Hauntingly Lyrical and Spellbinding
- happilywhateveryou
- Jul 20, 2025
- 1 min read
If I could erase these books from my brain just to read them all over again, I would in a heartbeat. One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns swept me into a haunting world of mist, monsters, and magic. Rachel Gillig's writing is lush and lyrical, wrapping every scene in gothic atmosphere and poetic dread. I couldn’t put these books down.
We find ourselves in Blunder, a haunting town that is surrounding by a cursed creeping mist. The trees take on a life of their own, and it made me wonder if the author was inspired by J.R.R. Tolkein's love of trees.
The lore of the Providence Cards is incredibly original and immersive. The magic system is both beautifully eerie and tightly crafted. Gillig doesn’t just build a world. She skillfully weaves a tapestry of curses, choices, and consequences that lingers long after the final page. I cannot get the rhymes out of my head.
The characters are unforgettable. Elspeth Spindle is battling an internal darkness that I connected with deeply. The Nightmare is equally parts terrifying and avuncular. Ravyn is brooding perfection with a heart that unravels slowly but deeply.
One Dark Window leaves us on a cliffhanger, and Two Twisted Crowns does not disappoint. It delivers everything that I hoped for in the sequel. This duology left me deeply satisfied with its complex characters, haunting settings, and resonating themes.
If you love dark fairytales, forbidden magic, slow-burn romance, and prose that reads like a song, these books are a must-read. I’ll be thinking about this story, these characters, and those cursed woods for a long time.
Comments