What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

Set in a medieval era, or sometime past it, and it is a duology.
A blind princess grows up hidden away in either a tower or an underground building. Her guardian(s) dies or something, and this boy comes along and decides to help/take her to the kingdom she's rightfully meant to rule. A major part I remember is there were huge blind moles that were carnivorous; they showed up a lot during the books.
The main scenes I remember are:
- The beginning, where the girl is getting ready for the day, and she has brown hair and eyes and specifically ties her hair with ribbons. She goes outside and collects berries, and I believe meets the boy that way with an incident with a mole.
- They travel along and find a village set up high in trees, and they end up staying for a day or so with an elderly woman who is some sort of psychic or witch, something to do with magic. The two end up kissing somewhere during this, and the woman (who is also blind?) says some joke about it.
- They reach some city (?), I believe wherever she is supposed to rule, and they're at some event and the girl is dressed nicely. It had something to do with a mole, because she ended up falling into the arena where the mole is, and she fights and kills it with a knife that someone throws in. I might be wrong about how she got the knife, but I just remember she got a blade and killed it.
I believe one of the titles had 'shadow(s)' in it, and the other had 'thorns' in it.

Edit: It is Reign of Shadows and Rise of Fire, thank you bookel! I'm not sure why I thought one of them had thorns in the title, but that's exactly it.

What year did you read it?

Google Books blind princess mole  thorns

The Princess and the Thorn - Page 42 books
Paul R. Fisher · 1980 · ‎Snippet view
FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 42
... Mole said , stopping at a bend in the walk , “ but I had to get away . I've never danced with a princess before . Especially not a High Princess ... blind if you think that , " Arien said . “ She was waiting for you to dance with her again...

Magic Quest series.
Hmmm may not be a match, and is a publisher series.

Worldcat.org search
kw:Princess blind AND ti: shadows

Reign of shadows
Author:Sophie Jordan (Author)
Summary:Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok's lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna's survival depends on the world believing she is dead. But that doesn't stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized. With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet
Print Book, English, 2017
Edition: First paperback edition
Publisher: HarperTeen, New York, NY, 2017

Book 2 Rise of fire
https://www.librarything.com/work/179...
When a battle against the dark dwellers mortally injures Fowler, Luna is challenged to put their fate in the hands of mysterious strangers or risk losing Fowler, a situation that is complicated by the king's discovery of their ties to Relhok.

The author researched moles according to this interview.
http://www.twochicksonbooks.com/2016/...

Is this a Rapunzel retelling?

You're welcome.

Glad you found your book, Alejandro.

Copied comment from message 1: "Edit: It is Reign of Shadows and Rise of Fire, thank you bookel!"