I had the hardest time finishing this book. The story just wasn't compelling to me and the characters were boring. I'm sad to say this read was a miss for me. It was was one of my most anticipated this year.

I loved reading this book!! I was stupid and read this at the same time as throne of glass, there were a lot of similarities. Even still I loved the magical aspects of this story and all of the characters! They were so well thought out and I loved how they all were so different. The ending was great and really set up the secone book really well. I cant wait for it!!

Thank you netgalley for the earc in exchange for an honest review

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2023! I am happy I received an ARC from the publisher because the story of Lore was absolutely perfect. This novel had all of my favorite tropes, and I'd highly recommend it to any fantasy lover.

I was also excited to see that this is going to become a series! I enjoy retellings, but this wholly new world, characters, and religious system was mesmerizing.

I struggled with "For the Wolf" because of the lack of worldbuilding but I was pleasantly surprised by this book ! I really enjoyed reading about the magic and the court , and the ending really made me wish the second book was already out so I could get right into it. Highly recommend if you enjoy court fantasy and forbidden romance

I loved this. Another hit from Hannah Whitten. I cannot wait for the sequel. I loved the romance and I’m not usually a big enemies to lovers fan. But I loved the world and the politics and I cannot wait for the sequel. Especially with the cover reveal we just got!!

I really enjoyed this book! The magic system was unique but easily understandable, the characters were interesting, the romance was full of delicious tension, and I was totally hooked on the plot as the mystery and schemes of each of the characters unraveled. I’m so looking forward to the next installment!!

What was really interesting about this book was that it was almost in between the YA and adult fantasy genres. Lore (the main character) was in her 20s and made decisions like it, but she also gets caught in a very interesting love triangle and certain aspects of the plot seemed to lean toward the typical YA tropes. Because of this, I thought that this was a great book to transition with if you are looking to get more into the adult fantasy genre but typically read YA!

Read this book if you like:
- love triangles
- lots of romantic tension
- chosen one(s)
- a unique magic system
- court schemes

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was my first exposure to Hannah Whitten’s writing, and once I finished it, I immediately went and purchased the rest of her books. I was hooked from the beginning.

The magic system is unique, the pacing is spot on, and the writing brought the story to life. I can’t wait to see where the rest of this series goes!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

here for the drama!

tags: epic fantasy, court intrigue, religious trauma, angst, chosen one, gods

i really loved the writing and the plot! the world building was introduced very seamlessly and was very easy to follow!

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀:
bastian is by far my favourite! no questions about it! he was witty and fun! he was always on top of all the drama and scheming which i loved!
gabe: i didn’t like him but i can appreciate him as a character.
lore: talk about a bad*ss, sassy fmc! she annoyed me a bit when it came to gabe but otherwise i loved her and i liked seeing a more selfish side of the ‘chosen one’ trope👀

the ending was a 10/10 for me!

goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5290670741

IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/CrvzheqLnu4/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp3Cc1EPZ93/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

This was kind of a letdown. I know it's "adult" and the characters are thus, but it read VERY Y/A. The plot had many issues, which mainly spawned from IF SHE'S SUCH AN ANGRY WOMAN WHY WOULDN'T SHE JUST KEEP FIGHTING AT ALL COSTS! She's strong, she should fight the dumb men. The saving grace was Bastian, but also not that much :(. There was a lot that needed to be editted out as well :(

The Foxglove King introduces a world of fallen gods, a corrupt monarchy and priesthood, and the death magic that connects them all.

Lore is a young woman with a secret. Born in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire, she possesses Mortem, a forbidden power over the dead. Once an unwilling member of a death cult, Lore has escaped and carved out a life for herself. Working as a member of a street gang, Lore uses her charm and her uncanny magic for low-level spying and drug running. It’s dirty and dangerous work, but needs must. Lore’s life isn’t perfect, but it’s her own – until the day she’s captured by the religious authorities.

The Presque Mort are warrior monks with special dispensation to wield Mortem in service of the one true god – and the throne. When they capture Lore, their leader tells her that she can either infiltrate the court and spy for them…or be executed. Collaborating with Gabriel, a former member of the court and a current Presque Mort operative, Lore’s mission is to get close to prince Bastian. Suspected of working for enemies of the Crown, Bastian is suspect number one when villages on the country’s border are wiped out overnight.

As Lore becomes increasingly embroiled in court intrigue, she finds that everyone has something to hide. But as someone with secrets herself, Lore soon comes to realize that she’ll need to trust her comrades if she’s to have any hope of preventing more deaths. The Foxglove King is at its strongest when the focus is on our heroine and her growth. Lore’s beginnings as a jaded, lonely person and her tentative journey to greater connection with and reliance on others is so satisfying. Once Lore, Gabriel, and Bastian start trusting each other, they develop an off-beat synergy that injects much-needed lightness into the story. But in Dellaire, nothing pure lasts for long. Soon, the trio comes to suspect that the highest powers in the land – the Presque Mort, and even the King himself – may be behind everything.

Hannah Whitten makes use of many tropes and quintessential fantasy components, including death magic, warring gods and goddesses, and even a love triangle. Certain character dynamics and plot twists reminded me of fantasy classics like Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing! Just don’t expect highly original work here. Even the setting draws on the familiar, as Dellaire and its political system are clearly inspired by the court of Versailles. Despite some derivative elements, readers looking for a fast-paced fantasy romance will find a lot to enjoy here. I certainly did!

The Foxglove King is a solid series opener for a new fantasy romance project. Recommended for fans of the genre or those looking to dip their toes into “courtly intrigue,” CW teen drama style.

Our story centers around Lore, a 23-year-old swept up into the political intrigue of a kingdom at the brink of war and internally fraught with its citizens using poison to either get high or attempt to prolong their lives, with varying degrees of success. This was my first Hannah Whitten book, but will most certainly not be my last.

I truly enjoyed the setup and the world -- I do think it fell on some themes that felt well-trodden (the stark divide of the rich and the poor and the religious themes, mostly), but I think there is so much potential here, and I really felt I was able to lose myself in the lush setup and magic descriptions.

That said, I think where this book shone was the setup, and I think there was a lot of missed opportunity to delve deeper. By the end of the book, it felt like there was a lot of redundancy in the strong hints at the "twist" that was to come, and it felt very heavy-handed. I wish instead the focus had been on further developing the relationships between the characters.

There is, of course, a love triangle, and I think the author is trying to tread carefully and not show preference to one option vs the other so that we are unsure with whom Lore will end up, but it felt like this relied heavily on shortcuts such as saying she felt like she had known them both "for forever." I would rather time was dedicated to having the trust between them be earned vs. relying on this.

Along the same lines, characters felt like they were assigned a single character trait to define them, at times to extreme degrees. Gabe, unfortunately, fell most victim to this. As one of the main 3 characters, he gets a decent amount of page time, and it is unfortunate that nearly EVERY reference to him includes some mention of the fact he has one eye. Either he is itching his eye patch, or glaring with his ONE EYE, or something of the sort. He was always brooding and it always seemed to include some mention of his loss of an eye in some way or another. I wonder if the love triangle had been cut, if there would have been more opportunity to fully flesh out one of the MMCs more fully (I know which I would be rooting for).

Ultimately, I did like Lore as our heroine. She has complex motivations and an interesting backstory that is still somewhat mysterious even now. Between Lore, the poison, and magic system (necromancy?!), the vibes of the book were a lot of fun. There is so much more to explore, and I enjoyed being in Hannah Whitten's world. I can't wait to see what the sequel will bring for these characters.

Lore is working as a poison runner, when she gets caught using magic that is forbidden. Taken as a prisoner she gets offered a deal to stay alive. Given little chance to say no she agrees to get close to the prince figuring out if he is a traitor. The problem? Her assigned guard Gabriel and the prince she is supposed to spy on.

I really wanted to love this book, given its beautiful cover. To a certain point I even did. There was just something missing. Like the magic system was cool but somehow it felt like only scratching the surface. This could partly be me just not vibing with the writing style or story telling. Same with the characters, they were the stereotypical characters wich were rather bland. The consequence of that was that the romance aspect didn’t work. The plot was not something that was never seen before but it had some interesting aspects to it.
All in all I was meh about it and will not continue.

I received a arc from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*Thank you so much to Netgalley and Orbit Books for the eARC!

“To anyone who chose themselves.”

Hannah Whitten solidified herself as one of my favorite authors with the Wilderwood Duology and she continues to impress! The combination of court politics, one of my favorite magic systems, and a love triangle that actually feels intriguing instead of forced make this book an easy five stars for me. The amount of times I almost screamed while reading this book is unmatched. I was truly feral.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Rep: curvy FMC, religion, monks, bi and pan spec characters (including a male lead), sapphic couple/mothers,transgender characters, gender neutral language/references

TW: child abandonment (past), child neglect abuse (past), emotional/mental abuse, neglectful parents, murderous parents, doing ill in the name of religion, drug use/addiction, terminal illness, detailed descriptions of death, murder, killing, ritual disfigurement, torture, loss of limbs, necromancy, animal death

Sometimes you read a book and you truly appreciate it after you finish. You know, the type of book that demands introspection, one that must settle before you can truly grasp at what the author is trying to convey. A book which lends itself to a reread, not because you could not understand, but because you desire to delve deeper and truly see; now that you have familiarized yourself with the text are my favorite things to read. I will be the first to admit this one has a slow, steady pace, which deviates mildly from the intensity of the Wilderwood duology, but clearly Hannah Whitten has found and sits deeply in her voice now. The craftsmanship of this novel was enhanced and I always appreciate as an author grows with their work, you would think this is the norm, however, it is absolutely not and should not be taken for granted. If you’re into delectable prose, you will be delighted. The imagery Whitten constructs is visceral and decadent, I know that is not everyone’s jam, but it’s something I crave. I wouldn’t say it’s excessively flowery, but it done in an impactful manner. This is an emotionally charged book and the writing sucker punches you at times, truly I’m grateful .

There’s a lot to be said here and honestly, I’ve struggled to fit all of my feelings and thoughts into words. In fact, that’s how I stumbled across the idea of exegesis and eisegesis, because I was trying to convey myself and these terms do it well. These terms relate directly to how one reads a text, but particularly a religious text. Exegesis is an attempt to draw out the meaning of the biblical text, trying to understand what the passages are telling us. Conversely, exegesis is when we try to supplant or lead our own thoughts and biases into the text. The former is objective, whereas the ladder is more subjective in nature. Now, you may be wondering what I’m going on about and how it relates to the text. Overall, the book is an exploration of one’s self and worth and how we grapple with our internal wars and external environment, overwhelmingly, in Lore’s case (our female protagonist and narrative voice) religion and religious trauma. In The Foxglove King we do not only have the Sainted King, August Arceneaux, we also have an Exalted Priest, the King’s twin brother, Anton Arceneaux. Both of these men are two sides of the same coin, whether they desire to recognize it or not. While the Priest views the Holy text through an exegesis lens, the King utilizes a more eisegesis approach. In this respect, it is significant and intentional to have the two most powerful men in the kingdom; opposites, brothers, serve as an antithesis, to the other.

In this book we follow Lore, a death magic wielder. She can manipulate and utilize Mortem, which she shouldn’t be able to do, so naturally she attempts to shield that side of herself. Then there’s Gabe, a monk, devout follower, and who strongly reveres the Exalted Priest as if he were the second-coming of Apollius…is that blasphemous to say? Lastly, but certainly not least, we have Bastian, the highly attractive, criminally seductive, spoiled Prince who has many secrets of his own. Due to circumstances these three come together, some not for the first time, as they each feel an inexplicable pull to the others as they try to solve a mystery plaguing the Kingdom of Auverraine. I do hope that in the two forthcoming sequels we at least get a few chapters from the men’s point of view, as I would love to be inside the heads of all of our favorite chaotic disasters. This book is brimming with parallels, metaphors, gothic scenery and macabre proclivity. Everyone is more and less than what they seem and the epigraphs which line the start of each new chapter give us a deeper insight into the world. Whitten utilizes them seamlessly to assist in worldbuilding without bogging down the reader in superfluous detail.

I will say this was a satisfying read. While we are still left wanting, seriously, I would happily dive into the sequel right now. There is enough payoff to satiate the numerous questions bound to plague even the most mildly interested reader. Pantheon structures are always fun for me to explore, and while this story does pull from Christianity, there are many fictionalized elements. The gods in this story will continue to play a role as the story develops and I anxiously await their uncovering. Also, this is my premature request for a novella regarding the Godsfall and more on the elusive, Nyxara. Whenever a female, whether deity, mortal, or other being is accused as being conniving, evil, beyond reproach in a male dominated religion or society I always take pause. Let’s get to the crux of it, because we all know how the defeated are always demonized.

This is a steady read for those who like a little mystery with their religious trauma. A splash of filicidial schemes, and nobles abusing drugs the King happily exiles commoners for. The typical abuse of power, and the not so typical mass murders and resurrection. If you are keen to plot driven stories, with lots of pain, agony, and flirtations this just may be the read for you.

P.S. What is it with the horses???

This is definitely a unique book! It is also my first book I have read written by Hannah Whitten, and I didn’t mind it. I enjoyed the concept the author wrote about, and I didn’t mind most of the characters (although there were a few that I could have went without). The world building initially seemed a little all over the place but the farther I read the better it got!

Once you get past the learning part of the magic system, world building and character building. Which are quite intricate and more slower paced part of the story. The story moves much quicker and really begs to not be put down. I truly enjoyed it and it went really fast once I got past the first part. It’s a unique and different take than what I’ve read before full of fantasy and mystery. There is so much angst and pining in this story, I was really hoping for more spice. But I can appreciate a good story without spice as well. This was an ARC and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.

Thank you to the Netgalley and the publisher, Orbit (Orbit Books), for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy. This honest review was based off my experience reading this eARC, which in no way biased me. All opinions are my own.

You know when you read a book at the wrong time? I think this is what happened to me with this.

This was one of my most anticipated reads for 2023. I honestly don’t have any feelings about this book at all.

It also has a slow intro and I struggled to stay invested in this book. So I was reading a few chapters at a time on and off for weeks. Which probably did not help my situation. But what can I say, there were times I forgot I was reading this book and I didn’t pick it up for days.

I really love the necromancy/death magic and the lore of the gods. The dynamic Lor has with Gabe and Bastian was great.

This has everything I would like in a book and I have enjoyed Hannah’s work in the past so this is why I am not blaming the book for my disinterest, but I am blaming the timing.

But I just couldn’t get into it and I know that when I reread this whenever the sequel comes out the odds are that I will enjoy this a lot more.

Like I said, I don’t blame the book for my lack of interest, it’s the timing. But I do have to rate it, 3 stars overall. I’m excited to reread this whenever the timing is more right.

For a book with such a slow start, it's kind of amazing how quickly you get sucked in once the inciting incident hits. The theological themes at play, a combination of Christianity (Apollius being a very overt stand-in for Jesus) along with a yinyang element of balance (Apollius vs Nyxara, masculine sky versus feminine earth), add a unique dimension to the magic system. Necromancy is always a treat, and Whitten constructed a nice gothic world of deceitful clergy and all-consuming gods that fits the vibe perfectly. Throw in a delightfully untrustworthy crown prince, a deeply repressed priest, and a heroine who might just be the ruin of them all, and you've got a fun little tangle of complicated relationships.

Also, this one is for the Reylos, girlies. I won't go into detail, but it's there. The moment Whitten dropped a specific line (y'all will recognize it), I cackled.

That being said, there is such potential for an OT3, and if they don't end up pulling the OT3 card I will be very sad. Whitten has given us a world with such casual inclusion of different orientations and genders that it would be a shame to not have a little fruitiness between the main trio.

4.5/5

Wow! I received this as an arc and initially read the first 10% of the book and it wasn’t hitting right. So I put it down and picked it up again when I was in a better headspace and I am so glad I did!

This cured my SJM hangover but now I can’t wait for the second book 🥹

I will be the first to admit that I was not into For the Wolf, and if that’s you too then trust me when I say this is so much better and has a much more intentional plot and world building. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am strongly recommending it to all of my friends.

If you want to get into fantasy but need a little romance subplot to hold your intrigue, this one has forbidden romance ☺️

I was so excited to receive this arc and it didnt disappoint. There was action as soon as you start reading. Lore was such a strong female character. I like the chosen one vibes and the religious/political ties within this book. I am iffy on this love triangle. Hopefully, it will get better in the second book. I do like the magic system in this as well. It was pretty easy to understand and the premise is different then what I have read before.


Thank you publishers of Orbit Books and NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.