I am so obsessed with this series!!

I really enjoyed getting to know the characters better in this book and I walked away liking them even more than I did in the first.

I was also totally invested in the new romance!! And I have a new favorite character...

One story line didn't have quite as much romance as I wanted, but overall, I super enjoyed this.

Can't wait to see what Rachel Gillig does next!

OH MY GOSH!! This duology was a 5 star read from me! I underestimated how amazing it would be going into it but I am so glad the second was available as soon as I finished the first because it was that amazing! I can not recommend this book enough to people. The author did a fantastic job of making me love these characters and the character arcs in this one were *chefs kiss*!! I cant wait to forget details to reread the book like it’s the first tome again!

I love love loved this duology. I’m so torn - I want this series to keep going, but I also think this was the perfect length for the story. I just hated to leave these characters so soon! This gothic, spooky, dark magic story had all a hold on my all the way through. I was dying for just a bit more of Ravyn and Elspeth/Nightmare, but I'm go glad we got a deeper dive into Elm and Ione. Overall, the characters, the world/magic, the story I LOVED it all and am so sad it's over.

I just— I have no words. Just incredible.

Update: Now that I have pulled myself together after finishing this read, I cannot recommend this duology enough. One of my all time favorite reads.

As the author address in their acknowledgments, a sequel is not an easy thing to do. It is not easy to do incredibly well when the first book was already so perfect. And it is certainly not way to do knowing that it is the closing chapter of a story and of characters you have become so attached to. But this sequel nailed it. It took me much longer to read than it should have simply because I did not want it to ever end, so I figured I would just draw it out indefinitely.

This second book not only delved into the story where the first book left off, bur it also gave us a much deeper insight into characters from the first book - some of whom i was desperately wanting to know more about after the first bool and others that i didn't know I needed more of until I experienced them. Ione, Elm, the Nightmare. Just incredible character building.

If you have not read this duology by Rachel Gillig yet, then move it to the top of your TBR pile! I cannot wait to dive into this world again with a reread.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for an ARC of this masterpiece.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a perfect ending to the Sheperd King Duology.

I loved the One Dark Window, but Two Twisted Crowns is even better. Everything about this book is absolute perfection. I seriously don't have words adequate to convey how stunning this final book is.

Two Twisted Crowns is the second installment of The Shepherd King Duology. Although we have the same characters from the first book we see a shift on who the story focused on. This was such a dark and beautiful ending to the series. I felt like nothing was left unanswered. We get some more great character development for people that only had supporting roles in the first book and also got to dive much deeper into the folklore of the Nightmare. This whole world, magic system, and characters were so unique and well thought out. Loved this series!

After giving herself over to the Nightmare to save those she cares about, Elspeth Spindle is completely trapped within her own mind. As she delves into the Shepherd King’s past and tries to cling onto her own free will, the kingdom of Blunder is in the hands of those she left behind.
Ravyn knows he must finish his and Elspeth’s quest to unite the Providence Cards and lift the curse, but tracking down the Twin Alders seems impossible without the help of the woman he loves. Elm is finally free from the torment of his elder brother following the Nightmare’s attack, but that means his father’s cruel attention is finally turned to him. Elm and Ione, joined by BLAH’s cruelty, band together out of mutual need to find Ione’s maiden card and break the curse- freeing her emotion is just a useful side affect. It’s a little bit of rebellion, they just need each other’s help, but the longer they spend together, the more reason they have to want Ione to be able to feel again.

As the mist clings to blunder and the Destriers track down the infected, the deadline of the solstice looms. Centuries of scheming are in motion, but Ravyn, Elm, Ione, and the echo of Elspeth trapped within her own mind must work beside, rather than against, the Nightmare to reach the final resting place of the Twin Alders. But is victory truly worth aligning with a monster?

What a sequel! I liked One Dark Window, but didn’t love it and I was worried about what the next book would be following Elspeth’s sacrifice to end the first book. Rather than undercutting the magnitude of Elspeth’s decision, Gillig made the risky choice to switch focus to secondary characters (Elm and Ione) and it paid off in a compelling manner. Ione’s struggle to feel again matched with Elm’s use of hedonism to cover his deep hurt to give them parallel character arcs that made watching them work together to find Ione’s Maiden card consistently engaging. Their chemistry was also great. I love them both fiercely and connected to them more strongly than Ravyn or Elspeth.

This reminded me a lot of the “His Fair Assassin” series, where the first book (Grave Mercy) was enjoyable, but the sequel (Dark Triumph) took a darker tone and promoted a secondary character to protagonist to create a story I absolutely loved. Similarly to that series, I can see One Dark Window being more someone’s thing, but for me, Two Twisted Crowns out does it on every front.

I also love to see a duology! Everything isn’t wrapped up too neatly, but the series feels complete in a satisfying way. Gillig left a lot of balls in the air and the end of the first book and while it makes the plot a little hard to summarize to start my review, on the whole, it’s handled with balance and good pacing. I’m honestly impressed. Strong recommend!

An amazing follow up to One Dark Window. I loved learning more about Ione and Emory. Their romance was so healing and satisfying. I think the Nightmare's control over Elspeth's body was handled really well. Overall, it lived up to it's twisted name in an excellent way. Highly recommend!

I probably shouldn't have tried to read this as I barely finished one dark window, but this series was so hyped online I thought I was missing something. Had to DNF. I just couldn't get into the card magic system and I truly didn't care about any of the characters. It wasn't even that I didn't enjoy the writing style, I think this book just wasn't for me

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig is the concluding second book of The Shepherd King series.

In Rachel Gillig’s Shepherd King Series, we are introduced to Elspeth Spindle, a girl infected by magic who can hear the Nightmare’s voice inside her head. Elpseth’s infection is both a protection to her - as the Nightmare presence has the ability to guide her - and a danger - as the people in her city of Blunder imprison anyone with a magical infection.

Enter the Captain of the Destriers, Ravyn, who leads the King’s guard and is responsible for ensuring the city of Blunder is safe from those who are infected.

As Raven and Elspeth dance around each other trying to determine who to trust, we also get to know both Raven and Elspeth’s families, friends, and mortal enemies intimately.

What makes Two Twisted Crowns a must-read to continue this series is that our exposure to other characters opens up and brings a greater depth to one’s love of these characters and all their connections. We don’t have to concern ourselves with a love triangle (my least favorite trope!) but instead we experience the unfolding of another friendship to budding romance.

Ultimately, however, Gillig’s focus on a redemptive arc is by far my favorite part of Two Twisted Crowns. I love the reflective plot mirror between present and ancient times and I love the familial we see between sister and brother.

Within the manors and palaces of Blunder’s nobility, roads stalked by dangerous highway men, mist-wrapped forbidden forests, and dank dungeons, we discover a gothic, dark fantasy worth your time.

I really enjoyed this book. There was only one POV that I thoroughly enjoyed and was excited to read more from throughout the story. I felt that this book wrapped everything up nicely. I had a lot of fun. I rate this book a 3.75.

Wow!! Even better than I expected! I was originally sad about the tone story feeling change because I loved the first so much but this pulled me back in so quick! I loved it and the twists and turns were actually super unexpected! We finally get a lot of the background to the Shepard king and that time frame that you crave from the first book. There was more romance and unexpected love at that. A must read, soooo good!!

Such an amazing series! Wasn’t sure about my fantasy era but this series has thrown me into it! Thank you NetGalley for letting me review Two Twisted Crowns!!

I loved the conclusion to this series. The twists and turns were outstanding. This setting was beautiful and I love the gothic vibes. I cannot wait to see what Rachel Gillig does next

It's always so hard to review a sequel because you never want to give spoilers away but oh. em. gee. This book was so good! We got additional points of view, more of that dark and misty world, and more romance! I couldn't read this book fast enough and I am so excited to see what Rachel Gillig writes next! This was the perfect conclusion to the duology!

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

OBSESSED IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT!

While I loved One Dark Window, I felt like something was missing and I wasn't sure what it was... Two Twisted Crowns provided exactly what I needed: more Elm and Ione.

Ravyn and Elspeth are the blueprint, but Elm and Ione are the IT COUPLE.

I wasn't expecting to love a gothic fantasy novel this much (I'm normally more of a cozy fantasy or adventure/sea-faring quest fantasy kind of girly), but this duology blew my expectations out of the water. While the praise says "perfect for fans of the For the Wolf duology", this is also for people who didn't like that series, because I didn't care for it at all. This is 200x better, and it's all thanks to how Rachel Gillig writes her characters.

Ione and Elspeth are the baddest girls around and they should know it! Elm truly is a king who is still somehow kind, despite everything he's been through. Ravyn is the strong, brooding male lead that we deserve. And the Shepherd King... that's babygirl.

I don't want to give too much away, so I'll leave it at this: please read this series. It's so worth it.

What a fantastic sequel/ending to this duology, and what a brilliant way to have the story unfold! Especially considering how the first book ended! o.O I'm in awe and I'm sated and yet I also can't wait to read more from this author.

What a wild, adventurous, gothic, satisfying end to the duology. I miss the story already and the characters I've come to love. I wish I could go back and reread it for the first time again! Rachel Gillig is a master at character development, now that I`m finished this series, I'm 100% committed to reading everything else she writes! This is the first fantasy romance I`ve ever read that's totally unique, it was such a breath of fresh air and captured my interest right away. I'm also a sucker for a gorgeous cover and artistic chapter pages. I ended up buying both the two books to display on my bookshelf.
Thank you for the ARC!

I want to thank Netgalley for giving me an arc in exchange of my honest review.

This was literally one of the best sequels I have ever read. I loved seeing more of Elspeth and Ravyn and the lengths they'll go for each other as well as the quest to find the rest of the cards. I loved how the secondary characters of the first installment were basically main characters in this one and I enjoyed every single interaction y'all. I loved how Rachel Gillig gave us another love story and honestly y'all their chemistry was amazing! I really loved loved loved going back to the past and learning a lot more about the shepherd king and idk I just felt so bad for him. Honestly all the characters went through a lot and I'm just so glad the ending wasn't a tragic one.
This was honestly an amazing conclusion to this duology and I'm honestly obsessed.

I got lost in this and i don’t really mean in a good way! I felt quite confused by the plot and although atmospherically it was a lovely setting, the language just didn’t propel me through in a gripping way. I realize im in the minority here as most feedback I’ve seen for this has been overwhelmingly positive!