All the stars! I am so obsessed with this duology. What a fun and wild ride. This book had my jaw in the floor and nails being bitten multiple times!

I love that this one was multiple POVs. It was so helpful feeling Elm’s heart and learning more about his character. I also loved getting closer to the Nightmare and finding out more about him and his past. These cards and how they are played is such a unique experience in a book. It was so captivating and entertaining.

I have to applaud the author for tying this up very nicely. I am so pleased with how the ending came together. I could not put this book down. I am so grateful to have been able to read it early and directly after One Dark Window. If you love fantasy, run to this duology! You won’t be disappointed!

A sequel better than the first!? Unheard of. However, Two Twisted Crowns did exactly that! This was the perfect end to the duology. The story flowed and wrapped up nicely… characters had development… I could not have asked for a better ending.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First of all, thank you so much to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the advanced reader’s copy of this book.
I loved this book so much! I don’t know where to start. This is the sequel to One Dark Window and the finale of The Shepherd King duology.
I don’t think I’ve ever read a series with an atmosphere quite like this. It was my favorite part of the first one and it carried over in this sequel. The imagery and the descriptions makes you able to visualize the story so well. You can picture the images, smells, and all the sensations so well.
I really enjoyed the addition of Ravyn and Elm’s point of views in addition to Elspeth’s. I think the story needed them and it was nice going to all of them.
I think Elm was the strongest character in this book. Or maybe he just became my favorite one of the two. His story and character arc were fantastic.
Ione was in this book much more than the first and she was great as well.
I’m left wanting more from this world and characters. The story is clearly done with but I’m also wishing it was dragged out into a trilogy. Which is an odd thing to say because that’s not a good thing. This story probably is best as the two books it is I just love it so much I don’t want it to be over.
Two Twisted Crowns comes out on October 17th.

A great ending to this duology! This book was definitely more adult than the first one and was more gruesome. I love the dark atmosphere and the magic system and this book had some flashbacks to the past that really brought the story together so nicely!

First off One Dark Window left me in shambles after that cliffhanger! I jumped right into Two twisted crowns yearning for what happens next!

Rachel Gillig did an excellent job at bringing the characters, the history of Blunder , and the mystery of the providence cards to rest.

I really enjoyed all of the character’s points of views. There was never a time when I wanted to jump a chapter to the next because one story was better than the other.

Elm getting left behind in the castle while the others searched for the missing card opened us up to the history at Stone. The true bloodshed that happens day in/out in the castle. The horrible fate the Prince was dealt and how his love for a woman who was dealt a similar hand allowed him to grow and break free of his own demons. In the end growing and becoming the true King of Blunder.

And let’s not forget of the Shepherd King’s own journey of rewriting history for everyone including himself. To free not only Blunder, but also Elspeth from the curse of what was brought upon them all due to his greed of wanting it all, when he already had it.

The way he goes from an old angry grouch to a loving father figure and friend to the kids fighting a battle 500 years old is nothing short of heartwarming. In the end the monster is freed and reunited with his family on the other side of the veil. Balance is restored and they all truly live happily ever after!

Two Twisted Crowns was more than a fairytale. It was a story of greedy kingdoms, of haunted souls, tight friendships, the circle of history and more than anything, in the end love.

“The wood that awaits you is a place of no time. A place of new barters, a hill you must climb … The wood knows no road, no path through the snare. Step into the mist—it will guide your way there.”

Rachel Gillig does it again. No comments. 🤌🏻

If you loved One Dark Window, just do yourself a favor and preorder Two Twisted Crowns. You need it in your life. What a fitting, perfect ending to this duology.

If you want a bit more, here are some of the things I loved:
• The characters—further developing our favorites, but also diving deeper into the other characters from ODW
• The magic, lore, cards, the Spirit. All of it 🫶🏻
• Learning the Nightmare’s origins

This is the conclusion to The One Dark Window. This isn’t the book I wanted, but it is the conclusion we needed. I absolutely loved this book more than the first. The way the author wraps the story up is completely satisfying.

Thanks Netgalley for the arc.
This is my most ANTICIPATED read of the year.
It took me a long time to get into Elm narration. But everyone grew on me. Right after reading this is another 5 Star read like the first! Rachel Gillig is an auto buy author for me!

I'll try to be coherent with this review when all I want to do is scream about it. Loved it. What a book hangover it has left me with. There is a special place in literature for well-done duologies and with Two Twisted Crowns, the Shepherd King series takes its place among them.

Told through multiple POVs, Two Twisted Crowns picks up where One Dark Window left off, with all but one of the Providence cards collected and our main characters ready to put them together to counter the degeneration that is killing those infected in Blunder. As much as I liked One Dark Window, it had nothing on Two Twisted Crowns, which grabbed me by the throat from the beginning and never let go. The plot was a seamless continuation of One Dark Window, with more action than the first since world-building was unnecessary. We see more of the characters' complexity and depth in Two Twisted Crowns and there were genuinely hilarious bits of banter woven in with heartfelt and heartbreaking moments. The relationships between the characters are the focal points and catalysts for difficult decisions and revolutionary changes in the name of love, in all its complex forms.

As much as I would love to spend infinite time in this world, I'm so happy to see the conclusion of this beautifully imagined and executed duology. What a treat.

I was really excited to see that I was granted an arc for the conclusion of this duology. And just like book one we have continuation with solid world building and a unique and interesting magic system. Full of court intrigue and, adventure and romantic tension. It's a nice leisurely read that I found easy to just sink into and found myself trying to avoid other adult responsibilities to enjoy the journey along side the characters. I really love that while we still got to enjoy the conclusion of Elspeth and Ravyn's story there was a shift in focus to two other characters that made the read even more exciting. If you are looking for a fantasy series that isn't 7 books long and has a descriptive world that you can just fall into then this one is for you.

I was lucky enough to get this arc, thank you netgalley and orbitbooks_us in exchange for an honest review!

I am SO SAD this duology has come to an end but I LOVED every minute of it. It picks up right where the ending of ODW left off, and you get multiple POVs since everyone is pretty much on their own adventures/overcoming obstacles to unite the deck and banish the mist of Blunder. I enjoyed getting more insight into Elms character and the banter between him and Ione had me kicking my feet & giggling. I loved getting the backstory of the Shepherd King, how the Nightmare came to be, and his connection with Elspeth throughout their journey😫
The unique magic system, and fast paced plot keeps you captivated and on the edge of your seat to find out what happens next!
Even though I’m sad it’s over, the ending encapsulated everything my book loving heart desired. All of the intricate details of this story were woven together immaculately and perfectly delivered. These characters and their story will always have a place in my heart❤️‍🔥
If you haven’t immersed yourself in the masterpiece of One Dark Window yet, I highly recommend doing so to be ready for Two Twisted Crowns releasing October 17th!
#TWINALDERS

I’ve been on the edge of my seat waiting to find out how this story ends and Two Twisted Crowns doesn’t disappoint! I love the world that Rachel Gillig created and this book allowed you to go deep into the mist and be fully immersed. I loved every minute of it! I will be thinking about this duology for a long time.

Rachel has done it again!! This has become my favorite series honestly, what an incredible magic system and plot I don’t want to give away any spoilers so it’s hard to review but I would recommend this to ANYONE who loves fantasy and magic!

This was reviewed on Goodreads.com, as user April S, on 12 September 2023. I knew going in there was more focus on the relationship between Elm and Ione so it was wonderful to see that blossom. However, I was really blown away by learning more of the Nightmare's history and his regrets. And while I realized (hoped) that Elspeth and Nightmare wouldno longer be intertwined, it was devastating when they were parted, I genuinely cried!! "And I was not yet ready to bid Elspeth goodbye." I was happy to see that Elspeth and Rayvn's relationship endured and that we saw one develop between Nightmare and Rayvn. I loved how the deck was collected and the wrongs righted. Excellent, excellent read!!

What an absolutely fantastic conclusion. It exceeded my unreasonably high expectations. I really don’t have anything more to say.

Thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for providing an arc for me to review!

Thank you Netgalley and Orbit for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am absolutely speechless. This was incredible. I loved every moment of this book. It was exciting, suspenseful, tense, sad, mysterious, and beautifully written. It picked up where One Dark Window left off, and Rachel Gillig has an incredible talent for portraying all of her characters emotions. You felt Ravyn's disdain, love, confusion, and despair over the situation at the beginning of the book. You felt Elspeth drowning and clawing her way back to herself. You felt Elm's disgust for court. Ione's struggle with her numbness. Even with all of the emotion filled writing, it was incredibly action packed too. You learned something new every chapter that kept the plot moving forward in a way that when the POV switched you never wanted to put the book down. This book was so good. One of my favorite reads all year and a series I will forever recommend to anyone who will listen.

I’M VIOLENTLY SHAKING AND CRYING AND THROWING UP EVERYWHERE!!! NO ONE SPEAK TO ME FOR 5-10 BUSINESS DAYS!!!

I was so excited but also nervous to read this book because I loved One Dark Window SO much but let me tell you, IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!! NOT ONE BIT!! I read 80% of this in one day I was HOOKED! It was entertaining, funny, stressful, emotional, and literally anything else you could think of or want in a book.

It’s hard to say much without going into details that would spoil book one or this one but here’s some of my spoiler free thoughts:

The pacing was PERFECTION!! There was plenty of action going on but we also slowed down enough to get to know some of the characters better that we didn’t have as much personal time with in ODW. Which also leads me to the POV balance, which I think was done flawlessly!! I think it’s pretty common in multi-POV books to not care for one POV as much as the others, or to feel that the balance in POV chapters is off but I didn’t feel that way at all in this book. I LOVED all of the characters’ POVs that we had and I didn’t find myself wishing for more or less of ones POV.

As for our characters, I LOVED that we got to know Elm and Ione so much better in this book. I found myself FULLY obsessed with them and might even love them *just* a hare more than Ravyn and Elspeth which is so impressive that Gillig was able to do that because I was am still am fully obsessed with Ravyn and Elspeth too. Elm and Ione were just so well fleshed out and the romance between them was so pure and special and my heart LITERALLY hurt so badly for them at various points and I want to protect them from the world!!! Elm and Ione haters get BACK you’re not welcome here!!!

As for Ravyn and Elspeth, I really can’t say much without spoilers so just know that they were everything to me and I love them so much!!

I really enjoyed getting to see the relationships between all of the characters get delved into more in this book and also getting to see new sides and getting a deeper understanding of the characters as individuals. I think particularly the shepherd king was really fleshed out well in this book and I had such a fun (and stressful) time learning more about him and his past and how he interacted with everyone else after the events of the last book.

I also loved that while there was of course more of a serious tone to this book given the urgency of the plot, some of the humor and banter and light hearted moments that we saw in the first book were still present in this one as well.

I could go on and on but lastly I’ll just say that the ending was PERFECTION! Literally wouldn’t change a single thing! And that’s something that can be pretty difficult to do and this being Gillig’s debut series?!? I am so impressed!! This series definitely solidified her as an auto buy author for me

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for this eARC (:

NetGalley Review:
Two Twisted Crowns continues on from Rachel Gillig's first Book in The Shepard King Series, One Dark Window. In Two Twisted Crowns, we follow Elspeth Spindle and the ancient spirit trapped in her head, The Nightmare. Elspeth is now trapped, looking through the window of her own eyes as The Nightmare seeks revenge on those who wronged him hundreds of years ago. In this second book, we also dive deeper into Elm, who he is, and who he is to become. We follow Ione, learn the truth about her betrothed Hauth, and learn more about their story. I liked Ione in this book, but I can't say that for the last one. She grew well and evolved to be a great character.
I think that I enjoyed this book more than the first. I loved the cards, their magic, and the essence of how people's greed can make them do terrible things. I enjoyed Elspeth's perspective in this book. There was some romance but not too much, keeping the adventure at the forefront of the storyline. There were also some twists at the end of the book that kept me reading and on edge. I think the first bit of the book was a bit slow, but it did pick up towards the end. The explanation of the Mist and the Spirit of the Wood was entertaining. I loved the details and description of The Spirit of the Wood; they came to life.
Overall, this book pulled everything together, tying up loose ends, and had a perfect ending. You will enjoy this book if you like fantasy, with romance as a minor subplot. The magic system was very cool, with plenty of details to help you understand how everything worked.
I don't particularly like spice in my books. I think sometimes it becomes cheesy. I did feel that way in the love scenes in this book, but that is just my opinion. Others may find it quite alright; to each their own.
I would recommend this book to fellow fantasy readers and those who are looking for a quick, easy-to-understand story.
Thank You NetGalley for my ARC copy.

What a conclusion to an amazing duology.

I think all the things Gillig needed to tweak in book one she did here and it struck the perfect balance of atmosphere, plot and character growth.

Highly recommend this one for fantasy lovers looking for something a bit darker and an original magic system.

This book was INCREDIBLE!! I didn’t want it to end! The romance is top tier and the ending completely shattered me, knowing this is the end of the series is just unfair! Absolute perfection.