Hannah Whitten

The Foxglove King

Rina

"Maybe that's the true secret to eternal life. Just refusing to die. Much easier than slowly turning yourself to stone.“

Victoria Justice

"That's the thing about the manipulated," Gabe said softly. "They become the best manipulators. There's no teacher like experience."

When Lore was thirteen, she escaped a cult in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire. And in the ten years since, she’s lived by one rule: don’t let them find you. Easier said than done, when her death magic ties her to the city.

Mortem, the magic born from death, is a high-priced and illicit commodity in Dellaire, and Lore’s job running poisons keeps her in food, shelter, and relative security. But when a run goes wrong and Lore’s power is revealed, she’s taken by the Presque Mort, a group of warrior-monks sanctioned to use Mortem working for the Sainted King. Lore fully expects a pyre, but King August has a different plan. Entire villages on the outskirts of the country have been dying overnight, seemingly at random. Lore can either use her magic to find out what’s happening and who in the King’s court is responsible, or die.

Lore is thrust into the Sainted King’s glittering court, where no one can be believed and even fewer can be trusted. Guarded by Gabriel, a duke-turned-monk, and continually running up against Bastian, August’s ne'er-do-well heir, Lore tangles in politics, religion, and forbidden romance as she attempts to navigate a debauched and opulent society.

But the life she left behind in the catacombs is catching up with her. And even as Lore makes her way through the Sainted court above, they might be drawing closer than she thinks.

The Nightshade Crown #1

I liked the characters and concept, but execution was flawed/spotty.  

Jenny Engel

Hannah DCamp

This book was more of a struggle for me than I was expecting. 3.5 stars, because there were some plot twists at the end that surprised me (like actually mouth hanging open).

Whitten's first series (which began with For the Wolf, also her debut) was immediately appealing to me. I'm starting to wonder if that was more due to very specific personal tastes - I'll read anything set in a magic forest, especially if it's a library in a magic forest - and less due to the story itself. For the Throne was also slightly less appealing to me, but because it still had Red and Eammon I was alright with it.

In this one we get a love triangle (in the year of our Lord 2k23), a priest character (of course I'm going to go into more detail about this), and the creepier vibes of For the Throne. It wasn't nearly as atmospheric as For the Wolf, and Lore was like the grittier version of Red (who was already plenty gritty for my taste). The setting is less enticing to me, and the religious backstory that was present in her other series is only more prevalent here.

Obviously this is centered around Lore and her two love interests. The love triangle isn't as common nowadays (or maybe it is, and I've just been reading the right things 😎), so I honestly expected this to lurch into throuple territory. It would have made more sense (view spoiler)[and that's coming from someone who isn't here for the throuple at any time (hide spoiler)]. I was most intrigued by their recurring sense of familiarity - Lore thinks of it often, and Bastian also acknowledges it - but I'm not sure if I fully understand the way that thread was resolved. (view spoiler)[They end up tied together at the end and there's a lot of talk of fate. It's implied that the gods have intended their connection and roles from the beginning, but I don't think that accounts for the déjà vu they kept drawing attention to. I'm hoping something more is coming for this. (hide spoiler)] In spite of the throuple vibes, I wasn't sure who she was "supposed" to end up until near the end, which was a nice change from the usually predictable love triangle I've seen before.

The setting itself was fine. I think Whitten was aiming for something lush and sparkling and generally decadent, but I wasn't very drawn in. The palace was interesting enough, but not particularly unique. Also, excessive decadence is just as boring in fiction as it is in real life, and it seemed that that was the basis for most of the settings. I did enjoy all the time spent in the library, and I loved any and all extended library time with Malcolm, who was undeniably a great librarian (view spoiler)[but maybe not a great friend... (hide spoiler)]

The characters were interesting enough, a good combination of new takes on old tropes. Bastian was the more trope-y of the two, and he was actually a less interesting character to me than Gabe because of it; he's just the typical "prince who has to hide his true self from his courtiers," while at least Gabe had layers. Lore was also intriguing to me - instead of being an over-the-top brave, "strong" female character (which I don't like because they lack nuance), she had a lot of fear and confusion thrown in with everything she did. I appreciated that.

The only thing I didn't appreciate so much was all the religious themes. I don't want to make a huge deal of it, but since it's a pretty important aspect of the worldbuilding I'm just going to go off and see how much word vomit there is, and apologies in advance 🙃 Here's the main thing: it's frustrating to me to see a fantasy "religion" use Catholic language and titles, and then be the main antagonist. Does anyone else feel like this always happens? because same. I understand that the authors I read (like Whitten) are writing from a western context, which means that western religion is potentially going to feature in their stories. I don't think any story can fully escape, nor should they. I also get that the Catholic Church (and Christianity in general) is an easy scapegoat, because it's the only western religion that is socially acceptable to mock or deride (or perhaps call out in a genuine, necessary way). It's widely disliked, and poorly understood, so dislike and misunderstandings are what I'm going to encounter when I read secular fiction.

That was my disclaimer I guess - so yes. Gabe is a "priest" (although what priestly function he actually serves is not apparent), a member of an order called the Presque Mort. Their main job is to divert excess Mortem (death, essentially), and are the only Church sanctioned "channelers" of it. I think they study it too? Otherwise they just worship the sun god and I guess study in-universe theology? The only way to become a Presque Mort is to come close to death and survive. The main thing the book focuses on is that they take a vow of celibacy, because of course this adds a level of forbidden appeal to Gabe's relationship with Lore. Without it, as Lore herself muses, there'd be nothing to keep them from just sleeping with each other.

The "sexually troubled priest" trope is as old and tired as the "evil priest" trope. Of course there are all kinds of priests, and as many experiences of the priestly vocation as there are priests. I take exception because this isn't a way of shedding light on someone's experience or trial; it's only sensationalized (and further confused) as a device for the romance plot. It kind of makes sense, in spite of my complaining; the Presque Mort don't join the order because they receive a call from Apollius (their god). Their "vocation," such as it is, stands on the really flimsy grounds of an individual near-death experience. It has more to do with the fact that nearly dying is the only way a normal human gains the ability to channel Mortem, and has less to do with their personal spirituality or devotion. Your average priest doesn't have this problem, because there is serious discernment and time involved prior to ordination - but you wouldn't know that if you were to look at all the priests portrayed in media. It is so disrespectful and such a misunderstanding of the vow of celibacy to constantly frame it in this sensational, tragic/romantic way.

At one point they have a discussion about transubstantiation. I was actually shook. It's an entire plot point. I think they did a decent job explaining it and then they called it "bunk science" and I was back to being confused. The character who said this is literally able to control the elemental force of death itself 🥴 Doesn't get much more bunk science than that? Also, "It's not meant to be taken literally" is not true irl just so you know.

Also the "Bleeding God" thing annoyed me every time I read it. Hello, clearly-a-type-for-Jesus. Obviously (view spoiler)[it seems to be implied he's going to be the "evil" god, while the dark goddess is probably good (but we didn't know before because all the men have been telling us she's evil) (hide spoiler)] I will never understand (and this is directed at the Greek pantheon also tbh) how an individual who was born or who has died could ever be a god in the truest sense. Why would you base your life on something that had a beginning or an end, or both? This isn't a book complaint, just something I'm confused about in general. Overall I think the religion plotline was just that, and not meant to be anything critical or exploratory; it was just kind of annoying to me.

That was more than I probably needed to talk through, but I couldn't figure out what to cut. Overall the book wasn't as enticing as I hoped it would be. There were some shocking moments near the end that make me very interested to read the next book (also I want to know how the freaking love triangle resolves). This was mildly horror-y, but not too creepy for me, a certified creepy-stuff wimp. Whitten is a solid storyteller, but if her stuff keeps drawing negatively/inaccurately from Christianity, I'll be less inclined to follow her work.

*I know it was pursuant to the point but I really could've done without the zombie horse 🙃 and don't ask me about Cedric, he lives in my brain rent-free *shudder*

The world building was pretty cool and I do love me some necromancy but it was fine 

Florence

kyra

3.25/5.
this book honestly wasnt bad, it just took me so long to get through it. in all honesty im probably going to read book two for bastian.

What better way to welcome the holiday season than by reading a book about poison, prophecies, and necromancy? 

"When you have unholy skills, it is best to put them to holy purpose."

"Death of a child (off-page, though we see the aftermath and lots of time is spent with the body)

Some scenes that may be triggering to those with emetophobia

Talk of child neglect and terminal illness"

The premise of this book made this an instant "must read" for me - a main character with a rare and forbidden magical ability is forced into the service of the King or will be killed? I'm absolutely going to read it. I did really enjoy it and I read it within only three days. The magic system seemed to be well thought out, the main character was well written with a layered personality, and there was some great banter. Bit of a side note - I didn't find the plot to fully match up with the book summary. I won't go into too much detail to avoid spoilers but, I expected issues surrounding not letting the cult in catacombs find her considering that it's the one rule she lived by for ten years according to the summary. 

Do NOT read past this point if you want to avoid spoilers! 

The story begins with Lore doing her thing as a spy for her drug ringleading adoptive mothers only to be caught wielding forbidden death magic in a raid and brought to the Citadel by the Presque Mort. The Presque Mort are warrior-monks who can wield death magic due to near death experiences that have taken vows into the Church's service (the other option is being sent to the Burnt Isles which is portrayed as a death/labour camp but, is never explicitly named as one). Lore is consequently forced into the service of the King - she is ordered to use her powers of necromancy to find out what is killing entire villages without a trace by asking the corpses of the victims and, also, to stay close to the prince who the king suspects is working with a neighbouring enemy kingdom. She is to be escorted by Gabe who is the former-duke-turned-Presque-Mort who happened to be childhood friends with the prince. Oh, and, he has one eye. (Which is mentioned A LOT. It's mentioned so many times that I don't think I would be far off by saying it felt like it was mentioned during at least 75% of scenes that he was part of.)

There is a lot to love about this book - a few being as follows:

It was really easy to fall into this world the author created and to get a sense of what was going on without info-dumping. Every fantasy reader knows that you often have to read quite a few chapters before having any clue but, I didn't have that issue. 

The bits of banter between Lore and other characters - even her internal thoughts - were really good. I found myself smiling at little quips and enjoyed the dialogue style. 

I know it's only the first book but, it is a refreshing read in the sense that it doesn't feel like just another version of other fantasy books coming out. 

Bonus points to this book for being gayer than I expected. Not only was there queer representation - the way it was written into the book implied that queerness is not equivalent to being "other" in this world. I don't imagine any characters from this world would ever have to worry about coming out. 

There aren't really many things about this book I didn't like but, there are a couple (that could  very well be down to my own preference).

Firstly, I GENUINELY kept waiting for Lore and her two male counterparts to reveal feelings for each other in the form of a poly relationship due to the way things were set up and being phrased. I am very disappointed that this is apparently just going to be a love triangle of some sort. 

I understand this book to be in the adult category but, in regards to both "spice" and depth/darkness of the overall content - it read as more YA. To those who are looking for a book with "spice" - this has NONE. I'm hoping book one was just the set up for the romance to come in the later books. 

I know I've already mentioned it - but, I really hope that Gabe's disability can stop being mentioned SO much. We get it - he has one eye. He NEEDS more besides one eye and stubbornness as a personality. In the first half of the book, he started with the potential to be really interesting but, as he became increasingly one-sided I just lost all patience with him

I can only hope that when April comes around, there is more than meets the eye regarding Bastian's actions at the very end! I won't say anymore on - if you want to know what I'm referencing, you'll have to read it yourself! 

Victoria Sutton

3.5 stars 



What better way to welcome the holiday season than by reading a book about poison, prophecies, and necromancy? 



"When you have unholy skills, it is best to put them to holy purpose."



What to expect:


Beginning of trilogy


High fantasy 


Death magic 


Court intrigue


FMC in her 20's (no teenagers!)


Warrior-monks 


Queer representation



(Author provided) Trigger warnings!


"Death of a child (off-page, though we see the aftermath and lots of time is spent with the body)

Parental abuse (emotional, physical)

Sexual conten

Adult language

Religious abuse

Animal death

Some scenes that may be triggering to those with emetophobia

Gore/violence (fairly severe)

Talk of child neglect and terminal illness"



Overall opinion:


The premise of this book made this an instant "must read" for me - a main character with a rare and forbidden magical ability is forced into the service of the King or will be killed? I'm absolutely going to read it. I did really enjoy it and I read it within only three days. The magic system seemed to be well thought out, the main character was well written with a layered personality, and there was some great banter. Bit of a side note - I didn't find the plot to fully match up with the book summary. I won't go into too much detail to avoid spoilers but, I expected issues surrounding not letting the cult in catacombs find her considering that it's the one rule she lived by for ten years according to the summary. 



Do NOT read past this point if you want to avoid spoilers! 


The story begins with Lore doing her thing as a spy for her drug ringleading adoptive mothers only to be caught wielding forbidden death magic in a raid and brought to the Citadel by the Presque Mort. The Presque Mort are warrior-monks who can wield death magic due to near death experiences that have taken vows into the Church's service (the other option is being sent to the Burnt Isles which is portrayed as a death/labour camp but, is never explicitly named as one). Lore is consequently forced into the service of the King - she is ordered to use her powers of necromancy to find out what is killing entire villages without a trace by asking the corpses of the victims and, also, to stay close to the prince who the king suspects is working with a neighbouring enemy kingdom. She is to be escorted by Gabe who is the former-duke-turned-Presque-Mort who happened to be childhood friends with the prince. Oh, and, he has one eye. (Which is mentioned A LOT. It's mentioned so many times that I don't think I would be far off by saying it felt like it was mentioned during at least 75% of scenes that he was part of.)


There is a lot to love about this book - a few being as follows:


It was really easy to fall into this world the author created and to get a sense of what was going on without info-dumping. Every fantasy reader knows that you often have to read quite a few chapters before having any clue but, I didn't have that issue. 


The bits of banter between Lore and other characters - even her internal thoughts - were really good. I found myself smiling at little quips and enjoyed the dialogue style. 


I know it's only the first book but, it is a refreshing read in the sense that it doesn't feel like just another version of other fantasy books coming out. 


Bonus points to this book for being gayer than I expected. Not only was there queer representation - the way it was written into the book implied that queerness is not equivalent to being "other" in this world. I don't imagine any characters from this world would ever have to worry about coming out. 

  


There aren't really many things about this book I didn't like but, there are a couple (that could  very well be down to my own preference).


Firstly, I GENUINELY kept waiting for Lore and her two male counterparts to reveal feelings for each other in the form of a poly relationship due to the way things were set up and being phrased. I am very disappointed that this is apparently just going to be a love triangle of some sort. 


I understand this book to be in the adult category but, in regards to both "spice" and depth/darkness of the overall content - it read as more YA. To those who are looking for a book with "spice" - this has NONE. I'm hoping book one was just the set up for the romance to come in the later books. 


I know I've already mentioned it - but, I really hope that Gabe's disability can stop being mentioned SO much. We get it - he has one eye. He NEEDS more besides one eye and stubbornness as a personality. In the first half of the book, he started with the potential to be really interesting but, as he became increasingly one-sided I just lost all patience with him



I can only hope that when April comes around, there is more than meets the eye regarding Bastian's actions at the very end! I won't say anymore on - if you want to know what I'm referencing, you'll have to read it yourself! 




Jodie Reads

A creative magic system with so much potential bogged down by a predictable love triangle

. On the one hand, it has an interesting world with an exceptionally creative magic system. On the other hand, the promising story devolved into yet another angsty love triangle that felt like every other YA Fantasy series despite this being billed as Adult.

The city of Dellaire is permeated with Mortem, the magic born from death. It leaks out from the body of the goddess of death buried beneath the city. Mortem can be channeled by those who have had a near-death experience and can be used to harm people or used as a drug to keep death at bay. When uncontrolled, Mortem will destroy anything in its path sucking the life out of whatever it comes in contact with.

Lore is a young woman who works as a poison runner and tries to hide how much power she has over Mortem. But when her secret is discovered, she finds herself a pawn in a deadly plot amongst the royals.

 Lore was supposed to be twenty-three. The other two main characters were twenty-three and twenty-four. But it felt like Young Adult both in tone and the way the characters acted. If you told me they were all seventeen, I would not have batted an eyelash. But every time the story mentioned their actual ages, I could not help but think, “They act like teenagers.” There was an increasing amount of angst and horniness.

It was evident that Whitten’s previous books were Young Adult. I feel a little bad, because I know it’s such a common problem for books in the Fantasy, SciFi, and Horror genres written by women to get automatically categorized as YA just because they are written by women. But truly, I did not ever believe that these characters were in their twenties. So I’m going to label this as New Adult. Yes, there was some violence and sex. But I think there are enough upper YA books with similar levels of violence and the sex-related stuff was mostly limited to the characters talking about how horny they were and hitting on each other. There are only a couple of makeout scenes that actually happen in this book. But I still cannot get over how the characters acted like moody, horny teenagers. (Which also made it hard to believe the stakes were as high as they were.)

While some aspects were impressively creative (particularly the magic system), others were worn thin.

 I loved the death magic. And I wanted to learn more about the history of the kingdom and its gods. And I appreciated that it was a queer-normative world. But it was so shadowed by the overpowered chosen one stuck in the stereotypical love triangle. And some of the setups in the plot felt obvious from a mile away.

. And not in a good way. I was unpleasantly reminded of how much time I spent in 

 wanting her to just make a choice and stick with it. Lore spent way too much time whining about how she was irresistibly attracted to both male leads and how she just could not make up her mind. Admittedly, it did not help that I didn’t care for either option as a love interest. One was a spoiled, horny prince manipulating everyone he could and the other was a sexually repressed priest irresistibly attracted to Lore but beating himself up for feeling desire despite his vow of celibacy. I kept hoping she would tell them both to jump off a tower, because they were both so manipulative. And the more I think about it while writing this review, the more it bugs me. The first sentence of the blurb calls it a “romantic new fantasy series.” 

I just don’t see manipulation as romantic, no matter how noble you try to make the motives.

While my annoyance at the awful love triangle is growing, I still admit that the story kept me engaged, and I am interested to find out what happens in the next installment. But if the characters don’t grow up a lot, I might not finish the trilogy.

Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars

Colleen

A creative magic system with so much potential bogged down by a predictable love triangle


I was a little on the fence about The Foxglove King. On the one hand, it has an interesting world with an exceptionally creative magic system. On the other hand, the promising story devolved into yet another angsty love triangle that felt like every other YA Fantasy series despite this being billed as Adult.

The city of Dellaire is permeated with Mortem, the magic born from death. It leaks out from the body of the goddess of death buried beneath the city. Mortem can be channeled by those who have had a near-death experience and can be used to harm people or used as a drug to keep death at bay. When uncontrolled, Mortem will destroy anything in its path sucking the life out of whatever it comes in contact with.

Lore is a young woman who works as a poison runner and tries to hide how much power she has over Mortem. But when her secret is discovered, she finds herself a pawn in a deadly plot amongst the royals.



This is what I saw, in the reflections of the tomb." She whispered it almost to herself, broken-voiced. "It's what the goddess dreamed, but I thought I could prevent it. I thought you would choose the world over yourself.


My biggest issue with The Foxglove King was that it felt so young. Lore was supposed to be twenty-three. The other two main characters were twenty-three and twenty-four. But it felt like Young Adult both in tone and the way the characters acted. If you told me they were all seventeen, I would not have batted an eyelash. But every time the story mentioned their actual ages, I could not help but think, “They act like teenagers.” There was an increasing amount of angst and horniness.

It was evident that Whitten’s previous books were Young Adult. I feel a little bad, because I know it’s such a common problem for books in the Fantasy, SciFi, and Horror genres written by women to get automatically categorized as YA just because they are written by women. But truly, I did not ever believe that these characters were in their twenties. So I’m going to label this as New Adult. Yes, there was some violence and sex. But I think there are enough upper YA books with similar levels of violence and the sex-related stuff was mostly limited to the characters talking about how horny they were and hitting on each other. There are only a couple of makeout scenes that actually happen in this book. But I still cannot get over how the characters acted like moody, horny teenagers. (Which also made it hard to believe the stakes were as high as they were.)



The air around him almost seemed to glimmer, gold dust in the dark. Moonlight made him more beautiful, yes, but in the same way that darkness emphasized a flame. He didn't belong in it; Bastian Arceneaux was antithetical to night.


While some aspects were impressively creative (particularly the magic system), others were worn thin. I loved the death magic. And I wanted to learn more about the history of the kingdom and its gods. And I appreciated that it was a queer-normative world. But it was so shadowed by the overpowered chosen one stuck in the stereotypical love triangle. And some of the setups in the plot felt obvious from a mile away.

The second half of The Foxglove King really started to remind me of Shadow and Bone. And not in a good way. I was unpleasantly reminded of how much time I spent in Shadow and Bone wanting her to just make a choice and stick with it. Lore spent way too much time whining about how she was irresistibly attracted to both male leads and how she just could not make up her mind. Admittedly, it did not help that I didn’t care for either option as a love interest. One was a spoiled, horny prince manipulating everyone he could and the other was a sexually repressed priest irresistibly attracted to Lore but beating himself up for feeling desire despite his vow of celibacy. I kept hoping she would tell them both to jump off a tower, because they were both so manipulative. And the more I think about it while writing this review, the more it bugs me. The first sentence of the blurb calls it a “romantic new fantasy series.” I just don’t see manipulation as romantic, no matter how noble you try to make the motives.

While my annoyance at the awful love triangle is growing, I still admit that the story kept me engaged, and I am interested to find out what happens in the next installment. But if the characters don’t grow up a lot, I might not finish the trilogy.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 4 Stars

The Foxglove King is a fascinating gothic fantasy weaving court intrigue, necromancy, espionage, religious fervour, and forbidden romance together so minutely that I was absorbed from the first page. Within this story we follow Lore, a nobody that is the only person born with power of Mortem, death and darkness, Gabe, the son of a traitor who was offered redemption in the form of joining the priesthood, and Bastian, a Prince and heir to a kingdom he has no wish to rule. 

While the pacing is on the slower side, the plot is so intricate that I don't feel the pacing needs to be rushed. We're discovering everything through Lore's POV, who is in the dark about everything happening, that the slow reveals creates the tension you could only expect her to be feeling at each moment. And yes, you are reading, quickly running out of pages and wondering how everything will be resolved so quickly, but its so well set up for the sequel and these characters are left in a form of stasis in my mind while I sit here hungering to know what will happen now. 

The obvious love triangle forming throughout this book is extremely satisfying, even for someone who doesn't really feel drawn to them, like myself. You are routing for all sides of this romance, and I honestly can't say there will be a way to make me unhappy about whichever outcome that may occur. 

Lavishly seductive, dark, and compelling.

The Foxglove King is a fascinating gothic fantasy weaving court intrigue, necromancy, espionage, religious fervour, and forbidden romance together so minutely that I was absorbed from the first page. Within this story we follow Lore, a nobody that is the only person born with power of Mortem, death and darkness, Gabe, the son of a traitor who was offered redemption in the form of joining the priesthood, and Bastian, a Prince and heir to a kingdom he has no wish to rule. 

While the pacing is on the slower side, the plot is so intricate that I don't feel the pacing needs to be rushed. We're discovering everything through Lore's POV, who is in the dark about everything happening, that the slow reveals creates the tension you could only expect her to be feeling at each moment. And yes, you are reading, quickly running out of pages and wondering how everything will be resolved so quickly, but its so well set up for the sequel and these characters are left in a form of stasis in my mind while I sit here hungering to know what will happen now. 

The obvious love triangle forming throughout this book is extremely satisfying, even for someone who doesn't really feel drawn to them, like myself. You are routing for all sides of this romance, and I honestly can't say there will be a way to make me unhappy about whichever outcome that may occur. 

Lavishly seductive, dark, and compelling.



I feel like I would’ve given this the full 5 stars, but once I finished I felt like something was missing. While I’m definitely interested in how the trio will lead, I don’t feel the, “I wish I could know RIGHT NOW,” feeling. Though I was definitely gripping my book during the last 25% - it really just kept spinning & spinning 😵‍💫 Also everyone in the club (this book) has the worst parents, no wonder they’re like this 😅

samantha lias

This is a really fun read. Interesting death magic system tied to long disappeared gods and interesting culture formed around poison. My favorite part are the relationships formed between the three main characters. They are all flawed and have been betrayed in some way, but they choose each other even in the face of their own demise. I have a few small issues like the FMC being too dense sometimes, and making a character seem highly skilled to then only show them as being highly unskilled that drove me crazy, but I’m looking forward to continuing the series!

Katie Allard

You know when you're reading a book, and you can tell you're not vibing with it, but you keep reading hoping it'll get better? That was this book for me. It was a chore to get through. I thought the first third of this book was hard to get into because it felt very info-dumpy. The premise has such potential, and I usually love anything to do with death magic, but it was lackluster at best. The characters were bland and one-note. Bastian and Gabriel felt like they were the same person, except one had an eye patch. You could tell Whitten was trying to set up a love triangle between them and Lore, but there wasn't any chemistry between them. It also plays into that trope where the main character feels a pull towards certain characters but can't explain why. It had me rolling my eyes the whole time. I did like the ambiance, but sadly, everything else fell flat.

Heather Harrington

This book was going to be 3.5 stars, but the ending bumped it up a little. I was really looking forward to this book, as I liked Hannah Whitten's other series, but at times it felt too repetitive, or too much like the mold of her past series mixed with the Furyborn series. Most things felt a little too predictable or just too perfect, or parts felt like they were meant to be quoted, rather than just having good writing to have good writing/moving the plot along. Could've done without the love triangle -- felt way too confusing/forced at times, but will definitely read the next one when it comes out!

(Bre)anne✨

TW to be added later

This book was going to be 3.5 stars, but the ending bumped it up a little. I was really looking forward to this book, as I liked Hannah Whitten's other series, but at times it felt too repetitive, or too much like the mold of her past series mixed with the Furyborn series. Most things felt a little too predictable or just too perfect, or parts felt like they were meant to be quoted, rather than just having good writing to have good writing/moving the plot along. Could've done without the love triangle -- felt way too confusing/forced at times, but will definitely read the next one when it comes out!

I've begun this review about 4 times, and each time, it's not felt quite right! 

I hate to give things away in my reviews, which makes this really hard because so much happens in this book over a short space of time, but the base premise (as blurbed so I am giving away nothing you wouldn't find on the book cover) is that in a world where the Gods have fallen and the last remaining God has disappeaed, a young woman with a secret, forbidden, power gets found and caught. Rather than the death she expected, she is instead coerced into working for the King and his priest brother to find out who, in their lavish court, is a traitor, and who is behind the unexplained deaths of entire villages along their borders. 

Our main characters are Lore (love) Gabe (love, but want to slap!) and Bastien (love but just cant be sure where he's headed) who are thrust together as unwilling pawns on a chessboard being played by kings and faith. 

I dont think I have ever been led through so many twists and turns trying to figure out exactly who is doing what, and who is on whose side as much as I did reading this, and the lies and deceptions were made even harder to spot when the world is so throughly built and beautifully described. Similar enough to our own to feel familiar, with a touch of added magic, the place is as important as our characters and while there could be some repetition to the 'daily' aspect of the storys timeline, given the circumstance our characters find their lives revolving around, there is none which was wholly refreshing. 

Wonderfully dark and twisty, it's a solid 'would recommend' 5 ⭐️s from me. 

Narah Quinn

Where to start? 

I've begun this review about 4 times, and each time, it's not felt quite right! 

I hate to give things away in my reviews, which makes this really hard because so much happens in this book over a short space of time, but the base premise (as blurbed so I am giving away nothing you wouldn't find on the book cover) is that in a world where the Gods have fallen and the last remaining God has disappeaed, a young woman with a secret, forbidden, power gets found and caught. Rather than the death she expected, she is instead coerced into working for the King and his priest brother to find out who, in their lavish court, is a traitor, and who is behind the unexplained deaths of entire villages along their borders. 

Our main characters are Lore (love) Gabe (love, but want to slap!) and Bastien (love but just cant be sure where he's headed) who are thrust together as unwilling pawns on a chessboard being played by kings and faith. 

I dont think I have ever been led through so many twists and turns trying to figure out exactly who is doing what, and who is on whose side as much as I did reading this, and the lies and deceptions were made even harder to spot when the world is so throughly built and beautifully described. Similar enough to our own to feel familiar, with a touch of added magic, the place is as important as our characters and while there could be some repetition to the 'daily' aspect of the storys timeline, given the circumstance our characters find their lives revolving around, there is none which was wholly refreshing. 

Wonderfully dark and twisty, it's a solid 'would recommend' 5 ⭐️s from me. 

Out March 9th.

"Those Born to darkness will carry it in their nature, they will carry sin in their very selves, body and mind and soul" - The Book of Mortal Law.

The premise of The Foxglove King is captivating, Lore is a poison runner in the city of Dellaire where deep beneath the streets in the catacombs the body of a Goddess is leaking death magic called Mortem and deeper still in these tunnels are secrets that threaten to uproot Lore's life. Lore has a strong affinity for this magic, which is controlled and sanctioned by the Church and Crown, only to be wielded by the warrior like monk's called the Presque Mort. When a poison run goes awry she finds herself in the clutches of nobility, forced to help unravel a number of mysteries under the threat of the pyre or being sent to the Burnt Isles. Lore becomes entangled in the politics of court, in relationships with people she never thought she'd have anything in common with and espionage.

I really loved the intrigue of this novel, around every corner Lore was faced with fascinating adventures, myths, rumors and people with layers upon layers of secrets. The idea is something we have definitely seen before, a street urchin gets thrust into life at court spying for the royal family while the city outside the Citadel walls struggles to afford to survive - but the truly eye-catching part about this story is the magic system. It was easy to understand and had a great basis - the idea of channeling death from a once living being and displacing it made sense, the descriptions of how Lore's appearance changed as she used the magic and about what had happened other times she'd used it were spooky and thrilling. I really enjoyed the darker mystery side of this novel.

The modern language did halt me a bit unfortunately, I read that this was meant to be a Versailles-esque (the TV show) inspired story but I think the writing did bring me out of the world a bit - the way people acted and spoke didn't quite match the feeling of the setting - which could've been really strong if a bit more attention to detail had been paid. The superficiality of the court system and religious system also made this book feel slightly under researched due to how basic and modernized these areas were, but I think that could also work in it's favor for younger readers who are wanting somewhere to start in the fantasy YA genre. It gave me the same feeling as watch series (TV & books) like Reign or Bridgerton with it's more simplified understanding of the time.

I loved the friendship that was built between the three central characters - Lore, Gabriel and Bastian. It angled towards a love triangle which is a very popular trope in books these days and I think the connection between these three was really well done. Bastian was an obvious showstopper - his character was intricate and easy to like. Lore was a slightly stereotypical heroine with the snarky, scrappy attitude and Gabe was a flawed and likable but slightly one dimensional 'bodyguard' type friend. This made the dynamic between these three a lot of fun to read when they were all together in scenes.

Overall, this was a great fantasy-lite read, a tiny bit tropey and predictable but not to a level that ruined the story - I can see this being a popular read along the lines of Kingdom of the Wicked and From Blood and Ash. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this.

Genevieve 

"Those Born to darkness will carry it in their nature, they will carry sin in their very selves, body and mind and soul" - The Book of Mortal Law.

The premise of The Foxglove King is captivating, Lore is a poison runner in the city of Dellaire where deep beneath the streets in the catacombs the body of a Goddess is leaking death magic called Mortem and deeper still in these tunnels are secrets that threaten to uproot Lore's life. Lore has a strong affinity for this magic, which is controlled and sanctioned by the Church and Crown, only to be wielded by the warrior like monk's called the Presque Mort. When a poison run goes awry she finds herself in the clutches of nobility, forced to help unravel a number of mysteries under the threat of the pyre or being sent to the Burnt Isles. Lore becomes entangled in the politics of court, in relationships with people she never thought she'd have anything in common with and espionage.

I really loved the intrigue of this novel, around every corner Lore was faced with fascinating adventures, myths, rumors and people with layers upon layers of secrets. The idea is something we have definitely seen before, a street urchin gets thrust into life at court spying for the royal family while the city outside the Citadel walls struggles to afford to survive - but the truly eye-catching part about this story is the magic system. It was easy to understand and had a great basis - the idea of channeling death from a once living being and displacing it made sense, the descriptions of how Lore's appearance changed as she used the magic and about what had happened other times she'd used it were spooky and thrilling. I really enjoyed the darker mystery side of this novel.

The modern language did halt me a bit unfortunately, I read that this was meant to be a Versailles-esque (the TV show) inspired story but I think the writing did bring me out of the world a bit - the way people acted and spoke didn't quite match the feeling of the setting - which could've been really strong if a bit more attention to detail had been paid. The superficiality of the court system and religious system also made this book feel slightly under researched due to how basic and modernized these areas were, but I think that could also work in it's favor for younger readers who are wanting somewhere to start in the fantasy YA genre. It gave me the same feeling as watch series (TV & books) like Reign or Bridgerton with it's more simplified understanding of the time.

I loved the friendship that was built between the three central characters - Lore, Gabriel and Bastian. It angled towards a love triangle which is a very popular trope in books these days and I think the connection between these three was really well done. Bastian was an obvious showstopper - his character was intricate and easy to like. Lore was a slightly stereotypical heroine with the snarky, scrappy attitude and Gabe was a flawed and likable but slightly one dimensional 'bodyguard' type friend. This made the dynamic between these three a lot of fun to read when they were all together in scenes.

Overall, this was a great fantasy-lite read, a tiny bit tropey and predictable but not to a level that ruined the story - I can see this being a popular read along the lines of Kingdom of the Wicked and From Blood and Ash. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the eARC of The Foxglove King. Now my only question is… how am I possibly going to wait a year for the second book!!!

Rich with religious deconstruction, royaltycore splendor, and unresolved sexual tension that is the best execution of a threesome love triangle I could imagine, Whitten spins a new delightful tale of death magic and sweet poison.

Liz Griffin

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the eARC of The Foxglove King. Now my only question is… how am I possibly going to wait a year for the second book!!!

Rich with religious deconstruction, royaltycore splendor, and unresolved sexual tension that is the best execution of a threesome love triangle I could imagine, Whitten spins a new delightful tale of death magic and sweet poison.