This was one of my most highly anticipated sequels in a while! I was really surprised by how much I liked the first book, but I'm always a bit nervous with how sequels are handled in situations like these: mainly, when the love story between the main characters has been established by the end of the first. All too often, authors feel the need to throw some sort of bomb into the middle of their characters' established relationship simply to create angst and drama, and this always frustrates me. There are so many other aspects of love to explore after a relationship has been established without needing to blow it all up again. And this book has a very good example of how to do this! First of all, simply give your characters something to do, some plot point that keeps them busy. And second (though this isn't necessary), re-focus some of the romance into side characters, which I was pleased to see here.

I was a bit unsure of added POV chapters, as I typically don't enjoy tons of POVs. But, again, with the introduction of a secondary romance, this worked well enough. This worked particularly well because Elm is such a fantastic character in his own right! I also really enjoyed the plot as a whole. There were lots of twists and turns, and the pacing was fast throughout.

Overall, this was a fantastic sequel and I highly recommend it to fans of the first book (though I'm sure they've all read it by this point!)

What an incredible ending to a captivating story. I was glad to see more of the other characters getting POVs. It really captured how everyone was affected by the events that unfolded 500 years prior, and also the events happening during One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns. Elm became one of my favorite characters in this book. I liked and understood him in One Dark Window, but he exceeded my expectations in this one. His friendship and feelings for Ione showed a soft side to his guarded exterior.
Getting into the depths of The Nightmare’s mind and memories made him an even more interesting character to me. He is truly an example of power being a slippery slope. The care he has for Elspeth compared to the memories of his own children had a strong parallel in the way he cared the only way he knew how.
The conclusion was epic and worth all of the heartache and trauma the characters went through.

I loved this dark, mysterious and beautifully written duology so much!! This book was the perfect sequel, and I really enjoyed the new POV of Elm along with Elspeth and Ravyn! The characters are all so well written and I loved them all! It was well paced and full of action, mystery and romance. The world building with it’s magic systems were so unique I would love to read more books in this world in the future! I enjoyed the conclusion but it was definitely bittersweet, I am sad to say goodbye to these characters! I can’t wait to read more books from this author in the future.

3.25 stars

I want to preface by saying I loved One Dark Window (the first in this duology) and I had super high hopes for Two Twisted Crowns and was super excited! Unfortunately, I had a really hard time getting into this one and I didn’t end up loving it like I thought I would.

In Two Twisted Crowns, we get more of the magical/political elements, especially a lot more history. I did enjoy that part at times! There was a second romance in this one that wasn’t part of One Dark Window and I really liked the 2 characters involved in the romance, and I liked them together.

All in all, this one fell flat for me. I didn’t feel invested in the characters or the story in general. I definitely seem to be the odd one out though!

Thank you to Orbit Books for my copy of this!

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

I absolutely adored One Dark Window, so when I got my hands on Two Twisted Crowns I was beyond excited!

I loved the additional POVs we got, I didn't even know I wanted them till I read them. I loved being in Elm's head and watching him grow into who he was meant to be. I loved having another romance to fawn over. I loved learning more about The Nightmare and how everything is so intertwined.

The world building was perfect. I loved the haunted feel the woods has and the spooky aspects of Blunder. I did struggle with the first 40% of the book, it was slower than I would've liked but then I couldn't put it down until I finished it!

My only disappointment is that I can't stay in this world Rachel so perfectly built.

Rachel Gillig knows how to write a sequel. The plot starts immediately, right from the start we are in the action, which is such a smart place to start. Elm is such an interesting character to focus on as our main character and I loved every second of it. He puts forth the most effort for someone who isn't even with him yet.
Did I want more Elspeth? Sure, but I am okay with the background role in this situation.
I know this is a duology, but I want more!

One of the best books I read in 2023. A perfect end to a fantastic duology.

I was a little late to the game with One Dark Window, the first book in the Shepherd King duology. Once I devoured it, I knew without even reading that the follow up would be one of my favorites of the year. The gothic atmosphere, the growing romance, and intriguing plot made me speed through the book. I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH OH MY GOSH!! It literally gave me chills at the ending. This duet will go down as one of my all-time favorites!

This was number 1, an amazing duology and I have and will continue to recommend it to anyone. Number 2, I love when an author literally picks up right were the last book left off. The emotions that I went through in this conclusion book were all over the place. Elspeth has and goes through more than any young woman should and ultimately was by far the strongest character in this book. Elm, such a sweet fella who really came into his own in this book which was rewarding to experience. The love and respect that continues to grow between Ravyn and Elspeth is also rewarding.

I cannot say enough good things about this book and this duology. Do not put off reading these!

A masterful conclusion to a beautiful duology. These characters will live in my head for the foreseeable future. A simultaneously hopeful and devastating story, with characters full of life and humanity. 5/10, 10/10, perfection!

I thoroughly enjoyed the ending to this unique world and could not put it down. This series stayed with me for a while. Two Twisted Crowns was vivid, full of action and did not disappoint. I highly recommend this series for a roller coaster of emotions and a great story.

I have discovered that I LOVE a good duology. You have the perfect opportunity for great plot buildup without any lull with too many books and that appeals to me a lot! I’m not a person that gets easily caught up (or even notices, let’s be honest) intricate plot and character arcs. I just need action, great characters, and satisfying endings!

All of that is what makes this my favorite duology I’ve read to date! One Dark Window is maybe my favorite fantasy ever. Its concept is unique and thrilling, the setting is atmospheric and dark, and the characters are incredible. It did take me a hot minute to get into book 2 simply because the plot had taken the story in a bit of a different direction, and I needed to get used to that. But once I fell back into the rhythm of the story, I couldn’t put it down.

I would absolutely recommend these books to any fantasy lover, or even anyone who is interested in dabbling in the genre, but not comfortable with it yet! You will not be overwhelmed by the complexity, but I do think you’ll be swept away!

A stellar conclusion to a series. I throughly enjoyed this duology. It truly had everything you would hope. Intrigue, magic, romance, beautiful writing, and engaging plot points.

Just about as haunting and beautiful as the first! these books deserve more hypoe than they get and im here for it!

This book was so much fun. It is dark and twisted and the romance in this book was so good. This was a romantasty book that was finally so different from all of the others out there. It felt like a dark fairytale. I enjoyed it a lot, it was even better than the first book!

Just like the first book, I devoured this one in only a couple days. This was a beautiful ending to the duopoly that wrapped everything up nicely while also giving me plenty to think about. Definitely recommend if you liked the first one!

I had to soft dnf this one... I found it really hard to get into. At 30 percent I had to put it down. I'm so disappointed bc I know everyone loves this series, but I'll have to try again later.

The start of the book was a struggle to remember what the plot had been in the first one. That made it hard to settle back into the book and track what was going on within the story. However, once I reminded myself of the story, it was enjoyable and unexpected.

HOW IS THIS BETTER THAN BOOK ONE OMG PLEAS PICK THIS UP!!!!!!!!!! THIS WAS INCREDIBLE AND I HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDING IT OT EVERYONE!

Be wary. Be clever. Be good.
Elspeth has my heart. This whole duology is a work of art. I wasn't sure it could top One Dark Window for me, but it was just as captivating. The perfect wrap up to a beautifully written book. The magic in this world so unique and unlike any other fantasy I have read, yet it was still so cozy and wonderful. This will be a read a pull off my shelf time and time again!!