Two Twisted Crowns: Characters, magic and degeneration
Two Twisted Crowns (The Shepherd King #2) synopsis/summary:
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.
Two Twisted Crowns characters.
If you haven’t read One Dark Window or Two Twisted Crowns yet, below are the Two Twisted Crowns’ main character descriptions and a full list of characters who appear in the second book from major to supporting to minor. It will contain elements that will spoil the book for you.
🚨🚨🚨 Stop reading here to STEER CLEAR if you want to avoid spoilers.🚨🚨🚨
In the second and final instalment of the duology of The Shepherd King by Rachel Gillig, Two Twisted Crowns is narrated from multiple character perspectives:
In third person narrative from Ravyn Yew and Elm Rowan; and
In first person narrative from Elspeth Spindle.
Our main storyline revolves around Ravyn, Elm, Ione, and The Nightmare, with Elspeth still narrating, yet stepping back to elevate and focus on the storylines of the aforementioned characters. Keep reading below to learn more about our main Two Twisted Crowns’ characters.
Ravyn Yew.
Ravyn Yew is the Captain of the Destriers and King Rowan’s eldest nephew. Upon meeting him for the first time, Elspeth describes him as handsome, cold and smooth as stone. With grey eyes, smooth copper skin, high angular face planes and a long formidable nose, he’s also described as birdlike, like his namesake -- the raven: sharp, intelligent and striking.
Elm Rowan.
With brilliant green eyes, tall, with olive skin, Prince Renelm Rowan, also known as Elm, is described as looking like a prince out of a storybook. However, he wasn’t charming like a prince in a story, making it abundantly clear there was no one but the Yews worthy of his time, according to Ione Hawthorn.
He grew to favour wearing mostly black clothes to hide the bloodstains that were a result of his brother Hauth Rowan’s torment.
The Nightmare says that Elm has “looked pain in the eye--and refused to let it make a monster of him,” in reference to Elm never using The Scythe Providence Card to cause suffering, pain or other harm, unlike the unflinchingly cruel Hauth, Quercus or Brutus Rowan.
Ione Hawthorn.
In One Dark Window, Elspeth describes Ione as honest and real, with her emotions mapped on her face, alive in every way, proclaiming her wants and fears and anything in between out loud, like a spell of gratitude. She carries an ease with her wherever she goes, attracting people and animals. Everyone loved her and she loved them back.
Before she was under the influence of The Maiden Providence Card, Ione is described as having yellow hair with tangles and rogue curls, sharp hazel eyes, freckles, partially blonde eyelashes, textured skin with smile lines in the corner of her mouth and eyes, irritated patches of skin around her nose and a gap in her front teeth.
Under the influence of The Maiden card, her hair, skin and teeth are without blemish, the gap in her front teeth is gone, and her nose is smaller. Her demeanour is cold and controlled. Her eyes are the only thing the card didn’t alter too much, only before, they were happy eyes.
Elspeth Spindle.
In the first book of the Shepherd King duology, Elspeth is described as having long black hair, pale skin, and dark charcoal eyes, which occasionally flicker yellow. In Two Twisted Crowns, Elspeth's mind is entirely taken over by the Nightmare, resulting in her eyes becoming vivid yellow and catlike, and her voice taking on a low oily timbre.
While the Nightmare effectively possesses Elspeth's body and mind, with Elspeth taking a backseat in the second book, Elspeth still narrates what she sees through the Nightmare's vision.
The Nightmare
In One Dark Window, we discover that the Nightmare, who has taken control of Elspeth's mind, is none other than the notorious Shepherd King, the author of "The Old Book of Alders," and the creator of the Providence Cards.
We finally learn The Nightmare’s real name: Aemmory Percyval Taxus, and delve into his backstory when he was The Shepherd King and what caused his transformation into the enigmatic Nightmare. This sequel unveils his family, friends, desires, and history while moving the plot along.
Full Two Twisted Crowns character list.
Elspeth Spindle
Ravyn Yew
Jespyr Yew
Emory Yew
Elm Rowan
The Nightmare /The Shepherd King/Aemmory Percyval Taxus
Hauth Rowan
Filick Willow
Morette Yew
Fenir Yew
Opal Hawthorn
Tyrn Hawthorn
Erik Spindle
Ione Hawthorn
King Rowan/Quercus Rowan
Royce Linden
Petyr Ivy
Wik Ivy
Jon Thistle
Maribeth Larch
Baldwyn Viburnum
Ayris
Petra
Tilly Taxus
Lenor Taxus
Fenly Taxus
Afton Taxus
Ilyc Taxus
Bennett Taxus
Brutus Rowan
The Spirit of the Woods
The Twin Alders
Otho
Hesis
Yvette Laburnum
Alyx Laburnum
Moss
Wayland Pine
Magical abilities gifted by the Spirit of the Wood & degeneration/price.
What are the magical gifts and abilities granted by the Spirit of the Wood to our main characters? As we learned in in the first book, all magic has a price, and the price of possessing this magic comes with a certain degeneration which is unique to each of the possessors of magic gifts. Learn more about the magic of the “infected”, plus what type of degeneration they endure below.
Some elements of the below table may spoil the book if you haven’t read this, so I would advise STOPPING HERE if that’s the case.
| Character name | Magical gift granted by the Spirit of the Wood | Degeneration/price |
| Elspeth Spindle | If she touches a Providence Card, Elspeth will absorb the object that The Shepherd Kind paid to forge it. That is why she has absorbed the Shepherd King’s soul into her mind. | Strengthening The Nightmare, the monster residing in Elspeth’s mind, till he takes over completely. |
| Ravyn Yew | The magic of Providence Cards cannot be used against him, and he also has the power to destroy the cards. | Makes certain Providence Cards impossible to use. |
| Emory Yew | The ability to prophesise the future. | Growing weaker and frailer. |
| Jespyr Yew | Jespyr is briefly infected and gains the ability to heal by touch. | Growing frailer and frailer. (Implied, as magic and degeneration is passed through bloodlines). |
| The Nightmare/The Shepherd King | Can see Providence Cards by colour, even at a distance, and can hear and talk to trees. | There is none. |
| Tilly Taxus | Can heal with a single touch of her hand. | Growing frailer and frailer. |
| Bennett Taxus | The magic of Providence Cards cannot be used against him, and he also has the power to destroy the cards. | Makes certain Providence Cards impossible to use. |
| Otho | Magical alchemy. | N/A. |
| Hesis | Can see through the eyes of crows, and they can speak to her. | N/A. |
Check out the complete guide to the Providence Cards and their consequences here.
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig: Book review.
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5 stars.
Spice level: 🌶
1/5, mild spice.
You know you've found a new favourite author when they leave you questioning the very fabric of your star-rating reality.
This book ticked every box, hit every sweet spot, and cemented a piece of its soul into my mind. How are we meant to rate such a transcendent experience with these star-shaped symbols that we use to try to assign personal meaning to books that made an impact on the very core of our being?
Am I being melodramatic? Perhaps. But anyway, have the whole galaxy of stars, Ms. Gillig. I guess that's all just a long-winded way to say I loved it and if you have similar tastes to me, you might love it as well. And if you don’t, that’s cool too.
🚨🚨🚨Spoilers ahead 🚨🚨🚨
In this sequel to One Dark Window, the spotlight shifts, casting its glow on Elm, Ione, Ravyn, and the Nightmare, while Elspeth takes a backseat.
I'll admit I was utterly smitten by the new romance in the second part of this duology. Elm and Ione are both precious cinnamon rolls that need to be cherished for eternity. But who truly stole the show for me was The Nightmare, the 500-year-old mercurial mind monster who inhabits sweet Elspeth’s body and one of my favourite book characters who defies conventional notions of hero and villain.
His relationship with Elspeth is my favourite and his snarky irreverence with other characters had me cackling. I laughed, I sobbed, I yelled and I gasped and the ending had me in a vise grip, bawling my eyes out.
Now that I’ve finished, I’m really missing the Kingdom of Blunder, and it would be a dream come true if Rachel Gillig wrote a spin-off or prequel in this world.
View my Two Twisted Crowns review here.
FAQs.
Does Two Twisted Crowns have romance?
Yes, there is romance in Two Twisted Crowns and it’s an entirely new one between Ione Hawthorn and Prince Elm.
Of course, there is an already established romantic relationship between Ravyn and Elspeth which does not form much of the storyline in Two Twisted Crowns.
Is Two Twisted Crowns spicy?
There are two spicy scenes in Two Twisted Crowns, although they’re relatively mild. The sex scene is not gratuitous or explicit. Here are the mildly spicy chapters:
Chapter 20
Chapter 38
