3.75 stars
The book description gave us hints of cults, death magic and nefarious royalty. From the beginning we are only seeing Lore as a woman living in the underbelly of society. This does quickly change however.
After the initial chapter or maybe two we see a different side to life in this world. As well as more of the magic and lore coming into play.

Overall the pacing of the book did leave a lot to be desired. There would be scenes of action that would move quickly or somehow drag out the quick events. There were several times where simple things would take a long time. While others were we would see time jumps to make the story move along.

The main character of this novel is Lore. She was born with the ability to use Mortem. It is a death magic which can be used in a rather lot of fashions, such as reanimations or life extensions. To help Lore in her quest is Gabriel, a monk of the religion to the god of Light and Life. He is tasked with making sure Lore stays in line as well as helping her blend in with the Sainted Kings court. Bastion is the Sun Prince who is either going to help or destroy Lore's chances at gaining her freedom. Some people have said that there was a love triangle thing happening but I don't feel it. Lore was only ever interested for real in one of them. Did she appreciate how hot they both were sure but only feelings caught for the one. Lucky enough that the guy is the same one that cares for her. The other is kind of whatever, he wouldn't mind getting with Lore but that is all.

Lore has been living her life in hiding for the past ten years. Unfortunately she is caught using her powers to help save another thief. This leads to the High Priest forcing Lore into being a spy for the King. As Lore infiltrates the court dark tidings are happening in other parts of the kingdom. The search for truth will lead our trio to secrets long hidden from the world and each other. How is it that Lore can feel such a connection to both men like she has known them before? Why is Lore's magic getting stronger as Midsummer approaches?

The ending of this book did bring some story line payoff. There were parts early on that seemed to leading to a big reveal. I was thinking more would come but two points ended up being shown as accurate. I do hope that in the sequel there will be more explained about the mythos of the past. This I feel like must be needed to lead forward with the vessel's being called forth. We know that two characters are for sure but how much more of the world is also experiencing similar effects of the other gods? I love the history building for this story. More of the magic aspects would be good in the follow up as well.

The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten

Hannah has woven a hauntingly beautiful world full of rich atmosphere & lush prose. The memorable characters you instantly connect with will have you flipping page after page, craving more until the very end!

Lore, Gabe, & Bastian are well written, beautifully layered, & I just adore the balance of their personalities.

Magic from death, forbidden romance, & tension that is unputdownable!
My only complaint is how long I have to wait for the next book!

Thank you Netgalley for this arc!

Thanks to NetGalley for an eARC of this book. I have read her books For the Wolf and For the Throne. This book is just as excellent as those two books. Although this is a different series, I think this series is going to be just as impressive. This first book is a solid start to this new series. Ms. Whitten does a beautiful job at world-building.
Lore is a poison runner for Mari and Val and their adoptive daughter. She is also a spy. They all live in Dellaire, a large city and part of the country Auverraine. The King of Auverraine, Sanited King August Arceneaux, and his twin brother Priest Exalted Anton, leader of the Church and Presque Mort, have been watching her for years. They know her secrets, and they want to use her to spy on King August's son, Bastian, the Sun Prince. The King and Priest Exalted use her adoptive mother, Val, to set her up to reveal her power and use that to remove her from her life and bring her to the Citadel, where they can force her to spy on Bastian. August says that he thinks Bastian is a spy for Kirythea, a neighboring country, and he is trying to help start a war. Anton arranges for Gabriel, who has been one of the Presque Mort (a group of monks) for several years but is also a duke, to return to the court to provide Lore with a cover for her to get close to Bastian. However, Bastian is more aware than his father gives him credit for and knows that Lore is supposed to be spying on him.
Furthermore, he is aware of Lore's special powers. In addition, Bastian knows some of his father's real motives behind having Lore spy on him. He, Gabe, and Lore decide to work together to figure out what the King is up to, why all the people in certain villages are dying mysteriously, and what this has to do with the fallen god, Appollius, and the buried goddess, Nyxara. As time passes and Lore uses her power more and more and gets closer to her 24th birthday, her abilities start to grow. On a person's 24th birthday, a Consecration occurs; hers is the same day as the total eclipse. The alignment of these events will cause her powers to reach their peak.
Will this be a good thing, or will she be killed for what she can do with her powers? What will happen when Lore's 24th birthday arrives? Can Bastian, Lore, and Gabe figure out what August and Anton are really up to and the reason behind all the dead people from the villages? This book had several twists and turns, especially at the end. While some questions are answered, there is more to the story, as this is book one in the series.

ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher Orbit in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Hannah Whitten novel. I very much enjoyed the journey. Orbit is really hitting its mark with its new releases in 2023! It is a fun read and has an interesting magic system of Spirtum and Mortem, life and death magic.

The novel tells the story of Lore, a poison runner, and user of Mortem, death magic, a magic that she doesn't want to use, but a magic always wanting to be embraced and released. Lore is scrappy and uses her skills to get by on her own. She is a survivor, living within moderate means in the city of Dellaire. Then one day on a job, she uses her death magic and is caught, knowing that using this magic is likely a death sentence. But instead of death, her life is changed forever as she becomes embroiled in political intrigue as a royal spy for the King, where she doesn't know who she can trust or tell her secrets to.

This is a fun read. I see that this author by other readers of her works has been criticized for not being a good writer. What is good writing is subjective to taste, but she told a good story. The author should be commended for being a good storyteller. The pacing was good to where it never meandered for me. Also, the novel kept me reading to the end of it to see how it would end. As I get older, I just want to be entertained and this book does that well.

It does use some familiar tropes in fantasy like a lover's triangle and court life- a masquerade party and playing croquet, which I could have done without. Also, the romance as Lore pines in the novel at times over her love interests was not realistic. It was too reminiscent of a young adult novel. This was the main reason I couldn't give it five stars. But those that like this type of romance, will certainly devour this book. As an older reader, the romance between Lore and her love interests didn't work for me.

Overall, this was a fun read. Without giving spoilers the use of the magic systems of life and death were entertaining. If you like some creepiness in your fantasy novels, then this novel is for you. And most importantly with a good story, after the novel is finished, I want to know what is going to happen next. I cannot wait for the next novel in the series.

Do you like books with love triangles? I can't get enough of them. Upcoming YA fantasy The Foxglove King has one between a deathwitch, a prince, and a monk, and it's as amazing as it sounds. If you liked Throne of Glass, you will absolutely love this book.

Organized religion plays a large part in this story. I love well-thought-out religion in fantasy. Its influence on politics and the characters can be so deeply enriching when done well, as it is here.

One thing I didn't love is that character Lore is quite snarky, and I find the sardonic female lead a bit overdone lately. I've seen that character before. She evolves throughout the book though, especially as she gets closer to others and allows herself to be vulnerable. Gabriel, on the other hand, is fascinating as a noble-turned-monk reluctantly teaming up with her. His struggles with faith and duty versus desire are really interesting to read about.

I had a blast reading it, devoured it, and can't wait to read the rest of this series.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I received a free advanced digital copy for review via NetGalley. These are my unbiased thoughts. Thank you Orbit Books for the opportunity to read it!

Release date: March 7, 2023

I felt the author did a great job at the world building, but I just had a hard time getting into the mortem plot.

There was a lot of chemistry between the characters yet no romance. Fantasy romance books are my favorite so that felt disappointing.

I'm writing this review a couple days later and I have not stopped thinking about these characters!!! Say what you will about HW's world building, her characters truly stick with you.
For context, I enjoyed For the Wolf (4 stars), but not enough to continue with For the Throne. As many others have already said, the world building felt like even HW herself wasn't sure was happening. (and i didn't really care for the sister tbh)
Nonetheless, I would highly recommend The Foxglove King to those that did AND those that did not enjoy FTW!!! You truly notice the growth in HW's writing and the world building was exponentially better here. All that was loved in FTW is here and the parts that lacked were left behind.
I also feel I must add that no matter how different HW's books are, you can tell they're written by her. I can't really explain it but both books i've read of hers have left me feeling the same way. I cant wait to see what else writes!!
Side Note: Some other reviews have hinted at a love triangle but want it noted that have been rooting for a poly relationship since I first saw the fanart

Typically it takes me a bit to warm up and get into fantasy books, but The Foxglove King had me in a chokehold from the first chapter. There is something about the way Hannah writes character dynamics that is so compelling. I am obsessed with the trio in the book and I need the next book in my hands right now. This book would appeal to people who love YA fantasy and want to make the jump into adult fantasy. Highly readable.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for giving me a copy of this book for review.

I am so torn on this book... Quickly glancing at the average rating and top couple reviews, I feel as though I read a different book than everyone else, and that's super disappointing. This was another one of my most anticipated books of 2023, and I wanted to make sure that I got around to picking up the ARC before I potentially received a special edition of this book.

Let me start off by saying that I enjoyed the author's writing well enough. I haven't read her other books, but I do have the For the Wolf duology sitting on my shelf and I definitely want to get around to that series sooner rather than later. I think that the IDEA behind this story, and hopefully what it grows into in the next book, is definitely promising.

I took a couple notes while I was reading on my thoughts, and let me just get into those now:

-The beginning really just throws you in. I would say for the first three chapters, I had basically no idea what was going on. You just start right in on the story- a twenty-three year old woman with the ability to raise the dead. There is little background, no world building, and no time to get to know this character. It just starts off as if you should know these things and it seriously impacted my overall enjoyment of the first few chapters and honestly left me wanting to DNF. I will say that by the third chapter or so, there was a bit more explaining, but things are never really established to the extent that I personally wish they were.

-Even upon finishing the book, I'm confused. Is there a magic system? We are told that people have powers, but at forty percent in, the only magic is Lore's ability alone to raise the dead. ***OKAY SOME POTENTIAL SPOILERS HERE. Sure, we find that other people can summon Mortem which does imply more magic, but how am I done with the book and I still don't understand how this power works. ALSO, six gods implies six powers, but I feel like I should have known more about this before I was ninety-six percent into the book. Do I really get two gods per book? Because I feel like, at that rate, will this ever become a fully fleshed out and cohesive magic system? END OF SPOILERS****** The Mortem, the stones, the ingesting of poison flowers for added years of life... Nothing is explained well enough to make it make sense.

-If one of Lore's adopted mother's was going to turn on her, and if the king had been aware of her existence since she was thirteen years old, wouldn't it stand to reason that he take her earlier rather than later and made her his ward like some Robin Hobb shit so he could have shaped her into the magic wielder he wanted her to become and establish her loyalty at an early age? He gained nothing by allowing her to grow up poor and taking her later, especially if her power grows with age or proximity.

-I feel like we went A LOT of places with Lore in this book, but how come I felt like the world-building was nonexistent? We know that lands are getting ready to go to war, but for what? The stakes seem so low and nothing seems to be established enough to make it seem like there is any danger of an invading threat. Even the slums don't stand out because nothing is visited enough with enough detail to differentiate the locations in my mind in the long term.

-There's a love triangle. No need to say anything else. It's awful. I hate it.

-To me, this leans more on the young or new adult side than adult. The romance is there but it's not detailed. Nothing is overly descriptive or gruesome. I think that I may have enjoyed this more a few years ago than I did as the reader I am now. For what it's worth, I am interested in book two, and I will definitely pick it up when it comes out. I am glad that other people have been able to enjoy this more than I did.

Alright, I’m emotionally attached to our characters, Lore, Gabe, and Bastian and I want more!

Loved the unique magical system tied with some political intrigue and court life. I felt like I could jump in with minimal confusion and could easily keep the characters and their roles straight.

I can’t wait to see what happens in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I did not expect much from this book. Just a little brain candy distraction. I grew up on Star Wars and Piers Anthony, so I know how to weather bad plot turns, weak or annoying characters, and disappointing endings in order to get a bit of a fantasy fix.

Ten percent of the way through, I evaluated. I really was intrigued by the protagonist. The world building was seamless, and masterful. It was a world quite different from our own, but I could taste, smell and envision the scenes. The plot was interesting. I definitely wanted to know what happened next.

Above all, the novel was infused with uniqueness, which as a 50-year-old bibliophile is striking. I did not pick up influences or find similarities to other works.

As I progressed, I found myself longing to slip back into that world during my busy day. At 50% I realized I had a problem. I did not want this book to end. I was in love – with the characters, the setting, the scenarios. “This ending is going to be awful”, I thought, “The author cannot keep this quality of writing all the way through.”
But the ending was fantastic. As I closed the book, I found myself feeling overeager for the next installment. Then I realized to my horror that I had read an advanced copy, and this book had not even been released yet. How can I possibly wait?

Hannah Whitten is now one of my favorite authors, and I am eagerly turning to her previous books. I predict she will be a force in fantasy literature for years to come.

A fantastic start to a new series by Hannah Whitten (I’ll confess that although I enjoyed For the Wolf, I never got around to reading the sequel, but that definitely won’t be the case here). Necromancy, dead gods, a maybe love triangle (that should just be a throuple, really), and political intrigue combine in a delightful fantasy court.

The Foxglove King entangled me in its plot from the very first page and left me wanting the sequel immediately. From the characters to the setting to the story itself, everything about this book was twisted together in such an artful way, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

I loved literally everything about this book. The characters, the setting, the magic, the court intrigue, the religious trauma, all of it. This book feels like it was made for me, and I couldn’t stop reading it.

I love Lore, our main character, and Bastian and Gabe as well. Their relationships with each other felt so authentic, and I’m looking forward to seeing them develop even more in the next book.

I’m officially obsessed. The sequel can’t come soon enough.

I struggled immensely with this book in the sense that I couldn’t get into it. I think for me, it’s just that nothing stands out that makes me want to rave about it. I have not read any of this author’s previous works to compare writing, but I know that I will not be continuing on with this series.

Given that it is less than a four star rating, I will not be featuring this book on my Instagram account

I received this book as an arc from the publisher for an honest review. I've started reading fantasy relatively recently, and this book had a great plot and world building without spending hours trying to explain it all in one go. Learning about and understanding the world was easy for me. The characters are well enough, though I didn’t really connect with any of them. Luckily I'm plot driven as well as character driven and learning about the war and mortem kept me going.

Sadly, I just don't think Hannah Whitten is for me! I know so many readers love her style and worldbuilding but after dnfing For the Thone and now this, I don't think it's going to work.

I find the world building and magic system too vague for my liking.

5/10 (2.5 stars)

This book took me forever to get into. I went into this expecting to love it, considering For the Wolf is one of my favorite books from last year. This one just felt like a lot of exposition and not a lot of anything else (until the very end). The stuff that was happening relied on some tropes I really don't like, and that made it even harder to push through. That said, I see a lot of potential for the other books in this series and I might pick them up. I think book 2 will make or break this series for me, because this one wasn't it.

I received this book from Netgalley and Orbit in exchange for an honest review.

I think I may have found my next fantasy obsession. The world Whitten has built is absolutely fascinating: I found myself highlighting and drinking in all of the information about their magic and religion system. If you are finding yourself confused, make sure to read the quotes from the religious tracts before each chapter.

Lore, Bastian, and Gabe all have different driving motives, but they come together to try to understand the mysterious mass deaths occurring in the villages. Caught in between warring forces, they have to fight for their lives and the survival of the kingdom.

5/5 stars

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Pros:
Beautiful Cover
Death Magic
Court Intrigue

Cons:
Poor World building
Flat Characters
Annoying MC
Plot was not cohesive
Adult book that reads YOUNG YA ( besides swearing)

I really really wanted to like this book. The Premise sounded good, the cover is beautiful, however the book reads very young with a FMC who is written as a 24 year old but acts like she is 13. It felt like the Characters are all over the place and didn't really have a purpose.

The world was not fleshed out and fell into the "Telling not Showing" and added extra flowery descriptions that didn't add texture or depth to the world. I think this was supposed to have a love triangle, but Gabe/Bastian/Lore was very dry.

Maybe i'm just too old for this YAish Adult book?
2/5 stars

I just recently finished an incredible fantasy book that I cannot stop thinking about.
This book is an adult fantasy that features death magic and necromancy. Religion and royal intrigue. Mystery and romance. And overall just a really beautiful and dark intriguing book. It is The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten.
We follow our main character Lore. And Lore was found as a young child outside of the catacombs and she doesn't remember her life before the day she was found. She is taken in by her 2 adoptive mothers who introduce her to their world of poison running.
One day one of these runs goes wrong and in an attempt to evade capture by the royal guards Lore uses her death magic which she has always kept hidden, but fails to escape. She is then taken by the royal guards and the church to the palace where the King and High priest explain to her that entire neighboring villages around their city are dying and seemingly from nothing they believe one of the neighboring kingdoms is behind it along with the Kings son, the Prince. So they recruit.. blackmail her.. into getting close to the prince and befriending him in hopes of finding out what is killing off the villages, is the prince behind it and hopefully putting a stop to a potential war.
We have Poison and fallen gods and a love triangle. And death. And it was a really cool and interesting read unlike anything I've read before. I foresee this becoming a big booktok/social media sensation. I personally gave this 4 stars. Highly recommend checking it out. Comes out March 7.