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.
