4.5 stars

This was by far my most anticipated read this year, after the first book in the series, "The Foxglove King" was my favorite book of last year. I read it twice, gave it 5 stars, and consider the characters some of my all-time favorites already. I had high expectations. Book twos in a trilogy are hard to review without spoilers, but even harder to write, and Hannah Whitten crushed it. 

Overall, I prefer the first book for three reasons: 1. It's more fun 2. It has more Gabe 3. It didn't focus as heavily on a trope I've read a lot of recently and am a bit burnt out on. But saying that, the tone had to shift some since stakes are being jacked way up in this, I am aware I'm obsessed with Gabe and he can't be in every scene (unless....?), and said trope is handled in a way I've never seen before.

I love the relationship dynamic between Lore, Gabe, and Bastian, and will always want more of that, regardless of how much I'm given. All of our main 3 characters are going through some growing pains in this book (some more than others) and I was stressed for them. The ending of book one was shocker after shocker, which isn't sustainable for a trilogy, but this follow-up did a good job at building a simmering, eerie tension throughout. To the point that seemingly mundane things were happening and I was uncomfortable without being sure why until later, when once again I got whammied by the big AHA moments. 

I always have such a good time in this world, and I really have no idea how book three is going to tie things up. Frankly, I am concerned. But with the way some things are positioned at the end of this, I have a feeling that the final book could be my favorite in the series, and I am fully prepared to have my life ruined by it. 

Again, it's hard to review a book in a series without spoilers, but if you haven't picked up this series yet, you're missing out! Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I was so excited to keep reading this story. I loved this setting and the characters.

The way Lore is written makes her so relatable. She is such a strong character, and in this book you can see how the unfolding events affect her. This part of the story came at a time where I feel the same. I am crying with you Lore. And honestly I am still torn between Bastian and Gabe - that's how well these characters are written. In various parts of the book, you love them, hate them or hate to love them. Why I thought this was a duo logy - I don't know. This book ended on a major cliffhanger and I am impatiently waiting to see where this story takes us next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book! Below is my honest review:

Overall, this is a very strong sequel!

This installment upped the stakes from the first book and answered some questions I had as well. In <i>The Hemlock Queen</i>, Lore is dealing with the aftermath of <i>The Foxglove King</i>. Lore is facing her own struggles while also noticing Bastian's strange behavior and dealing with the fallout of Gabe's choices. While they struggle individually, they also find themselves embroiled in something centuries in the making and must learn more about the history of the gods to save themselves.

I found the expansion of the world, specifically in regards to the religion and the magic, fascinating. One of the aspects I loved most about the first book was the unique magic system, especially Lore's power over Mortem. Seeing Lore learn more about her magic was fascinating and probably my favorite part of this book.

Whitten's writing also really captured the dark, gothic atmosphere of this world. The book is incredibly immersive and the world and characters feel so real.

I would say if you are not in the mood for a slower paced, mysterious book, maybe wait to read this one. It took me a while to get through this just because of the pace, but I do think the reveals along the way make the slow burn worth it!

As a side note: I am not typically someone who loves love triangles, but I really do love this one. And maybe that's because I think all three of them should just be together haha

Anyway, I think this is a great second book to this trilogy, and I am anxiously awaiting the third and final book!!

The Hemlock Queen picks up a few weeks after the explosive finale of The Foxglove King. Our main trio—Lore, Bastian, and Gabe—managed to survive the events of the eclipse and are now left to deal with the fall-out from the many betrayals that, among other things, have led to Bastian ascending the throne. As the new king, Basian has made Lore his right hand, much to the displeasure of the rest of the court. They and the new council (which includes Gabe, Alie, and Malcolm) are trying to navigate their new reality, especially with the world-ending prophecy they have thus far chosen to ignore hanging over their heads. In addition to court intrigue, enemies abroad surface and Bastian becomes increasingly impulsive and aloof, leaving Lore feeling increasingly isolated and unsure who to trust.

The Hemlock Queen is much more of an interior book than TFK, advancing the overall narrative not through detailed plotting so much as expanding on the history/”lore” (ha ha) of Apollius, Nyxara, and the other elemental gods and how that history impacts (and in some cases) parallels what is happening to our characters in the present. It is really only the last 20% or so where much “action” takes place. For me, that worked because I enjoyed learning about the history and the pace of how it unfolded kept me on the edge of my seat for the most part. In fact, I felt a sense of dread almost the entire book—while Whitten doesn’t go hard on the action, she certainly does in terms of the tension that exists in almost every scene. Our main characters always seem a step behind the antagonists and, if I am being honest, that constant feeling of frustration and even hopelessness, tempered some of my overall reading enjoyment (that is likely a me problem rather than that of the book though). If you were hoping for more romance in this one, I’d say you are somewhat in luck. This is not a “romance” and never will be, but there was definitely movement in that direction (although it all remains very fraught). As expected, the book ended with a very “to be continued” vibe (not a cliffhanger exactly as we know the status of the main characters at the end but pretty close)… I am looking forward to seeing how Lore et al are able to get out of the binds they are left in (and wondering if we might be getting multiple POVs in book 3)! The Hemlock Queen releases April 9th!

Thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for the e-ARC; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The tl;dr: Whitten is back with another book that expertly balances what fans of romance and fantasy are looking for. The Hemlock Queen is much bigger and bolder than its predecessor, with gods battling it out for power, our favorite characters in new positions of authority, and Lore having to still figure out her heart amidst the gods-ravaged chaos. International political conspiracies, tragic gods, murders, necromancy, and a bit of spice fill these pages to create a sequel that is as much as a fun page turner, but now with just a bit more depth to the plotting and worldbuilding, and a tad more emotional resonance. Once you get through the slow start, this book soars.

Hannah Whitten returns with another thrill ride of a romantic fantasy. The stakes are heightened in this rollicking sequel as ancient gods battle it out for supremacy amidst the very human emotions of love, family, and power. Fans of The Foxglove King will find a lot to relish here, while even those who were a bit iffy on the entry of Whitten's sophomore series might want to give it a glance (although this sequel will not change your mind if you were completely put off by The Foxglove King).

The Hemlock Queen picks up pretty shortly after the climactic events of The Foxglove King, and in general it is the first 20% of the book or so that raises my biggest criticisms. The openeing pages here are quite slow, and unnecessarily so. I understand that some sequels start slow, and I generally like when sequels take room to breathe and ease readers back into a world and its characters. However, I don't think Whitten did this particularly well. The beginning of Hemlock Queen doesn't really re-introduce the world, characters, or conflict (there are some callbacks, but Whitten really relies on the reader remembering a lot of the details here), and yet nothing happens. So the beginning ends up being a "worse of both worlds" situation where nothing happens, and yet readers are not eased back into the world either. I have to admit that in the beginning all I could think was "oh no oh no oh no oh no Whitten hit the sophomore slump".

But fear not, once the beginning shakes off the cobwebs, the story hits its stried and does not let up until you hit the last page.

One of the aspects of the story that I really appreciated is that Whitten allows actual change to her characters and world. Bastian is now the king, Gabe is the supreme religious authority, and Lore is set up to be the next reigning queen. There are no convlulated plot devices to try and "reset" the story back to where we were before the conclusion of Foxglove King, and that makes this sequel a smarter, deeper, and more assured book than its predecessor. I wouldn't say it is the most massive of glow-ups (and doesn't have the same jump in quality as Whitten's Wilderwood Duology had), but Whitten commands the material to a depth that Foxglove King was only skimming.

I am generally not a romance reader, and I find love triangles to be contrived and an overly simplistic way to add personal tension and drama - but Whitten continues to make the Lore-Bastian-Gabe love triangle one of the most compelling in all of fiction. I can actually believe that both of these men would be romantic contenders (for very different reasons) and why Lore is pulled between the safer, more nostalgic and comforting draw of Gabe and the more powerful, darker, and riskier allure of Bastian. The love triangle pulls back a bit in this book as Whitten needs to dedicate the page count to the more earth-shattering elements to the plot, but the romantic elements help to ground the story in an intimate and human way as the overarching story gets bolder and loftier with gods, possessions, and more.

(There are two other things I should note about the romance in this book: (1) if you are not normally a romance reader but like fantasies with death magic, gods, and more, the romance is a small enough part of the book that you might want to give this a go and (2) there is one kind of spicy scene towards the end of the book, but otherwise it is just glances and kisses).

Whitten also takes the larger worldbuilding and turns it up to a ten. There are international conspiracies, god possessions, ancient battles rearing their heads, murders, betrayals, long lost relatives, and more. Whitten ups the ante in almost all ways here, and doesn't slow down once the book gets rolling. Again, after the first 20% or so, Whitten doesn't give the reader time to breathe as the plot hits into high gear and doesn't relent - and all without feeling overstuffed or like there is too much going on. The story feels bigger, grander, and more epic in scope without spiriling out of control, and without forgetting the characters that we have come to love in the first book. The plot also leads to an extended flashback chapter about the gods that absolutely FLOORED me with how compelling and lovely it was. Having read Whitten's work since her debut (For the Wolf), it's been great to see her become more adventurous with her storytelling and plotting.

(The only part of the plotting that I thought could have been smoother was the god-possession of the one of the characters. It was very much done with the subtley of a "bull in a china shop", which I would have liked to have been better, especially when it is still presented as a "mystery" in the early goings of the book).

The entire book also leaves off on a pretty massive cliffhanger, with several characters in peril and many people scattered in different directions. I think that this is going to be a trilogy (at least Whitten mentions this being a second book in a trilogy in the author's note), and I cannot wait for the grand finale.

I really enjoyed my time with The Hemlock Queen, probably more than The Foxglove King. While my review for Foxglove highlighted how breezy and fun the book was (some romance, some necromancy, a fast-paced plot), my appreciation and pleasure with Hemlock is a bit deeper as I still had a lot of fun with it, but now with a greater emotional connection to the characters and worldbuilding. Highly recommended for Whitten fans, or anyone who likes their fantasy full of romance, gods, and necromancy magic.

Loved the first book and couldn’t wait for this one! It did not disappoint! Could not put this one down for nothing. Bought a bigger phone to read it on the go!

A satisfying sequel! The author continued her world-building, creating an even richer context for this second book in the trilogy. Would recommend!

⭐ 4 (3.5 rounded up? Im torn.)

I actually liked this book more than the first but for reasons that are hard to explain (I'll try anyway).

The prose/craft feels much better than the first book, which I noticed almost immediately upon starting the ARC. I finished the first and started the second within a few moments, so perhaps it was just more noticeable because of that, but something definitely went down smoother while reading. I enjoyed it. The pacing is still too slow in parts, however, but it did not bother me as much as the first book.

This entry to the series has a bigger emphasis on Bastian and Lore's relationship. I loved, loved, loved that as they did not have enough interactions for me in The Foxglove King. Bastian's struggles were both my favorite part and the only aspect of the story that truly made my heart ache for a character. He goes through it this book and the more you think about it, the worse his struggle gets. Seeing the consequences of Lore and Bastian's actions, and having them genuinely be grueling, at least gave meaning to all of the sometimes convoluted and slower info dumps.

There are quite a few of those info sections of the book. I couldn't help thinking "and now we're to the part where they set something up for next book" while reading certain parts, which is to be expected of a second book in a trilogy.

The relationships were complex but I wish there was more meat on the bones in the form of loving/connecting character interactions. There's only so much a "strange/godly connection" can make me suspend my belief that characters love each other. I did believe in Lore and Bastian's connection this book, they felt more earned than Lore's strange obsession with Gabe (which is mainly there in the form of mental turmoil this novel). What I was happy to see was a bit more set up (or hinting) of a true throuple ending to the series. I don't dislike a love triangle but I would love an ending where all three of them were together. It'd fix a lot of problems. Some more romantic interactions before this point between Bastian and Gabe would've been nice to see, though. My fingers are crossed for next book!

The romance level is mainly on par with the first book but it skews a tad spicier. If you've read One Dark Window, it's got that level of spice (not much). Just thought I'd mention it since I know some of you guys will be curious.

There is a lot more god information this book! I was lucky that I liked that aspect of the book because it is heavily focused upon. Heavily. I could see how someone who was not interested in the dynamic between Bastian, Lore, and the two main gods, would be very bored.

Overall, I was happy to have had a good time with this book! I flew through it. I am definitely going to be reading the third when it comes out

Thank you Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

5/5 stars
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Orbit Books for allowing me to read this arc. Wow wow wow wow I loved this book. There is so much going on. I LOVE the relationship between Lore and Bastian. Gabe, I’m still holding out hope for you baby.
The plot was exciting and high stakes and I need the next book like tomorrow.
Gods, magic, courtly intrigue, a little bit of spice. It’s got it all. I loved this book.

I was so exited to start this but also a little nervous. The first book was so good and sometimes middle books of series are rough. This really was good! I did feel it started slightly slow in the beginning but it picked up and the plot started flowing! I loved learning more about the gods of the world. Hannah Whitten creates really interesting and complicated characters. The court politics really amped up and I enjoyed getting to go out more in the world. The relationships between our trio become even more complex in this book. I think Lore could end up with either and it could be satisfying because there is a true connection between them all. So...why pick? This was great and I can't wait for book 3!

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

Thank you Netgalley and Orbit Books for access to this arc

Not gonna lie, I’ve been stalking Netgalley for months to see if this arc was going to be released. I’ve been waiting and waiting since reading the first one.

I absolutely loved coming back to Dellaire with Lore, Gabe and Bastian. The ending of the first book had me on the edge of my seat. So I was a little bummed when jumping into this one things seemed a bit sluggish in the first half. But it definitely made up for that in the second half. I love the world building, especially diving into the stories of Appollius and Nyxara.

This one is definitely spicy and I think even more than the first, but for those who don’t like that, you can easily just skip over it. Definitely a great follow up to The Foxglove King

The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten feels like a bridge to the next book. You really need to read the first book to fully understand the events of the second and feel any connection with the characters. They are both worth reading, as the characters have dimension and the world is relatively well built. It begins with Bastian’s coronation approaching while Lore, the main character, attempts to figure out how to protect herself, her prince, and her circle of friends before they are overtaken by the gods that posses them and/or their kingdom is overtaken by a rival empire. It is complicated, of course, by secret alliances and agendas. The god possessing Bastian wanting immortality and control of the world is rather ruthless in his aims, but is also in love with his wife-goddess possessing Lore, so unwilling to kill her, thereby diminishing his own power, but willing to crush her and everything she loves in the process. Being a second and bridge novel in the trilogy Lore still has a great deal to figure out, but she does discover a great deal about how her current predicament came to be.

I was gave an ARC and this is my honest review.
So I came into this book excited. I very much enjoyed the first book Foxglove King. This book though was not it. I felt like it was long and drawn out. Not much happened and the romance felt forced. I skimmed a lot because just nothing happened. This book could have been half as long and been better. The bits that did have action were great, but not enough. I understand it’s a middle book and they tend to be harder to write, so hopefully the conclusion of the trilogy will be a lot more action packed and exciting.
Thank you to Net Galley and Orbit for providing this arc.

The Hemlock Queen continues where The Foxglove King left off. Middle books of trilogies are tough. It’s a struggle to continue to move the plot along while also setting up the final book without feeling like a filler.

Books in series are hard to review without giving away details of book one, so the TL,DR: I liked it. If you like dark fantasy, you should read these.

I was hoping for some more answers and resolutions from this book, but I guess I’ll continue to wait for book three…

What You’ll Find In This Series:
🌙 Necromancy
🌙 Church vs Court
🌙 Love Triangles
🌙 Beautiful Writing
🌙 Immersive High Fantasy

Wow. This book was a great continuation of the Foxglove King. It was a roller coaster through the story. We learn a lot more about Bleeding God and the Buried Goddess which added to the novel. It was slow in a few parts but overall a novel I was anxious to finish to learn 'what happened' and am looking forward to the next book. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Beautifully written middle of trilogy! Very interesting, likeable characters and non boring middle. Super excited for finale! Surprise ending as well. Helped clarify a few things I was confused about in book one. Lovely cover as well!

WOW! What a sequel to a series that started off a bit slow.

The first book had me really hoping this second book would pick up the pace and it did!

The beginning of this book is a little slow and it started to get repetitive to the point where I really thought I wasn’t going to like it but the last 10 chapters had me in a chokehold.

The one (minor) complaint that I have about this book, and the series, is the romance. I don’t care about the spice level or anything like that but I wanted the romance to have a bit more umph. I didn’t feel like the connection was really made in the first book to warrant some of the actions in the second book. There just wasn’t the emotional connection threaded that needed to be for the actions that occur in the second book to hurt as much as it should’ve. Despite this, I think by the end of the book you see the love and pain that the characters go through.

The plot is unique throughout both books and characters actually think through conflict and have to come up with unique solutions to their problems. This is something that is SO valuable that often isn’t shown in other books. A lot of times characters will just do things without reason but the author clearly explains why characters make the decisions they do and those decisions drive the plot.

The only reason this isn’t 5 stars for me is because I think there’s room to improve when it comes to plot progression and not having repetitive incidents throughout the book but the 3rd book in this series will be amazing!!

I am such a fan of this series. The world and magic system have such a unique blend of religion, politics, elemental magic and necromancy. Lore continues to be a strong main character and I was invested in her journey the entire time. The twists and intrigue kept me guessing. The slow burn was delicious. The love triangle has all the angst you can handle. I can’t wait to see where Hannah takes us for the conclusion of the trilogy.

I enjoyed The Foxglove King so was very much looking forward to this one. The Hemlock Queen takes a rather different turn from the first book in the series--instead of centering on court politics and Lore coming into her powers, its focus is fallen gods rising again with human avatars. The love triangle plays a lesser role in this one, with Gabe being out of the picture for much of the book, and the pace is a lot slower than book one. Readers, prepare yourselves: this one has a cliffhanger ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

Fantastic Sequel!

I loved travelling the world of The Nightshade Crown once again in The Hemlock Queen! Lore has such a unique talent of navigating the line between integrity and selfishness to protect those she loves - you can't help but root for her! All of your favorite characters - Alie, Malcom, Bastian, Gabe, and Lore - face many obstables in this book and their character growth/arcs are so interesting! You also meet a few new characters...be ready for some plot twists and a bit of a cliffhanger.
I cannot wait for Book 3.