*** 4.5 ⭐️ ***

In the conclusion of this duology, the hunt is on for the Twin Alders Providence Card, the last that will unite the deck and banish the mist and dark magic infecting the town's residents. Through trials and tribulations, and a lot of hideous characters that I personally wished would die a heinous death, the MCs try to beat the Solstice clock and gather all the cards they need before it's too late.

This was a twisty, sometimes convoluted ending to a great dark fantasy story. There was love and hate, want and need, good and bad, and right and wrong - all resulting in balance, which was a major theme throughout. The character arcs were well thought out, and the gory action scenes were well developed as well. Throw in a sarcastic MC or two, and this was an extremely entertaining story.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Took me a while to get back into but once I did I enjoyed the story, but definitely not as much as the first book. I do really enjoy the characters but there were parts the fell short for me personally.

Satisfying ending. I enjoyed the journey.

I did like this better than One Dark Window. The changing POVs kept the story interesting. However, I did find myself caring more for Elm and Ione’s sections over Ravyn, Elspeth and the Nightmare.

The magic system is unique to anything else I’ve read before. Rachel Gillig provided great character development and a well throughout, atmospheric world. The overall duology was very good, but both books were a little too long for me. There were a few too many side characters I didn’t care about. Parts of the story seemed to drag. They were stuck in the wood over half the book.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy and a quest. A little romance but it wasn’t the overarching theme.

Thank you Orbit via Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

The first 60% or so of the book dragged a little for me, however, I thoroughly enjoyed the end. I love how the story tied together. It saddened me more than I thought it would for this story to end, especially losing the Nightmare. It was definitely bittersweet.

I absolutely devoured this book. Two Twisted Crowns was fantastic - the riddles, the character development, getting to know the Nightmare. I loved it.

I do not have the adequate vocabulary to express how much I loved this duology!!! I loved the first book so much and was worried I may not feel the same about the sequel, as I have heard that the focus of this is shifted to Elm and Ione. Honestly, I've been curious about the two since the first book, but I loved Ravyn and Elspeth so much I just wanted more of their story. Let me tell you, Rachel Gillig did the dang thing and has me obsessed over both couples. The relationships, journey, character growth in this? Phenomenal. The magic system, again, is so unique, and I loved learning more about the Nightmare. He might just be my favourite character of the whole duology.

This was such a beautiful duology. I catch myself thinking about it often. All of the characters were so wonderful. This book absolutely broke me by the end. I was flying through the last 100 pages, tears streaming down my face. And when I was finished..:I wanted more.

Two Twisted Crowns is a great sequel following the unique magic tarot system depicted in One Dark Window.

What really shined through in this book is actually Elm’s storyline. I didn’t care much about Elm as a character in the first book, but Elm & Ione’s chemistry is so much more interesting than Elspeth and Ravyn’s.

I get how the story should go with the ending in the first book, but it’s still kind of weird that Elspeth being the lead in the first book barely has a POV in this book.

I still enjoyed reading the book and this book got into more details on how the providence cards were created and history of the Shepard King. I didn’t think it was as unique as when I first read One Dark Window, but still a really unique fantasy read.

THIS BOOK IS LIFE CHANGING. The multiple points of view, the romance, the mystery, the card magic!!! It is literally everything I wanted and everything i needed. I will literally read anything Rachel writes.

I didn’t think it was possible to love book 2 more than book 1 but here we are. Adding Elm’s POV was brilliant.

This was amazing. This was an easy five star read for me. It will probably be the best book I read in 2024. This was the perfect duology. The end was perfect. I will be reading everything Rachel Gillig writes. Read this.

Best conclusion possible of an amazing story!

I loved everything about this book - it answered all my questions and gave me closure in such a way that I think about this book almost everyday!!

An amazing sequel to one dark window, a dark fantasy world built around the creation of magical cards that each have their own power, but with all power it comes with a price. This book is fast paced and I quickly devoured the book. I highly recommend to anyone. Love the magic, and the whole fantasy world. You continue following elspeth, Elm, Ravyn, and Ione as they continue to collect the cards to complete the deck to cure the world of the mist and disease, but Hauth still stands in there way and tries everything, even including framing his brother and putting him on trial for murder.

This entire series is just incredible. The world building and magic system are so amazingly unique. I love every second spent in this world. Excellent writing continues in this installment. Well thought out plot.

This was an amazing conclusion to an amazing duology! I loved the first book in this duology and this second and final book definitely did not disappoint but surpassed the first book in how much I loved it! The character development in this book was amazing I loved seeing how they progressed not only the end of the first book but, from the start of the first book as well. I loved how much more information we learn in this book about the world and its magic system! I loved how this book continued on from the first and that ending was perfect! Definitely recommend reading this book and this duopoly as a whole if you haven't already done so!

(Actual rating: 3.5 stars)
I'm not sure what changed between book one and two, but I didn't enjoy this as much. I almost DNF'd the book because it took me so long at the beginning while reading the eARC but I was able to switch to the audiobook which, even though the narrator irritated me a little at first, helped me manage to finish. While Gillig created a few heartbreaking romantic moments that I enjoyed, it felt a little weird because it was between two characters who did not have perspectives (or even a relationship) in book one. It was fine but I will not purchase it.

From September 2023: Cannot believe Orbit gave me an early copy of this book through NetGalley, but thank you so much to the publishers for that. Sequels often fall short of the first books, but wow did Rachel exceed expectations with Two Twisted Crowns. The angst, the suspense, the heart stopping moments, the romance, the poetic justice of the book in its entirety. Wow just wow. I still can’t believe I got to read this book early, but I’m so happy I got the opportunity to read such an amazing book and we got a satisfying end to the story of the girl and the king and the monster they became.

4 stars ⭐️ the duology was great!! and i will say this book focuses more on elm and ione not that i minded because i already liked elm from the first book. honestly, i think i might like their story more than elspeth and ravyn 🫣 hot take i know hehe the nightmare honestly is the funniest character in the book and it definitely was a bittersweet end. all in all, i just felt that the first 70% of the book was a little slow for my liking, just lots of talking and elspeth trying to remember and break free but it felt like a lot of it was a bit redundant. the last 30% though? that’s the reason for the four stars because she really got me there. i was all up flipping the pages as fast as i could. anyways elm >>>>>>>

Rachel Gillis was successful in writing a captivating story that I’m still stuck in and wanting more. I devoured this book and was unable to put it down (who needs to sleep?) until the end.

Loved this duology 👏👏
Give me the creepy, dark vibes any day. And I had the honor of reading it in the fall 🤌 love that for me.
I’m obsessed with the magic system in these books and I loved all the riddles. The way the shepherd king spoke was so great. I love the extra layer of creepy it added.
I wanted to give this one a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ but I felt the ending could have been better. I wanted the goodbye between Elspeth and the shepherd king to have been more emotional.
Highly recommend!