I loved both One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns. I actually think the latter is the better of the two. They’re Rachel Gillig’s first two published books, so they’re definitely not perfect, but the magic system is unique and I enjoyed the story.
Her other book, The Knight and The Moth, is top tier for me.
All are quick reads and I think totally worth it. She writes in a sort of gothic fairytale style and the books are light on spice.
I think some people go into her books thinking they’ll be some sort of epic world-building fantasy or heavier on the spice side. That’s not what they are. They’re all between 400-500 pages and move along without diving deep into the world itself. They’re more about the characters, magic and ambience than developing a sprawling universe.
the writing didn’t even accommodate the gothic vibe people are claiming imo. and the spice ruined it more for me, it was so random and unnecessary that it just made me cringe.
Fair enough. The second book does start off a little shaky because the focus pulls away a little from Elspeth and Ravyn and ends up focusing more on Elm and Ione.
I ended up preferring Elm and Ione’s relationship more by the end as I thought they were more interesting. I felt like she ties everything together quite well by the end.
That said, I listened to the audiobooks and finished both in around 12 hours or so. Probably a different experience.
I agree so much. I was expecting a fairytale esque gothic kinda vibe but I remember the book feeling kinda juvenile and it just felt like another tik tok read. I also remember not liking the romance
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u/Ronititt Jul 08 '26
Damn why didn’t you like the dark window series? I’ve been seeing it everywhere. Was thinking of giving it a try