As I read some last year, but took a break for “maternity leave”, I have many reviews to catch up on. Because of that, and until I can catch up, I decided to start a bulk review post–hence, “Captivating Catch-Up”. The reviews will be quick, to-the-point, but also give my complete, honest opinion.
This batch is another group of some of the ARCs that I got last year and failed to review.
One Dark Window Published by Orbit by Rachel Gillig
Series: The Shepherd King #1
on September 27, 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Gothic, Horror, Romance, YA
Pages: 399
Source: Purchased
Format: eBook
Find the Author: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram
Find the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
ISBN: 0316312487
Rating:
Elspeth needs a monster. The monster might be her.
Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom of Blunder—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.
But nothing comes for free, especially magic.
When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure Blunder from the dark magic infecting it. And the highwayman? He just so happens to be the King’s nephew, Captain of the most dangerous men in Blunder…and guilty of high treason.
Together they must gather twelve Providence Cards—the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.
This book was ADDICTING. Straight up, the macabre, gothic, dark feeling this book carried was exactly what I was hoping it would be.
The characters were so incredibly fascinating and the fact that they weren’t portrayed as perfect fairytale caricatures was a bonus.
The plot was non-stop; not so much action, but it was never boring and never predictable. I love when a book comes out of nowhere and surprises me like this.
Two Twisted Crowns Published by Orbit by Rachel Gillig
Series: The Shepherd King #2
on October 19, 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Gothic, Romance
Pages: 464
Source: Purchased
Format: eBook
Find the Author: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram
Find the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
ISBN: 0356519503
Rating:
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.
When you love the first book in a series so much, there’s always that fear (and, honestly, expectation) that any following books will not stack up.
I’d heard that that wasn’t the case with Two Twisted Crowns before I’d read it… And it’s absolutely not even a little bit applicable here.
I can’t say it was better that One Dark Window but it was definitely on par. The characters were just as clever in this one. And instead of dragging our two main love interests from the previous book through the mud to give us something to read about, there was conflict but it wasn’t what you’d expect. Instead we got to focus on other characters and fall in love with them.
And absolute gem of a book and series!
About Rachel Gillig
Rachel Gillig was born and raised on the California coast. She is a writer, with a B.A. in Literary Theory and Criticism from UC Davis. If she is not ensconced in blankets dreaming up her next novel, Rachel is in her garden or walking with her husband, son, and their poodle, Wally.
