No spoilers but OH MY GOSH! I absolutely loved this sequel. It was the perfect follow up and conclusion to such a twisted tale. I love the multiple POVs. I love the pacing and the romance and the suspense! Ugh I don't have any complaints. It was truly a remarkable follow up and I love that it picked up right where the first book left off. I find duologies to be heavily hit or miss. Either the second book feels so rushed as the author pushes a conclusion on us too quickly or it doesn't have the same tone/pacing as the first book and they can fall flat. This did not happen and I am in aw of this brilliant sequel.

A truly top tier fantasy duology that you MUST read if you enjoy fantasy.

Two Twisted Crowns picks up exactly where One Dark Window left off, and continues the story in atmospheric and haunting style:

What I loved:
Two captivating romances
Interesting world building
Unique magic system

I don’t want to spoil things for anyone, so what I’ll say is that it’s a fitting conclusion and is well done despite Elspeth having a less active role in the narrative

Gotta love when the sequel lives up to expectations and more! If you loved the first book, you will be satisfied with this duology. It amps up even more and you’ll be enthralled. I really enjoyed it.

Reading this book often had my heart pounding, bordering on anxiety for the characters. I found myself loving a character I didn't expect to love. The Nightmare.
Characters beautifully written, and a story with so much feeling, this duology is a top read for 2023.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

This was an amazing read. I found it to be even more gripping that the first book in the Duology. The setting and imagery throughout was stunning. I absolutely loved the deeper dive into the cards and their creation. Getting to see The Sheppard King's past and how it ties into Elspeth's life was exactly what I wanted. I was initially a little unsure of how it would feel to read from Elm's perspective, but I ended up loving his character. Seeing Ione through his eyes gave her character a lot more depth as well. This book also provided me with my most hated villain of the year. Hauth is vile and even after the events in One Dark Window he still found a way to make me hate him more. I found out this was a duology about half way through and was nervous to see how it would end... I could not have been happier with the ending!

Things I liked:
Unique magic system (I LOVED the cards!)
Likable characters (The last couple of chapters felt like watching a game in double overtime. I was cheering them on so hard.)
The Nightmare's relationship with Elspeth
Ione's entire story arch
The parties (they sounded so pretty... even if they were annoyingly timed and thrown by a garbage character)
Magic! (again it was complex, pretty, and I had fun!)
The rhyming! It was eerie and added the perfect tone to the Nightmare's character.)
"I know what I know. My secrets are deep. But long have I kept them. And long will they keep."

This sequel was fantastic and didn’t suffer from second book syndrome at all. The story was just as intense as the first installment and I loved getting to see the Shepherd King’s personality get more page time. He’s such a complicated character and that gets compounded because he shares a body and consciousness with Elspeth. I had a few minor things I wish were different but that didn’t impact my enjoyment at all because the ending was satisfying. I was happy we got to see Elm and Ione get closer and just see a greater depth to both characters. Both gained a lot of personality in this book compared to the first!

This book was just as good, if not better than the first book. I couldn't put it down! The way the author wrote kept me enthralled with the world and characters. Definitely recommend to anyone looking for a gothic fantasy book.

Two Twisted Crowns is an excellent follow-up to One Dark Window. Two Twisted Crowns significantly ups the ante and feels even darker and grittier than One Dark Window. I really wasn't sure how Rachel Gillig was going to have the characters come back from the ending of One Dark Window but boy did they! Not wanting to give too much away or share spoilers I think that if you liked One Dark Window you will LOVE Two Twisted Crowns. I can't wait for more from Rachel Gillig!

Thank you Netgally and Orbit Books for giving me the opportunity to review this book.
Book comes out October 17,2023

Best book I’ve read

Sequel to One Dark Window
By Rachel Gillig
Ravyn and Elspeth are ready to reunite the deck. The nightmare is ready to show them the way. To free blunder they’ll have to see the spirit of the woods, and get the Twin Elders Card. But of course nothing is as it seems. And secrets are everywhere.


This book was sooo freaking exciting, so many secrets came to light and I loved every second of it. Rachel delivered. Each character I loved in book one I loved them more in book 2. The character development was amazing. I gasped, I said what the freak so many times. This story is one of my favorites and I’m not ready to leave Blunder, I’m not ready to leave any of my favorite characters. I will definitely be reading these over and over. The gothic vibes made me want to jump onto the story.
Rachel you are now one of my favorite authors, an automatic buy.
The story of the girl, the shepherd, and the monster they became, will forever be one of my favorites.
If you haven’t preordered it yet what are you waiting for.

“Would you hurt me?”
“I’d be a liar if I said I hadn’t played with the idea.”

A solid second book in the duology, which was a wonderful story. The pacing was just right (the duology worked well and never felt like it should have been a trilogy). We do get a couple of new POV chapters, including one from my favorite character from the first book (still a favorite in this book).

I enjoyed learning more about what happened 500 years ago to set this place on the path where it became surrounded by the mist. And everything came full circle.

There is a new romance introduced in this book. At first I wasn't really sure about it, but as the book went on and the relationship grew, I was on board with it.

The second book did not suffer from sequel slum and in fact thrived.

The story was as fantastic as the first, but with even more heart. This gothic fantasy created a world with an interesting magic structure that sticks to the common theme of magic always comes with a price. The addition of more POVs is not something I normally enjoy, but in fact it worked well here.

The worst part about this book is that it is the end of the duology, by the end of the book I was deeply invested in the characters. Without giving anything away, there was one story line drew me in unexpectedly.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC

2.5/5

It's rare for me to enjoy the second book in a duology as much as the first. It's even rarer for me to enjoy the second book more. So I was pleasantly surprised that I ended up liking Two Twisted Crowns more than One Dark Window (which was unfortunately a very disappointing read for me)... though not by much.

(spoilers ahead)

I genuinely think my enjoyment came from the fact that the main character, Elspeth, essentially gets sidelined for 98% of the book. No, seriously, her body is taken over by the Nightmare literally until the epilogue, though her mind is technically still intact and she can "communicate" through him. For many people I'm sure this would be annoying and frustrating, having the main character get done dirty like that. Luckily for me, I thought Elspeth was kinda annoying and whiny in ODW, so I was happy to have her character on the backburner. Sorry not sorry.

In place of Elspeth as the main POV there is a huge focus on Prince Elm and his blossoming relationship with Ione. Honestly not much to say here. It's a standard, mildly insta-lovey, very mildly spicy romance between two just-okay characters. Sure. I'll take it.

Ravyn is just as flavorless as he was in book 1. That's all I got.

I think the writing is fine. It's atmospheric; it fits the mood. I'm glad the constant rhyming is toned down, and Gillig's habit of ending scenes/chapters with "foreboding" (re: cringey and trite) lines of dialogue is also noticeably decreased.

The plot and ending is predictable, the pacing is a touch too slow for my liking. I'm running out of things to say. If you like book 1 you likely won't be disappointed by this sequel.

TL;DR: this is a perfectly acceptable ending to a perfectly mid duology.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for an eARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🌶️.5

Spoilers ahead
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This book is the second book in the “The Shepherd King” book series by Rachel Gillig.

This book starts where the first book left off. Elspeth has degenerated to nothing and all that remains is “The Nightmare”.

The Nightmare has always been one of my favorite characters in this series and in this second installment - he really gets to shine. I really felt like he was this humorous and witty dark presence in the first book and in this part of the story, you really get to understand him. Getting to know his past was heartbreaking 💔. You get to see his mistakes and his regrets. You also get to see that he truly cares for Elspeth. His banter with Ravyn was so good!

Elspeth had less of a “presence” in this book and it didn’t take away from her character at all. Rachel Gillig already painted her so well in the previous book that you still feel her as a very present character. She may be in the background but she still has this great inner dialogue with the Nightmare and Ravyn. The ending with her and the Nightmare made me so emotional. How he communicated about how she made him feel and how dear she is to him was so beautifully done. The connection inspired between the reader and the characters in this book is truly amazing.

Elm and Ione’s storyline was one of my favorites! Their connection grows while trying to find Ione’s maiden card.

That ending was insane! Edge of your seat action! I loved the pacing and the end result was so satisfying! And all the build up on who and what the Spirit of the Wood would be did not disappoint.

This is one of my top reads of the year.

Dark, enthralling and satisfying read!

Hands down the best duology I have ever read. Rachel Gillig is an auto buy author and a new absolute favorite.

Elm caught me completely by surprise. His and Ione’s relationahip far surpassed that of Elspeth and Ravyn, and I could not imagine a more perfect ending to this beautiful duology. ONE MILLION STARS.

Hands down loved this book! I didn’t think it would be better then one dark window but was pleasantly surprised!!

Perfect addition to the first book.

Loving the love interest in this book way better than the first. The multiple POV for me always seems to make it a better read and I love getting more than one perspective . If I could say anything bad about this book it’s that I think Ravyn is kind of boring not enough to dislike him but…he seems very one dimensional. I’m glad him and Elspeth weren’t end game.

All in all it’s a great book and I would highly recommend this book.

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to be an ARC reader

I cannot tell you how much I love this book! I love how it starts exactly where One Dark Window Ends! And super fast paced! That plot twist!! I did not see that coming! What a perfect ending to the Shepherd King Duology!
If you love a good Dark Gothic/Romance/Fantasy I swear this duology should be on the top of your list this fall.

I got this as an ARC from netgalley, and I thought it was a lovely wrap up to this duology! Similar to the first, I found myself forgetting the details of each Providence Cards, but the story is very easy to follow even if that’s true. This gave such great character development to everyone we met in the first installment. It provides more separation for each of the character’s plotlines and I can’t decide whose I liked more. Although I’m very happy that the series wrapped up beautifully, I wish it was more than a duology so I could keep reading about this world.

A big thank you to Rachel Gillig and Orbit for generously providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you saw my review of One Dark Window, you know I absolutely loved that book. The ending left me reeling and I had no idea where the author could possible go with the story given the status of one of the main characters (no spoilers in this review).

The follow-up was so well written and surprising. The author managed to throw in some new perspectives that at first had me on the fence but by the end I was their biggest cheerleaders. This story features a lot more of Ione and Elm. I already really liked Elm from the first book, but I really loved him by the end of this book. Ione, I did not like so much after One Dark Window but Gillig managed to have me do a complete 180 when it came to my opinions of her.

If you are looking for a spooky, atmospheric, magical, political, romantic novel, this is the cream of the crop. I again reiterate from my review of One Dark Window, the magic system is so interesting and unexpected and honestly refreshing. I highly recommend you pick this up when it comes out, October 19, 2023!

An incredible ending to this duology. I was gripped by the story of One Dark Window and was beyond excited to see where the story of our Nightmare and his maiden goes. Some of the plot was predictable, but in the best way. The ending did not leave me wanting more and was everything I needed it to be. If you haven’t preordered this one… do it now

I read One Dark Window back in January and loved it. Needless to say, the ending left me craving the second one all year! I am happy to say, the second volume in this duology lives up to all the anticipation and more!

The story picks up pretty much where One Dark Window leaves off, I was anxious to see how Gillig would handle the consequences of Nightmare being in charge so to speak. Part of what makes the first book so interesting is the back and forth between this old spirit and Elspeth. Elspeth is also such a strong character, I was concerned that she would not have much agency in the in this book, but that proved unfounded. She does get less page time, but she is quite present. I simply loved everything Gillig does here! I felt so bad for Ravyn, but some of the dialogue between him and Nightmare is perfection. We do get more in some of the other characters POV's, but that only works to give depth and make me care about them even more. We spend a good deal of time back at the palace with Ione and Elm. I was so invested in their growth and their mutual attraction was on point!. The magic system based in cards continued to fascinate me and as the story unfolds we get a much better idea of how they work and where they came from. And the bad guys get even badder, I was so stressed in places!

The last 100 pages are simply unputdownable. I was up far too late, but I have no regrets. The threats are real and I could not see how things would conclude, but Gillig manages to weave it all together into a believable, intricate, edge of your seat ending. I cried and laughed and cried again. One of best concluding books to a series I have read this year. Beautiful, Dark, Romantic , and suspenseful. I will be looking to what Rachel Gillig does next eagerly.

Thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for access to an e ARC in exchange for a fair review.