Book Review: Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig (The Shepard King's Duology #2)

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Two Twisted Crowns...just like One Dark Window, Two Twisted Crowns had brought me to my knees. The Nightmare now inhabiting Elspeth's body, Elm, and Ione are looking for Ione's Maiden card, and both The Nightmare/Elspeth and Ravyn are looking for the last card in the Provience deck, the Twin Alders card. Once again, Rachel Gillig knocked this book out of the park for me, because we go back to a time when The Nightmare, or the Shepherd King, or Taxus, as he was called in the past, created the cards and how one person took it all away-a Rowan named Brutus, I believe-and then everything went to hell, and now The Nightmare and Ravyn are trying to find the Twin Alders to reunite the deck and then destroy it.

That arc hurt my soul in ways I never thought it could hurt me, but the more I read it, the more I was really getting into the story and how that arc was going to end-will Elspeth get back to her own body? Will The Nightmare forever stay in Elspeth's body, and will Elspeth be lost to Ravyn and everyone and never return? Those were the questions in my mind as I kept reading, and when they finally got the card, I felt like everything was going to be alright.

The second arc was the Elm and Ione story. All Elm wants to do is help Ione find the Maiden card that Hauth, when he controlled her with the Scythe card, told her to hide it. Elm tried everything he could to find the card, along with being the King's Heir, while the King was totally doing the Robert Baratheon and drinking all the time, and not making any sense when he was drunk. When Hauth came back to life thanks to the Maiden card, it was almost like a fight to the death when Elm and Ione tried to fight Hauth, and even Ione showed Elm the cruelty she dealt with her when she was with Hauth.

When the Nightmare and Ravyn came back from getting the Twin Alders, a fight ensued, and all hope was lost when Hauth had all the cards. But Elm pulled an uno-reverse card and spilled Hauth's blood all over the cards, and everything was clearer than ever-The Nightmare and Elspeth had one final moment before he disappeared, Ravyn knew his real name (Taxus, named after The Shepherd King and also his father was Bennett), and Elm and Ione got married. Some new cards were created, and the wedding between Elm and Ione was very beautiful. I really enjoyed this duology, and I'm so glad that I read it, and I now need to read the new things Rachel Gillig is writing, because she's my new favorite author of all time.

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