A review by maxgardner
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.0

This took everything from the first one and turned it up a notch! I love that Gillig promoted The Nightmare and Ione to more prominent characters; both are funny and complex, and I really enjoyed learning more about them and watching their stories unfold. Gillig also significantly ramps up the romance and sexiness, and though it's not something I'd typically want more of, it overall worked fine and felt natural. Ultimately, though, I just really enjoyed the two central stories we follow between Elm and Ione back at Castle Rowan and Ravyn/Elspeth and company on a trek to find the Twin Alders card. I'm glad the latter took us into the woods and finally showed us more about The Nightmare, the mist, and the Spirit of the Woods. With this, Gillig ramps up the horror elements, which I really liked - I found the descriptions of

the lake monsters

pretty creepy as well as the moment we finally

meet the Spirit of the Woods

. And then back at the Castle, I loved getting more of Elm, who's such a shit but is super loveable and has a big heart, as he tried to help Ione and battle against the responsibilities that come with his lineage. And then once again, Gillig finishes strong with a final scene that feels really tense and comes to a satisfying conclusion. All in all, I really enjoyed this duology and will definitely be reading others by Gillig in the future.