I enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to read more in the series! This book, and Whitten's other books, are great because they read like adult versions of YA books. I know that sounds weird, but hear me out -- the world building is unique but manageable, there are strong female main characters, and the story is realistic and intricate without being overly burdened by its own sense of importance.

My only complaint would be that the initial challenges Lore faced were overcome super quickly. Captured by the Presque Morte? No sweat, they have a cushy job for you. You need to get close to the prince to spy on him? No problem, he thinks your cool and seeks you out anyway!

This was an interesting read there was a lot of action that kept me wanting to read. There were also a lot of things that I didn’t anticipate.

It did seem slightly repetitive in the beginning, but once Lore gets out of her pity party for 1 it gets better. I also wish there was more world building.

The characters are well developed and have great backstories. While it sounds like there are more books to come, this one ends in a way that you aren’t left hanging.

I can’t wait to read more.

One of the best books of the year so far! This was so much fun, I’m already desperate for book two. Fantasy romance girlies, rejoice: a well-written, darkly magical, tension-filled story!

On the verge of her 24th birthday, Lore’s life completely changes. Living as a spy for a smuggling ring has its risks, but Lore has a dark secret that would spell her execution if uncovered: she can wield Mortem, the death magic that permeates the world around her. (The only group sanctioned to use this magic is the Presque Mort, a sect of warrior-monks who serve the Church — all others with the ability to channel this magic were eradicated long ago.) When a job goes sideways and Lore exposes herself in a last ditch effort to escape, she is captured by the Church and blackmailed into infiltrating the Crown.

Throughout the story, Lore continues to uncover pieces of a larger mystery, never completely sure who to trust. And all the while, she feels a strangely familiar connection to two men: Gabriel Remaut, her devout and handsome-yet-tortured Presque Mort guardian, as well as the flirtatious crown prince himself, Bastian Arceneaux (who reminds me a bit of Cardan Greenbriar if Cardan had been less of a simp). Oh, the tension between Lore and these two! Top tier.

Now, I can’t tell you that this book was perfect in every way. There were a few times I felt like I was tiptoeing around a plot hole or two, but honestly, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story. The premise genuinely feels fresh, the characters and their interactions are engaging (three cheers for a FMC approaching her mid-twenties!), and the writing itself was solid — even beautiful, at times. That’s really all I look for in this genre!

Is there a cliffhanger? Yes, inasmuch as the series is unfinished, but not one that will kill you. I’m excited to see how the pieces will continue to move around the chess board in book 2, and I’m hoping for some emotional payoff for Lore soon… girlfriend has been through a lot at this point. Plenty to look forward to, though, as the story progresses, and I’m totally here for it!

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for this DRC!

This is kind of bouncing back and forth between a 3.5 and a 4 star for me so I’m giving the 4 but I’m probably leaning closer to the 3.5. It has undeniably beautiful writing. Hannah Whitten has that beautiful, lyrical kind of writing and descriptions that really help put me in the story and make it feel so real. The world was incredibly detailed with a large history and detailed power system. Our main character, Lore, was fun and her powers just awesome to read about (I imagine the character art will be stunning). The other main players of the book were all compelling to read about and I became very interested to know everyone’s secrets (which characters full of secrets are a favorite of mine). But there was just something about this book that didn’t fully click with me. I think the pacing could have used some help. The beginning was slow and bogged down with info dumps, in my opinion. Even having been warned that was the case, I still spent too much of this book feeling like I wasn’t sure I cared. Like I said, the world is very detailed, I just wish we didn’t get a lot of that detail in chunky paragraphs within the first 10% of the book. But I’ll admit that around the second half of the book it picked up and I became far more intrigued to see what happened next. I certainly recommend it, especially if you were a fan of Serpent & Dove, because this defitniley had a similar vibe.

Thank you to Net Galley and Orbit for the e-arc of this book!

Thank you so much to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest thoughts!

I really enjoyed Whitten’s other books and The Foxglove King was no exception. This book was so very unique and set in a world full of intrigue, secrets, royalty, and more.

Lore, a poison- runner, has the ability to raise the dead and has hidden this secret since she escaped the underground cult where she was raised. Tossed into the Sainted King’s court, she is blackmailed into using her gifts, as well as spy on the heir to the throne.

Guarded by duke-turned-monk, Gabriel, she further entangles herself into the web of secrets within the court, all while continually running into heir, Bastian.

Lore is a character to root for as she finds her way in this new world and tries to untangle the web of secrets and lies within the court.

Snag this book!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A quick summary. Lore, who is just trying to survive, ends up in trouble by using some magic that deals with death and is given the option to help the King find out who is killing people in his country or she can die. With the help of a monk, Gabe, who was once a Duke, she ends up spying on the Kings son, Baistan. When things aren't as she thought, she has to figure out who really is behind the killings.

Lore is brave, sarcastic, and definitely doesn't hold back on her thoughts. She's a little selfish, but she seems to still have a good heart. Gabe intrigues me. He's quiet, says less than you want, and has me screaming at times. Baistan is your bad boy prince with the smirks and his flirting. I am not a fan of love triangles, but this doesn't scream usual love triangle to me. I, personally, feel a stronger connection about one of the guys, but this is one of those stories where I feel that they both should have her. Why choose? Lol.

Now the writing was enough to keep me entertained and wanting to read more, so that's a plus. But there could have been more world building and character development. And the plot starts to just unwind and then picks back up near the end, where it's left with a cliffhanger. My rating is such because I want to read more, to get answers and find out what happens to the three, but I just expected more from a first book in a series.

I think the one may end up being one of my favorites for the year. It’s a page turner, Lore is a sympathetic lead. She didn’t ask for her creepy necromancy powers and she doesn’t try to misuse them. But innocent villages are dropping dead an entire village at a time so the not terribly nice powers that be are going to use her. Or, she can decide to be executed or sent to be a mine slave in all but name on a distant island. So being used is the best of her choices. I look forward to book two because it’s a definitely read title for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-copy of this book in exchange for a review. When I first began this book my initial reaction was a bit overwhelmed because you are immediately thrown into a new world, a complex magic system, and a whole bunch of names. It did not take long though for me to make sense of the journey and easily fall head over heels for this novel.

The story follows Lore who can channel "Mortem" as she is forced into new circumstances due to her unique abilities. Despite the fact that this book is not short, it kept a great pace and I never felt bored or like the plot was not moving forward. As somebody who reads a lot of fantasy the magic and world building felt fresh and new and did not disappoint. The FMC is strong and unapologetic which I admire and she never plays the damsel in distress.

As far as romance goes, there seems to be a blossoming love triangle. Usually I would be frustrated with a love triangle, but in this case it makes me even more excited to see how things shake out as the story unfolds because right now it is truly a toss up to me.

I highly recommend this book to any fantasy fan. It is an excellent read.

Overall, this one was okay for me. Sometimes I wasn't feeling it, but sometimes I was all in!
The magic system is pretty cool, and my favorite part of the book. I liked seeing how the mortem was put to use and the things Lore was capable of. I think the next book will be even more fun for reasons I can't say because of spoilers.
There's glittering court life, mystery, a brooding Duke, and a rebel Prince.
All in all, I'll be picking up book two for sure. I have a feeling that's where the juicy stuff will be.


Thank you to Orbit and the author for the arc copy to review!

Dark fantasy reads are not my usual genre but my book friends were raving about this book; the cover was so beautiful that I scrolled past the sypnosis and instantly requested.

Bleeding Gods! A book is so much more interesting when you go into it blind. This book built an atmospheric scenery in my mind as readers are introduced to Lore, a necromancy, who uses the power of mortem to raise animals and humans from the dead.

Although Lore’s powers are never used for the greater good, she’s captured and forced to use them for evil. She must choose between mining her life away at the Burnt Isles or spy on King August’s son, Bastian the Sun Prince, because he believes Bastian is responsible for the deaths of villagers on the outskirts of his realm.

Lore’s life is turned upside down as she tries to figure out the mystery of the deaths, spy on Bastian, and keep her friendship with a handsome Presque Mort, Gabe.

I dreaded the 400+ pages when I first started the book but the storyline instantly pulls you in and never lets go. When the love triangle emerged, I was waiting and hoping for a little romance but it was never fulfilled. Overall, I loved the characters and enjoyed the investigative adventures that led up to the tense ending. I’m hoping that the next book in the series will go more in depth into Lore’s past and also what her future holds.

This story had me throughly frustrated in the characters. No one knows who to trust or if trust is even an issue to worry about, but still secrets are safeguarded. The plot was so interesting from beginning to the twisty ending. I hope that after that ending, there will be a book 2 sometime in the future. I loved the world and the magic system that was in the book and hope if there is a second book we will learn even more about it.

The magic system was unique and the plot kept me reading, but both could have been improved so much with stronger world building and dynamic characters.

Let’s start with what I liked about the start of this series. The magic system surrounding Mortem as this “death shroud” that only people who have died or come close to death can channel is quite compelling. I love how in order to keep it from destroying everything around it, they would channel Mortem living things like plants that then turns them into these stone artworks.

I also found the plotline interesting. It was the main reason I kept reading because I needed to know what role these characters were playing and how everything was being manipulated.

However, like I said, these things could’ve gone from good to great if the world building and characters had been fleshed out more.

The world-building seriously needed some more meat to it. It took me forever to understand how this government and kingdom work (I’m still not totally sure) and I needed more of a backstory in how the world got to its current formation. Since I didn’t have more besides “this god Apollius is the Big God and his wife Nyxara is Bad and Dead and Mortem leaks from her body” I had a hard time understanding what kind of world exactly these characters were roaming around in. We also are given quite a mix of eras; she is drinking coffee in an apartment and then is whisked aways to Court to wear gowns and engage in balls and these two things could make for an interesting marriage, but they aren’t woven together well and I’m left puzzling.

The same issue stands for the characters. I felt like Whitten didn’t totally know who it was she was writing. I don’t know the motivations of any of the characters and they all seemed very one dimensional. I don’t know anything about Lore except where she comes from; does she have any interests at all? She is also painted to be this no nonsense confident woman who is somehow stuck in a love triangle that she doesn’t know what to do about and it feels out of character to me. I also didn’t get any sense of who Bastian is. For the entire book he is this sneaky spy prince who is cheeky and flirtatious and then at the end he is suddenly a ruthless possible tyrant? I don’t see where point A reached point B.

All that to say, I think Whitten has a great start to what could be a great fantasy series. But that’s what it feels like: a start. It definitely needed more thought and depth in order to make it a great book.

Thank you to Net Galley and Orbit Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed The Foxglove King in spite of the amount of political intrigue that was included. It’s evident that it is based on 17th century Europe with the fact the crown and the church play such a large role through the whole book. I really liked the description of the Citadel as well. It was described so that I was able to picture it in my head. I’m not a huge fan of books centred around politics but because this one was also focused heavily on the magic system, I was invested the whole time!

The magic system was one of my favourite parts of this book as it was a very unique concept with the use of Mortem and Spiritum. Lore’s necromancy ability was so fascinating and I really liked the different things she was able to do with her powers. The concept of the poison runners was a fun addition to the story as well. I liked that they played a bigger role in the plot even after Lore ends up in the Citadel away from her family.

I really liked the relationship between Lore, Gabe, Bastian. There’s a bit of a love triangle situation going on, but at the same time there isn’t that much romance through the story. I’m not usually a fan of love triangles, unless they’re down well, and this one was done well in my opinion! And the slow burn! There was so much much tension between the different characters and it was fantastic!

Overall this book was very easy to read and very hard to put down. I’m super excited to read the next instalment in this new series from Hannah Whitten!

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘹𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 follows Lore who's born with the ability to bring the dead back to life. Shouldered with magic that leads to execution, Lore is much too familiar with a world that runs deep in survival, betrayal and hurt. But when things go awry, her life depends on helping the court find out why entire settlements are perishing along with why her heart beating for two men feels fated.

- ~ -

Believe it or not, despite how enticing the plot sounds the execution did not hit.

It started out okay but immediately I had an issue with the writing style.
If I'm reading fantasy I expect epic world building and thrilling descriptions not a limbo between historical and urban fantasy. Like those are two contradicting genres? What? Why is this happening?
The story is supposedly inspired from Louis XVI Versailles era but could pass off as a history 'themed' costume party for college. I need some identity to the story like use language from that era, draw more connections, describe briefly the surroundings to make the reader be emmersed in that time period!

Secondly, the romance I didn't much care for. No, that's not true, I cared for it but in the negative.

I despise love triangles unless there's an obvious right or wrong answer then I find it tolerable but to have two equally nice but bland characters where I don't care about the ultimate ship is just exhausting and sad because in the end I'm naturally going to sympathize with the one who had their heart broken.

Gabriel and Bastian as I mentioned are nice but bland characters and at this point in the story I don't care who Lore ends up with but I'm hoping it changes as the story progresses.

Inspite of everything I'm willing to give the story another chance and will join to read the second book.

- ~ -

3.84 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘖𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

The first in a new fantasy series from Whitten with high fantasy and forbidden romance promises to be a lush and enticing read.

I was initially intrigued by the summary of this and someone who sometimes struggles with getting into fantasy stories I had high hopes for this one. And in some aspects I did enjoy it. I loved the creepy and atmospheric vibes and enjoyed the well thought out magic system.
I wasn't the biggest fan of the love triangle, but that is a personal preference. All in all a solid start to the new series and can't wait to see what comes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the eARC!

I was so intrigued by the synopsis, I knew I had to read this book or I was going to be missing out on a great story. I was right, this story is amazing and so incredibly unique. The world-building and magic system was one of a kind and had me hooked from the very first page. I'm truly amazed by the magic system, it felt very thought out and executed perfectly. As the story progressed I fell in love with the characters which was so risky because I had no idea who I could trust. The plot is filled with political intrigue, religious trauma, and espionage. I never felt like there was a dull moment. I cannot wait for the next book!

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a unique fantasy full of mystery.

This was a great fantasy book with a fascinating magic system! In Dellaire, those who escape near-death experiences gain the ability to use Mortem, magic born from death. Those who use Mortem join the Presque Mort, a group of monks that work for the King and are lead by the King's brother, the highest-level priest. Other people in Dellaire consume poison to get close to death, and paradoxically extend their lives. Lore works as a poison runner and a spy, hiding that she has the ability to use Mortem, but when a run goes wrong and her power is revealed the Presque Mort take her to the High Priest and the King, who offer her two options: be hanged, or use her skills to spy on Price Bastian, the King's own son. The King fears that Prince Bastian has been helping their enemies to wipe out entire villages overnight and wants her to get close to him to gain information.

Lore moves into the Court with Gabriel, one of the Presque Mort who is also a duke, under the guise of being his cousin. However the more time that Lore and Gabriel spend in court and the closer they get to Bastian, the more the story the King and High Priest told her isn't adding up. Lore resolves to find out what is truly killing the villages and who is really telling the truth, wading through the shifting alliances and secrets that everyone seems to be hiding.

Review: The twists and turns in this book were totally engrossing and kept me on the edge of my seat! I felt like the magic system wasn't too overly complicated, which I appreciated. Lore is caught in the middle of a collision between politics and religion and doesn't know who to trust. She sees herself as a bad person because of being able to use Mortem and some of the mistakes she has made with this power. She wants to do the right thing but is often being used by others for their own gain, and ends up having to choose herself over anyone else. I love a flawed protagonist and she was just the right amount of flawed!

While there are a bit of "love triangle" vibes between Lore, Gabriel, and Bastian, the romance in this is pretty minimal. I really love Bastian's character, he really treads the fine line between being cocky and serious, and he's super entertaining.

I enjoyed all of the surprising reveals as Lore works through the court and figures out everyone's motives and truths. I can't wait to see where the story leads next! Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Foxglove King confirmed why Hannah Whitten is an auto-buy author for me. Thank you so much to Orbit Books for the ARC and finished copy!

The first in a new gothic fantasy series, The Foxglove King centers on a young necromancer with a mysterious past who gets embroiled in theocratic politics and caught between a prince and a warrior-monk - both of whom she feels inexplicably drawn to in different ways.

Though not a fantasy romance, there is a love triangle romantic subplot that'll have you struggling to be Team Bastian or Team Gabe. It's truly so hard to choose. Still the lifeblood, er deathblood?, of The Foxglove King is Lore - a soon-to-be 24-year-old poison runner with a secret ability to channel Mortem, a.k.a. death magic. When she's forced to work with the two men, and spy on the Sun Prince Bastian, Lore uncovers dark secrets about herself and has everything she's known about her world and religion upended.

The Foxglove King is packed with beloved tropes, from "only one bed" and "who did this to you" to a rakish prince and grumpy-sunshine. And as a Reylo, Whitten also includes subtle and blatant nods to the Star Wars Force dyad.

Overall, The Foxglove King features a lush, gods-anchored magical world that I did not want to put down. It may be dark and dangerous, but I cannot wait to see what the death witch and the Sainted King do next.

I thought the world and magic system were really unique and, overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a very slow start for me and I really got into it about 40% of the way through. It took a while for the main characters to be forced together, but once they were I was really into it for a bit. I enjoyed the court intrigue aspects as well as the hints at a love triangle and the darker/creepy nature of this fantasy. However, the pacing slowed back down towards the second half of the middle/end. My understanding of the world didn't really grow from the middle to the end. I thought I was starting to understand the world, but then by the end I really didn't have the clear understanding that I wanted. I also felt like it dragged until the ending and then it was over too soon without the explanation I needed. Accordingly, I didn't really feel the stakes so when all the big reveals and ah-ha moments started happening I didn't have the emotional response that I should have had. I am excited to pick up the second book and see where the story goes.

This book started off strong for me, Lore is such an interesting character but I'm not sure what it was but this world and the court politics/intrigue just weren't doing anything for me. I found myself struggling to get invested in the overall story. I've loved Hannah's other books and was really looking forward to this one but I ultimately ended up DNF'ing at 40%. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!