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doahdancer's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
This series blew me away. Gillig's ability to compose and weave plot using poetry and scattered clues is beyond impressive. She has created a reading experience so rich, compelling, and gripping that I can hardly think of anything comparable.
Where book one introduced us to the devastation Blunder faced through the eyes of young Elspeth Spindle, book two pivots and shows how her hand, dipped into the world of Rowans and Yews, guides them to the feverish final dance of a mist, a shephard, and a deck of magical cards, through the eyes of a destrier and a rotten prince.
While some readers may be disappointed to lose Elspeth's perspective for the majority of this book, it is the only way this story could have been properly told. The perspectives we gain prove endearing and reveal much that would have been mere shadows moving in the corner of Elspeth's gaze. The secondary romantic pairing especially, was a favorite of mine.
Move this series to the top of your TBR. You'll be glad you did.
Where book one introduced us to the devastation Blunder faced through the eyes of young Elspeth Spindle, book two pivots and shows how her hand, dipped into the world of Rowans and Yews, guides them to the feverish final dance of a mist, a shephard, and a deck of magical cards, through the eyes of a destrier and a rotten prince.
While some readers may be disappointed to lose Elspeth's perspective for the majority of this book, it is the only way this story could have been properly told. The perspectives we gain prove endearing and reveal much that would have been mere shadows moving in the corner of Elspeth's gaze. The secondary romantic pairing especially, was a favorite of mine.
Move this series to the top of your TBR. You'll be glad you did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, Torture, Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
kaylamullarkey's review
3.5
The vibes were great. Elm was also great.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Murder, Physical abuse, Death, and Death of parent
kinsportch's review
adventurous
dark
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Physical abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Blood, Child abuse, and Child death
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, and Alcoholism
briannagriffin567's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, and War
jrp618's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I loved the first book, but the second was amazing and I’ll be thinking about it long after my finishing of it.
I’m already itching to reread it. This was a beautiful story of destiny, interconnecting brilliantly through all of the different characters.
From book one I had eyes on Elm and I was so moved by his story. I wasn’t ready to say good by to him or the the nightmare. I cried for the last 20 minutes of the book preparing to say goodbye to these characters.
I was thrilled to see how Elspeths story wrapped up, too.
Until I return to Blunder again… be wary. Be clever. Be good.
I’m already itching to reread it. This was a beautiful story of destiny, interconnecting brilliantly through all of the different characters.
From book one I had eyes on Elm and I was so moved by his story. I wasn’t ready to say good by to him or the the nightmare. I cried for the last 20 minutes of the book preparing to say goodbye to these characters.
I was thrilled to see how Elspeths story wrapped up, too.
Until I return to Blunder again… be wary. Be clever. Be good.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Death
mj_86's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, Confinement, and Torture
spatterson7's review
mysterious
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Cursing and Death of parent
skillyillian's review
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.
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: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Gore, Blood, Torture, Alcohol, Body horror, Child abuse, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
bag_end_library's review
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Torture, Death, and Physical abuse
ashleynp24's review
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.
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: Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gore, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Torture