Wow, I gotta say, this was absolutely better than the first book (and I really liked One Dark Window). To preface, I had a few issues with Book 1: Ravyn was dull and gave nothing to the story--I dunno what Elspeth saw in him. The writing lacked a voice or any emotion, despite being in first person, and Elspeth's relationship with Nightmare--while I loved it--felt shallow despite them being together for eleven years. And pretty much all those issues were resolved here.
-While Ravyn's still not my favorite character and his romance with Elspeth still gave nothing--he was /good/ when it came to story contribution.. He actually pulled his weight and I finally started to care.
-The writing and storytelling found its voice. There was a flow--I was fully invested.
-Elspeth and Night have been the highlight of this duology for me and the added depth to Nightmare's character was just /chef's kiss/ lovely.

I also loved Elm and Ione. Their contribution to the overarching story line, their relationship development just had me. It hit that spot for me.

I think overall though, the pacing of this book was divine. No chapter, no page felt wasted. The story structure wasn't a flow chart, but an onion and when all the pieces came together at that climax--dangit, it SLAYED. And while I could see where we were going or I predicted plot elements, it wasn't it the book's determent. Those pieces were simply placed and meant to be picked up and inferred upon in a way that didn't condescend the reader.. I could simply appreciate the journey on the way toward that visible destination. Hats off to Gillig--I can't wait to see what she writes next.

One more thing: Elspeth's and Nightmare's finale--that stuff gripped my heartstrings and I demand compensation lmao

Rachel Gillig, you have written another god tier book. An absolutely perfect sequel that’s taken up every single one of my brain cells from the moment I started reading it. The Shepard King duology may be one of my favorite series of all time. The atmosphere Gillig is able to build through her language, characters, and settings is a magic in of itself. Even though Elspeth is technically gone through most of the book, I never felt like any POVs were lacking or that the plot wasn’t engrossing. The addition of Elm’s POV was such a great decision - he had me kicking my feet and giggling at some points, I loved his witty nature. Ravyn will forever have a soft spot in my heart, he’s a well built character that’s likable despite his stony demeanor and really came into his own towards the end of Two Twisted Crowns. I can’t wait to get a physical copy and reread the entire series while annotating! Thank you so much to the author for bringing such a fantastic fantasy thriller to life.

Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit, and Rachel Gillig for providing an ARC, I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the best duology I have ever read! Gillig presents one of the most unique yet understandable magic systems I have ever read. The characters are amazing and the pacing is perfection. I read the first book in two sittings staying up late into the night needing to know what happens. I am often scared sequels will not live up to my expectations of my favorite books but I was not scared at all with this one I knew it would be great. This book blew me out of the water and was even better than the first. I loved that Elm and Ione took the forefront of the story, it filled the hole that not having Ravyn and Elspeth together made. All of my questions were answered which is usually not the case for me when a series ends so it was very satisfying. The only thing that would've made it even better was I would've loved to see at least one chapter together once Ravyn and Elspeth were reunited. This book was all about them getting back to each other and once they were it just ended and felt very abrupt and would've loved to see one more scene of them being able to be together again. Even so, book was still a 5 star read for me. This is a new all time favorite read for me and this story will stick with me for ages. This is my new top recommendation for fantasy lovers! I will definitely read this author's future releases

When I got the email saying that I was approved for an ARC of this book I was like a kid being told were going to Disney! The first book was so good and this one did not disappoint. Picking up right where One Dark Window left off with Elspeth being taken over and Ravyn fighting to figure everything out. Everything you promised in book one is given beautifully in book two. I don't want to much about the book itself (being that it is a sequel and spoilers suck) but if you like the first one then you will love this one.

5 ⭐️ Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

I was approved for this arc before I had even read One Dark Window, but I had heard all the hype surrounding it. I couldn’t wait to dive in and you guys both of these books are amazing. At the end of Two Twisted Crowns I was so sad to be done with the adventure. Book 2 gives us some new POVs and most times I was dying when it would switch. I just wanted to see what happened next with the previous character, so I was hooked for just 1 or 2 more chapters… over and over, in an endless loop. It made it impossible to put down. Wonderful atmosphere, magic, and adventure as well as a new romance in Two Twisted Crowns. I hope the author decides to revisit the world in the future, I love this world she built.
Thanks for the opportunity to read this book!

I've found that often the second book in a series is terrible. This is not the case for the Shepherd King duology. With the ending of the first book I was a little concerned with what story we'd get, whose prospective, and what would happen with the romance. Fortunately we get a lot of new prospectives in this book and a new romance. I devoured reading this in one night, so it definitely kept my attention. My only real complaints were all the poetry and rhymes, just not a personal favorite of mine, and the name of the country (Blunder). Which just took me out of the story every time I read it. Why would you name your country Blunder?

I'd recommend this series for readers of low (but not no) spice fantasy romance who want something a little bit darker.

I feel quite lucky to have been able to read this finale not too long after I finished the first book, and it’s quite satisfying to say that I enjoyed how the author chose to wrap up this series. While the first novel has the meandering pace of an introduction to the world, characters and lore, the second book dives right in from where we left off. Gillig breaks this story plot out into different parts (especially two additional character perspectives well) and it feels fast-paced and high stakes from start to end. I really enjoyed the time I spent reading this one, and it successfully accomplishes what a sequel finale is meant to in that it builds on the previous book and ties everything up together by the end.

I loved the first book so much but unfortunately the second book fell flat. The main character of this duology is completely irrelevant in Two Twisted Crowns until the very end. Elm & Ion's story turned into the main focal point and Ravyn and The Nightmares/Elspeth's journey felt like a sub plot. I did enjoy the end but the first half was slow and felt like it drug out. If Elm and Ion's chapters were shorter and Elspeth had more monologue I think this book would've been better. The writing is still beautiful and this was a great story for being her first published series. I am looking forward to read more of her work in the future.

Absolutely fantastic! Everything we hoped for in the sequel AND THEN SOME. I honestly don't have enough words to say how much I loved this duology. All the stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit books for this ARC!

I have so many things I want to say about Two Twisted Crowns, but nothing I could ever say will ever truly reflect how much I adore this book. It was perfection: beautifully twisted and morbid, undertones of sweet romance, not to mention the incredibly vivid and unique writing style. This story reads like folklore - its characters and their development, the eerie aspect of old gods and forces beyond our control, and the whimsy of the setting. Again: perfection. Everything about this tale was expertly crafted. What I liked specifically about Two Twisted Crowns vs One Dark Window was the multiple POVs - to get more into each character and their involvements with this incredible plot was fantastic. You know how sometimes you read a multi-POV story, and you always have that one character that you just don’t care about? Not with Two Twisted Crowns. Every character’s perspective was phenomenal and added something so unique to the story. I think this really added to my emotional investment: this definitely wasn’t a story where I expected to cry, but I did. And it was a good one. Two Twisted Crowns left me with all the emotions, and it was utterly beautiful.

I don’t think there’s a series that could ever compare to this one for me. I have never experienced more vivid writing. Rachel Gillig: you are truly a gifted writer, and one whose work I cannot wait to continue devouring.

Two Twisted Crowns lured me back into this haunting story with Gillig’s signature atmospheric storytelling and layered, morally grey characters—and I felt wholly transported and invested in every aspect of the story, beginning to end.

From the cleverly written banter to the poetic prose and fairytale-like world-building, everything was the making for a standout conclusion. This book stole my heart completely! (The vibes, the character development!!)

I can’t wait to read more stories in this dark fairytale fantasy world, and I’m sold for all the unexpected but perfectly sweet romances Gillig writes our way.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

For a sequel, this one is absolutely gripping. There is a lot going on and you get deeper into the politics and the intrigue that is happening between the Rowans, the Yews, and everyone caught in between. Absolutely wonderful sequel and I cannot wait to see more works from Rachel Gillig in the future. their ability to weave stories has made them my auto-buy author!

This is by far the greatest duology that I’ve read. The plot, the pacing, the characters, the emotion, the writing, the world, the angst..everything..this series is EVERYTHING. The way book 2 picks up where the last left off while still managing to give us the romance we so desire, but from two different characters, while STILL managing to give us everything we needed for Ravyn and Elspeth is absolute perfection. I’m convinced that Gillig is a genius. She wrote the best dark and brooding atmosphere, with a unique magic system in tow. Not to mention the well defined characters that I undoubtedly fell in love with (and yes, even The Nightmare 😭 IYKYK).

What a stunning conclusion to a duology that is absolutely brimming with magic and will keep you turning the page late into the night. I loved the pacing of the action and the stakes that came along with this book, and I absolutely LOVED the extra POVs that gave readers an insight into other character's minds and stories. I can't wait for whatever Rachel Gillig brings to the table next.

2.5 stars that I am incredibly generously (and somewhat reluctantly) rounding up.

I've always thought this premise and series had a lot of potential to be one that I really enjoyed, and so I had hope that this second book would work better for me than One Dark Window did. Alas, I have been left terribly disappointed.

I think the main problem I have with this series is that I could not possibly care less about the characters. Normally I can find at least one character to grow attached to and to keep me interested in the plot to see how things unfold for them, but this book did not have a single character that I was invested in. It feels like this book has substituted motivation for personality, and since every character in this book has the exact same motivation ("find Providence cards to save their loved one(s)"), every character felt completely interchangeable and uninteresting. Seriously, I am begging for someone to explain to me how Elm and Ravyn were at all different from one another. Aside from having slightly different tragic backstories, they felt like the exact same character just copied and pasted, and I couldn't make myself care about either one of them. Ironically, the only character who I found at all interesting was Ione, because at least the lack of emotion inflicted upon her by the Maiden card made her somewhat distinct from everyone else.

Without an interest in the characters, the plot was pretty much entirely unmemorable to me. It essentially just felt like a repeat of book one, in which it's just a string of everyone bouncing from place to place hunting for some cards and losing others in the process. There were occasionally some moments that lead to an interesting world or magic discovery, but by and large, this felt like a book where I was just following along and waiting endlessly for something interesting to happen.

This book also felt incredibly unforgiving to anyone who had not read the first book very recently. It's been a little bit less than a year since I read ODW, and I thought I remembered a decent amount about the plot and the characters and could have given a passable summary on it if asked. However, despite this, I felt like I spent the first 33% of this book desperately trying to play catch up and figure out what on earth was going on. Minor characters were mentioned without giving references for who they were or what their relationship to the main character was, and there were so many times a character would make a vague allusion to an event that happened in book one without ever giving a quick explanation to recap things for anyone who may have forgotten that moment. I'll accept my own role in this for choosing to not reread ODW before starting this book, but as someone who has regularly picked up sequels years after reading the first book, I have rarely ever felt as lost as I did while reading this one.

I think people who liked One Dark Window will have a great time with this book. It's essentially just a repeat of that book but with more POVs and a few new magic and world reveals. However, if you, like me, felt lukewarm about the first entry to this series, I highly recommend sparing yourself from more of the same and skipping this book.

Two Twisted Crowns is the <i>perfect</i> second installment in The Shepherd King duology. Picking up where we leave off in One Dark Window, things are perilously dangerous of tipping into chaos.

I loved learning more about Ravyn, Elm, Ione and the Nightmare, even though Elspeth takes a back seat for most of this book. The Providence Cards are still one of, if not my number one, favorite magic systems I've ever read about. This deck of cards is so powerful in so many different ways, for so many different reasons. It's been such an amazing journey getting to see the full story of them.

The Nightmare's story is so incredibly haunting. The way Gillig is able to tell his tale while still pushing the present time along so seamlessly is lovely. My words won't do justice to how complex and clever this character is - you'll just have to read the books to understand.

I always think about receiving One Dark Window in a Fairyloot sub box last year. I hadn't ever heard of the story or author, but one day decided One Dark Window would be the first FL sub book I would pick up to read. I was honestly shocked at how much I enjoyed it. I'm so glad to have discovered Rachel Gillig and her characters.

<b>Be Wary. Be Clever. Be Good.</b>

<i>Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Two Twisted Crowns
By Rachel Gillig

𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (x ♾️)
🌶️🌶️

To say Im obsessed with this series would be an understatement. I want more. I need more books that take place in this world. I need Novellas and spin offs and prequels. Rachel, my queen, I hope you are not done with Blunder, the Providence cards or the Shepherd King. PLEASE. I need his backstory. I need more of his dry humour, wit and darkness.

Two Twisted Crowns is the dark gothic sequel to One Dark Window. It is so tough to write a review because I do NOT want to spoil you on all the delicious shadows coming your way. Suffice to say, you get more Nightmare, more enemies turned lovers, more Providence history, more magic. This sequel so beautifully captured the ending of the story of Elspeth and the Providence Cards. Highly, highly recommend you go out and get this book on release day. ESPECIALLY if you read One Dark Window, because, bestie, I KNOW youve been held over that cliff(hanger) waaaay too long.

𝗕𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝘆. 𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿. 𝗕𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱.

I absolutely devoured this book! Fans of the first will enjoy diving back into the mist of this haunting and original tale. I enjoyed the added POVs for this sequel to One Dark Window and felt it really helped propel the story along. This tale also had much more tension and spice than the original story that added to the stakes of destroying the providence cards. Overall 4.5 stars.

Such an amazing follow-up. The atmosphere is lovely while being eerie. I really enjoy the magic system used, the cards are so clever. Just all around an amazing, gothic read!

"For even dead, I will not die. I am the shepherd of shadow. The phantom of the fright. The demon in the daydream. The nightmare in the night."

First I would like to thank NetGalley and Rachel Gillig for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC! It has been one of my most anticipated reads this year and did not let me down.

This book gave me all the feels with all of it's charachters and the multiple POV's.
Going back and seeing how and what the Nightmare has become and who he was 500 years ago into now left me crying, the care and determination that he truly has and doesn't show.. That special bond between him and Elspeth just shows how much they truly cared for one another and when she was alone he was always there, almost as if he were a father figure for her and always wanting to protect her.
"There once was a girl, clever and good, who tarried in the 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 monster they became."

The development of everyone else was truly amazing as well, but more so for Elm.
I was glad to see him overcome his demons and fight for what he knew was right, to break through the trauma of his past and come out head first. I truly found myself loving his pov the most.

This world that Rachel has built sucked me in and was just so beautifully done.
I am truly sad this duology has come to a close, but hoping she has more tales to tell of Blunder.