A review by rosemarieshort
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

Wow. I enjoyed One Dark Window, but had some reservations. Two Twisted Crowns blew those reservations out of the water. 

Firstly, having 3 POVs (Elspeth, Ravyn and Elm) really elevated this read for me. The variety between the two storylines the characters were on added a lot of richness and made the pacing much better. I also really enjoyed Rachel Gillig’s voice as both Ravyn and Elm. 

The plot also felt significantly richer in this instalment. Even Elm, with the perhaps less significant plot line for much of Two Twisted Crowns had really enjoyable and interesting chapters. I was never regretful to be pulled away from the “main” storyline to spend some time with him and Ione. 

The romance was also top tier - Elm and Ione taking the mantle for this book was a great choice. I enjoyed seeing their relationship grow and it unlock things in Elm, as well as seeing Ione struggle with the impact of the Maiden card. 

On the other side, the Elspeth / Nightmare / Ravyn interactions were great. I loved the new depth we got, by seeing the Nightmare and Elspeth’s relationship from another angle. We didn’t learn huge amounts more about the Nightmare from what was hinted at in One Dark Window. However the time we spent with him, through his eyes and Elspeth’s, enriched the character. I have to admit, I did shed a few tears at the end (no spoilers). 

Hauth also turned out to be a decent enough villain. I’d feared in book one he was too cardboard cutout - but there was so much going on to drive the plot and character decisions that Hauth’s limitless cruelty and violence worked well. 

This is a study in how to build on a debut - the writing, plot, confidence, characterisation has all grown to make Two Twisted Crowns a riveting and moving ending to the duology.