Rachel Gillig
2
Books ReviewedAsk LuvemBooks about Rachel Gillig
- Where should I start?
- Start with One Dark Window, the opening book of The Shepherd King series. It establishes Gillig's gothic tone, the rules of her magical world, and the central relationship that deepens across the duology. Jumping straight to Two Twisted Crowns would mean missing the foundation that makes the second book's payoffs land. One Dark Window holds a 4.5/5 reader rating from over 101,000 Amazon ratings, so it's a well-tested entry point.
- What's their writing style?
- Gillig writes in a gothic register — her prose is atmospheric and leans into shadow, folklore, and a persistent sense of unease. Romance in her books is slow-burn and emotionally charged rather than light or playful, and the world-building draws on myth and dark fairy tale traditions rather than conventional fantasy mechanics. Readers who enjoy authors like Erin Morgenstern or early Robin McKinley tend to respond well to her tone.
- Books we've reviewed
- We've reviewed two books by Rachel Gillig on LuvemBooks. One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, 1) is the gothic series opener, earning a 4.5/5 reader rating from over 101,000 Amazon ratings — a strong foundation for the duology. Two Twisted Crowns is the concluding volume, rated 4.6/5 from over 106,000 Amazon ratings, and delivers on the atmosphere and slow-burn tension established in the first book.
- How do her books compare?
- One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns form a tight duology, so they share the same world, characters, and gothic tone rather than standing as independent reads. The first book does the heavier lifting on world-building and character introduction, while Two Twisted Crowns benefits from that groundwork and tends to feel more propulsive as a result. Both are rated exceptionally highly across large reader samples, with Two Twisted Crowns landing fractionally higher at 4.6/5 versus 4.5/5.
- What genre does Rachel Gillig write?
- Gillig writes gothic romantic fantasy — a subgenre that combines the atmosphere and dread of gothic fiction with the emotional arcs of romance and the world-building of fantasy. Her books are rooted in folklore and fairy tale tradition rather than the political or military structures common in epic fantasy. Readers who gravitate toward dark, mood-driven stories with strong romantic undercurrents tend to find her work a natural fit.
- What should I read after Two Twisted Crowns?
- If you've finished the Shepherd King duology and want something in a similar vein, authors like Erin Morgenstern (The Night Circus), Naomi Novik (Uprooted), and Roshani Chokshi (The Star-Touched Queen) write in overlapping territory — atmospheric, folklore-inflected fantasy with strong emotional cores. Within Gillig's own catalogue, it's worth checking her publisher for any forthcoming titles, as our reviews are limited to the two Shepherd King books at this time.
Who is Rachel Gillig?
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Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
4.6/5
Two Twisted Crowns is the New York Times bestselling conclusion to Rachel Gillig's The Shepherd King duology, picking up directly from the cliffhanger of One Dark Window as Elspeth and Ravyn race to gather the final Providence Cards — a quest that drives them into a cursed forest for a potentially ruinous bargain with the Spirit of the Wood. This review covers the book's content, structure, and reception from published sources, not hands-on use.
Reviewed Aug 1, 2026
One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, 1) by Rachel Gillig
4.5/5
Rachel Gillig's debut gothic romantic fantasy, originally published by Orbit Books in 2022, introduces Elspeth Spindle and a five-hundred-year-old spirit called Nightmare in a mist-locked kingdom where magic is a death sentence — a premise that earned the novel a devoted BookTok following and mixed-but-engaged critical attention, with reviewers praising its evocative prose and magic system while flagging uneven pacing and a predictable romantic subplot.
Reviewed Apr 9, 2026
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