Two Twisted Crowns: the instant NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestseller (The Shepherd King)
£26.20£28.50 (-8%)
A special edition hardback of the final book in the million-copy bestselling Shepherd King duology, which began with One Dark Window. In this lushly gothic, mist-cloaked romantasy, Elspeth must face the consequences of what she’s wrought.
**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER**
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.
Discover the dark gothic fantasy taking the world by storm, from one of the most exciting voices in romantasy: the million-copy bestselling Rachel Gillig.
Praise for One Dark Window:
‘An enchanting tale with sharp claws and teeth – Gillig’s prose will pull you in and won’t let you sleep. Pulse-pounding, darkly whimsical and aglow with treacherous magic, One Dark Window is everything I love in fantasy and more’ Allison Saft, author of A Far Wilder Magic
‘A beautifully dark fairy tale of blood, rage and bitter choice, that whisked me away to mist-wreathed woods ripe with romance and menace’ Davinia Evans, author of Notorious Sorcerer
‘An evocative tale of romance, mystery and alluring monsters, told in beautifully lush prose’ Lyndall Clipstone, author of Lakesedge
‘Steeped in brooding romance, twisted magic and nail-biting intrigue, One Dark Window snares readers in its deliciously dark spell and leaves them desperate for more. I couldn’t put it down’ Kat Delacorte, author of With Fire in their Blood
‘The steamy romance that emerges between Elspeth and Ravyn delights’ Publishers Weekly
Books by Rachel Gillig
The Shepherd King duology:
One Dark Window
Two Twisted Crowns
The Stonewater Kingdom series:
The Knight and the Moth
Read more
Additional information
| Publisher | Orbit (23 Sept. 2025) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 464 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0356528766 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0356528762 |
| Dimensions | 23.4 x 15.3 x 0.1 cm |
by Jenny
Superb fantasy! Book two in the duology. The friends are still trying to find that last magic card but it is hidden in the mist. To get it Elspeth must fight the darkness and Ravyn must find out who he really is. Meanwhile Elm is fighting for his love, and the kingdom.
Great book, exciting from first to last page.
by Jenny
Ah jeez.
This is the kind of SO GOOD that stuff in your life doesn’t get done because you’re putting it all off to read more.
I INHALED this book same as the first. Enthralled to the point I couldn’t put it down, so depressed when it ended.
Adored that it was a duology and complete in its story, but wrecked that it is over.
Obsessed with this author and already awaiting her 2025 release.
Characters are deep, interesting, mesmerizing, layered.
The world leaps off the page and easy to visualize.
The story is well plotted, the pacing perfect, the twists on point, the chemistry on fire.
The relationships between so many of the characters is intertwined and compelling.
I just can’t say enough. Highly recommend.
by Amazon Customer
This is definitely one of the best fantasy series I’ve read in a long time. With a unique magical system and a diverse and complex cast of characters, this story keeps you guessing right until the final pages. If you enjoy edge of your seat, holding your breath reads, then this is the book and series for you. I was a little concerned when book two came with a shifting point of view across various cast members, but it plus the shorter chapter format pulls it off perfectly and you are left in just the right amount of suspense for just the right amount of time between shifts. This was particularly impressive as I honestly can’t usually stand point of view shifts in books. The author is definitely very talented, and I look forward to reading more from them in the very near future.
by Everdrift
Brilliant conclusion.
In the end, it’s the story and following it through that always keeps me going.
The prose is wonderful, with a plot that fell into place with each page.
May the author keep growing into her craft, and find new voices nestled in the stories untold.
Spice 4/5
Plot Decent, not unpredictable but the story kept me turning each page.
World building great, some loopholes towards the end, but never taking away from the story
Focus on this book was divided between another couple, with multiple POV of about three to four characters. I kept longing for book one’s main characters, but I think the author did a good job trying to balance both storylines
Solid effort.
by Jenifer Lorandi
Absolutamente incrível! Uma das melhores fantasias que já li. Me fez rir, chorar e ansiar pelo próximo capítulo. Rachel Gillig tem todo meu respeito!
by Laura Smith
Book was delivered on time and perfect condition.
Such a different story that had a very satisfying ending. Can’t wait to read more from this author
by allbythebook
I only read One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig a few weeks ago, and I’ve been counting down the days to the sequel and conclusion to the duology, Two Twisted Crowns. And it definitely meets my high expectations from the first book. Gillig manages to wrap up this deliciously dark fairytale in a way that had me biting my fingernails til the bitter end. So it’s five stars from me.
Elspeth Spindle has degenerated – the Nightmare that shared her mind has now taken over completely, and she is lost somewhere in the recesses of their shared mind. And that Nightmare, also known as the Shepherd King, knows where the Two Alders card is that can break the curse… but nothing is as it seems when it comes to magic, and there is always a cost.
Where One Dark Window was a gothic, atmospheric, creepy fairy tale vibe, Two Twisted Crowns has a feeling of desperation and dark inevitability to it – more fate than fairy tale, although something about repeating the past has echoes of a dark fairytale to it as well which I love. Every character seems backed against the wall, and where Elspeth in the first book constantly had choices and agency, what feels like a lack of choices and helplessness of the other characters in the first two thirds of this novel is quite a contrast. But it works. The contrast ups the stakes and despite our main character being essentially absent we never feel like we’re simply waiting for her return.
Elspeth is what I properly consider a strong female lead. She’s not a stereotypical romantasy stubborn, contrary, snarky woman with crazy fighting skills and hyped up powers – instead, she has real agency, makes decisions for herself, has a little bit of sass to her but it’s not her whole personality, and is mentally and emotionally strong, facing and overcoming huge challenges. In the first novel, Elspeth’s foil was Ione, who chooses to lose her emotions and become a beautiful puppet for powerful men – but in this novel we see a different side to Ione, and a different kind of strength, and I’m genuinely living for the female characterisation and character development here.
Also, can we talk about Elm? I liked him as a character in the first book, the idea of the prince that hated his family so much he’d betray them, arrogant and mistrusting but good at playing the part he needed to play. I couldn’t decide if I trusted him or not – so no wonder Elspeth couldn’t! He was the ‘petulant, reticent Elm’ he describes himself as in Two Twisted Crowns.
But now Elm has become a character I want to put in my pocket and take home with me: we see more what he has to deal with with his father (the moment he heard about the feasts I had a genuine visceral response to) and brother, and through him we see get to know Ione too. He makes an excellent romantic lead and a very different one to Ravyn. I really love what Gillig has done developing Elm and Ione and I’ve definitely developed another book crush on Elm here.
And the ending. Endings in fantasy are tricky things – they can’t be too predictable, or there’s no feeling of anxiety or worry over how the story will resolve, but equally there has to be some hints at what is coming, and it has to make sense in-universe so that readers are left going ‘of course!’. It’s a hard balance to strike and endings in fantasy often are either rushed or fall flat and anti-climactic. But Gillig nailed it. I won’t spoil anything, but it’s not what I predicted, and yet it’s absolutely perfect as a dark fairytale ending. It felt very bittersweet.
Gillig’s writing I have to comment on. Like the first book, her writing is easy to follow and simple to understand, and more direct than meandering (which isn’t common with a fairytale vibe). However, she somehow creates this really lush atmosphere and has such a knack for a turn of phrase or word choice builds this magical setting despite her writing be easy to digest. I actually don’t quite know how she does it, but I love it. I never find myself skimming paragraphs of description to find out what happens next, the way can sometimes be the case for fantasy writers. It’s brilliant.
All in all, I just massively rate this duology, which are up there as some of the best books I’ve read this year. This series is for you if you like gothic light-horror-meets-fairytale-fantasy vibes like Naomi Novik’s Uprooted, Rosamund Hodge’s Cruel Beauty and Crimson Bound, or Erin A. Craig’s House of Salt and Sorrows.
by Mersedehmodir
The cover page is cut shorter and the page got torn on delivery
by Emma R
Trees! I was excited to read this book immediately after finishing one Dark Window. I was completely invested in what would happen to Elspeth, Ravyn, Elm and Ione as well as their friends and family members and the Nightmare himself.
I really enjoyed the journeys , both physical and emotional, that the characters went on throughout this book. Ione and Elm really became two of my favourite characters ever and their stories made me ache.
I thought the way the interaction between the nightmare and Elspeth was described was so unique and so detailed that I could imagine it all clearly.
This is a wonderfully dark, mysterious gothic fantasy and Rachel Gillig writes it all in such a captivating way.
I flew through the second half of the book as I was just desperate to know the ending and how it would play out for the characters I had come to love.
I very much enjoyed my time spent in Blunder with its inhabitants, both the heroes and villains and I am positive I will revisit these books in the future