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ARC Review: Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

September 29, 2023

"There once was a girl, clever and good, who tarried in shadow in the depths of the wood. There also was a King -- a shepherd by his crook, who reigned over magic and wrote the old book.. The two were together, so the two were the same: The girl, the King, and the monster they became."


-Rachel Gillig, Two Twisted Crowns

Another captivating novel from the first page, Two Twisted Crowns is the second book in her first Duology for Rachel Gillig. It picks up right where One Dark Window left off at, with the Nightmare taking over Elspeth's mind. One of my favorite things about this book is that it has multiple POV's. Readers get travel with Elspeth, Rayvn, and Elm on their wild adventure to collect all 12 cards and save the people of Blunder. In this book, only the last card is left, the Twin Alders Card where Rayvn, Elspeth unknowingly, and the Nightmare must travel into the mist ridden woods to find it. Where is Elm? We'll get to that in a minute.


The same lovable bastard as always, nightmare has total control of Elspeth's mind, but a new side of him emerges that we didn't get the chance to see. A side I guarantee you will love even more than the first book. We then learn the truth about the Providence Cards, the prices that were paid for them, and what really happened to the Shepherd king. To avoid any and all spoilers, all I will say is that, while so much is revealed in the second book, I am desperately begging Rachel Gillig to write a third book and make it a prequel all on it's own so I can finally get the answers to so many questions.


Where is Elspeth on this journey? Don't worry she's still in there, somewhere. Elspeth gets to learn the truth behind the nightmare. She takes a back seat for a good portion of the book, but don't worry, we get to see everything through Rayvn's eyes. That's one of my favorite things I love about this book, the multiple POV's. Rayvn is trying desperately to get Elspeth back into her mind and free her from the Nightmare's clutches. I actually love how Gillig put Elspeth into the background, because there's a purpose for it, Elspeth will grow into herself more and more as she learns about the nightmare. This is such a wonderful way to build Elspeth up as a character, and it gives us insight to who the nightmare is and who Elspeth is becoming.

And Rayvn? Our dear boy is working with the lovable bastard himself, except he's wearing Elspeth's skin. Having taken over her body, Ravyn vows to protect Elspeth because he believes she is still in there. The chemistry between the two along with the banter from the Nightmare is like nothing I've ever read. 


You might be asking, "Well you said Elm has a POV too! Where is he?". We're getting to that. In the first POV for Elm, we see him going into the Hawthorne house looking to see if anyone in the Hawthorne family is still there. We get to see another love story blossom before our eyes and between the different POV's, creates a beautiful story of two couples in love, fighting to save Blunder. But there's a reason for it, and I don't think most readers will object to this when they see how the others are moving the plot forward. The two sets of POVs, a pair showing us one side whilst the other two POVs show us the other side is a brilliant play; I believe a few will be huge Elm fans by the end, if they weren't already.

One nitpick I will say is that the bigger part, one thing I loved about this story is that magic has a price in this world. Magic costs you, comes with degeneration, and is isn't free. But with this resolution, I feel like the cost has been lifted. It's almost as if everything has been wrapped up into a nice and pretty box. Neat and tidy for all. But for me, there should've been some burden for someone to bear, some scar that never goes away. Something should've paid the price. I guess someone did, but only Elspeth seems to feel it, and it didn't go into as much detail as I would've preferred.

Is Two Twisted Crowns enough to sate my happiness with this second book? Absolutely not. I'm extremely happy with the Elm ARC, I'm pleasantly surprised by the Ravyn ARC, I'm satisfied with the Shepherd King story, I've noticed the little Beauty & Beast Imagery throughout both books, I'm amused that I got most of my crackpot theories confirmed. Overall, this second installment to One Dark Window was an amazing read and I an very happy. No nitpicking or sunken ships could measure up to the deep satisfaction I felt when I finished, even if I was left with some questions about the origin of some people. And, if Rachel Gillig were to ever write a prequel, my life will be complete.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel Gillig, and Orbit for giving me an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.


-Lexi

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Like my mother always told me growing up "you will eat your words one day". So when I found out this was a kidnapping trope set in a romance book in a mafia world, I wasn't really intrigued into the story because the kidnapping has been done countless times before. But here I am eating my words, because I have no words, this book was amazing and I loved spending every single second in Nessa's and Miko's world. The only downside to the story was that the book wasn't longer because I wanted to read more. I personally felt like the book went too quick and those huge conflicts in the book were not as big as they should've felt. I also would've liked for a little more character development for Miko as his feeling change too abruptly for me. He goes from hating her, to liking her, to she is his sun, moon, and stars, all within 430 pages. I wish the book was a bit longer to see the fuller character development into Miko and slip into his love and emotions like taking a step into a pool, not jumping into the freezing cold ocean. But I will say once he is in love, it's the all consuming love we can't help but want more of. “I’m watching her with awe. The way a hunter would watch a doe that walks into a clearing. Nessa is the doe. She is lovely. Innocent. Perfectly at place in her natural environment. I’ll send my arrow straight into her heart. That’s my right, as the hunter.”

ARC Review: Heart of Night and Fire by Nisha J Tuli

August 18, 2023
Heart Of Night And Fire by Nisha J. Tuli is the first book in a quartet of fantasy-romance novels inspired by Indian mythology. Her use of both Indian and South Asian culture across history give a beautiful and detailed visual of a magical story gripping from the first page. 20 year old Zarya, has lived near the southern ocean her whole life. Believed to be possessing a forbidden magic, she has been kept captive by the only father figure she has ever known. When he one day mysteriously goes missing, Zarya makes her big break, fueled by an unwavering desire to be free. While on this quest, her path is met by Lieutenant Yasen Varghese and Commander Vikram Ravana after saving them from the Naga. She is then escorted to the velocious city of Dharati where she finds the citizens in desperate need of help against the demons attacking the city. To save her new home, Zarya must discover her true identity or the city will be lost. Heart Of Night And Fire is described as a slow-burn, enemies to lovers fantasy romance. And while I will agree there is slow-burn, it’s not too slow where the book wasn’t enjoyable. My favorite part about the book was how easy it was to read and I literally couldn’t put it down. Tuli’s descriptive writing, worldbuilding, and character development will captivate readers attention from the first page and the conclusion will have them yearning to dive straight into the next book. Releasing on September 15, 2023, I anticipate Heart Of Night And Fire being one of the most anticipated fantasy books for September releases. I can’t wait for the release of the second book in the series to see where Tuli takes Zarya’s story next. Thank you to NetGalley and Second Sky for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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