Two Twisted Crowns (The Shepherd King, #2) by Rachel Gillig Also by this author: One Dark Window
Series: The Shepherd King #2
Also in this series: One Dark Window
Published by Orbit on October 17, 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy
Pages: 458 •Format: E-Book •Source: Kindle Unlimited
Goodreads
Elspeth and Ravyn have gathered most of the twelve Providence Cards, but the last, and most important one remains to be found: The Twin Alders.
If they are going to find it before the Solstice and cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it, they will need to journey beyond the dangerous mist-cloaked forest that surrounds their kingdom.And the only one who can lead them there is the monster that shares Elspeth's head. The Nightmare. And he's not eager to share any longer.
The vibes were immaculate in One Dark Window, so I decided to immediately jump into the sequel and finale to the duology, Two Twisted Crowns, which I’d often heard was even better the its predecessor. Unfortunately, while not bad by any means, I found that it dragged quite a bit in comparison to the first book.
Picking up shortly after where One Dark Window ends, Two Twisted Crowns has a significant change from the previous book, as it follows multiple other POV narrators (which makes sense, given Elspeth’s…situation…at the end of the last book). However, I found their POVs to be less compelling that that of Elspeth and her monster. There was also a significant focus on a new romance and while I did feel like that pair had more chemistry than Elspeth/Ravyn, I did find it fairly predictable and just…not what I wanted out of this book when there was already so much to work with and so much at stake.
Meanwhile, a large portion of the story follows the Nightmare, Ravyn, and a few others on a seemingly never-ending quest through the woods to find the Twin Alders card. Look, after book one we all knew the hunt for the final card was going to be a main focus for this book, but I am easily bored with the wandering through the forest for chapters on end trope. Seriously, it happens so often in fantasy books, and while there were some bits of intrigue here and there, I just found myself growing bored. This journey was juxtaposed with flashbacks that Elspeth unearths of the Nightmare’s past, his family lineage, etc. that I think were supposed to be shocking twists but all felt fairly obvious after book one??
Overall: Many of the elements I loved about One Dark Window were still present (the cards, the spooky aura, the dark riddles) but I think a lot of the suspense was lost for me and I was following POVs of characters who weren’t my favorite. The conclusion was satisfying and I think the author did a great job of wrapping everything up (especially with the 13th card) but the pacing was just off for me. I’m glad I read it and glad I have it, as it’s still one of the most unique magic systems I’ve read in fantasy and I adore the gothic fairy tale vibes the series gives, but this particular installment didn’t live up to the hype.
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