BOOKS | Review: Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

Name: Two Twisted Crowns (The Shepherd King #2)

Author: Rachel Gillig

Publisher: Orbit

Date published: October 2023

Genre: Fiction, new adult, fantasy, romance, gothic

Pages: 437

Rating: 5/5 

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.

- From Goodreads. 

Rachel Gillig is excellent at writing dramatic moments and making them feel very epic and monumental. My favourite moments were when the Nightmare could really show what he was capable of, his connection with the land and trees and how he could use that really made for some very thrilling moments that were so enjoyable to read.

I think the Nightmare's link to Elspeth and their relationship was so fascinating and it was so well done how it built emotionally up to the very end. I really felt attached to both of the characters and wanted to see what would happen with their bond in the end.

It was interesting to see more from the other characters in this book as we got some additional perspectives and learnt more about the world than what we had previously just seen from Elspeth's point of view. Elm was especially compelling and I really liked following his development and watching him decide what was important to him and what he would decide to fight for.

Overall, I really loved this duology and will definitely be coming back to reread it at some point. I am looking forward to reading more from Rachel Gillig as I think she has a wonderfully atmospheric writing style, can create some truly cinematic scenes and creates very fascinating characters. 

BOOKS | Review: One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

Name: One Dark Window (The Shepherd King #1)

Author: Rachel Gillig

Publisher: Orbit

Date published: September 2022

Genre: Fiction, new adult, fantasy, romance, gothic

Pages: 432

Rating: 5/5

Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom of Blunder - she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.
But nothing comes for free, especially magic.
When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure Blunder from the dark magic infecting it. And the highwayman? He just so happens to be the King’s nephew, Captain of the most dangerous men in Blunder... and guilty of high treason.
Together they must gather twelve Providence Cards - the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.

- From Goodreads. 

This story was incredibly atmospheric and wonderfully intense and so suspenseful in the plot. 

Elspeth was such a fascinating character to follow along, she had a lot of depth to her and so much heart, she cared a lot about the people close to her, but could not truly be herself with them because of the secrets she had to keep. Her relationship with the Nightmare was so intriguing and it was so interesting seeing their dynamic.

I really enjoyed the romance, I think Ryvan was a very compelling character, full of mystery at the beginning, but very empathetic once you got to know more about him, and I love that they wanted to be together and to be able to care for each other, despite everything around them working against them.

I found the plot very thrilling and all of the other characters very intriguing, the ending was very dramatic and exciting and I am curious to see what will happen in the next book and the parts each character will play in the events that follow on from this book.

I would definitely recommend this if you enjoy gothic and atmospheric fantasy romance stories, like Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. I will definitely be reading the second book very soon as I'm excited to see how the story continues! 

BOOKS | Review: Swordheart by T. Kingfisher

Name: Swordheart (Swordheart #1, The World of the White Rat)

Author: T. Kingfisher

Publisher: Orbit

Date published: First published November 2018, this edition June 2025

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance

Pages: 448

Rating: 5/5

Halla is a housekeeper who has suddenly inherited her great-uncle's estate... and, unfortunately, his relatives. Sarkis is an immortal swordsman trapped in a prison of enchanted steel. When Halla draws the sword that imprisons him, Sarkis finds himself attempting to defend his new wielder against everything from bandits and roving inquisitors to her own in-laws... and the sword itself may prove to be the greatest threat of all.

- From Goodreads. 

I have really enjoyed starting to read T. Kingfisher in the past year and this book was certainly no exception. It was another brilliant story with excellent humour, a fascinating word and a really wonderful romance.

The concept of a warrior trapped in a sword, enchanted to serve whoever wields it, made for a very fun and adventurous plot, with some delightful hijinks throughout, and Halla and Sarkin were both such compelling characters to follow along for that plot. Both of them were very endearing and it was lovely to see them come to admire and trust each other so much.

There were some very brilliant side characters too, especially Brindle and Zade, who it was wonderful to see again as they have both appeared before in books set in the same world, and I would be happy to see them both again as they added a lot of enjoyable moments to the story. 

All of the books I have read so far from T. Kingfisher have been amazing and this one has just made me even more excited to pick up another one. 

BOOKS | Review: Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

Name: Empire of Sand (The Books of Ambha #1)

Author: Tasha Suri

Publisher: Orbit

Date published: November 2018

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance

Pages: 432

Rating: 5/5

Mehr is a girl trapped between two cultures. Her father comes from the ruling classes of the empire, but her mother’s people were outcasts, Amrithi nomads who worshipped the spirits of the sands.
Caught one night performing these forbidden rites, Mehr is brought to the attention of the Emperor’s most feared mystics, who try to force her into their service by way of an arranged marriage. If she fails in their bidding, the gods themselves may awaken and seek vengeance...

- From Goodreads. 

This was a very intricately detailed story, with a lot of thought put into the world-building, and wonderfully well-written characters. 

It definitely hooked me in and made me worried for both Mehr and Aman, I really felt emotionally invested in their journey and hoped they found a way to escape the horrible situation they were in together.

It felt like a very complex world with a lot of different stories to explore within it, so I'm glad there's another book where we can see more of the world and what the consequences of what happened in this book will be.

I think if you love fantasy with in-depth world building, well-rounded and complicated characters and a lovely romance where two characters find hope and comfort in each other despite the darkness surrounding them, then I can definitely recommend this book to you. I will certainly be going on to read more of Tasha Suri's work after this. 

BOOKS | Review: Paladin's Hope by T. Kingfisher

Name: Paladin's Hope (The Saint of Steel #3, The World of the White Rat)

Author: T. Kingfisher

Publisher: Orbit

Date published: April 2025

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance, mystery

Pages: 288

Rating: 5/5

 

Piper is a lich-doctor, a physician who works among the dead, determining causes of death for the city guard's investigations. It's a peaceful, if solitary profession... until the day when he's called to the river to examine the latest in a series of mysterious bodies, mangled by some unknown force.
Galen is a paladin of a dead god, lost to holiness and no longer entirely sane. He has long since given up on any hope of love. But when the two men and a brave gnole constable are drawn into the web of the mysterious killer, it's Galen's job to protect Piper from the traps that await them.
He's just not sure if he can protect Piper from the most dangerous threat of all...

- From Goodreads. 

This was another wonderful book in the Saint of Steel series, it still had the brilliant humorous writing style and intriguing mystery in the plot, along with a very compelling romance. I do like that, although each book has had a mystery in its plot, the structure of the plot has been different in each one, and I've always been surprised by how each mystery unfolds.

I loved the characters that we followed in this book, both Galen and Piper had their problems to work through, and it was good seeing them have to face their own demons and overcome them through the course of the book. I loved that their romance was quite sweet with how much they cared about each other and how much comfort they found in each other and I thought that was balanced well with their physical attraction to each other.

Earstripe was another great character, who was very funny at times but also had great depth and fit in well with the other two characters.

I'm intrigued by the overarching plot of the series, I like how it goes on in the background of each book and each book adds bits and pieces to the mystery, but none of them have completed the full picture yet. I'm definitely curious to see what will happen in the next book and how things will conclude when the series finishes.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this series, all the books so far have been a lot of fun and I haven't found anything to fault in any of them! 

BOOKS | Review: The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison

Name: The Tomb of Dragons (The Cemeteries of Amalo #3, The Chronicles of Osreth #4)

Author: Katherine Addison

Publisher: Solaris

Date published: March 2025

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, steampunk, mystery

Pages: 380

Rating: 4/5

This review contains major spoilers.  

Thara Celehar has lost his ability to speak with the dead. When that title of Witness for the Dead is gone, what defines him?
While his title may be gone, his duties are not. Celehar contends with a municipal cemetery with fifty years of secrets, the damage of a revethavar he’s terrified to remember, and a group of miners who are more than willing to trade Celehar’s life for a chance at what they feel they’re owed.
Celehar does not have to face these impossible tasks alone. Joining him are his mentee Velhiro Tomasaran, still finding her footing with the investigative nature of their job; Iäna Pel-Thenhior, his beloved opera director friend and avid supporter; and the valiant guard captain Hanu Olgarezh.
Amidst the backdrop of a murder and a brewing political uprising, Celehar must seek justice for those who cannot find it themselves under a tense political system. The repercussions of his quest are never as simple they seem, and Celehar’s own life and happiness hang in the balance.

- From Goodreads. 

I really enjoyed this story in the Cemeteries of Amalo series, it continued the excellent character development of the previous books, had wonderful subtle humour woven throughout the narration, and included another intriguing mystery. There were only a couple of things that kept it from being five stars and they didn't really stop me from enjoying the reading experience.

First I was quite surprised that Iäna didn't turn out to be a love interest for Thara, as it had seemed to be building towards that in the first two books, but I did like that their friendship was still shown to be very important and it was nice to see two male characters who were allowed to show their feelings for each other and care for each other intensely, even when it wasn't romantic. I also did like the love interest that was introduced for Thara, Captain Olgarezh. He was very captivating and I would have been fascinated to learn more about him, and I thought the relationship that built between him and Thara was very sweet. My only problem was that it felt like we didn't really get enough time to see their relationship, and the end of the book did feel quite abrupt, so it felt like the story cut off before we really got the chance to see how they would be together.

That was my only other problem with the book, that the ending happened quite suddenly. It felt like not everything had been properly resolved with each character and like we hadn't seen the end of all their journeys. It does make me wonder if this is not the last we'll see of these characters and if we'll see them again in future books.

It was delightful to briefly return to the royal court for part of the book, and especially delightful to see Maia again. It was interesting to see him outside of his own persepective and wonderful to see him continue to be such an excellent emperor. It made me want to see more from him again, even if he's not the main character, in another book, although it would be amazing if he was! I certainly hope everythig goes well with his wedding!

Overall, although there were a couple of things that stopped me from rating this as highly as the other books in the series, I still really enjoyed it and think it's worth reading and I'm still excited to read any further books set in this world! 

BOOKS | Review: Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood

Name: Rewitched (Rewitched #1)

Author: Lucy Jane Wood

Publisher: Pan MacMillan

Date published: September 2024

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance, cosy, witches

Pages: 416

Rating: 5/5

Belladonna Blackthorn hasn’t lost her magical spark... but she hasn’t seen it in a while, either.
Balancing work at her beloved Lunar Books with protecting it from her toxic boss, who’s running it into the ground, and all the while concealing her witchcraft from the non-witches around her - Belle is burnt out. Perfecting the potential of her magic is the last thing on her mind.
But when her 30th birthday brings a summons from her coven, and a trial that tests her worthiness as a witch, Belle risks losing her magic forever. With the month of October to fix things, and signs that dark forces may be working against her, Belle will need all the help she can get - from the women in her life, from an unlikely mentor figure, and even an (infuriatingly handsome) watchman who’s sworn to protect her...

- From Goodreads. 

This was so lovely and charming, and a very sweet story about finding confidence in yourself and being brave enough to take risks and do things that might be scary but will result in amazing things for you if you take the chance. 

I loved how the magical world was fit into our own, it was very fun to see how the magic worked and how different witches and warlocks used it.

All the characters were very enjoyable to read about and all of them had interesting and full lives and stories to tell. I liked that Bella learnt a lot from each different character and they all really contributed something to the story and Bella's journey of finding more confidence in herself.

I would definitely recommend this if you enjoy cosy fantasy stories like Sangu Mandanna's The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping, it had the same whimsical magic and wholesome found family, along with a little bit of heartwarming romance.