I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a rollercoaster. The first third of this was a bit slow for my liking, but plenty of foreshadowing. The middle was building tension, and the last was something else. I was not prepared for how this book ended.

The characters… you grow to love them. I really appreciate how we get to know each character separately of the god that inhabits them. Most of them have similar personalities from what I can tell, which is nice and helps the flow of the story. The villains in here are multifaceted and misunderstood as well, even though you don’t necessarily like them by the end. Everyone has motive and they’re all clearly laid out in this book.

The plot was a bit slow to start, but there’s a lot of exposition that needs to happen for the reader to understand fully what is happening. By the time I reached the halfway point, I was hooked into it. I had to know how it was going to end (side note, reading ARC series is such a pain 😩). The ending wasn’t the direction I thought it would go, but it sets up for an excellent final book in the trilogy.


The writing is a bit formal, but still easy to read and flows well. I also LOVE all of the representation in this book. There’s a range of skin tones, sexualities, genders, and classes. I’m really hoping by the end, we have a throuple situation, but only time will tell.

All in all, I enjoyed this, but not enough to devour in one sitting. 4⭐️

Definitely a 5-star read!

This second installment of The Nightshade Crown series did not disappoint. Middle books are typically my sweet spot as far as trilogies go, so I was super excited to get into this one. The first book was so good, but I liked this one even better. Mostly, because of the slight gear shift this book took, leaning heavily into classic gothic vibes.
I cannot wait to read book three! That cliffhanger will be leaving my jaw on the floor until book three is published.

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC. I do not know how to rate this book, it was very very slow. At times it did not feel like anything happened for multiple chapters. However I did need to keep reading and we did have a lot more world building. Some things seemed unnecessary but I’m sure they will be relevant in the third book. I did like that we got to know more about the Lore, Bastian, Gabe triangle, which still do not know if it is my favorite thing. Of course the last 30% of this book, I could not put down and needed to know what would happened. The ending was excellent and now I want the third book.

Completely riveting. The world building was so interesting. I loved how the complicated relationships between Lore, Basian and Gabe evolved with the further complications of their emerging powers. I was completely unable to put this down and I’m so upset to have to wait for the next book! I was not a fan of this authors previous work, but the improvement between that series and this one is huge:

I devoured The Foxglove King and NEEDED this book immediately! The wait was well worth it, but this book left me needing the next one just as badly!

This book was fast paced, left me so anxious to find out what was going to happen next. I've never liked a love triangle but this one just hits different. I need both of them to end up with Lore just as equally (I'm definitely team why choose here).

I loved learning more about the gods and their messed up history. (Appolius can suck it). I especially loved learning more about the Buried Goddess. The Multi POV was SO nice!

3.5. I liked aspects of this next installation and I think Whitten has improved as an author. I'm not the biggest fan of the MC.

I love the world Hannah Whitten has created, and she did a great job of further establishing it in this second book. It was fun to learn more about the backstory of Apollius and Nyxara and the parallels between them and Bastian and Lore. The magic was also expanded on a lot in this book which I appreciated. That being said, I wish the pacing was a bit quicker throughout. I found myself more interested in the backstory of the gods than in the current plot, which didn’t feel as though it picked up much until the end. However, I think in place of that there was quite a bit of character development, which was still interesting to read about. I look forward to the conclusion to the trilogy!

4.5 stars

The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten was much like its predecessor as far as pacing and delving into the world the author has created. It is a slow burn filled with political intrigue and high fantasy world building and intriguing magic systems and this continues to show in the sequel, while being built upon to immerse the reader further into said world. On the note of slow burn pacing, it does take a bit of time to really feel like the plot is going somewhere, which, as someone who is completely sucked in to world building and fantasy stories that slowly but surely build towards a satisfying culmination of the plot coming together, this isn’t something I take issue with when done correctly as in The Hemlock Queen, but is something worth noting as I urge people to give this series a chance. It’s entirely worth the wait with how satisfying the story always comes together in these books.

The characters are everything in this series. I continued to adore both Bastian and Gabe, not to mention loving Lore as a main character. And I can’t get enough of the little pre-chapter snippets that typically contain tidbits of history for the world or meaningful dialogue that adds to the readers knowledge of the world and the people. I always feel like it fills in some necessary information or something that will later become significant and it’s such food for thought in inciting theories while I read or clueing me in on something meaningful. They basically act like little crumbs that keep the mind whirling and well fed.

Now back to the characters, something about these books that feels so significant for me is the fact that I am so torn between the seeming love triangle going on. This never happens for me and is such a testament to how incredible the characters are and my strong love for them. I am always very set on my ships as far as romance. I want one couple and that is and all, I will not so much as consider another alternative and will be immensely disappointed if it doesn’t happen (here’s looking at the Darkling and Alina T_T). But let me tell you, I am beside myself trying to decide if I love Bastian or Gabe more. And listen, I would not be opposed to both being the end game. Just when I think I’m all for Bastian, Gabe enters the scene and I no longer know anymore. Then Bastian is in a scene and I’m swooning over him all over again. And back and forth. I’m pretty sure the only solution is for a relationship between all three.

Then there’s the world building. I was so happy to get my biggest wish, that being that the second book delves even deeper into the lore of this world and expands on the world itself. This was one of the largest draws of the first book for me and it continues to hook me into the story and the world it depicts in the sequel, particularly expanding on the gods themselves which was very eye opening and intriguing. This also includes the magic system, and of course another huge draw for myself, the politics of the world which are just as intricate in The Hemlock Queen.

And of course the plot itself has me hooked. With the further delving into both the world and the story itself, I was so enthralled by the second installment in The Nightshade Crown series. And holy moly does the last bit of the book ever amp up. When I was at about the last 10-20% of the book I found myself wondering just how it would wrap things up so fast considering how intense and deeply into things the story gets at that point. I felt like there was no possibly way the current point of the plot would be able to come to some kind of conclusion that quickly. And it definitely convinced me this wasn’t the last book in the series. With that in mind, prepare yourself for one hell of a cliffhanger because the story is left at such an open point right in the middle of a whole heck of a lot going on and a lot of anxiety inducing events that have taken place that I honestly don’t know how I’m going to wait for the sequel. The wait for the third book is definitely going to be even harder than it was waiting for this second one.

The Hemlock Queen is definitely a recommend from me and I will be awaiting the final book in the series just casually biting my nails and wondering what exactly is going to happen to these characters I’ve come to love so much. No biggie.

4 stars
I devoured the Foxglove King and am so thankful to Orbit for allowing me to get my hands on this early! I think that the author continues to get stronger and stronger as she continues the series. Lore is reeling with the events of the first book, and is trying to come to terms with her new position in the court. At times she felt overly dependent on external forces for anything to happen, but the plot moved quickly. I continue to love Bastian and Gabe, though I wish there was more of the latter! I think that this book was great and entertaining but was clearly a set up for the third book. There book serves as a high stakes transition that perfectly preps me to want to read more in what I am sure will be a scintillating conclusion.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this in exchange for a review!

It's been a while since I read the first book, so it took me a bit to get into this one. It felt like there was a lot of slow moments and story development happening, and while it was definitely necessary, it made it a bit harder for me to enjoy until closer to the end. The end...boy did it make me mad, but in the best way. I need book 3 right now!

This was a great sequel to The Foxglove King. If you liked the first book, you’ll also enjoy this one. Though I will say it didn’t feel like quite as much happened but we learn so much more about the religious aspect of Dellaire.

Though I love this book, it is slower than book one, and some of the events can start to feel somewhat like we are revisiting the same points/ideas over and over. But I think that somewhat mimics the frustration our characters are feeling as they grapple with the fall out of the events of book one. I think that this book has some slight second book syndrome but I did thoroughly enjoy this one start to finish.

Hannah fully had me thinking that I was getting everything I wanted in this novel tied up in a pretty bow. Spoiler, I absolutely did not. The angst was taken to a new level and there was so much that was making it so our cast of characters kept brushing their fingers against what they wanted/needed but could not grasp it.

There were so many great reveals and some twists that I did expect and some that I absolutely did not expect. I think some of what was set up so well in book one finally shows itself in ways that I hadn’t fully anticipated.

The ending, I was absolutely not expecting some of what we saw happen and I am incredibly curious as to what we see in the epilogue is coming to play in the final book. Which, I need now, and I am so sad I will have to wait for it!! I need to know how everyone is going to make it out in the end and how some of these hurdles are going to be cleared.

Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit, and Hannah Whitten for an ARC, all thoughts above are my own. Overall this gets a 4.25 stars!

I Love this series so much. I could not stop reading this book. I love the characters and the storyline keeps you just gripping the book waiting for what is going to happen next. I normally do not like love triangles but it’s very different in this book. The world and characters are dark and so different. I just love this series so much! Must read!!!

Thank you to NetGalley the author and publisher for this ARC for my honest review.

This book took me on a captivating journey into a world of magic, intrigue, and adventure. From the very first page, Whitten's prose effortlessly wove a rich tapestry of characters and landscapes, drawing me into a spellbinding tale. The depth of the characters, combined with the intricate world-building, created an immersive experience that kept me turning pages long into the night. This was such a great follow up to to her first book. Very excited for the release!

This feels like horror-fantasy, which I normally love, and think that Hannah Whitten usually lives in the edge of anyways, but this felt dark. And not in a fun way, but in a really heavy way. Lore is resorting to alcohol to escape from the controlling nature of Bastian, who isn’t really Bastian and it’s quite obvious due to the positioning of the gods and their purpose in the narrative throughout the first book. Apollonius is carving Bastian out of his body, invading his mind, and using his power to control and dominate everyone around him, including Lore, whom he claims to love. It will hit home with anyone who has ever experienced, or loved someone who experienced, an abusive relationship. Gabe is dealing with the fallout of placing his faith in the wrong person, someone who saved him as a child but only to use him as a pawn. Of everyone in this book, Gabe feels the most familiar to the character we met in Book 1. Lore and Bastian are in vastly different positions, all eyes on them, but Gabe’s elevation feels more like a promotion at a job you’ve worked at for a long time. If not for the circumstances, this could have been something he actually wanted, being Priest Exalted. Everyone is mistrusting of everyone, no one (except Allie) seems to be interested in the actual continuation of their country, despite the fact the main characters are all heads of state. I get why everything is the way it is, but it feels like all the least fun aspects of book one were taken, distilled, and bottled to make book two. Nyxara’s voice is a fun addition, and the descriptions of the world are still evocative and lush, even if it feels paired down from book 1. Other reviews have called it slow, and I’m inclined to agree, but I don’t think that needs to be more fast paced. I think the pacing worked for the story that was being told. It was an unfolding of the true horrors and consequences of the events of the first book. However, since so many of the big reveals were so heavily seeded earlier in either this book, or the last, I can see how some see it as a bad thing. This book favours payoff vs surprise twists, and if you’re a surprise twist kind of person, this will feel like a let down because everything that happens feels like it was supposed to happen. Even the ending, which is probably most captivating part of the book (as if should be, we’re building to a conclusion here, folks) had seeds planted earlier. I like payoff, so this was right up my alley.

I still enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to book three.

(Lowkey, I’m still hoping for the throuple happy ending, but the Bastian/Gabe portion of the Bastian/Lore/Gabe triangle is so underfed. I want them all to date and be in love and be happy, but maybe I’m just part of the “girl who wants two boyfriends who are also boyfriends” community. Idk. I watched The Dreamers at a formative age.)

3.5/5
The Hemlock Queen had a bit of a slow start for me. But picking up from where the last book ended it’s understandable. Lore, Bastian and Gabe went through a lot and friendships and beliefs are been tested. They are dancing around each other not knowing how to act and I feel like they didn’t know what to do with the tension and attraction they still felt towards each other, there is definitely a lot of angst and pining. I agree with others like girl pick one and get it on already they were making me anxious, so much that when the one sexy scene finally happened I did not expect it. There's lots of more lore from the Gods like how they come to be and history heavy. Being the second book I feel like not lot happened until the last twenty percent, it is understandable as it is setting up for the next book but because of that it made me left wanting a bit more. I still want to know where this goes next and how they deal with Apollius, I hope nothing happens to Bastian.

Thank You to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the opportunity to read this ARC and share my honest opinion.

HOLY SHIT

The Foxglove King was one of my favorite books of 2023, and now The Hemlock Queen is one of my favorite books of 2024. This was my most anticipated book of the year, and it didn’t disappoint ONE BIT!

As usual, Hannah Whitten’s prose was absolutely beautiful. I highlighted so many quotes, and was on the edge of my seat the entire book. The writing and the world are so lush, I cannot get enough of them.

And let’s not forget the CHARACTERS! I love Lore and Bastian and Gabe, and I also love all the side characters and how complex they are. They really add a sense of depth to the world, and are a reminder that other things are still happening even when we aren’t paying attention to them at the moment.

I absolutely cannot WAIT to read the last book of the series. It’s incredible, and everyone should read these books. 5 stars.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for sending me an advanced copy and providing me the opportunity to leave an honest, voluntary review.


My review will be posted on Instagram the week before publication, and on Amazon on publication day.

Thanks to Orbit for the copy of this book!

Book two of a fantasy series can be a hard one - and Hannah even wrote in the acknowledgements that this book tried to kill her multiple times. However, this was perfection in a second book. There was action, character development, and a great setup for the final book in this trilogy.

I absolutely LOVE a fantasy FMC who controls death and Lore is definitely up there as a favorite leading lady. She's definitely struggling with her lil love triangle this book, but I'm hoping book three will put an end to it and she will finally PICK ONE. Both MMCs are honestly just so great in their own way it'll be interesting to see where that storyline goes! The whole magic system and church theme going on in this series is just such a VIBE, and I loved that we got to see more of the gods and get more backstory in this book. I can't wait for book 3!!!

I gasped when I got this ARC, was so excited, but if I'm being totally honest, I forgot a LOT of what happened in the first book. Despite that, I could not put this down (and thankfully picked up some background along the way).

This really did a great job of building on the lore (lol) of the contient - I appreciated getting so much more of the gods' backstories, mostly because I love a dramatic religion in a fantasy book... and a hot priest. The romance of it all fit so well into the plot, and I remain stressed about what book three will hold. I will say, I think a lot of problems here could've been solved with a threesome.

4.25 need the last one ASAP as possible

This was EXACTLY what I needed in book two of this series. I loved The Foxglove King, but I felt like so much was left unresolved. The gods were very vaguely touched on, even though they were obviously of great importance, and the relationship(s) between Lore/Gabe/Bastian left me with so many questions and a lot of frustration. Hemlock Queen picks up a few weeks after the events at the end of TFK and it hashes everything out so seamlessly. Almost everything that was left up in the air was explained pretty freakin perfectly, which is all I can say without providing spoilers. I did feel personally attacked by Bastian’s storyline, but I can try to forgive & forget. The last few chapters were a wild ride and I loved every second. Hannah Whitten is a beautiful writer who had me absolutely enraptured by this story. THQ deserves all the stars and this has quickly become one of my favorite series. Can’t wait for book 3!

I was expecting book two to not be as good as the first but holy how this one was better. I can’t even describe the rollercoaster ride this was while having me in an utter chokehold. I just think you need to read this one to truly understand but the war happening inside each character in this one was wild. It was a team effort while still being a personal battle. We finally got the romantasy in this one which I loved. Lore really came into her own while Bastian fell to the wayside at no fault of his own. I will say, poor Bastian. He deserves better than what he got in this one so I’m hoping for a redemption story in the next book! The ending had me holding my breath and that cliffhanger will have me searching for release dates till I find one!