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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, Grief, Dysphoria
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed this book more than the first installment. I felt it was more suspenseful and the direction of the plot was clearer. Multiple POVs provided more story content and allowed secondary characters to develop their own dramatic and romantic subplot without interfering with what was happening in the main plotline. That secondary plotline also spiced things up when the action in the main plot lulled and provided space for a bit of humor in an otherwise dark and serious situation. Personally, I found the romance arc in this story WAY more interesting than in One Dark Window. Instead of trying to be stoic all the time, the couple poke at each other verbally and emotionally, which becomes a more realistic connection and a much more entertaining read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
second verse same as the first, this book goddamn slaps. i will say, everyone's right about this one being better than the first. one dark window goes so fuckin hard, and two twisted crowns goes even harder. it picks up right where the first one left off and just. keeps. going. it's fast paced, every page matters and i felt like there wasn't really a scene where i didn't feel like it mattered in one way or another. i annotated my copy, and i used literally 383 tabs. in a 430 page book. and 26 sticky notes with thoughts and theories. almost every single page has something highlighted, tabbed, noted, a scribble in the margins or just "oh my god what the fuck" or "ugh i love them" somewhere. this book is incredible.
mild spoilers ahead, big spoilers will be tagged
elspeth and ravyn continue to be excellent together, even when they're apart and don't have a good way to communicate, you can still see how much they love each other. i do still think they were kinda insta-lovey, but honestly with them i don't even mind. i feel like they didn't develop as characters quite as much as the first book. not to say they didn't have character development, just that it wasn't as prevalent. they actually spent the entire book apart save for a handful of times they got to talk to each other, so i feel like it kinda makes sense their relationship didn't really deepen that much.
that being said, the person that got the most, the very best, the most incredible character development, was Elm. my brave, wise, wonderful elm. i'd die for him tbh, i loved him SO MUCH. he fucking carried this book (along with the shepherd king), i'm not even exaggerating. seeing him grow as a person, watching his romance with ione bloom, was so good. every elm chapter held me captive, edge of my seat, biting my nails. the torture he went through, the pain and trauma, just to come out on the other side stronger and even more determined to never hurt anyone like that again?? i wept. i cried. i want to hug him!!!!! and ione!!!! oh my god every line she had was important, every action she took mattered, i absolutely adore her so much. those two getting their justice together was phenomenal, i couldn't look away. i loved seeing ione develop as a character despite her maiden card being hidden for most of the book. like that was so awesome. she did great. i adore her. she and elm are so perfect for each other. and oh my god they're so horny lmfao the flirting, the steamy moments, the spice, were all great. i loved every one of their moments together.
i have lovingly nicknamed the shepherd king as "shep", mostly because it fit in the margins the best lmfao but also i just think he would say he disliked it very much but secretly think it was amusing. his sass, the banter and bickering with the yews and his smartass remarks to elspeth, were so fucking funny. i highlighted literally all of them. his personality really, really shines in this book. telling ravyn "elspeth says she's sick of you" and ravyn replying "she didn't say that" made me laugh every time. the bickering back and forth between shep and ravyn was so good. i loved the little moments of levity it created. shep and elm took turns carrying this book and it was so fun and kept things interesting, even when switching POVs. there wasn't a single POV where i went "ugh oh my god not this again, i'm probably just going to skim this pointless shit." (looking at you, tharion and ithan. smfh)
i loved, loved, loved shep's backstory. learning about how he came to be who he was before and after he met elspeth, and the affects that the events of both books had on him, was just wonderful. he had the best character development but i love that we saw it from the past and the present. i absolutely adored the way gillig gave her lore, especially with him. the memories elspeth went through, experiencing them as shep, was fucking genius. seeing the political and magical settings of blunder in the past was cleverly woven in with how shep's obsession with the cards consumed him. you see the affects of the mist and infection in the present, and then go back and see how it all came to be, and how shep kinda just let it all happen but then also was like "wait this is a problem. i'll just make more cards about it" was so well thought out. seeing his current self develop and then watching him unravel in the past, knowing how it would change him over five centuries of living death, was really moving. the way he was an absent father and then became so protective of elspeth and jespyr just broke my heart. when he called jespyr by his daughter's name i let out a huge "awwwww oh my god!" and almost cried lmao. not worried about ravyn dying at all, but so fucking sad for shep. the backstory for him was done immaculately, i wouldn't change a fuckin thing about it.
my biggest grievance with this one was the same as the first: elspeth and ravyn are borderline clueless throughout the entire book. shep, and sometimes others, have to spell everything out for them. shep's sarcasm about the yews being idiots is 10/10 but i also kinda don't really think he was wrong lmfao. he had to explain literally everything they were doing. also, i'm so miffed that elspeth and ravyn didn't realize the yews were shep's descendants. for one, elspeth should have recognized her lover's face when she was in shep's memories. from how it was described, both taxus and bennett were basically identical to ravyn. how did she not see him in their faces??? she spent so much time in shep's head, seeing these memories over and over, but didn't make the connection, despite seeing ravyn through shep's eyes whenever she wasn't in his memories. how?? and how did ravyn not realize he was looking in a mirror as soon as the spirit started showing him taxus's past. like. she didn't want to give him the card, he asked for hints, and then she was like "you're literally the same. look. you could be twins." even the first hint, before she showed him anything, should've been enough to reveal his true name. but he didn't get it literally at all, until she showed him bennett essentially rebranding into the last name of yew instead of taxus. it was right there and neither ravyn nor elspeth got it until it was spelled out for them. i also thought it was a little weird that the spirit didn't want to surrender the card, but then made it super easy for ravyn to take it lmao. but whatever. deities are wild. yeah idk i just don't like that kinda shit. like no one ever claimed elspeth was the smartest, and i don't remember that for ravyn either. but they're both supposed to be clever, as with the whole "be wary be clever be good" thing, but i feel like, besides getting themselves out of tight spots, that didn't really happen.
i will say, ravyn being able to destroy cards was a theory i had, and i loved that i was right bc that's a super cool way to get rid of them since uniting the deck didn't make all of the cards disappear. destroying the nightmare card to get rid of shep and bring elspeth back was great. i just know when shep paused before telling ravyn he could bring her back, he was giggling to himself like the punk ass he is lmao. letting ravyn be all sad and then just going "sike! gotcha!!! i knew how to do it the whole time and i didn't tell anybody!!" was fucking funny. he made some very good points though, about rewriting the past and helping get elm the throne and stuff. like he was being selfish in a lot of ways, but also with good reason. ravyn would've ripped the nightmare to bits the second he found out, and it would've done more harm than good. i get why shep didn't say anything until after they won. they literally would not have been able to do it without him.
overall, this book is as excellent as everyone says it is. the worldbuilding is awesome. the author stuck to the rules she created for her incredibly unique magic system. the characters, for the most part, grow and develop really well so they feel like they've finished their arcs by the end of the book. i loved the lore and the way it was delivered. backstories galore, in the best way. justice was served to those who deserved it, and in the most satisfying way possible. as shep said, "poetry is as judicious as violence." the book itself is wonderful. one weird thing i did notice is that, at least in my copy? there's a bunch of typos. like i think i must've found at least a dozen, if not more. it was weird, bc like. how many people read this book before it went to print, y'know? didn't ruin the story or anything but i would see them and just be like "huh. weird that got missed, but whatever i guess?" ykwim? oh well.
side note, but the print quality of my paperback copy (which i'm not blaming the author for by ANY means, don't get me wrong. this is not included in my score of the book, just a complaint i have bc i'm just Like This) was wildly disappointing. i had pages that were a deep black, like they should be, but most pages were much, much lighter than that. i even had pages where the ink was so faint it was like a steel grey, nowhere near black. if my highlighter had been a darker shade it would've just covered the words as if i were redacting them. it was really irritating to have some pages (very few) be as dark as they should've been, while most of the ink in my copy was half as dark as the standard black. it was a bummer bc it didn't stick out nearly as well as it should have against my highlighter. like their printers were running out of ink and they just went "eh, you can still see it more or less. close enough." and it was a bummer for sure. but anyway, like i said, that's not included in my score here. i'm just bitching. the book is very very good, i loved almost all of it, i'd just recommend checking the inside of your physical copy before you buy it lmao.
mild spoilers ahead, big spoilers will be tagged
elspeth and ravyn continue to be excellent together, even when they're apart and don't have a good way to communicate, you can still see how much they love each other. i do still think they were kinda insta-lovey, but honestly with them i don't even mind. i feel like they didn't develop as characters quite as much as the first book. not to say they didn't have character development, just that it wasn't as prevalent. they actually spent the entire book apart save for a handful of times they got to talk to each other, so i feel like it kinda makes sense their relationship didn't really deepen that much.
that being said, the person that got the most, the very best, the most incredible character development, was Elm. my brave, wise, wonderful elm. i'd die for him tbh, i loved him SO MUCH. he fucking carried this book (along with the shepherd king), i'm not even exaggerating. seeing him grow as a person, watching his romance with ione bloom, was so good. every elm chapter held me captive, edge of my seat, biting my nails. the torture he went through, the pain and trauma, just to come out on the other side stronger and even more determined to never hurt anyone like that again?? i wept. i cried. i want to hug him!!!!! and ione!!!! oh my god every line she had was important, every action she took mattered, i absolutely adore her so much. those two getting their justice together was phenomenal, i couldn't look away. i loved seeing ione develop as a character despite
i have lovingly nicknamed the shepherd king as "shep", mostly because it fit in the margins the best lmfao but also i just think he would say he disliked it very much but secretly think it was amusing. his sass, the banter and bickering with the yews and his smartass remarks to elspeth, were so fucking funny. i highlighted literally all of them. his personality really, really shines in this book. telling ravyn "elspeth says she's sick of you" and ravyn replying "she didn't say that" made me laugh every time. the bickering back and forth between shep and ravyn was so good. i loved the little moments of levity it created. shep and elm took turns carrying this book and it was so fun and kept things interesting, even when switching POVs. there wasn't a single POV where i went "ugh oh my god not this again, i'm probably just going to skim this pointless shit." (looking at you, tharion and ithan. smfh)
i loved, loved, loved shep's backstory. learning about how he came to be who he was before and after he met elspeth, and the affects that the events of both books had on him, was just wonderful. he had the best character development but i love that we saw it from the past and the present. i absolutely adored the way gillig gave her lore, especially with him.
my biggest grievance with this one was the same as the first: elspeth and ravyn are borderline clueless throughout the entire book. shep, and sometimes others, have to spell everything out for them. shep's sarcasm about the yews being idiots is 10/10 but i also kinda don't really think he was wrong lmfao. he had to explain literally everything they were doing.
i will say,
overall, this book is as excellent as everyone says it is. the worldbuilding is awesome. the author stuck to the rules she created for her incredibly unique magic system. the characters, for the most part, grow and develop really well so they feel like they've finished their arcs by the end of the book. i loved the lore and the way it was delivered. backstories galore, in the best way. justice was served to those who deserved it, and in the most satisfying way possible. as shep said, "poetry is as judicious as violence." the book itself is wonderful. one weird thing i did notice is that, at least in my copy? there's a bunch of typos. like i think i must've found at least a dozen, if not more. it was weird, bc like. how many people read this book before it went to print, y'know? didn't ruin the story or anything but i would see them and just be like "huh. weird that got missed, but whatever i guess?" ykwim? oh well.
side note, but the print quality of my paperback copy (which i'm not blaming the author for by ANY means, don't get me wrong. this is not included in my score of the book, just a complaint i have bc i'm just Like This) was wildly disappointing. i had pages that were a deep black, like they should be, but most pages were much, much lighter than that. i even had pages where the ink was so faint it was like a steel grey, nowhere near black. if my highlighter had been a darker shade it would've just covered the words as if i were redacting them. it was really irritating to have some pages (very few) be as dark as they should've been, while most of the ink in my copy was half as dark as the standard black. it was a bummer bc it didn't stick out nearly as well as it should have against my highlighter. like their printers were running out of ink and they just went "eh, you can still see it more or less. close enough." and it was a bummer for sure. but anyway, like i said, that's not included in my score here. i'm just bitching. the book is very very good, i loved almost all of it, i'd just recommend checking the inside of your physical copy before you buy it lmao.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This book didn’t stick out to me. I was so excited to read it especially after the first one .
Honestly, I didn’t mind that I got to read Elm’s pov. But him and Ione’s relationship was something that I didn’t care at all. I was so focused on what’s gonna happen with Nighmare, Elspeth and Ravyn that I almost skeemed through Elm’s chapters…
With how much I loved E&R’s romance, this book made it lacklustre… heartbreaking to say that every single moments(I can count in one hand), I have been hanging on it.
Beside that, I love how the author wrote the magic world.
More rtc
Honestly, I didn’t mind that I got to read Elm’s pov. But him and Ione’s relationship was something that I didn’t care at all. I was so focused on what’s gonna happen with Nighmare, Elspeth and Ravyn that I almost skeemed through Elm’s chapters…
With how much I loved E&R’s romance, this book made it lacklustre… heartbreaking to say that every single moments(I can count in one hand), I have been hanging on it.
Beside that, I love how the author wrote the magic world.
More rtc
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Grief
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book really solidified how much I enjoyed the nightmare’s relationship with Elspeth. It was shown from the other POV, and I felt it really delved into his motives and you get so much more backstory that I’d been craving in the first book.
Ione and Elm surprised me in this book, and their relationship was really fun to watch expand with the Hauth issues.
I felt Ravyn and Elspeth’s relationship really took a backseat this book compared to book 1, but that’s to be expected with the nightmare taking over.
I did find it fitting that Ravyn turns out to be a Taxus, which explains a lot of the way the nightmare has a soft spot for them
The ending where Elspeth and the Shepherd king are saying goodbye made me sob. I didn’t expect them to pull out the rhyme from the beginning that started it all. They had a strange relationship, but they really cared for one another and it was sweet.
I also liked that it gave a glimpse into the “after.” I love when books have an epilogue so I can see more of their lives after everything has happened and I felt it was a really sweet and fun way to end the series.
Ione and Elm surprised me in this book, and their relationship was really fun to watch expand with the Hauth issues.
I felt Ravyn and Elspeth’s relationship really took a backseat this book compared to book 1, but that’s to be expected with the nightmare taking over.
The ending where Elspeth and the Shepherd king are saying goodbye made me sob. I didn’t expect them to pull out the rhyme from the beginning that started it all. They had a strange relationship, but they really cared for one another and it was sweet.
I also liked that it gave a glimpse into the “after.” I love when books have an epilogue so I can see more of their lives after everything has happened and I felt it was a really sweet and fun way to end the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This second book picks up shortly after the ending of One Dark Window.
The focus and atmosphere of this story was different from the first and although I found it enjoyable, it didn't quite manage to hold onto the subtlety of the horror in the first book. It felt much more like a quest/adventure story except for certain aspects of Elm's POV.
There also was a reveal that was projected so obviously to us as readers that it was annoying that the characters didn't figure it out.
Despite the above, I think the pacing and characters were once again so well done that you just get pulled right back into the story. The inclusion of Elm's storyline became a strength of this book, as was the Nightmare as a more filled out character.
Overall the series was very good and I would give it a 4.5 overall.
The focus and atmosphere of this story was different from the first and although I found it enjoyable, it didn't quite manage to hold onto the subtlety of the horror in the first book. It felt much more like a quest/adventure story except for certain aspects of Elm's POV.
There also was a reveal that was projected so obviously to us as readers that it was annoying that the characters didn't figure it out.
Despite the above, I think the pacing and characters were once again so well done that you just get pulled right back into the story. The inclusion of Elm's storyline became a strength of this book, as was the Nightmare as a more filled out character.
Overall the series was very good and I would give it a 4.5 overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I cannot put into words how I love this duology. I laughed, I cried. I was at the edge while reading this, wanting to find out what happened next. I couldn't have asked for a better end.
I will be thinking about this book for weeks to come. I just know it. This was the best book to open 2024
I will be thinking about this book for weeks to come. I just know it. This was the best book to open 2024
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Police brutality, Grief
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Vomit, Grief
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this sequel and the transition to multiple POVs! I enjoyed One Dark Window, but the deeper world-building, evolved magic system, and the shift to Elm and Ione as our primary romance made this follow-up a stand-out for me. I particularly enjoy when an author can pull off a tight story arc in a duology, and this nailed it - the ending felt appropriately hard-won and resisted easy heroics. I adore the Nightmare, and the complexity in his characterization, and I appreciated the sharp humor he brings to character interactions. This is a dark and atmospheric story with two affirming and compelling romance arcs, and I highly recommend to fantasy romance lovers!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief
Minor: Abandonment