Book Review of Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

 

Name of Book: Two Twisted Crowns

Author: Rachel Gillig

ISBN: 978-0-316-31271-4

Publisher: Orbit

Part of a Series: The Shepherd King Duology (ONE DARK WINDOW prequel)

Type of book: Fantasy, body possession, love, disease, magic powers, fog, history, hidden past, medieval setting fantasy, forest, trees 

Year it was published: 2023 

Summary:

In the luscious, dark sequel to One Dark Window, Elspeth must face the consequences of what she's wrought - perfect for readers of Hannah Whitten's For the Wolf and Alexis Henderson's The Year of the Witching.

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.

Characters:

The main characters include Ravyn, Elspeth/Nightmare, Renelm (Elm) and Ione. Ravyn is a highly responsible young man who enjoys high position and king's favor, but at the same time he realizes that its only a matter of time and is trying to unite the deck using various disguises. He is very protective, intelligent and politically savvy. In another time he might have been a good ruler. Elspeth/Nightmare is Ravyn's love interest. In previous book she was a young woman who hosts the old king, Nightmare, within her. In this book, Nightmare takes over  Elspeth's body and he is also a complicated character who is both human and inhuman and who wants best for his former kingdom but isn't sure how to get it. Renelm (Elm) is the second prince who became an heir after an accident happened to his older brother. Elm is calm, measured and tends to be caring and mischievous. Ione was the older brother's promised bride and she does play a big role in this book. She is also both feeling and unfeeling and is determined to do what she can for those she cares about. 

Theme:

How little we know ourselves

Plot:

Depends on the storyteller, but the story is in third and first person narrative from Elspeth's, Ravyn's and Elm's points of view. Ravyn and Elm are third person narratives while Elspeth is first person. Most of the story is told from Ravyn's and Elm's. Its quite necessary to read ONE DARK WINDOW before beginning this novel because the story picks up immediately from the ending and unlike in certain fantasy novels, there's not an introduction that tells the reader what is going on. The story focuses more on action as well as letting the readers get to know Elm and Ravyn who were behind the scenes in ONE DARK WINDOW. This is a dark tale of reckoning, of old history and of betrayal. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

Rachel Gillig was born and raised on the California coast. She is a writer, with a B.A. in Literary Theory and Criticism from UC Davis. If she is not ensconced in blankets dreaming up her next novel, Rachel is in her garden or walking with her husband, son, and their poodle, Wally.

Opinion:

As my son loves to mention, I was very excited about the sequel to ONE DARK WINDOW, and in fact when it came on October 5th, my birthday, I was beyond thrilled, immediately taking the book out and beginning to read it as soon as possible. Was it as good as the first book? In my opinion yes. But one thing I might mention is to read the first book right before reading this one, and I was a bit disappointed that this book didn't contain explanations and whatnot of various cards just like first book. So yeah, for me the beginning was a bit rocky. However, as time went on, I definitely found myself being sucked back into the story, this time seeing the story from Ravyn's and Elm's point of view which was awesome! In a rare case, I was sad the story was over and there won't be a third book. For readers who love Hannah Whitten's dark and delicate tales, I promise that this novel holds up and I am counting the days (Sorry my son) until Rachel Gillig comes out with her new duology (has anyone invented the time machine yet?) 

This was given for review

5 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)