Two Twisted Crowns maintains the same gothic atmosphere, characters and fantastic writing that made readers fall for One Dark Window. Gillig did shake things up a bit by switching to multi-POV between Elspeth, Ravyn and Elm. I was resistant to the change initially, but its necessary to further the plot of the story (if you finished One Dark Window, I'm sure you can piece it together). The change also gives us so much more insight into the lives and past of the other characters. I thought I loved Elm before, but he really shines on his own in this one. I also really enjoyed unraveling the mystery that is Ione and understanding her perspective on the events from book 1.

Gillig masterfully paced the world building across both books so as not to overwhelm the reader. With the complicated magic system established in book 1, we dive deeper into the history of Blunder, the Providence Cards and the mysterious Shepherd King.

I particularly loved that Two Twisted Crowns delves into the backstory of the Nightmare. He's as complex and nuanced as was hinted in book 1, with a tragic past that makes his relationship with Elspeth all the more sweet. He's a monster that you can't help but root for and is still my favorite part of the series.

I have two major grievances that bumped this down a star. The first, is that Elspeth is largely unimportant to the plot. She really exists to spur emotional turmoil and further the character arc of the Nightmare. It was a bit disappointing to see what was a strong and smart FMC become so unnecessary. The second feels too spoilery to say outright, so I'll just say that I was disappointed that we glossed over what felt like a pivotal scene at the end of the book.

Thank you to Rachel Gillig, NetGalley and Orbit Books for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

The story itself is freaking fantastic. You should definitely read this if you love a good romantasy. You may, however, want to purchase your copy of this book elsewhere. I don’t know if there is such thing as bootleg copies of books, but the book I got from Walmart is like buying a DVD from the streets of Tijuana. Missing punctuation, dialogue smashed into single paragraphs… I didn’t mind because I could figure it out and the story was just so great. But something to keep in mind if this would bother you.

Suitability:affordable

I understand it’s a copy but I don’t mind. I can’t find this book anywhere and Amazon isn’t exactly a practical option as it costs way more than if this book were to be sold in Fully Booked or National Bookstore.

I’m happy with the product. It’s got nice printing. I also appreciate that it is individually packed and there are no issues with my copy. I also got a free Cinnamoroll sticker and an aesthetic bookmark.

Only issue I had was that when I was opening the parcel, there was a lot of hair 😅

I loved the first book. But this book!? Changed my life. What a brilliant book. I cried. I laughed. I was terrified, exhilarated, nervous, excited.. all of the emotions! I wish I never read it so I could read it for the first time again. Thank you, Rachel Gillig for creating this world and giving me so much joy.