Race against a spreading magic plague forces uneasy allies — and the monster in her head — into one last gamble for the kingdom.
- Score
- 83.1
- Spice
- 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️Mild
- POV
- multi
- Ending
- HEA / HFN
Tropes
Content warnings
Curated signals, not an exhaustive guarantee.
If you liked this, read
What readers think
Readers are broadly enthusiastic, with most rating it 4–5 stars and calling it a rare sequel that equals or surpasses its predecessor — particularly for its expansion of Prince Elm's POV and his slow-burn romance with Ione, which many reviewers found even more compelling than the main pairing. The plot twists and emotionally charged finale earn consistent praise, and Gillig's atmospheric, lyrical prose remains a highlight. On the critical side, the most repeated complaint is that the Nightmare loses some of his menace once readers are inside his perspective, and the parallel storyline structure — a forest quest alongside court intrigue — can produce tonal whiplash and pacing drag in the middle section. A minority of readers found the multi-POV jump too disorienting after the first book's tighter focus, and the magic system is flagged as remaining opaque even at the conclusion.
Read it if
- · Readers who loved One Dark Window and want a satisfying, emotionally resonant conclusion with expanded cast dynamics
- · Fans of gothic atmosphere, psychological possession narratives, and slow-burn romance built on tension rather than heat
- · Anyone who reads for character and prose first — the Elm/Ione arc and Elspeth's internal struggle are the emotional highlights
Skip it if
- · You haven't read One Dark Window — this is a direct continuation with no recap
- · You're sensitive to possession, loss of bodily autonomy, self-harm for magic, or suicidal ideation
- · You need tight, fast-paced plotting — the middle section meanders and the dual-storyline structure can feel disjointed
If you liked this
- · For fans of For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten — dark fairy-tale energy, a heroine bound to something ancient and monstrous, and a curse-breaking quest with high emotional stakes
- · For fans of The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent — gothic romantasy with morally grey love interests and slow-burn tension in a deadly, atmospheric world
- · For fans of The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson — lush, eerie prose, a young woman navigating a world of hostile magic, and a story that prizes dread over action
- · For fans of Uprooted by Naomi Novik — a heroine in a complicated, unequal bond with a powerful supernatural force, in a cursed landscape described with lyrical precision
In this series
Part of The Shepherd King — read in order:
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