Premise

A necromancer who can channel death is forced to spy on the crown prince in a world where the church and the monarchy are dangerously interwoven.

Quick Review

This book cured me of my reading slump ailments. It was fun, I liked the writing style, and the world-building was superb.

Long Review

I am a huge of fan of world-building that is intricate enough to be wholly unique and fleshed out without making me feel like I should be taking notes, and this book delivered. The religion and the magic were *chefs kiss* perfection.

The romantic elements added some much needed flare without ever overtaking the main plot, which I appreciated. I loved each character and what they brought to the table.

I did feel the end was a little long and dragged out. The climax involved so many people that it was just complicated enough to slow the pacing. The involvement of so many characters at the end also had the effect of diminishing the main character’s own agency just a bit.

But I really did have fun reading it and can’t wait for book 2!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC. This book is set to release March 2023.

Thank you Orbit and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A death witch spy for a smuggling operation is caught and handed an ultimatum. Spy on the Sun Prince or suffer the fate of prior death witches. Given only but one real choice, Lore is thrust into a world of riches and deceit that she'll need to learn to navigate quickly or lose it all. With the help of an eye patch wearing channeler and possible allies in the court, the countdown to the truth is on.

I may have read this fantasy novel by Hannah Whitten slower than I normally would but it was because I fell deeply foe this story. The relatability to Lore being sure footed in her place in this world for it to be upturned and left wondering where she fits was refreshing. She knew she was good looking. But was awkward.

As this book began wrapping up, I was left wondering if the sequel title might have been alluded to in those final pages. Amd that epilogue? I hope Hannah writes fast because I can't wait to delve into the continuation of this story. There's much to unfold still.

"You are the seed of thr apocalypse"

"Long live the Sainted King"

WOW... okay.... This book was such a ride, and I absolutely loved every minute of it. This is my first read of this author and it most definitely won't be my last. I plan to go binge everything she's written as soon as I'm done here.

So this story opens with our mc Lore thinking she has the world and her place in it pretty figured out, and within just a few chapters, we find that nothing (and no one) is what it seems. From there, this book just blows your mind and you won't be able to put it down. Trust me. It seriously has everything any great book should; mystery, romance, intrigue, and amazing world building to escape in.

And I just have to say, I have never ever in the history of ever enjoyed or even understood a love triangle okay.... I always have a favorite and it's because authors write them that way purposely. Like one's gorgeous and great and loves the mc for no reason at all but the other is gorgeous and great and loves the mc because it's true love.... like yeah okay,..cool. But these men??? THIS book?? I actually cannot say who I was pining for more. I'm really just hoping another of the twists take us into a RH situation and we can keep both. They are everything. And without getting spoilery at all (it's hard guys) I loved how both men were so fleshed out. They were both so incredibly different. And not in a oh he loves books and the other loves the gym kind of way*gag* These guys were actually different fucking people with different pasts and coping mechanisms and in turn gave us real positive traits and real negative.

And LORE... god I loved her the most. I loved her selfishness and her compassion. Her heartbreak and her hate and how she let it get in her way when it seemed appropriate and how it didn't when it shouldn't. She was so relatable. She's learning and growing and I can't wait to see what she does in the next book.

Basically, this series has the potential to be the next FoTA or FBAA for me and I'm so entirely here for it. Get the book, read the book, and then grab me so we can gush together because I'm dying over here and neeeeed to talk about that ending.. ah!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book for my honest review <3

The Foxglove King is the first piece of Hannah F. Whitten's literature I have had the pleasure of consuming. I appreciate receiving a copy of this ARC in return for my honest feedback.

The story does have a bit of a slow start, but once things rev up the pace definitely picks up by the end. Lore has some strange magic that her adoptive mothers have been using to her advantage - she has necromantic powers. Her mother's sadly give her up in a bargain they can't refuse that will help the greater good. Lore ends up adventuring with Gabe & Bastian - it becomes a bit of a love triangle where Gabe & Bastian have a deep history that explains their animosity while both caring for Lore.

The last 20% of the book is wild. I did not predict the ending, and I was pleasantly surprised that my predictions were incorrect! I would recommend this book to fantasy readers looking for a new series to check out!

Thank you for allowing me to read this book, netgalley and publishers. I really appreciate the opportunity.

The beginning of this book started off strong. The reader is thrown into the streets with action happening at every corner and a heroine that is as strong as she is sassy! I was immediately sucked in, and excited about this book.

The book focuses on Lore who is a witch/spy. She can pull and send ‘Mortem’ which is death to anyone around her. She is found by the King and asked to be a spy for him.

At the point, I was excited to see what Lore would do as a spy. Unfortunately, this is where the book began to lose my interest.

Instead of Lore doing spy duties, she ends up backing off a bit. She actually doesn’t spy much at this point, and the action takes a dramatic turn from being often and engaging to slow and barely there.

This is the point where the author started to focus on dialogue and world building. While I love both of those attributes in a book, it took the book over and I began to lose interest.

I also did not connect with the love interests. They began to fall for one another pretty quickly without much background or even getting to know one another.

Overall, I liked parts of this book. Unfortunately, it was not my favorite read. 2.5 stars.

I really enjoyed For the Throne and For the Wolf, so I was really looking forward to this book and it did not disappoint. Dare I say... I may have enjoyed it more than For the Wolf? While there was a lot of info dumping and world building in the first third of the book, it really picked up after that. I found the magic system and politics so interesting and unique. I love Lore as the main character. She's feisty but she also cares a lot about the people she loves. I usually don't like love triangles but this one was done BEAUTIFULLY!! It was impeccable. The dialogue and interactions are so good. This book dealt with religious trauma in such an interesting way, and was something I could heavily relate to since I grew up Catholic. I thought I could predict the ending but it went in a completely different direction than I thought and I LOVED IT! Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I can't wait for the next one!
If you enjoy political intrigue, gothic vibes, death magic, morally grey characters, mystery, and lots of romantic angst, then I would highly recommend picking this up!

I was super excited to get my hands on this having LOVED For the Wolf (and I liked For the Throne but a lot more could've been done there) so I'm hoping that this series stays as strong as this start. Nyx seems to be coming back into fantasy stories lately, in different variations, and I'm here for it. ok and Lore might be a little on the nose for a name but whatever. There's enough intrigue, mythology, and chemistry between the leads that even the triangle doesn't feel like a completely worn plot point. Honestly, really solid start to a series that isn't all set up, which I fully appreciated, so I'll be looking forward to the follow-up.

The title though...curious.

As much as I enjoyed For the Wolf, The Foxglove King was even better and I am utterly shook. I literally just finished it like two minutes ago and now I'm sitting here with my mouth hung open, slightly irritated that I have to wait until the next book comes out to continue the story.

Hannah Whitten is a master of her craft, that much is easily apparent if you read For the Wolf. But this book....it was everything all at once in the very best. way. Hannah's writing is as descriptive and captivating as it is comforting and familiar and that stood out with The Foxglove King. But the best part was the world building. In between delicious banter and heaps of intrigue and mystery, Hannah wove a world that is as unique as it is mysterious. I am a sucker for worldbuilding that is intricate enough to require me to keep tabs on things, but doesn't make that process feel laborious and Hannah delivers on that front with a degree of precision that is utterly uncanny.

Lore is wonderful. We see so many sides of her personality. Strength and courage as well as the telltale signs of someone who hasn't quite come into her own just yet. She's relatable and despite the world she lives in and her role in it, there's an honesty to her that I absolutely loved.

I don't want to delve too much deeper (my reviews are always spoiler free), but this is a must read if you love the fantasy genre, especially if you enjoy mysteries, angsty banter and deep worldbuilding that whisks you away from the perils of the "normal world".

I enjoyed this much more than Hannah’s other series. This does have the same sort of slow start - the first half took me several days to read while the last half took me about half a day. I really liked all of the characters, Lore is a survivor and always has a witty comeback, while Gabe and Bastian are unique in their own ways. This book is pretty light on the romance but definitely suggests that there could be a love triangle going on. Lore’s power to channel death is really cool and I like the whole theme of dark/light and good/evil. The ending was really exciting and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was okay. I think I went into it expecting a more adult fantasy book. I would recommend this for fans of lush writing. It just was not to my taste as I struggled to stay interested and invested.

The basic premise is you’re in a world where some people have the ability to use the power of death. But more specifically they can take death *away* from something more like necromancy but only if you’re really good at it. Basically, our female main character Lore is really good at it. The story takes place in a French ish country in a fantasy world where there were gods and they all died and the death power comes from the most evil of them all. Or was the death goddess evil? We get some fun scheming, tyranny, politics, heresy, fun fantastical religions (that do seem to be a tad loosely related to Greek myth if you know the names). Mostly though we get a love triangle and the unraveling of a mystery. This book was super fun and I know Hannah Whitten’s other series For the Wolf was adult but this is just a tad more adult and a little more fun. It was more exciting in my opinion even with the more complex world slowing down your understanding at the beginning. If you liked the fantasy elements of Nevernight or Grave Mercy this is right up your alley

This is the first novel of Hannah Whitten’s I’ve read, so I’m not acquainted with her writing style, but for me, the beginning didn’t hook me. It started slow, the explanation of her magic was confusing, and it took me a while to sort it out – mostly.
The female protagonist, Lore, was born with the ability to channel dark magic, “Mortem.” She’s hidden by two surrogate mothers (who she runs drugs for) until right before her twenty-fourth birthday. The Sainted King captures her and gives her an ultimatum. Work for him or be sent to the Burnt Isles.
In the Royal Court, she meets Gabriel, who can channel Mortem, as all the Priests can. She also meets Sabastian, (who I must say was my favorite character) the King’s estranged son. The love triangle that develops didn’t really get off the ground. I won’t specify and spoil the story for future readers, but it left me feeling dissatisfied. Even though I liked how it ended, there was room for so much more the author could’ve done.
The author did a nice job wrapping up at the end, but also leaving the reader wanting more. Although the novel had a rocky start, I’d still recommend this book. I will also be exploring this author’s other works.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

☠️ When I first started the story, I wasn’t sold. Some books sweep you off your feet in the first chapter, but this one ensnared me slowly.

☠️ I loved the powers/mortem and particularly enjoyed the way different people perceived it and the stories of their gods. It was realistic but still so magical in that way.

☠️ I couldn’t quite get a read on where this was/is going romantically and while I’m a romance lover, it was refreshing for this story to not just hinge on that alone.

💀 I’m looking forward to reading Whitten’s other books soon!

I really enjoyed this one and was fascinated at the world Hannah Whitten was able to create. The complex system of magic was very intriguing from the very beginning and the characters were also very detailed and I was able to connect with Lore right from the start.

The story does start off a little bit slow and takes a while to get started, but it is worth the wait. The plot development was great and I enjoyed the story. Another issue I had was that the main love interest was a little bland. I loved the love-triangle, but the main love interest was boring and dry. Yet, other than that, the story was great.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for this free arc in exchange for my honest review.

Well, I have to admit this is promising, exciting start to fresh, intriguing, captivating fantasy series! I honestly didn’t adore the first book of the series as much as Wilderwood series ( For the Wolf and For the Throne books of duology were too close to be considered as masterpieces) My expectations were a little higher after reading the author’s previous brilliant works! But this book has still great potential and riveting adventurous journey you can get easily hooked up! You just have to be patient enough to connect with its unique universe!

The complex world building is fascinating.The monotheism, the system of magic are well blended into this complex fantasy world. The character development is also well crafted even though it took a little more time for me to adjust Lore’s antics and connect with her! But to be fair she was also multilayered heroine, making hard decisions for good, facing the toughest consequences.

The beginning of the story was a little bumpy and slow burn. It took a few turns for me to get into the main plot but it’s worth to my entire efforts because as soon as you get connected with the execution, you don’t want to skim or skip any pages. You just find yourself to get transported another visionary universe and you don’t want to come back to face your own reality! This is such a great example of creative writing!

Normally I don’t like love triangles. But this time, it was a little necessary and providing a lot excitement for the reader to team up with one of the characters. I already became a member of witty, charming Prince Tristan even though devoted, reserved clergyman Gabriel also steals your heart!

Overall: it’s absolutely great start to interesting, heart throbbing, well executed YA fantasy series! I recommend it to the fans of the author and fans of well written fantasy lovers!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC of this book!

As a fan of Hannah Whitten and the Wilderwood series, I was very excited when I heard the premise for this story. I loved For the Wolf and For the Throne and I think I may like this book even more. It's the beginning of a fantasy series set in the city of Dellaire and follows a young woman named Lore who has death magic that ties her to the city. On top of the death magic in this world, Lore also has to deal with politics, religion, and forbidden romances.

My favorite thing about the book is the magic system and how it dies to the god in the world. It took a few chapters to get into the book and understand the world building, but after that period I was hooked and couldn't put the book down. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys political and religious fantasy.

I was hoping I'd be more enraptured by Whitten's second series, but it appears she might just not be an author for me.

Off the top of my head, this book includes characters or plot points that remind me of The Grishaverse, The Bridge Kingdom series, the Serpent & Dove trilogy, and even Netflix's Bridgerton show. I totally understand that we all draw inspiration from other works, but the writing isn't strong enough to make up for that. Nothing struck me as unique or intriguing. From the characters to the world building, my opinion can be best described as meh. In short, The Foxglove King is derivative and thus boring.

Tropes: court intrigue, forbidden romance, witty banter, hate to love, spying
Thank you to NetGalley for giving this Arc, and this doesn’t influence my review. I don’t like LGBTQ love interests, and I didn’t know about that before getting the ARC (don’t come at me, everyone has their own opinion). This book features strong FMC sarcastic, no-nonsense (smart prisoner) and I loved it.

Thank you for letting me read this book. I have to say this was an enjoyable read. Between court intrigue and death witches my attention was snagged. Looking forward to the next book.

This was so great! I debated jumping into a new epic fantasy series, but I really liked this! I felt the world building was detailed but understandable. I like how the series was set up and I can't wait to keep reading as more stories come out!