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A review by chaptersofmads
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
3.5
“To anyone who’s ever felt lost in a wood. There is a strange sort of finding in losing.”
A bit of a let-down after how much I enjoyed ODW, but still a solid sequel with a second half that makes up for the flaws of the first 50%.
I struggled so much to get into this one and I think - beyond any objective flaws - I missed Elspeth. I really enjoyed following her in book 1 and reasonably, she wasn't a large presence in this book, but I found that my enjoyment really suffered without her. Not that I didn't appreciate Elm and Ione, but I simply didn't care about them the way I was supposed to.
There's also the issue of the characters feeling slightly... childish in this book, compared to ODW but that's irrelevant.
Despite my qualms, the last half of this book was really good. As good as the first book, if not better. It took me a week to read the first half and less than fifty minutes to finish the last 40%, if that's any indication.
It was like we reached a certain point and something shifted. Though it was still lyrical and beautiful for the rest of the story, the writing style was suddenly addictive, the solutions actually felt well-crafted and satisfying, and by the time I reached the end of the book, I was actually super emotional about what was happening.
So, I'm conflicted and yet I still really enjoyed this duology. It was fantastic in some ways and less fantastic in others. It's still something I highly recommend, and a series I know I'll revisit in the future.
I said this in my review of book one, but I'm really curious to see what Rachel Gillig creates from here. I look forward to reading whatever it may be.
A bit of a let-down after how much I enjoyed ODW, but still a solid sequel with a second half that makes up for the flaws of the first 50%.
I struggled so much to get into this one and I think - beyond any objective flaws - I missed Elspeth. I really enjoyed following her in book 1 and reasonably, she wasn't a large presence in this book, but I found that my enjoyment really suffered without her. Not that I didn't appreciate Elm and Ione, but I simply didn't care about them the way I was supposed to.
There's also the issue of the characters feeling slightly... childish in this book, compared to ODW but that's irrelevant.
Despite my qualms, the last half of this book was really good. As good as the first book, if not better. It took me a week to read the first half and less than fifty minutes to finish the last 40%, if that's any indication.
It was like we reached a certain point and something shifted. Though it was still lyrical and beautiful for the rest of the story, the writing style was suddenly addictive, the solutions actually felt well-crafted and satisfying, and by the time I reached the end of the book, I was actually super emotional about what was happening.
So, I'm conflicted and yet I still really enjoyed this duology. It was fantastic in some ways and less fantastic in others. It's still something I highly recommend, and a series I know I'll revisit in the future.
I said this in my review of book one, but I'm really curious to see what Rachel Gillig creates from here. I look forward to reading whatever it may be.