I still can't fully process all my feelings towards this book - it was SO good. Most times fantasy squeals don't hit the mark compared to the first in the series, but Hemlock Queen delivered. There was so much more depth to the world building, specifically Lore and Bastian's magic, and dives deeper into the world of the gods.

I was sucked in immediately and could not put it down. Now, I'm just upset that I have to wait for the next book!

The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten, a well written book. This book reads well and I do think others will find it engaging, it simply wasn't for me. Thank you for giving me a chance with this book.

I read Witten’s Wilderwood duology last year and was excited to see her name pop up on NetGalley, thinking that The Hemlock Queen was a standalone book (lolllll). After finding out I was wrong, I got The Foxglove King from my library and I’m SO HAPPY I DID!!!

WOWWWWW this is UNIQUE!! It’s kinda giving Fleabag in magical 17th century France vibes???? But with morally ambiguous gods and everyone is addicted to drugs??? 🫠 it’s fabulous!! The prose is my FAVORITE kind - dense, prestigious, flowery, and full of imagery.

Book one was so incredible and angsty and I DEVOURED it!!! I literally, genuinely could not tell who I was supposed to root for or who would…get it…

Book two was just as fabulous and FINALLY A LIL SPICY THANKS MISS WHITTEN 🫦🫦🫦 but does have slower pacing than the first book. The ending set up SO WELL for book three and now I have to wait A YEAR FOR IT AND I’M NOT OKAY ABOUT IT!!!

Read if you love:
🎭 gods of life, death, and the elements
⚠️ literally the ONLYYYYY love triangle I have ever read and LIKED
⛪️ interesting and unique religious system
🪻 angstyyyyyy and gothic vibes

Get The Foxglove King NOW so that you can get your hands on The Hemlock Queen when it releases on April 11, 2024!

Thank you to Hannah Whitten, Orbit Books, and NetGalley for an e-ARC of the Hemlock Queen in exchange for an honest review.

The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten
Rating: 4.5 stars
Pub date: 4/9

Let me start out by saying that I love Hannah Whitten’s writing style. She doesn’t rush, and because of that we’re given lush, well developed worlds full of magic, lore, and romance. I was eager to get my hands on the sequel to The Foxglove King, and it did not disappoint.

The story picks up a few weeks after the first book leaves off, and Lore is trying to figure out where she fits in Bastian’s court now that he is king. There are more politics, secrets, lies, and betrayal, and Lore is once again trying to work through her feelings for both Bastian and Gabe.

This was a great second book in this trilogy, giving us even more lore and backstory of the gods and their powers and how it all pertains to Lore and the prophecy. We have more world building, new characters, and a deep dive into the romance between Nyxara and Apollius to focus on, and how that storyline runs parallel to Lore’s and Bastian’s. The gods are trying to return and what will happen if they succeed?

I don’t usually like love triangles, but I’m really enjoying the push and pull with these three, and I can’t decide who I want Lore to end up with! Whitten has once again blown me away with her storytelling and after that ending, I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Orbit for my digital and physical copy. The Hemlock Queen comes out on 4/9.

The truth is a wound as often as it is a comfort." For fans of dark garden magic, love triangles, and gods behaving badly.

Hannah Whitten weaves another lush, romantic, and gloomy installment in her "Nightshade Crown" trilogy with "The Hemlock Queen." We return to the Kingdom of Dellaire with Lore in a state of catatonic shock as she sits on the throne as the appointed court witch to the new king Bastian. With Bastian's corrupt father dead and the traitorous Priest nowhere to be seen, Gabe is thrust into the high priest's station with a grudge to hold as the love triangle unfolds between our protagonists. With the usurpation of the throne, impending war is brewing on the outskirts of the kingdom. Bastian offers Lore what she has always wanted: stability, but as the new high queen. Her heart pulled in two different directions, a voice creeping into the back of her mind, and no one left to truly trust, "The Hemlock Queen" keeps its breakneck speed from start to finish.

I was initially worried I would struggle to settle back into this world as "The Foxglove King" was one of the first major publishing ARCs I had ever received many eons ago. Luckily, Whitten has thought of just about everything and injects enough of the previous lore into this installment to make it an easy transition back into this cutthroat world. I really enjoyed the pacing of this book and never felt settled for very long. The atmosphere is lush and deep, with a magic system that entwines itself with religious dogma. It is irresistible and sexy while also maintaining Whitten's fantasy roots in a well-thought-out world. Some convenient plot points, but otherwise a fantastic addition to the series. It's been exciting watching Whitten grow as a writer, and I look forward to seeing how this novel ends.

Will Whitten walk out of our dreams with a why-choose romance? We can only hope. 4.5/5 stars.

This story is one of the best I’ve read.

Lore is so fiercely selfish when she needs to be. And I absolutely love that about her. We need more FMCs like her!!

The storyline is this book has me quite shook. The tying in of the present and past, the truth and the lies. And the ending!!!! OMG DONT GET ME STARTED.

The writing is completely immersive and makes you feel like you’re in this world, learning its history. And there’s so much that happens in this book!!!! Bastian is still everything to me… even if Apollius just sucks. I did enjoy learning about Nyxara and Apollius’ past and how they got to this point.. but damn why does Apollius have to be…. Him.

Everyone needs to read this immediately when it is released. I’m already anxiously awaiting the next.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I feel conflicted with this book. I truly wanted to love it, since I adore Hannah Whitten. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat. The storyline felt slow and dragged a bit at times. The magic system was what really made me love the first book in this series, but it seemed to take a back seat to the relationships in this book. Lore is constantly struggling between her two love interests and that seems to be her main focus rather than dealing with the fallout of the previous book. I wish there had been more initiative in Lore's actions throughout the plot. Lore became more of a reactionary character in this book. Instead of her making decisions and choosing her own narrative, she seemed to constantly be confused by the actions of others and trying to figure out what could happen next. Her character seemed to go from an ambitious and clever FMC in the first book to a lovestruck teen that constantly wishing for her life to be easier in this one. I will still recommend to customers and read/follow this series, because it has so much potential; however, this book fell flat.

I thought this was a great sequel. I love Lore so much. I’m normally not a love triangle girl but fr Lore I can do it. Hannah’s world building and magic……..fantastic. The story is fast paced and an adventure.

While this didn’t deliver on everything that I wanted out of it, I do think it stayed faithful to the story started in The Foxglove King. The characters are still one of the best parts of the story, but they are put through the wringer in this one. The romance aspects are still there, but it certainly doesn’t revolve around ✨spice✨. The love triangle is one of the best I’ve read as there isn’t a clear choice.

I was frustrated with the lack of action or rational thought from the characters in the first half. The foreshadowing was heavy handed in a few instances, but I was still surprised at one of the twists. The second half did pick up with pacing and, as we know with this being the second book in a trilogy, of course the ending pulled the rug out from under me a bit. It’s not a terrible cliffhanger, but I’m definitely eager to see what happens in the final book.

If you enjoyed The Foxglove King at all, I think you’ll be just as happy with The Hemlock Queen.

I enjoyed The Foxglove King and was excited to be selected as a reader for the e-arc! After everything that happened in book one, I felt that the start of this book was a little slow, but understandably since it was a transitionary period for the characters. The world-building and story of the gods were 10/10 and explained so much to me. The one thing I'm not in love with is the whole love triangle/why choose, BUT I know that is just a personal preference and does not impact my rating.

Huge shoutout to NetGalley for accepting my request to read in exchange for a review.

I usually don't re-read books, but I am so glad I went back to The Foxglove King before getting into The Hemlock Queen. The magic systems, politics, and religious aspects of the story are so complex, and reading the first book really helped me get back into the world of Dellaire. The Hemlock Queen continues the story from the first book, expanding on the (lower case) lore and building out the world even more. As the war with Kirythea looms closer, Lore, Bastain, and Gabe face new challenges in their rule and relationships. (Can I just say, what a love triangle this story has??)
The Hemlock Queen does a really good job of expanding on the story of the first book. We get more of the gods in this one and the way religion ties into the story is one of the most interesting parts of the series. I also liked getting to see Lore's more vulnerable side as she tries to protect the people she loves. The theme of being wholly your own, taking charge of your power, and your destiny that runs through the book (even including the dedication) is so special to me.
The only thing I struggled with in this book was the pacing. It starts out so slow, with lots of long, drawn out conversations where everyone is hiding something from the other person (or gets cut off right before they are about to say something important). Towards the end, however, the book picks up, and once it does it is hard to put down. I'm also very concerned for Lore and the amount of time she references a person with a "name she never asked" or doesn't know. Girl, you have 3 friends in this city, you can learn a few more names, especially those of your guards/ladies in waiting! Speaking of friends, I also hope we get to know more about Malcolm and Alie in the next book because I feel like we only scratched the surface in these first two.
I cannot wait to see how this story ends.

Review to come! 🥀

(FINAL THOUGHTS):

This was a great sequel to The Foxglove King in my opinion. The political intrigue and court politics for upped a notch, but what really sold it for me was the exploration into the religion of world and how the gods came to be what they are. 🪽

The book picks up about a few weeks after the events of The Foxglove King. Lore is traumatized by the events and this has brought her closer to Bastian while continuing to distance her from Gabe. I thought the overprotectiveness of Bastian and Lore’s continued acceptance of it was rather odd as she prides herself on being self reliant; but after the events of the last book, I can see why she craved that security. It was rather sad to see her continue to grow apart from Gabe as he was my favorite of the love interests. Again, there’s something about brooding men in books that I love (which is the complete opposite of the golden-retriever like personality of my boyfriend). 🤷🏻‍♀️

I won’t lie that I do wish I had reread the first book before this sequel. While I usually have a pretty good recall of the books I’ve read, the plot for some reason refused to come back to me for this one, so I spent about 20% of the sequel just slightly confused. That’s my bad. But where the book really hit it off for me was when the reader gets more background info on Nyxara and Apollius and the element gods. This part of the book really sucked me in and not going to lie, I got invested in the lore (no pun intended) of the world. ❤️

In general, it was a great sequel. Other than my confusion in the first 20%, I also felt like the plot was slow to get going, but man once it did, it didn’t stop. Big thank you goes to Orbit Books and NetGalley for accepting my request to read in exchange for an honest review and to the author for crafting a fantastic world that’s dealing with power hungry gods! ☠️

Publication date: April 9!

Overall: 4.25/5 ⭐️

The Foxglove King was one of my favorite reads from last year, so I was SO EXCITED to get an eARC of its sequel! Thanks NetGalley and Orbit Books.

While the first part of the book kind of dragged a bit, I really enjoyed diving deeper into the world and mythology surrounding their gods.

A couple plot points seemed a little forced and I found Lore incredibly frustrating for most of this book. Hopefully she will show a tiny bit of growth in the finale.

This did not quite live up to its predecessor, but still a good read.

Spice/ 🌶️🌶️🌶️
The Hemlock Queen, I was able to get an ARC thanks to Orbit books, NetGalley and Hannah Whitten. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
I was so excited to get the chance to read this book, I was not disappointed. This book had my emotions on a one stop roller coaster with no brakes. In this book there is betrayal, spice, fast paced action, love triangle, enemies to lovers, fate and prophecies. Hannah Whittens world building is phenomenal and it was such a delight to read. There were many jaw dropping moments in this book. My favorite part of this book was the god element that the author wove into the story. I felt like it gave the story line such a good background. I do really hope that in the third book the characters are able to overcome their pitfalls and can regroup to kick some ass. I still have a high hope that Lore can save Bastian and they will be happy ever after. I can not wait to read the next book in the series and I can't wait for someone else to read this book when it comes out. Because if you read the Foxglove King then reading The Hemlock Queen should be number one on your TBR. Comes out April 9th make sure to go get you a copy of this masterpiece. Marking this down as one of my favorites for sure.

The vibes when I was reading this book??? NERVOUS. This book was so creepy in a good way. The way that Hannah Whitten writes and describes things can be so visceral, and gave me a creeping sense of dread the whole book. Also the angst??? If you thought book 1 was angsty...well book 2 said "that's cute".

If you loved/liked The Foxglove King, I'm sure you will feel the same about this one because it answers so many questions (but also gives us so many more lol) and also gives us more lore (as in history, but also the character). I love all of our main characters so much and the tension between all three of them is just UGHHGHGHG SO GOOD. I went into this book as a Bastian lover and guess what-- I'm still a Bastian lover but I've also softened a little to Gabe too. Lore remains great and I love that we are mostly in her POV.

I did feel like things got a little repetitive and I think that the repetitive bits could've been reworked to feel less so, or just cut. Also, I think that some of the reveals (one in particular) were underwhelming and I wish it was more of the surprise for the readers as it was for the characters.

Overall, super enjoyable read and I cannot wait for book 3!! I have no idea where we're going next and I am ✨nervous✨.

Thank you to Orbit for this ARC!!!

4 ⭐️ Dark creepy sequel filled with tension and political drama

There is no path thornier than that between two people who once grew love

WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ love triangle
✨ Gods
✨ plot focused
✨ political drama
✨ magic
✨ forced proximity
✨ tension
✨ naive/tired fmc
✨ religious cult


My Thoughts:

I was in love with the atmosphere and political drama that was in Foxglove King, which continued on with Hemlock Queen. After the betrayals that ended Foxglove King, I was highly interested in how the “love triangle” would be dealt with in book two as well as the political landscape. Hemlock Queen did the opposite of what I expected, which was the correct move. Instead of the focus being on the love triangle, Hannah focused on the plot and built on to the creepy religious cult and the Gods. This was the perfect move, and I was begging for the 3rd book after the ending. This book did not fall into the “second book syndrome” instead it felt like a huge pulse in the plot to keep the series strong!

I loved:

Love Triangle
I know this is an insane take to say the love triangle is a favorite piece of this book, but it is. There is only bits and pieces of the love triangle due to the plot being a focus, however it was perfectly done. If these three don’t end up as a throuple, I will cry. The tension between Basian and Gabe, I was begging for them to kiss. Lore acknowledges multiple times, how it is always the three of them even when they do not want it to be. Either this will end in a throuple or murder, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out especially with how the book ended.


Possession.
I will not go in depth because it is a spoiler, however I love the way this was written in parallel to the past.

The villain (well one of them)
I won’t say his name due to it being a big spoiler, but I love the introduction and the tension. The level of plotting, pushing and twisting the world to be at his mercy. I loved tension between him and Lore, and knowing Lore would kill him if she had the choice.

Politics
I love the deep dive that is done within politics. It is less than book 1 due to Lore already being at court, but there is still the politics of war and succession that had to be dealt with. I enjoy seeing how the villain played into the politics at the beginning without the reader or Lore being aware. It was a nice “ah ha” moment when I realized how in depth the villain had manipulated the politics at the beginning of the book when I was frustrated.

The Gods!
I found the history and the magic system with the Gods to be so interesting. I love seeing how the religious cult hid bits and pieces of the Gods and how they manipulate the masses into being in the villain.

The only thing I disliked
Lore
I know this could be huge disliking the female main character. I didn’t dislike her by the end of the book and that is why I still gave this book 4 stars. In the first book, she was highly naive and I accepted it. Now in book 2, Lore continued to put those she loved in danger because she simply was “tired” and wanted to be taken care of. This was highly frustrating to witness her lie and put everyone in danger because she didn’t want to admit things that she already knew. She constantly mentioned to herself that she was avoiding issues, and it frustrated me completely. I will say Lore grew more of a backbone in the second half of the book due to those she loved being in danger.

Overall, Hemlock Queen is a dark gothic political fantasy drama that is a perfect sequel to the first. The story is entertaining, the characters are amazing, and the romance is tension filled.


Thank you Netgalley and Orbit for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! As always, all opinions are my own.

I loved this book.

When I read Foxglove King last year, it had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I was utterly enthralled by the lore (pun intended). And the way it ended, I was ready for what came next. I knew it would be messy and chaotic.

Getting the chance to dive back into this world has been so much better than I expected. The aftermath of the previous book has upped the stakes. We're not just dealing with religious zealots anymore. We're dealing with gods. And I feel like it's one of my favorite things when people think they actually have any power or sway over what a god does. I'm kind of getting similar vibes with this book as I did reading Ruthless Vows. Not the way it's written or even the story itself but the opposing sides of a god romance.

My only qualm is that some of the dialogue just felt out of place and too modern. But that's my only real critique.

4.5 stars

I looked forward to this book in 2024, and it did not disappoint. However, it took me a short while to get into the story. I felt the characters were slightly lacking and didn’t understand the first couple of scenes concerning how they relate to the plot, but Whitten did a quick 180, proving everything was purposeful. What I feared would be second-book syndrome turned out to be the opposite.

The Hemlock Queen was filled with political intrigue and tricky and conflicting relationship dynamics within its core trio. My favorite element was the history of the gods and how it took the plot up a notch. Implementing this detail built onto the world of The Nightshade Crown and made it more interesting. After the final events in this second installment, I’m wholeheartedly invested in the story and am desperate to see how the characters will recuperate. It is, by far, my favorite book by Whitten, and I’m eagerly anticipating The Nightshade Crown #3.

Thank you, Netgalley and Orbit Books, for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First, I want to thank @netgalley and @orbitbooks_us for giving my the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

If you've read The Foxglove King (book 1), you know what the sexual tension is *high* between our main characters, and that continues in a way that made my skin itch for dayssss. There's something about the yearning for each other... 🥵 We up the tension anti in every way in this book.

More information comes to light about what the heck is going on. The danger is more real. Things slowly unravel and become more out of control. We find our main character, Lore constantly fighting for those she loves and searching for answers.

I find that I can usually guess the general direction of a fantasy story, but I seriously couldn't guess what was going to happen next while reading. And there are several twists and reveals that had me gasping out loud! I have a few guesses about how this will resolve in the next book (honestly, I will probably be hella wrong), and I hope I'm right and wrong. 🤪 Beautiful, visceral world building and story telling. The struggle between Bastian and the god living inside him felt SO REAL. I will recommend this story to everyone who loves romantasy and dark gothic fantasy.

This book is for you if you love:
💀Morally grey main characters
💀Possession
💀Love triangles
💀"Let me take care of you"
💀History repeating itself
💀Drama between Gods

The Hemlock Queen kept me on the edge of my seat. Hannah Whitten is an amazing writer. The way she built the suspense, sustained the longing, and kept the pace from lagging was phenomenal. I highly recommend this book and the Nightshade Crown series. You do need to read The Foxglove King before starting this one.

Picking up just a few months after the eclipse, The Hemlock Queen continues to follow Lore as she navigates her new position as the Sun King's Deathwitch. Bastian wants to break from the failings of his father's reign, but is met with opposition from within the court and the threat of war with a neighboring country. Alie, Gabe, and Malcom round out Bastian and Lore's inner circle, but there their connection runs deeper than meets the eye.

This was an utterly delicious tale of past mistakes married to a fight for the future. I am not normally a fan of love triangles, but Ms. Whitten has made me love hers. I was simultaneously rooting for Lore and Gabe while wanting Lore to save Bastian. Learning more about the gods was everything I had hoped for and the cliffhanger left me screaming. This trilogy is going to be epic!