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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Book Review: One Dark Window (The Shepard King Duology #1) by Rachel Gillig

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So....apparently I've been missing out on Rachel Gillig, because OH MY GOOD LORD this book??? This book right here?? PERFECTION. I wasn't expecting me to love this book, to be fair. Every time I'd see this book online, I would legit ask, 'Does the monster in this girl's head like Sukuna in Itadori's head?' and I was so curious that I'd hold on to this series until the fall, where I picked it up and read it myself.

And I am so glad that I did.

Elspeth Spindle is a girl who has a being called the Nightmare in her head (that sadly isn't like Sukuna, but then the more I read it, his voice turned out to be like Naraku, but his actions are like Sukuna's), and one night while walking, she almost gets attacked by highwaymen. It turns out that the highwaymen are from the Rowan royal family, who are seeking the cards to rid themselves of the mist that has shrouded the Kingdom of Bluster. Elspeth agrees when her cousin Ione is announced to the Crown Prince Hauth (whom I hate, but let's move on before I snap and dump a BUNCH of hate on this man) and has received The Maiden card.

Elspeth, Ravyn, Elm, and Jespyr go out one night and attempt to rob someone of their card, unaware that Hauth or Elspeth's father is also present, and things don't go as planned. Back at the castle, the sickly brother, Emory, touches Elspeth, and I feel like he kinda saw The Nightmare in Elspeth, and started talking about The Book of the Oak, I believe, and then things started...going dark quite fast.

There was a Chalice card that tries to get people to tell the truth, and Prince Hauth tries to use it on Elspeth, but since she can see it and can't use it (along with Ravyn) that's when Ravyn starts to lie about certain events, and then after that, Ravyn and Elspeth told each other their feelings, and then they hunched. But one day, when Ravyn was gone from the castle, Hauth showed up and put his hands on Elspeth, and then The Nightmare took over and broke Hauth like a twig, and that's where the story ends-with The Nightmare/Elspeth in the dungeons, Ione very beautiful, and Hauth darn near on his deathbed.

I really enjoyed this book, like I said, and Rachel Gillig became one of my new auto-buy authors. I loved her writing, I loved how she brought the magic in the cards to life, and I also really like how she built the relationship between the characters to bring them to life. I feel like I was at home in the Kingdom of Blunder, and I am very excited to read the second book in the series.

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