***4.0 Stars***

Overall,
I do not know what my expectations were when going into this book. I had heard some vague descriptors and obviously read the blurb, but I wasn't really sure what I was getting in to. What I found was a really intriguing world, morally grey characters and some interesting twists and turns that kept me eager to read what happened next.

Recommendation,
A definite yes from me. If you like fantasy, necromancyish death/life magic, light romance and interesting world building this is for you. I eagerly await the next book in this delightful new series.

***I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Orbit books in exchange for my free and honest review*** Thankyou!

It was hard to follow and slow at first but it got better as I continued! I can’t wait to read the next one.

First thing I absolutely NEED to tell you: The summary of this book that’s up almost everywhere (I haven’t looked at that jacket on my copy, but I assume it’s there too) not only does a very poor job of summarizing this book, but it’s also very misleading. It also spoils parts of the book in a big way that would have best been left unspoiled until Hannah Whitten saw fit to unveil them in the book.

Second thing I should tell you, in the interest of full disclosure: I’m totally biased in reviewing this book because I’m a total Hannah Whitten fangirl. She’s an auto-buy author for me. I had this book pre-ordered as soon as it was up and requested the ARC the day it went up. She’s one of these forward-thinking female fantasy authors that aren’t always in it for the happy endings or tries to blunt the trauma of her characters. Between her, Ava Reid, and Laura Sebastian, I am a very happy fantasy reader right now (there’s likely more in this class of female fantasy writer right now, but I haven’t had a ton of time to explore as of late).

I knew I was going to love this book from the start because all someone has to do is mention the plot involves poisons and my ears perk up like I’m a dog and someone said “Ball?”. I have a great love of poisons in my plots. Oh, it looks like we’re tacking on some messing with church versus state? Ooooh. Death magic and catacombs! Book as catnip. That’s what this book is.

There’s no denying Whitten’s biggest strength lies in her world-building and magic systems. This book isn’t merely lush–it’s downright decadent, redolent with imagery and prose vivid enough to paint whole scenes inside your mind. Wardrobes bloom with color and movement, magic shimmers and flows through the air, horrors and catastrophes are stark and unflinching against humanity, and insanity is easy to see against mere immorality.

Being the first book, and the magic systems in this book being so ancient, we don’t know everything about it yet, but what Whitten does show us and what she foreshadows and/or implies shows us book one is only the tip of the iceberg, but what an iceberg it is! To explain it all would spoil so much, but I have theories. I think all readers will have their theories. And only more of Whitten’s fabulous books will let us know who is right! *maniacal laugh*

I loved the themes explored in this book: absentee parents, heavy childhood expectations, feeling unworthy and useless as an adult, wanting to run away from heavy responsibilities but knowing you’re the only person who can do what needs to be done, church versus state, socioeconomic inequality, the blinds eyes of privilege, the excesses of the rich, being used due to your own naivete, and trust issues (“I've got issues, you've got 'em too”).

I’m so glad for the worldbuilding, the magic system, the plot, and the strong themes, because the one weak link in this book are the three main characters. I can’t find much fault with Lore, our female protagonist, but I do have issues with her two fellow male protagonists–especially since Whitten spends a great amount of pages in this book building what seems to be a love triangle in this book that may continue on into the next book and I absolutely can’t stand love triangles. Will she step into the shoes of some more progressive and intrepid fantasy writers (see Xiran Jay Xhao’s Iron Widow) and try to embrace polyfidelity or polyamory by the end of the series, or will we readers have to suffer through one or two more books filled with an unnecessary and immature love triangle? I’d like to think Whitten wouldn’t go back to the dark days of painful and immature love triangles.

I absolutely couldn’t put this book down. Terrific, engrossing read that was absolutely the escapism I needed. I need the sequel today.

I was provided a copy of this book by NetGalley and the author. All views, thoughts, ideas, and opinions herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Fantasy Romance/Dark Fantasy/Fantasy Series/Book Series/LGBTQ Friendly/Epic Fantasy

A little late giving feedback, but better late than never! The premise of the book is quite interesting following Lore, a use to be thief until turn 'spy' on Bastian, August’s ne’er-do-well heir alongside with monk, Gabriel. Loved the banter between Lore and Gabriel. Overall, backstory or the fantasy elements in my opinion, was hard to understand in my head reading it but it picks up a bit as the story progress.

This book is told in third person and follows Lore who has necromancy powers, Gabe who is assigned to escort her around court, and Bastian, prince and heir to the king who holds her fate in his hands. There were things I really enjoyed about this story and parts that I did not. I thought the concept of the fantasy world was fantastic. I enjoyed the theories and backstory about mortem and spiritum and how they came into existence and were used by various powers throughout their kingdom’s history.

However, a great deal of the book was spent strategizing and talking and this made the story seem slow and uneventful. Add in the court and political intrigue where everyone is all talk and I felt like I was sitting still for most of the book with very little forward momentum until the climax when everything happened all at once.

I really enjoyed the background on all three main characters. I was not a fan of Gabe’s knee-jerk defensiveness or petty jealousies. I sometimes enjoy love triangles when they are written well and the characters play off each other, but I felt like there was an immaturity in their words and actions here that led to frustration rather than enjoyment of the interplay.

Recommended to fantasy fans that enjoy political intrigue and court settings.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

Whitten's writing and storytelling has improved so much from her first duology, which is saying a lot because it was fantastic. But this was EVERYTHING. This was the perfect fantasy romance, the perfect series starter. I cannot wait for the next installment. I will be sharing this with everyone!

I was excited about this new series by Whitten and was looking forward to enjoying this book. However, I felt the world-building needed more work. It felt a little all over the place and lacking in description. I enjoy reading fantasy books, and I was struggling in the first quarter of the book to imagine this new world. I did enjoy the dark vibes and the morally grey characters. The ending left me with enough questions to consider reading the sequel.

As always, Hannah delivers. The Foxglove King is full of fantasy, twists, turns and incredibly talented characters. Step into the city of Dellaire and find out exactly what happens when you mess with natural selection (and the crown).

I loved this book and I'm desperate for book 2. The world building and characters captured my interest from the start..

(3.5 rounded up to a 4)

The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten is a fantasy romance featuring religion and court politics and the first installment in The Nightshade Crown series.

Lore escaped a cult hiding in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire when she was thirteen. Now twenty-three, she works as a spy for a poison-runner as her death magic (Mortem) ties her to the city. When one of her jobs goes wrong she is taken prisoner by the only people sanctioned to use Mortem--a group of warrior-monks. Expecting to be killed for her magic, she is instead conscripted by the king to find out the mystery behind random entire cities dying overnight.

This book is tagged as YA, but it's more New Adult. The first 30% is mostly vibes and some info dumps, and though the worldbuilding isn't very deep it seemed cool so I was interested. And then I accidentally stayed up until 5 am reading the last 70% of the book.

There's casual queerness here that I quite liked. Our main character was raised by a lesbian couple, many characters appear to be sexually fluid, and one of the gods in the pantheon is nonbinary and is referenced with they/them pronouns.

I particularly enjoyed the magic system here that seems to be the duality between Mortem, death magic, and Spiritum, life magic.

The descriptions we got about the pantheon of gods was interesting as well. I grew up Lutheran, but I've heard some complaints from folks who are Catholic noting that Whitten's religion here is very stereotypical.

The love triangle didn't fully land for me, and there feels like a bit of a "fated mates" scenario happening here which is always weird to me unless I'm reading about shifters.

There is a scene with animal death, and though that is one of my biggest triggers, I understand why it was written into the story and it wasn't ham-fisted or done for no reason.

All in all, I do plan to read the next book in the series.

CW: gore, violence, cults, death of a child (off-page, the body is on-page), parental abuse (emotional, physical), religious abuse, animal death, brief mentions of vomit

3✰ // as a huge fan of the Wilderwood series i went into The Foxglove King with extremely high expectations. I think, in part, the expectations that i had for the book may have been the reason i found myself coming away from this book somewhat disappointed. I know that i am in contrast to the majority opinion here, but i simply did not enjoy this book as much as i had been expecting to. There was so much potential in this story but, unfortunately, i don't believe it was fleshed out fully to be able to achieve all that it could have. also, as someone who cannot stand a love triangle, i think that aspect of the storyline made it even harder for me to fully enjoy this eARC. there were so many aspects of this story that could have been so interesting and more deeply explored but, unfortunately, i found myself struggling through the book and was not able to get invested in the story overall.

thank you so much to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not sure my favorite part about this book. I've been waiting on this one since I finished Hannah's other books. I absolutely love her style of writing.
The Foxglove King follows Lore in a time where magic exists in the forms of death and life magic. Lore is a poison runner who transports belladonna poison for her mothers. Due to unforeseen circumstances, she is arrested by the court. Upon her arrest, she is given a job, along with a very handsome monk. Her task is to become friends with the prince, who is also not too bad looking. I loved this book and I wish I could have read it for the first time multiple times. Not many people are able to write a love triangle I feel Hannah has graced us with the start of something beautiful. This story had an air of mystery that is solved at the end only to begin a different one. I love that and I cannot wait for book two. Buy this and if you enjoyed Hannah's other books, you will not regret it.

Thank you Orbit Books and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions above are my own.

This book definitely didn't disappoint! I really enjoyed For The Wolf and For the Throne, and the synopsis of this book was super intriguing. This book was atmospheric and I loved the fantasy, romance and court politics. It felt very unique as well! I'd highly recommend this book for fans of Whitten and fantasy romance.

I loved the gothic, atmospheric world building to this new dark fantasy duology by Hannah Whitten. The book had a bit of a slow start but builds as the story progresses and leaves you excited for the sequel.

I don't know if its me or if its Hannah Whitten but I loved her debut. Nothing has hit the same mark since. Why Ms Whitten?
The Foxglove King has a cool system of magic but I just couldn't invest in the main character and her ridiculously named counterparts.

A different kind of magic. Interesting plot although it dragged a bit for me. Overall a good read.I will be picking up the next on in this series to see what happens next!

Opulent and dark, The Foxglove King offers up a tale thats evocative and addicting.

For the past ten years, Lore has been hiding from the cult she was raised by. She runs poison for profit and tries at all cost to hide her death magic, Mortom. When a job goes awry and the extend of her magic is reviled, Lore expects to lose everything she has worked form including her life. The sainted King has other plans for her magic...one's that thrust Lore into a world of political intrigue,opalescence, and danger.

Whitten has created a world that is lush and atmospheric. Not all the characters are likable but they are all intriguing and layered. I find few things more chilling than religions extremism and this is a plot point that runs throughout the story. I also enjoy a familiar troupe presented in a non cringe way and I think that was achieved here with the Love triangle. The pacing started slow but at the midpoint it was impossible to set down, I think partially because of that slower start that really gave us the time to understand the world and characters. I am certainly excited for the next one!!

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for an advanced copy!

I love Hannah Whitten and will read anything she writes, but this book was very much a first in the series book, and I wanted a lot more. More world building, more romance, more character development...just more.

The world building was hard to follow, and she dropped pieces throughout the story. There's a society who was founded with two gods (essentially light and dark), and one ascends to the throne, while the other is relegated to the catacombs. I'm hoping the later books in this series dives more into that as I feel like it could add rich depth to the current story line. This is all set against the backdrop of a Catholic Church like religious order that had VIBES.

There's a love triangle, that is decidedly boring. Not much goes on in this one. The Sun King (a bi prince), Lore, and Gabe, a one-eyed monk. The author repeatedly mentions the past with The Sun King and Gabe, but we don't get any details. It was hard to feel invested in this love triangle because of the lack of backstory or character development.

Lore, the main character, was raised in a cult but actually not a cult? Just a fallen order of the supporters of the Night Witch? Her story feels rushed to get to the main plot of the book where she's thrust into court for being able to channel Mortem (death magic).

Basically, this book was all vibes, and I'm really hoping books 2 and 3 flesh a lot of this out because I felt thrust in a lot of different directions, but didn't feel like I was "in" the book, nor understood much of it. I felt like I was a side character following along loosely but very unsure of what was actually happening.

3.5 stars at this time. There's potential that a few books need to go fo for me to really be sold on this story.

Wow. Just, wow. I am not even sure where to begin. This book blew me away on so many levels. Now all my mind can think about is this story and these characters, and I am desperate for more. The Foxglove King is a gothic, frightening, heart-wrenching, romantic masterpiece in a world where recent releases have felt rather dull. It's been a while since I felt captivated by a new book that isn't already loved by thousands. I think this series will definitely end up making it big and I dearly hope it does because this book is incredible (hopefully the series stays good). The main factor that makes me love this book is its characters. Lore, Gabriel, Bastian. They are well-written, with complex backstories and excellent character development. I never thought I'd love a book about a necromancer. I wholly fell in love with each character, each one has my heart. The romance is AHHHHHH. It's there, it's blooming and developing, and I can tell that it will be continuing to burn slowly throughout the series. It's so painful but it hurts so good. The tension just rises like crazy in a way I've almost never seen before. The plot keeps you sucked in, with twists and turns everywhere. Betrayals are imminent. I am stunned that this read was as good as it was. I want book 2 right now. I don't want to wait, especially with how this one ended. How am I to return to normal life after reading this?! Alas, I will wait.

This was such a good fantasy novel. I loved that the main character Lore was a Necromancer. I think death magic is one of the coolest realms of magic and not a lot of books have a main character that uses it and isn’t a villain. Lore has such an interesting backstory and I thought the history of the world that Lore lived in was well fleshed out and tied in seamlessly to the story. The other two main characters of this book are Gabriel, the death monk, and Bastien the Prince. Both men are sexy and interesting in different ways and both could be a match for Lore and I think the love triangle part of the novel was well done without taking over the story. I could talk more about this book but I don’t want to give anything away. I thought this book was great, I was invested in the entire story and can’t wait to see where Lore’s story takes her! Thank you netgalley and Orbit for a copy of this book! It is out now and I highly suggest everyone read it!