Reviews with content warning for Grief - Two Twisted Crowns

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

17 reviews

wickeddelights's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The first book in this duology was good, but the second book was even better! There is so much growth in the characters, and the pining between two of the romantically involved characters and their banter had me hooked.
Rachel has earned herself a place on my instant buy/read list for whatever she comes out with next!!
From here on out there are going to be spoilers.

The first book ended with the melding of the Nightmare and Elsbeth's mind, the title of the book One Dark Window becoming prophecy to what Elsbeth endures from that point forward.

Two Twisted Crowns is no different in that regard. Like Shepherd King when he wrote the Book of Alders, Rachel Gillig offers her readers a glimpse of the ending once more in her title.
Even with the ending laid at our feet, the journey there is still one that is difficult to turn away from. The relationship forming between Elm and Ione was enough to have me on the edge of my seat, but the hardships Ravyn and the others face on their quest to save Elsbeth and blunder are no less interesting and endearing.
To take a note from Taxus's style of speaking, I'll leave my review with this:

The monster becomes Martyr, Foe becomes friend. The future unwritten, until she holds the pen.
;)
(I had to give a nod to the final line of the book haha.)

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amanda_reads13's review

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emotional hopeful 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

4.5

Elspeth's mind is now completely taken over by Nightmare. We follow the group as the continue to search for the Twin Adler card.

I enjoyed this one a bit more than the first. First off, I am so glad that it switched to multiple POVs. It added so much more to the story and character development. Also, I really liked that there was a lot more world building and history of the magic throughout the book. For those who found the first book slow, the pace was a lot faster in this one.

I am so glad we got Nightmare's POV. That was exactly what I was looking for. In the first book, I found it was lacking information about his story and motivation. In book two, we got all that and so much more. We learn about the creation of the cards, his family, and the truth of what happened to him.

He was betrayed by his captain, Brutus Rowan. Brutus murdered his entire family and took the crown for himself.

He is definitely the most interesting character for me. We see how the magic completely twisted his priorities.

In this book, we also get Rayvn and Elm's POVs. We get to see the development of Elm and Ione's relationship. They are so cute together.

I thought it was a smart choice to make Elm king over Rayvn. Though still within the Rowan line, he was so unlike any king before him.

Adding Ravyn's POV added a lot of emotion to the story. We see his story reflecting that of

The Shepherd King. Yet while Nightmare is willing to sacrifice anything for magic, even his sister, Rayvn is only willing to sacrifice himself. Though I did see this coming, we find out that Rayvn is a descendent of the Shepherd King. The King's eldest son escaped Brutus' slaughter and went on to change his last name to Yew.

I love how they ended up using Hauth's blood to unite the deck. Justice.

Tropes: found family

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toweroftheunread's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This one. THIS ONE. This book (and the duology, in general) being underrated is an understatement of the century!

5 *, no thoughts, no comments, no additions or edits.

As the young kids say, it ate and left no crumbs. It was absolute perfection and written immaculately. I cried as I read the last words. I'm sad it's over. So happy it happened.

I love to read something that is different, but not tooooo far out of my wheelhouse. I LOVED this take on a magic system. It's different. It isn't fae, or winged males, or shadow daddies or mates. I love it just as much.

The character development was amazing for all characters. They're all so well rounded, and nothing is made to justify another. We just see an entire person, in each account.

The plot was great! I'm the type of reader who can anticipate most twists and turns, and I wouldn't say this book or the books are predictable. I enjoyed it, and let it lead me along. With most fantasy series, I tend to develop my own complicated side theories and am disappointed when something more simple happens.

That doesn't happen here.

TLDR, I enjoyed the journey.

It is a great duology. I highly recommend, it will be one of the best books I've read this year.

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briannagriffin567's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

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kaylaswhitmore's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Surprisingly, I may have liked this sequel even more than the first book. Gillig really hit a thrilling stride with the pace and plot of this series, and while it had some flaws in my own opinion, I never once found myself bored of the world she painted. If anything, I think that her expansion of the magic in this world in this book really sold me on a few things that I had previously been contemplating in the first book, and I loved learning more about the Shepherd King through Elspeth’s eyes. Personally, I even found myself enjoying Elm and Ione’s blooming relationship leagues more than Elspeth and Ravyn’s! They had a truly beautiful dynamic that tugged on my heart strings in an unexpected way. In terms of critiques, I mostly just had small nitpicks based on personal preferences that I won’t go into, and one larger, character-arc issue regarding Elspeth. I didn’t love how Elspeth’s autonomy was so thoroughly scrubbed in the second book, especially after having spent so much time rooting for her in the first. I understand it was crucial to the plot that she took a more backseat role in the story, but I definitely was expecting her to still have a big moment for the climax where she was able to affect real change despite her position, and was thoroughly disappointed when that did not happen. However, I can totally own that this is less a critique and more a consumer complaint lol. Mostly, I was hoping for a bit more of a female-led adventure, and while Ione was a beacon of light in this book, I still was left a bit wanting in terms of female POVs and choices. But all in all, I would definitely recommend this series to others and think Gillig’s writing is well-deserving of praise! Looking forward to her future works!

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bee12345's review

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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? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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kimberlite_11711's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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.

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skillyillian's review

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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

4.75

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.

Content Warnings

r1vana's review against another edition

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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

2.0

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

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ashleynp24's review

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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

4.75

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.

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