Published: October 17, 2023
Publisher: Orbit Books
Series: The Shepherd King #2
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 368 (Paperback)
My Rating: 4 Stars
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
In the luscious, dark sequel to One Dark Window, Elspeth must face the consequences of what she’s wrought – perfect for readers of Hannah Whitten’s For the Wolf and Alexis Henderson’s The Year of the Witching.
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 are going to find it before the Solstice and cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it, they will need to journey beyond the dangerous mist-cloaked forest that surrounds their kingdom.
And the only one who can lead them there is the monster that shares Elspeth’s head. The Nightmare. And he’s not eager to share any longer.
I really loved One Dark Window last year, so much so that it made my Best Books of 2022 list. Naturally, I immediately added the sequel to my TBR and, once I got it, spent all day in bed reading. This was a good story but I knew it was going to be tough to live up to the first book, which totally swept me away.
This picks up right after the dramatic (and traumatic) events in One Dark Window. Elspeth is now trapped in her own mind, with the Nightmare running the show and because of that, they’re now in the dungeons. Ravyn, the traitorous Captain of the Destriers is determined to get Elspeth/Nightmare out of the dungeons so they can go after the Twin Alders card and remove the mists and ill effects of the magic in Blunder. Prince Elm, usually in cahoots with Ravyn, ends up staying behind to take over as heir while his brother Hauth lies on his deathbed.
This book ends up with two very distinct plot lines for much of the story. That of Ravyn and Nightmare/the Shepherd King/Elspeth and that of Elm and Ione Hawthorn, Elspeth’s cousin. The plotline following Ravyn is very much quest oriented as they journey through the mists to find the Spirit of the Wood. Nightmare’s tendency to speak in verse only serves to enhance the feeling of the traditional fantasy quest line. Elm, on the other hand, spends most of his time unsubtly confounding his father the King and trying to help Ione find her missing Maiden card while also falling (unsubtly) in love with her. I suppose we needed some romance and I enjoyed following them as they worked together in their search. I gotta say, I enjoyed unpacking both Elm and Ione’s emotional baggage – very interesting stuff.
I really missed Elspeth in this installment, even though she was technically there. I think because the worst had already happened to our former main character, Two Twisted Crowns felt remarkably low stakes. I didn’t feel the same sense of danger and urgency because half the excitement of the first book was Elspeth trying not to get found out for having magic! I admit, I was less invested in the plot this time around, but I still liked the book. It wasn’t bad by any means, just not a 5 star read for me. I’ll definitely be reading future books by this author!
Powder & Page 