Admittedly, I’ve always been into fiction but fantasy? Ehh. I mean I had my picks of course – the Harry Potter books (yes, they’re considered urban fantasy), The Song of Ice and Fire series (dark fantasy), Twilight trilogy (urban fantasy), the Vampire Academy books (urban fantasy) etc. but in general, I would not say this genre was my cup of -coffee- tea. Then upon the Bookstagram hype I’ve decided to take a leap of faith and immerse myself in the world of violence, passion, and fae that’s mapped out in The Folk of the Air trilogy by Holly Black. Experiencing the ups and downs of high fantasy struck me as one of the most influential reading epiphanies I’ve ever had, and I’ve been a changed woman ever since. What’s more, I even developed a distinctive taste for romantic fantasy or in short, romantasy. This is how I ended up reading Two Twisted Crowns, the sequel to One Dark Window, by Rachel Gillig.
Summary
In a nutshell, this story picks up exactly where the first one ended. The journey for the last missing card to unite the deck continues and the stakes are higher than ever – Elspeth and her friends have a deadline to commit to, all the while a villain grows into himself and threatens to undo everything they’ve reached so far and to prevent them from succeeding by any means at his disposal. And the cherry on top is? The only hope our heroes have is the cause of all – the Nightmare.
Thoughts
My very first notion when picking up the sequel to One Dark Window can be visually depicted as an Obama sort of not-bad face. This may serve as a spoiler to some, so please read with care, but the first installment ends with the Nightmare overtaking Elspeth’s mind, thus putting an end to her narration of the story from first-person singular. So, this was our starting point, losing our sole narrator. The resolution of this issue had me on the edge of my seat and I have to say, the author did not disappoint. Elspeth still narrated her parts of the story and shed light on the struggles of being a prisoner in her own mind, but the main narrative got taken over by an omniscient chronicler and strange as it may seem at first glance, it worked. I haven’t really come across such a sharp split in storytelling prior to this, but Miss Gillig yet again managed to take an unconventional choice and turn it into a new convention. If you hear a faint hum of enthusiastic claps from somewhere in the distance that might be the sound of me fervently applauding her from my humble home in a tiny Eastern-European village.
Another sly move on the author’s part was taking some side characters from the first book and bringing them forth, right into the epicenter of the events, to even out the imbalance of seating Elspeth on the side bench. I’m the kind of girl who almost always falls for a minor character and is crushed when something happens to them, so you can imagine my exhilaration when Renelm Rowan was promoted to protagonist. Though I had my reservations about Ione Hawthorne, they dissipated soon enough thanks to the wonderful word weaving on Miss Gillig’s part. To prevent panic, I will state that this shift of characters had no negative impact on the original setup and romantic aspect of the book. If anything, it only enriches the plot.
Speaking of which – the plot won a few remarks from my unquenchable well of -unwanted- opinions, too. Again, we are handed a beautiful structure with a dreary start, through a rocky ascent to what appears to be a hard-earned victory only for a fresh threat to arise and endanger everything that has happened, raising the stakes yet again to an impossible height. There’s never a dull moment to be sure, with minor or major twists and turns peppering the pages.
Something related to both characterization and the plot is the matter of our villain. Now, I bring this up because writing a good villain is considered the hardest part of fable fabrication. Sure, there are villains with tragic backstories that eventually steal our hearts but sometimes all we need is a villain and just that. Nothing less, nothing more. I’m happy to announce we’ve been delivered such a scapegoat in Two Twisted Crowns with zero attempts at a redemption arc. I believe this is the point where I’ll halt since it’d be a shame if I gave away whether there will be an adequate punishment for the misdeeds or not.
Conclusion
Two Twisted Crowns is a sequel to One Dark Window deserving just as much praise as the first book, if not more. The reader is lulled further into the magical world of Blunder and a special kind of heartache is guaranteed when they’re forced to say goodbye once the novel runs out of pages.
About the Author
According to her website, Rachel Gillig was born and raised on the California coast and currently lives with her husband, her son, and a poodle. Her Instagram account informs us that her next novel, The Knight and the Moth will hit the shelves in 2025.
What are your thoughts regarding the book? Have you already read it? Or will you? Either way, please feel free to drop a few words in the comments. Stay caffeinated and well-read until next time – Your bookish friend, Nat