If I couldn’t put the first book down, I don’t even know what happened to this one. It’s just that good!

I love the way she jumps back into the story, sometimes a second book feels a little disconnected at first but not this one. You jump between 3 POVs to fully tell the story and there’s so many times where your gasping from shock, tearing up because of something big going down, and saying “no no no” as you make the connections.

I absolutely love how throughout the book you learn the Shepherd Kings backstory and see how it truly affected/set up the ENTIRE storyline. You see him progress through the book from someone kinda grumpy and mean (idc I liked him from the first time we met him) into someone who you see was just doing his best to right the wrongs.

This was such an amazing duology, and even though this book was insanely good, I’m very sad to see it ended. BUT IM NOT SAD AT ALL WITH THE WAY IT ENDED. Let me note that. The ending was absolutely perfect 10/10 for what I expected from a story like this one.

I can’t wait to put my physical copy next to the other one so I can revisit Elspeth and Ravyn and the gang any time I need.

****Contains Spoilers for One Dark Window*****

I loved One Dark Window so much that I thought Rachel Gillig couldn’t possibly improve on perfection. But let me tell you . . . she did. With a solid five stars, Two Twisted Crowns is easily one of my favorite books I’ve read this year (just as ODW was last year). Honestly, this book might deserve ten stars with how perfectly she tied everything up, while also expanding the story to include so much more of the Shepherd King backstory in a way that didn’t feel burdensome. These books are a master class in how to write a duology.

Rachel Gillig wastes no time, immediately throwing us right back into the lush, gothic atmosphere of Blunder, with Two Twisted Crowns picking up days after ODW ended. The stakes are starting off high—the Nightmare has taken control of Elspeth’s mind and is now imprisoned while King Quercus Rowan decides if he will accept the Nightmare’s bargain to find the Twin Alders card in exchange for using the Nightmare’s blood to unite the deck and end the mist instead of Emory’s. This, rightly, puts Ravyn Yew in a rough spot, since he’s still in love with Elspeth, yet also wants an alternative to using Emory as the sacrifice. He, Jespyr, and Elm also have to hide how they’ve been pursuing the deck independently, for that very reason and are all traitors themselves.

And just when we thought the stakes couldn’t get any higher, enter Ione Hawthorn. I don’t want to spoil it too much, but thrilled doesn’t begin to describe how I felt about her storyline in this book. After how she acted toward the end of ODW (the Chalice card scene specifically), I *knew* she was going to come into this story in a big way, and she DOES.

However, the real MVP of this book is . . . Elm Rowan! For the first time, we get his POV in the story (we also get Ravyn’s in addition to Elspeth/Nightmare), and to my immense surprise, his chapters were my favorite (apparently I am a sucker for tortured princes). Again, I don’t want to spoil things too much, but SIR, where were YOU hiding in the first book?

All in all, I could go on for days about how much I loved both Two Twisted Crowns and the Shepherd King duology as a whole, but really, seeing is believing so do NOT sleep on these books because they are the perfect, atmospheric, gothic romantic fantasy reads for fall.

Thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for making me absolutely giddy with the early copy.

Speechless. Rachel Gillig has made her mark on me. She has easily become one of those authors that “if she writes it, I read it”. Two Twisted Crowns was so much more than I was expecting. The story surrounding Ione and Elm was so special to me. This author can write tension like no other I WAS SHOOK!!! bless us with more of your storytelling Rachel!

Incredible!!! Truly amazing. This was an unbelievable end to an incredible series. The way Rachel builds worlds and tells a story will forever stick with me. Watching Ione grow into a complete badass in this book was the best. The character growth and world building is on another level. This story will stay with me forever.

I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of this and I am forever grateful. I have found a new favorite author. Rachel has a gift of being able to tell a story and make you live it.

Two Twisted Crowns is the 2nd book in the Shepard King Duology by Rachel Gillig. This book picks up right where book one ended. With Elspeth stuck in the King's dungeon after an incident between the heir and her occurs. How can Ravyn get Elspeth out? None other than another barter with the King. The two make an agreement that Elspeth will be released so that the nightmare within her can help to find the long lost Twin Alders card. Last seen 500 years ago, the nightmare is the only one with the knowledge to retrieve it and unite the deck to finally lift the mist overtaking Blunder.

This book takes the reader on an adventure as Ravyn, Elspeth/Nightmare, and the rest of their group go on a dangerous journey to finally retrieve the Twin Alders card. Who makes it out alive at the end of journey with the challenges and fights they encounter along the way? You'll have to read to find out. Meanwhile, Elm and Ione are on a mission of their own to find her missing maiden card so that she can regain all of her emotions once again. With Hauth having had Ione hide it from herself, the two have to work together to retrace her steps from the forgotten night.

I enjoyed this book so much because it was written through multiple view points. Various chapters belong to different characters with it being told from Elspeth, Ravyn, and Elm's perspective. I really appreciated the writing style because I was able to learn about the characters more and understand who they really were, whereas in the first book everything was from Elspeth's perspective, I really grew to appreciate Elm as a character and what he endured and overcame to become the person he is now.

I rate this book 5/5 and enjoyed this much more than the first book and highly recommend this to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for this Arc!

Two Twisted Crowns is an amazing follow up to One Dark Window. It has everything I loved about ODW and more. Atmospheric, intense sequences, great characters, tons of lore and... best of all, answers to every question we could possibly have. *Applauds* This was done so well. The addition of Elm's POV was perfection and made me really fall in love with the character. I was never heads over heels in love with Ravyn (he's too stereotypical for me) but his banter with the Nightmare was everything. I loved learning about the Providence cards and their origins; if there is ever a prequel I will be on it like the Mist on an uncharmed villager. I think my only complaint about this book is the romance. Its OK. Maybe if we'd gotten more hints in ODW I would have liked it better, but it felt a little too insta-love for me. I also secretly wanted a slightly darker ending, but that's just me being a dark little soul :P

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a wonderful little series. I found the first book slow to get into, but when I started this second one it leapt right into the action and story line. A great mix of love and action, with suspense and cleverness. I could have used a little more of Rowan and Elsbeths love story at the end, but I still was very happy with it. And it’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed reading a book on my phone!
I just reviewed Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

This was a perfect finale to One Dark Window. I loved the multiple viewpoints, and it was incredible how easy it was to tell Elspeth and the nightmare apart. Every character in this story felt very real and important to me, and I actually felt for the nightmare so much I did shed a tear for him at the end. The characters really felt like they grew and changed appropriately by the end and the relationships felt so earned. I loved this.

Thank you Netgalley and Orbit books for providing me with an ARC of Two Twisted Crowns.

I have no words to describe how much I loved this book. This was truly the most beautiful ending to this duology and I’m so sad it’s over. This book will live rent free in my head indefinitely.

I loved these characters so so much, and I’m so happy we got to see more of the depth to each one in Two Twisted Crowns. The plot was wrapped up in such a stunning manner, and overall the story was just *chefs kiss*.

Rachel is truly a masterful writer, and I will always read her whimsical tales.

I received an ARC for this book and overall it was a good conclusion to the twisted tale of blunder! The story had a nice balance of darkness, comedy, and adventure. Rachel’s writing is unique and does a good job at reeling you in and keeping you guessing.

I am left with some questions about characters and events that only semi got answered but I won’t include them here so I don’t spoil anything for future readers.

*The rest of this review might contain small spoilers*

I found the nightmares commentary to be rather funny and I enjoyed him calling Ravyn a “stupid bird” and I liked that Elm always defined himself as delicate. I enjoyed that we got to see more of Elm and Ione this book but I was hoping for more growth from Ravyn and Elspeth

THIS. THIS is how you write a duology. It was everything I didn’t know I needed in terms of story continuation, giving more depth to the first book’s side characters, while not sacrificing Elspeth and Ravyn’s story. Beautiful, tragic, and lovely, the story of Blunder ended in the most fitting of ways: quiet, gentle, and full of wonder.

A huge thank you to Orbit, NetGalley, and Rachel Gillig for providing me with an ARC of Two Twisted Crowns. This review is entirely honest- this story deserves all the stars.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised to be approved for such an anticipated sequel. Once approved I rushed to read the first one and was entertained but honestly didn't find it particularly enthralling despite the extremely interesting premise and magic system.

So when I started TTC I was worried I was going to have lukewarm feelings about it as well but I was HAPPILY mistaken. This book was everything I had wished the first one was. I was even more pleasantly surprised when I found there are POV chapters of my favorite character from the previous book. The alternating POVs were very effective. At times multiple POVs can be straining and irritating to read as you want to skip over one part for your favorites but with TTC I was committed to each POV. The plot was seamless and the character development was glorious. *chefs kiss*

I was completely dialed in the entire story. Characters I was lukewarm about in the first one - I grew more attached to in this one!
The Nightmare, who irritated me a little in the first book, absolutely blew me away in this one. I adore all his interactions and how interwoven the plot was.

Some of my favorite out of context quotes to give you a little taste of just how good and intriguing the prose was:

"I am the root and the tree. I am the balance."

"Men like you don't take pleasure in yellow flowers when there are roses in your garden."

"Surely you didn't think it was sheep I shepherded."

The writing of this book was really good, the back and forth between the past and present especially. I loved the POV of multiple characters, especially with the mixing of the nightmare and Elspheth.

Some of the parts I didn’t enjoy was the romance between Elm and Ione. It felt so out of place and sudden, it was barely shown in the first book and seemed to happen in the second out of convenience. Additionally, it didn’t really make sense to me why Ione was somehow able to feel lust/pleasure but no other feelings at all, this seemed to be a plot hole that was there just to add some spice in the book. I loved Elm and Ione separately as characters, their romance felt unneeded.

First Thank you to Net Galley and Orbit books for the ARC!!!!

It has been awhile where I’ve had a book capture my attention from the dedication to the last page. Two Twisted crowns is the sequel and final book to one dark window and it doesn’t suffer from the book 2 curse in a series. This book was so beautifully written, the vivid imagery is amazing, we got multiple POV from the characters and no one was boring every chapter left me wanting more! I especially loved all the different character developments. The romance is chefs kiss. Rachel Gillig has just become an auto buy author for me. My only critique of this book is that I’m sad it’s only 2 books I wasn’t ready ready to say goodbye the characters. This was the missing fantasy book I’ve been looking for. If you are looking for a fantasy book that is dark, mysterious, eerie,
Gothic and magic PLEASE read the Shepherd King Duology!!!! You won’t be disappointed I promise.

This was a great ending to this duology! I really loved how it was written in 3rd POV AND I love that we get POVs for Elspeth, Ravyn, and Elm. It worked really well for this story.

But, I think this could have been two books! That could have been read in tandem! One book for Elspeth/Ravyn and their journey and another book for Elm and Ione.

Maybe I'm selfish for wanting more, but I found myself wanting to read more about Elm because you fall in love with him the most (I think) over the journey of this book.

Also!! I would love a prequel for that talks about the Nightmare. We learn a lot in this book about the history and such, but it would be a great add on to this series.

I love this world and the lore and I'm sad that it's over. But, 5 stars from me! This book was so good.

Thank you to Hachette and Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Ok here's the story. I stumbled upon One Dark Window in the bookstore one day, long before I started seeing people post about it. I read the blurb and was immediately intrigued. Fastforward 24 hours and I'd finished it. I was in LOVE with the first book. The world building and magic was so unique and instantly drew me in. It might have been my favorite book of last year.

And Two Twisted Crowns did NOT disappoint! I loved it, maybe even more than the first book. This one gives us some new POVs. I especially loved getting into Elm's head. His story and Ione's story were just perfection. And once again, I am just obsessed with the Nightmare. The rest of the Shepherd King's story was beautiful and a great payoff to the mystery. I even cried at the end!

All in all, this will be a duology that I return to time and time again.

Thank you Orbit for the advanced copy!!

Where do I begin? This sequel was EVERYTHING.

I absolutely loved Elm and Ione’s character arcs. Their slow burn romance made my heart melt (the yearning???? stop). I was kicking my feet the entire time.

The different POVs kept me on my toes. The pace was sublime and every last loose end was tied to perfection. What an exquisite end to this duology.

I could not recommend it more.

If you liked One Dark Window then get ready because, to me, this one is better. I think the fact that we just jump right into the story and drama because all the world building and backstories are done in book one is what makes this one stand out more to me. This book gives us more of Rayvns cousin, Elm as well. We see him struggle with his family while Rayvn, Jesper and The Nightmare set out to find the elusive Twin Alders card. It’s so good.

4.5 rounded up.
WOW! Okay. I loved this book. Absolutely so delicious I had to devour it. Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit Books and Rachel Gillig for this advanced copy of one of my new favorite stories:
Two Twisted Crowns.
Here's what loved:
The creation story for the cards! This was rich and dark and scar and beautiful.
• Elm and his misadventures with the character we didn't get to see a lot of in book one. (Not naming so as not to spoil it). I loved them. Mavbe even more than the main characters in book one???
The history building around Blunder. Rich and gothic and magical. Gillig really found her stride in Blunder with book two.
The nightmare. The descriptions of him as he goes through the book in Elspeth's body. So creepy in the best way.
• The TREES!!!! Holy Treebeard, Gandalf!!!
The Shepherd King. The king we wanted to know more about! The shepherd of what? The king to who?
What I didn't love:
I can't think of a damn thing. This is a gorgeous book through and through. I couldn't get enough.

An excellent follow-up to One Dark Window! Like the first, Two Twisted Crowns transported me to Blunder, and I fell in love with these characters all over again. I really enjoyed learning more about the history of the world and seeing the relationships between the characters change over the course of the story. I did feel that the ending was a little too rushed, but I also think I feel that way because I didn't want it to be over so soon.