find out the fates of these character and what would happen in this world after the previous books ending.

To avoid spoilers it’s hard to say what the book is about but we basically continue right after the previous book with Rayvn and The Nightmare/Elspeth searching for the Twin Alders card to unite the deck and Elm and Ione become a central part to this book.

I’ll start with what I loved about this book:

The nightmare and Elspeth were hands down the best part of this book imo, the nightmare had a intriguing back story we got to learn about, there’s some cool and interesting magic with this duo and their relationship with each other was a delight to see how they both thought.

The magic I thought to be really cool with the cards and the mist surrounding the town.

A beautiful conclusion to the first book that wrapped up a great duology, if you enjoy the first book and are wanting to know how it ends I definitely recommend, despite my rating I’m black I still read it.

I enjoyed the banter and relationship between The nightmare and Rayvn more than I expected, how they learned to trust each other and work together was a nice thing to read about.

I loved the world and scenery of them travelling through the forest in search of The Twin Alders, the character we saw, the magic we ran into and the backstory we learned were all my favourite parts.

Now the things I didn’t enjoy as much:

Elm and ione! I found these characters to be incredibly boring, I was not interested in their instalove romance at all and whilst the first book focused on elspeth, the nightmare and rRayvn, I really feel like Two Twisted Crowns made Elm and Ione the main characters and focused on a plot that was not as engaging or interesting as Elspeths. I was pretty excited to see a new POV from Elm in this book but it very quickly irritated me when half the book was about the 2 characters I wasn’t interested in. I did enjoy them both individually in the previous book but as main characters I lost interest.

Unfortunately in this book we see less of Elspeth, I understand why we don’t see her, even her lack of thoughts compared to what we had from the nightmare in the first book is very understandable but I was disappointed as they were the best thing about this book and Elspeth just didn’t feel like she was a strong presence in the story anymore.

The pacing I found to be a little difficult, the writing was good and story was overall good but because we would rotate POVS and my interest in Elm didn’t exist I had a really hard time pushing through his chapters.


Despite not liking Elm I did enjoy a few chapters with him and the king, especially when he would use his scythe card but the romance isn’t for me, in fact I was disappointed that there wasn’t much romance between Elspeth and Rayvn- if you enjoy Elm and are interest in the story of Ione and her maiden card then I’m sure you’ll love this.

Overall I do say the duology is worth reading to finish the conclusion to this story, my problem is just the introduced POV that I was not interested in.

I would give this book 5 ⭐️ if it was just for the Nightmare, Elspeth and Rayvns story for the search of uniting the deck but with most the story feeling like it was focused on different characters I’ll give it 3 ⭐️.

I loved this book so much!!!

Such a great finish to a brilliant duology.

Brilliant world building just like book 1, the character development was on point and it has one of the best magic systems i've read about in a while.

I loved the different of POV's and the Nightmare being at the forefront. I liked learning more about Elm and his progression through the book. I really like the ending and felt it finished of the story really well.

*ARC received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5 rounded upto 4)

This book did NOT disappoint!! Honestly, just loved it. The world building, the plot, the romance between Elspeth and Ravyn, it was AMAZING. The conclusion just absolutely left me wanting for more Elvyn moments 😭

Rachel Gillig has done an amazing job. I literally finished this book in 1 sitting, it was that good. Highly recommended!

I loved the first book in this series so much, the dynamic between Elspeth and the Nightmare was intriguing, the mystery surrounding the cards and the shepherd King and the world building kept me wanting to know more.

This book could have been shorter, the meandering plot following the romance between Elm and another character (who I’m not going to name because of spoilers) was focused on for way too long and by the time we got back to the main plot I’d almost lost interest. This is not to say that it didn’t get interesting again, Gillig is a talented writer with an ability to create a vivid fantasy horror scape, I just wish there had been more of that.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This duology is my new obsession! I enjoyed One Dark Window but I loved Two Twisted Crown. That's how good this sequel is.

I think Two Twisted Crown had everything I was missing in the first book. The fantasy elements with cards and enchanted forest are very unique and well-crafted. The whole duology has this brilliant dark gothic atmosphere I like in the books. The romance in the first book wasn't working for me, but here in the second book, we got a new couple and I rooted for them from the start. They had passion and chemistry between them, and their love felt more real to me. Loved them so much! With that being said, the characters got more depth and they felt more like a real people than in the first book. All of them had distinct personalities and personal secrets that improved the story so much. And the storyline was really intriguing and I couldn't put the book down. There was switchinh between different POVs this tíme and it added to the overall suspense the author was creating. And the whole conclusion was just a chef's kiss.

And even though I usually don't like fantasy romance, this duology has my heart! I loved it and can recommend it to anyone because it has the great balance between fantasy and romance, and the whole world is just so interesting! And if you read One Dark Window already, don't hesitate with this one!

Easily one of my favourite reads this year! It's hard to write a review about a book you have zero criticism for. I fell in love with Elm, all the characters, the vibe, the atmosphere and setting. The writing style is amazing and I highly recommend it!

This is the perfect follow on book from One Dark Window, the magic system in these books is new and exciting with the cards. I really enjoyed the dual pov, adding to the weaving stories filled with emotion, rage and betrayal!!

All the stars, take them!! This was amazing. Kicked off right where the last book ended and kept the pace up right to the end. Elm and Ione were the romance we didn’t think we’d need. Amazing, brilliant well told story !

Two Twisted Crowns is a sequel that swept me away. I finished it while landing because I had to finish before I left the plane. The world building with the cards was a major reason I loved One Dark Window. It's inventive, unique, and fresh. But Two Twisted Crowns digs into the lore and the stories more than I expected and I adored it. We delve into the why, the ways our actions end up twisted, and betrayals inspire rage. Being multiple POV gave Two Twisted Crowns something for everyone.

I loved this duology! I absolutely adored the characters, world building and magic system. I think adding in Elm's POV was such a good idea for this second book and loved where his story went. I'm excited to read more by this author and would love to get to revisit this world.

Rachel Gillig has fast become my favourite author! I don't think I will ever be over the absolutely beautiful, haunting setting of Blunder. We picked right up from where book one finished, the pacing was beautiful and i couldn't stop turning the pages. Gillig's writing is so incredibly rich and thought provoking, every paragraph paints a perfect picture and I will recommend this duology until I die!

Thank you to net galley and the little brown book group for this e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

NOW THIS IS HOW YOU DO A SEQUEL. I loved every second of this, the character developments continued on from what was set up in the first book and all me questions were answered perfectly. Somethings may have been predictable for me, but in my eyes that is a sign of good foreshadowing and I like it. My only criticism is that I wanted more Elspeth, I know why she wasn't the central character in the same way as book one, but she really stole the show in book one and I wanted to see more of her.

I have picked book 1 up out of a whim and have to say I was extremely surprised by how wonder it was.
The author's writing is absolutely stunning. She created a rich and delicious world with flashed out characters that are impossible not to love.

I was so excited when I got this as an arc, especially after the cliff hanger that One Dark Window ended on!

And honestly this sequel did not disappoint. I could not put it down and absolutely raced through it.

This was the perfect spooky October read with so many creepy aspects (mainly the nightmare) as well as more information on magic and the history behind the fog.

I also really enjoyed Ione and Elm’s stories and the seeing their perspectives and how much they were hiding from the rest of the characters and how much they had suffered.

The villain prince was a teeny bit evil for evil’s sake but the Spirit of the wood and the nightmare’s conflicting loyalties and agendas more than made up for it.

Overall, a 5 star read and would definitely recommend this duology to anyone wanted an amazing autumnal read.