Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig Series: The Shepherd King #2
Published by Orbit on October 17, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy, Fiction / Gothic
Pages: 480
Format: eBook
ISBN: 9780316312882Gripped by a tyrant king and in the thrall of dark magic, the kingdom is in peril. 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’re going to find the card before Solstice and set free the kingdom, they will need to journey through the dangerous mist-cloaked forest. The only one who can lead them through is the monster that shares Elspeth’s head: the Nightmare.
And he’s not eager to share any longer.
After finishing this one, I definitely rescind part of my criticism from my first review about being a bit grossed out by a male character taking over a female character. I still am not a fan and wished it was a Shepherd Queen instead of King, but knowing the Shepherd King felt like a father figure towards Elspeth made it at least bearable.
Having not just Elspeth and Ravyn’s point-of-views but Emory’s and the Sheperd King’s just added so much more depth to the story. I do wish we had Ione’s POV because I really enjoyed her character’s growth (reminds me of Sansa in Game of Thrones) of going from someone who wants a marriage with the heir prince in the hopes to change the kingdom to realizing how naive that thought could be.
Speaking of Ione’s naiveté of how Blunder could be run, I do love how the ending turned out. At first, I assumed The Shepherd King would go on this journey of revenge and it would end in a bloodbath. Maybe with no monarchy or some other twist revelation. But having it end with Emory on the throne, as he’s the one who survived the Rowan abuse and didn’t become a monster was perfect (as was the romance between Emory and Ione). The Shepherd King saying “You and I are Blunder’s reckoning, Ravyn Yew. Not its peace” was such a great line!
In general, learning about the Shepherd King’s past was fascinating. I love a good back story, especially one where a man learns his mistakes: “And now you know that every terrible thing that happened in Blunder took place long before I handed Brutus Rowan a Scythe. It happened because, five hundred years ago, a boy wore a crown—had every abundance in the world—but always asked for MORE.” Chills, each time I read it. It’s such a common tale in history but without the lesson learned by men.
I’m now even more excited for Gillig’s next book The Knight and the Moth after reading The Shepherd King series!
I loved loved loved this series when I read it a couple weeks ago. The second book was pretty much perfection to me!
Such a great series!! It’s been a while since I’ve read a series where the whole series was so perfect!!