*Actual rating is 4.5 stars*

Two Twisted Crowns is the second and final book in The Shepard King duology. This book is a lot of things, but boring isn’t one of them. It kept the action, the suspense and the characters I loved from the first book - and then just added more of that while also raising the stakes. The writing is also beautiful and very lyrical, and the magic system still holds a great deal of interest for me.

The main characters are Ravyn and Elm, but we get the occasional Elspeth, and especially Elm turned out to be such a good character. I didn’t pay much attention to him in the first book, but here he really proved that he could carry the story. Speaking of characters who was just kind of there in the first book but made me love them in this book, there’s Ione - Elspeth cousin. I won’t go into anything of her plot for the risk of spoiling things. But let me tell you, she’s precious and deserves the world. Getting to see side characters getting fleshed out and getting an added layer of complexity was amazing, and the author did such a great job at it!

In conclusion - I love this duology so much! Two Twisted Crowns was just as good as One Dark Window, and I especially loved the way the side characters got to shine in this one. So go read One Dark Window, and then read Two Twisted Crowns. Don’t snooze on this dark fantasy duology!

This was even better than the first! I loved the twists in the tale, I couldn't predict what was going to happen, and who would stand by who. The mysteries overlapped and became clear in a beautiful way, all coming together and making perfect sense, as if I should have known all along.
The town, the mist, the magic. It all has such autumnal magic to it, it is perfect for this time of year. The romance as well, it was just enough to keep you interested but not so much it was overwhelming.
I loved the characters, and I loved their development, seeing their personalities and seeing them laid bare.
The ending was perfect, a dramatic finale to a wonderful conclusion. Overall, an excellent duology I'd highly recommend

I absolutely loved the first book and I almost had a heart attack once I saw I got the e-ARC. The sequel and the finale didn’t disappoint.

I dove into it the same way I did with the first book: clueless and eager. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. It continues exactly where the previous story ended and it builds up perfectly until the explosive ending. It explores this unique magic system even further than the first, and this time we have multiple POVs. There are also two romance storylines which are both delicious to follow among all the political intrigue and quest for revenge.

It's an enchanting and dark atmosphere described through a perfect and lyrical writing style. I could feel the tension building throughout the story, and it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

The pace of the story is perfect going from heart-stopping moments to single moments of introspection by the characters. These quieter moments are far from boring and they didn’t break the rhythm of the plot, only added to the tension and to the details needed to build the finale.

I loved to get to know other characters apart from Elspeth, even if her development throughout this story is incredibly described and amazing to see. All this despite her taking the backseat in most of the story. I must admit, I was quite surprised with Ravyn’s evolution too. He was so good!

Loved his banter with the Nightmare. I also enjoyed seeing Elm’s perspective and his struggles, and his chemistry with Ione. Their interactions and POVs add depth to the story, and it was great to see how it all fitted together in the end.

A fitting conclusion that will not let you down! A exceptional duology that I can’t recommend enough.

To start off, I binged this is less than 24 hours but it's taken me 2 extra days to process what's happened and how I feel.

I will be recommending this duology to everyone who wishes to read something new! This is the perfect book for autumn reading, fantasy romance, a fair bit of action, a magical journey and some uncovered secrets.

When you thought One Dark Window was amazing, Two Twisted Crowns was exceptional. I thoroughly enjoyed this duology, and it's in my top 5 favourite series I've read this year.

The world building never fails, it's amazing and unique. Details aren't missed but it's not over the top! Characters, I loved some of them all, regardless of how evil they were. Multiple POVs are my favourite, managed to see more of Elms POV. My top favourite character is 1000 % Ravyn, I love a dark mysterious guy who has many hidden sides and hides his affection for Elspeth.

The journey was jaw dropping and I couldn't stop page turning, the ending had me crying because I can't believe that's it. Why? I need more! Nothing will ever compare to this.

Fantastic book, fantastic read. If I could rate this more than 5 stars I would, and it certainly would be over the chart. The author Rachel Gillig has a way with words and I naturally felt like I was there alongside these characters fighting battle that started 500 years ago all because of a greedy king.

I'm so happy with how the ending came to a conclusion. Rachel's writing is fantastic! This wasn't rushed or muddled, this was thoroughly thought through and was a mind blowing ending to the duology.



🥀 𝔹𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕪. 𝔹𝕖 𝕔𝕝𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣. 𝔹𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕. 🥀

~ Fantasy Romance
~ Unique Magic System
~ 500 Year Old History
~ Revenge
~ Lore


Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
World Building: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Two twisted crowns via Netgalley. In the second part of this duology we continue to follow Ravyn and Elspeth in their fight against the mist, the crown and that absolute tyrant Prince Hauth. I'm sure there is an origin story there but he really is just plain evil!
We are also gifted pov from Prince Elm and Ione Hawthorn which, if possible, are even more delectable than Rayvn and Elspeth's. Their suffering is heartbreaking and takes the reader on a journey aside from the overarching plot.
I found the pacing faster this time around, especially in the last third of the book. Things really escalate and you have no idea how things will pan out until the very end. Its so exciting and terrible for my nerves. I loved it. 
The Nightmare is an exquisite example of morally grey. Corrupted by magic and ambition, he seems irredeemable. However, his relationship with Elspeth and even with Ravyn gives so much possibility for good. I did also like his one sided conversations with Elspeth, a highlight.

So excited for future work of Rachel Gillig. Perfection.

5★ !!

Thank you netgalley for this e-arc!!! This was my most anticipated read this year and I can’t express how grateful I am that I got to read this early.

*“The once was a girl, clever and good, who tarried in shadow in the depths of the wood. There also was a King - a shepherd by his crook, who reigned over magic and wrote the old book. The two were together, so the two were the same. The girl, the King, and the monmster they became.”*

Thoughts:

☆ Where do I even begin. This book was everything I hoped it would be and more! Such a beautiful ending to this duology. I’m sad to part with these characters that very much grew on me. I wish I could stay with them a little longer. I was so surprised when I got to the epilogue because I expected to have at least another 40 pages left, but I didn’t. I just loved the story in this.

☆ The writing is one of my favorite things. I love how this author writes. It’s simple and yet poetic. I just wanna read whatever else this author writes.

☆ The characters: Ravyn and Elspeth will forever be in my heart. I love both of them so much. And the Nightmare also grew on me even more than in the first book. I loved the scenes with him. In general I enjoyed the banter the characters had. It could be a very dark moment but the banter was so fun it made me laugh. And there’s also Elm who I loved very much and was happy to see his story through.

☆ One character that deservers a special point is Ione. I remember I didn’t like her very much (read “at all”) in the first book. I thought she was just cruel. But seeing the backstory of the what and why… I can’t help liking her too. I wonder if I read the first book now if I’d see her differently there.

☆ The autumnal, dark anf gothic vibes in this book were once more on point. I love the world of Blunder.

☆ Also, the PoV?! We got more of them, not just Elspeth and I was living for it. That was such a good decision and I think it made the book even more enjoyable.

☆ I was never bored while reading, there was always something happening. And towards the end I just couldn’t put it down! (I feel like I’d have normally read this book in two or three days, but working overtimes ate my reading time)

☆ I don’t really know what more to say at this point. This book was everything. It made me laugh, it made me cry. I enjoyed it so so much.

*“Be wary. Be clever. Be good.”*

If you enjoyed One Dark Window, just read this! It’s so good! 🖤

Rating:2/5
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Ummm......yeah. This was even worse than ODW. I lie in the minority here, but this duology is wayyyy too hyped. It should've been a longer standalone, because this book just feels too weak. Elm was my favourite character in the first book (didn't care about Elspeth and Ravyn at all, that's why I wasn't really bothered that Elspeth hardly shows up in this book), but in this book, he felt so..... useless. I hated the entire plotline of Elm trying to find Ione's lost maiden card and their romance, because it didn't add any value to the story. The nightmare was the only character l liked in this one. I enjoyed learning about the Shepherd King's past a just family, but the worldbuilding wasn't cohesive at all. I'd expected the author to flesh out the world which was just vibes and nothing else in the first book, but it is still underexplained. The Ravyn plotline was also boring af. The acquisition of the Twin Alders proved to be too easy and low stakes. Another thing that irked me was the fact that the author HAS TO CONSTANTLY REMIND US OF THE NIGHTMARE'S OILY VOICE. Just...why?? I liked the last 10%, though. The ending was quite good and Elspeth and the Shepherd King's final farewell did stir the slightest hint of emotion in me. I'm astounded by the high rating this has gotten. Overall, I wasn't a huge fan of this duology and will most probably forget about it within a few days.

5 ✰

Be wary. Be clever. Be good.

I had the absolute honour of reading an ARC of Two Twisted Crowns and I simply cannot describe how emotional I am after reading this book. We have come to the conclusion of this beautiful, dark, and gothic fairy tale duology and it’s bittersweet to say goodbye to this world and its characters. I had the best time reading this book as I did the first one and as much as I’m not ready to leave, this was the perfect ending.

Picking up where we left off in One Dark Window, we once again follow Elspeth, Ravyn, Elm, Jespyr, and The Nightmare in this quest to find The Twin Alders card. As they continue to find all 12 of the Providence Cards, we are also in for a treat as we get to read more POVs from these characters! When Rachel Gillig said we’d be getting more character POVs in this book, I was most excited about Elm’s POV. I was not disappointed. Besides Elspeth and Ravyn, Elm has to be one of my favourite characters hands down. In One Dark Window, we really only see bits and pieces of Elm — he’s the sarcastic, intelligent, prince who, given any opportunity to use his Scythe card, would do it. So I was very happy that we got to see Elm in a more complex way, especially in his moments with Ione. We get to see how caring and gentle he is with Ione and I loved every second of it. I really was obsessed with their little snippets in One Dark Window so to see them really take the cake in this book was a nice surprise! Although we did get more of them, I still would’ve liked to have read more of Ravyn and Elspeth together. We didn’t really get a scene with them together until the epilogue and I was kind of sad about that. It was understandably so, since in order for us to see Elspeth we would have to say goodbye to The Nightmare.

Which brings me to my next point, the goodbye between Elspeth and The Nightmare was truly another bittersweet moment. As much as I wanted Ravyn and Elspeth to reunite, I never realized the bond between Elspeth and The Nightmare was actually one of comfort and redemption. Taxus trying to make things right with another child figure in his life and Taxus also being one of the only dad figures in Elspeth’s life — it truly made me cry 😭

“The two were together, so the two were the same, the girl, the King, and the monster they became.”

I absolutely loved and adored this series and I definitely see myself having a reread in the near future.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for this ARC and thank you to Rachel Gillig for bringing this masterpiece to life!

5 misty stars/5
OMG! I’m writing this straight after finishing and I can’t think of any word to describe how utterly amazing it was, everything you needed and even more! This was such a great sequel and a perfect way to finish this story!
I really enjoyed that you could see the story from any point of view, so it would give you a complete understanding of the plot. Also, the immaculate vibes of the first book were even better in this one! What can I say, it was pretty amazing, and that ending! Prepare your tissues, friends. It’s been a long time since a duology has made me empathise with the characters so much that I would get all emotional over them. Great, great, great writing style. I would recommend this series 100%,even more if you already like the first instalment.
Be wary. Be clever. Be good.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book for this e-ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars. This was a brilliant sequel to one dark window! I wasn't sure on some of the relationships and pacing at the beginning but the journey this book took us on after the events at the end of book one was immense. I again loved the riddles and poems and the nightmares's wit. Elspeth was my favourite in the last book but following Ione and Elm in this was great. I loved the development of their characters and how they fit in with the overall narrative. I loved the gothic fantasy of this book and the unique writing and magic system within. Absolutely brilliant!!

I received this as an ARC from netgalley for an honest review

I devoured One Dark Window and an ARC of Two Twisted Crowns in less than a week. Everything about them was just perfect and it's the best duology I have ever read.

Two Twisted Crowns picks up right where ODW ends and the story is told from multiple POVs.


Reasons I loved this book:

This is the perfect book to read during the spooky season. The way the world was created meant that I could not only see it but I could feel it, the gothic, spooky atmospheric vibe the author created in my mind of this place surrounded in mist.

The chemistry between the characters was great and in this book thanks to the multiple POV's we got to explore different aspects to the characters. The main story is a quest but there was also an element of romance. I was here for the quest but I enjoyed the romance as I felt it was a great way to develop the characters but it didn't detract from the overall story.

I loved everything about this book, the writing, the world, the magic and the characters. It delivered in all the ways I needed it to and this duology is one of my favourite things I have ever read.

I devoured One Dark Window and an ARC of Two Twisted Crowns in less than a week. Everything about them was just perfect and it's the best duology I have ever read.

Two Twisted Crowns picks up right where ODW ends and the story is told from multiple POVs.


Reasons I loved this book:

This is the perfect book to read during the spooky season. The way the world was created meant that I could not only see it but I could feel it, the gothic, spooky atmospheric vibe the author created in my mind of this place surrounded in mist.

The chemistry between the characters was great and in this book thanks to the multiple POV's we got to explore different aspects to the characters. The main story is a quest but there was also an element of romance. I was here for the quest but I enjoyed the romance as I felt it was a great way to develop the characters but it didn't detract from the overall story.

I loved everything about this book, the writing, the world, the magic and the characters. It delivered in all the ways I needed it to and this duology is one of my favourite things I have ever read.

Atmospheric, eerie, dark, and gripping. it's the second part of an original and fascinating duology.
Great world building, excellent storytelling. God and read it
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

AHH, I’m so excited to have read this as I loved One Dark Window! I am not gonna lie though, I had kind of forgotten what happened at the end of that book, so I was a bit scared I wouldn’t be able to follow the storyline of its sequel…

Two Twisted Crowns, however, is very good at getting you back into the story. I was immediately intrigued again, and Rachel Gillig really manages to draw you in. I loved seeing the story develop throughout the book, and I feel like having three different perspectives all throughout really added to its depth. I also loved all three perspectives (almost) equally.

However, Elspeth’s perspective was sometimes a bit confusing. I am guessing that that was purposely done, but it was sometimes a bit hard to keep track of what exactly you were reading.

The writing of the book is just as easy to get into as the first book, and the chapters are pretty short too, which I personally love. As mentioned, the book has three different perspectives, and every chapter the perspective changes, which definitely worked in favour of the book. I feel like otherwise the pacing of the book might have been off, but this worked perfectly!

My favourite part of this duology has to be the magic system, it’s so unique! I really don’t think I’ve ever seen something like it before. The way the cards work, their powers, everything?? I love it so much.

Overall, I really enjoyed the sequel to One Dark Window, and I am excited to see what Rachel Gillig comes up with next!

Two Twisted Crowns picks up where One Dark Window left off BUT we get some additional POVs through Ravyn and Elm. I felt that the plot moved along much quicker in the second book, but I think this can be attributed to the fact that the unique magic system was well established in the first book so picking up the story was easy.

The new POVs did change over to 3rd person (not a huge fan of this) but getting more of Elm made this worth it! I was more intrigued by Elm in book 1 than Ravyn and his POVs did not dissapoint and I was rooting him and his love interest on from the moment it was introduced.

I did not see the twist at the end coming, but thought the redemption ARC (if you can call it that) for The Nightmare was well done.

I finished this book in one sitting, immediately after reading One Dark Window - which says it all. It was the perfect ending to this duology. I also really loved the writing style, the little rhymes throughout had me smiling.

Big thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“The two were together, so the two were the same: The girl, the King… and the monster they became.”

A great ending to a dark fairytale duology. I was worried how this book would go after the ending of the first as I didn’t think I would enjoy the change in characters. Well I was wrong.

Two twisted crowns leads on from the first straight into the action. We continue with multiple points of view and this really helps to keep the story and action going.

I can’t say much because, well, spoilers! But what I will say is we lead into a new path of plot and story as well as a new romance and I often found myself reading well past my bed time as I didn’t want to put it down.

As in the first I loved the magic system in this book as it’s so unique with chosen magic from the providence cards as well as the infection of magic from the mist.

This book did get more fantasy intense (if that’s a thing?) with a quest and spirits and trials/barters

I do feel like I had a couple of questions at the end that weren’t fully answered but they probably as I wanted to have a more in-depth answer rather than a simple line or two (assuming editing came into that!)

A great fantasy duology that I’ll continue to recommend.

Well shit. This is a fully five star series for me. I will have to come back and write a full review after processing this.

Okay I’m back. This was a perfect sequel. It picked up from the original story and continued the pacing perfectly. It added additional POVs but did so in a way that didn’t make you feel like you left Ravyn and Elspeth behind. There were so many well crafted twists and turns in the plot line of this book it’s hard to talk about how awesome they were without spoiling everything.

What we learned of the origin of the providence cards and the mist was so creative and also heartbreaking. And somehow the nightmare went from being this kind of scary monster to a father figure in a believable way.

Ione and Elms relationship was *chefs kiss* just everything about it, I ended up liking them more than Elspeth and Ravyn by the end.

Two Twisted Crowns🖤
★★★★★/5
What a thrilling finish to a series. Nothing could possibly outshine One Dark Window, but I was proven WRONG! This book was outstanding. Rachel Gillig is a phenomenal author; there's just something about her writing that is impeccable. I was drawn into the plot, the riddles, mysteries, rhymes, romance, everything about this book was exceptional.
The perspectives of Ravyn, Elm, and Elspeth elevate the story to a new level. Two Twisted Crowns brings more romance, mystery, and magic to the equation.
I'm heartbroken that this story has come to an end. One of my favourite fantasy books!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Thank you, NetGalley and Little Brown Book for allowing me to read an early copy of Two Twisted Crowns.

Two Twisted Crowns is book two in the One Dark Window duology, and it doesn´t disappoint.

I loved One Dark Window; the characters, the setting, and the magic system were so original and refreshing that I was scared going into book two. Scared because we left Elspeth lost in her own mind and body and the Nightmare raising to make good of his name.
I was wondering how book two would develop if our main character is basically unavailable to do anything and let me tell you, Rachel Gillig knows how to deliver.

First, in this book, we have our old and beloved friends:
Ravyn, all feelings in his stoic facade.
The Nightmare, is ruthless, unyielding, but also needing to prove his worth after 500 years of misconceptions.
And lastly, Elspeth, now trapped in her own body, is kept safe, able to see the world through the Nightmare's eyes and give the reader glimpses into the past.

But we also get to know muuuuch better Elm, the Princeling, and Ione, Elspeth cousin.
Both of them were very important also in book one, but here they have a new depth and we discover why they are important to the story.
I loved them.
I loved every single Elm chapter, every single word the author has written about him and Ione, and how, thanks to them, the story becomes much more intricate and dark and amazing.

Two Twisted Crowns is the perfect closing chapter to this amazing duology, a dark fairytale, a mysterious adventure covered in mist.

I hope everyone will love this book as much as I did. It comes out in 3 days and I can´t wait for the world to read it.

I hope everyone will love this book as much as I did. It comes out in 3 days and I can´t wait for the world to read it.


ps. I hate Hauth. Like he was the worst character ever, despicable, petty, entitled, and for these reasons, praise to the author (again). Hating a character in a book is as good as loving one, it means the writing does it´s job.

4.75/5 stars

Rachel did it once again and she did NOT disappoint. I love her writing so much and the chokehold this duology has on me is sinister and I fear I'm not going to be able move on from it anytime soon.

TTC was my most anticipated read of the year and I'm so happy with how the story went. I loved the writing and twists for this one immensely, the multiple POV's were such an enjoyable aspect that I was looking for and was very delighted to see, the found family in this duology is to look out for, and what I really liked and was looking for the MOST was how the book focused on Nightmare's character and I'm so glad we got to see the depth of his character and his storyline, I loved how we got to see his past, children and learned more of the cards through his mind and memories. His lore was so well written *chefs kiss*YUM

The romance between Elm and Ione was to die for, the buzz they gave me was insane and all the little hints we got in the first book paid off really well. Although the romance in this book was focused more on them rather than Eplsbeth and Ravyn I did wish we got an extended epilogue for them and get to see more of their HEA because we didn't really see more of them after everything they’ve been through which is a bit upsetting.. and Eplsbeth too like she IS the main character here and she was just absent.... but I guess it makes sense for the plot because everything wrapped up really well, with a satisfying ending.

Overall, I loved one dark window and two twisted crowns so much and HIGHLY recommend them to everyone, so make sure to check them out!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC for an exchange of an honest review!