Thank you NetGalley and Orbit books for the ARC!

Hannah Whitten stole my heart with her "For the Wolf' duology. As a result, I did read 'The Foxglove King' and provide a very detailed review. The sequel continues much in the same vein. I think there is too much world, too many characters and to conflicting religions to be compiled into two books. It's an overwhelming amount of information to take it. This compounds the issue for me because I have no great affection for Lore, Sebastian and especially not Gabe.

However, I will say that Whitten continued to delivery in a beautiful description of our current political climate and provides a dialogue for those who cannot find the words for themselves.

I absolutely loved The Hemlock Queen! It's a fantastic follow up to the first book in the series and Written continues with her wonderful world-building. I love these characters and can't wait to see how Whitten resolves everything in the third book!

Oh boy here we go.
The Hemlock Queen also had absolutely no worldbuilding… what happened since book one!?
We left that all behind in book one, I guess! Having no worldbuilding immediately ruins the vibes of a good fantasy novel. It has to be there or it doesn't work. Without it, the book's chakras aren't aligned. If you can't imagine yourself in the world, then what's the point?
With that being said, the magic system was strong and well-developed. The idea of Mortem and Spiritum magic was still interesting to read about and how Whitten has her characters use it in different ways is fascinating. The magic system is honestly the saving grace of this sequel.
Overall, I'm not sure I am going to continue reading this series. I felt like there were plenty of chapters I just skimmed through and I just am not invested in the characters or the world anymore.

Cawpile: 7.14/10

I have such mixed feelings about this book because I enjoyed parts of it while also disliking others. I did not love the main characters in this book as I found them to be annoyingly frustrating but I did like some of the side characters we got to see more of in this book. I didn’t feel as the characters had much growth but I felt like they were pretty dimensional. There were a few cool magic moments but there wasn’t as much magic use or exploration in this book - which was in line with the plot.

The plot really felt like it dragged for parts of it and it didn’t feel to build any intrigue for me. I didn’t really have anything that kept me wanting to read more until the last quarter of the book. I did enjoy the exploration of relationships we saw as well as how the story unfolded. This is definitely a book where the ending makes the book but it’s hard to stay invested enough to stay to the end.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed book one or anyone looking for a slower fantasy read.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Orbit for providing me with a free digital copy of this book.

I wanted to like this series but I think I'm done trying. Conceptionally, this is such a great book. The writing is fine but, much like the first book, it was far too slow. I was bored. I am good going on a journey but this just didn't seem to go anywhere.

I had hoped that the love interest would develop and we'd get some forward momentum from it, but we don't see it here. In fact, the glimpses of the romance here lead me to believe it's going in a direction that I won't enjoy. I liked the idea of Gabe but nothing developed to make me believe he is an actual love interest. There just was no tension and he felt forgotten about most of the time. And I have no interest in the king.

It took about 83% of this book to start getting interesting but then it just got weird/forced. I'm trying not to spoil it but I'm not into throuples in fantasy.

I appreciate the opportunity to review these titles and although I received an ARC for this book, I am leaving my review voluntarily and honestly.

I definitely think I needed to reread book 1 before reading this one because it did take me a second to remember what was going on. Still an enjoyable read Hannah Whitten will always be a fave of mine! Some points it did feel kind of filler-y but I think that just tends to happen with a second book in a series. Definitely looking forward to book three and seeing where this story continues to go.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review (sorry it is so late)
Pub Date: April 9, 2024

4 stars
This one took awhile to get going for me and I definitely enjoyed the first book more. But, I know second books in trilogies need to do some character development and setting things up for the final book. The second half of the book really picked up and I'm excited for the finale in the spring!

I loved this for the second book. It felt a little slow at first but I was so happy to see it progress. It felt tortured and emotional and so amazing. I was not disappointed and I am very eagerly awaiting the next book.

Thank you so much for this ARC. A review will be posted to my bookstagram (@brunettebabesbookshelf).

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/165409488-sam">View all my reviews</a> -> GoodReads Review

I love Hannah Whitten's writing, but this series has been painfully slow. I love the death magic, the palace, and the character of Lore, but so much of this novel drags.

This was definitely a slower paced book and the characters spent a lot of time in their heads and not interacting with each other. It’s also super slow burn-I was expecting more romance in a romantasy book. All the said I will definitely be tuning in for the next book in the series.

If The Foxglove King was okay, The Hemlock Queen was... meh? Like the first book, I enjoyed it enough to read it to the end. The story often seems a little lost in wanting to be plot-driven vs character-driven, and I think that's where the issue stems. This story could go either way, but the decision needed to be made at the latest in this book. There is more character-driven shift in this one, but not to the degree there needed to be. As a result, the story feels like rambling that's not going much of anywhere most of the time.
I am faithful because there is something here! Hopefully, this is just a case of middle-book syndrome.

I devoured the first book in this series but this one stalled quite a bit for me. What I enjoyed most about the first one was how fast paced it was. It felt like an adventure story with a cool magic system whereas this one is almost all courtly intrigue. I am also very uninterested in the love story and that takes up a lot of real estate. I will see this trilogy through though. I hope that the pace picks back up in the final book. This one, like the first does end on a major cliffhanger so I am hopeful that Witten can maintain that pace to start the third book.

Sorry for the late review, I had some health issues but now I am getting back on track.
I loved the second book even more than the first! I just love Hannah's writing and the unique world she created! These characters are now some of my favorite characters ever too! I can't wait to read the next book in the series and read more from this author!

In the second installment of New York Times bestselling author Hannah Whitten's lush, romantic epic fantasy series, a young woman who can raise the dead must navigate the dangerous and glamorous world of the Sainted King's royal court.

This was a solid second book in the series. I liked it slightly less than the first book, but it was still really good. I look forward to the next installment.

Big thanks to Orbit for giving me an eARC of this book to review!

I love Lore and I love Hannah Whitten! Definitely one of my favorite authors at the moment! The world that Hannah is creating in this series is one of the best I've experienced in a while. Book two was definitely heavier on details versus a lot of action but I do think it's great set up for book three in this trilogy. Can't wait for book 3!

Wow this one had me ITCHING for book 3! This installment in the series explored more of the religious history and hints at ways things are bound to repeat themselves. Definitely recommend this one!

This was a decent follow-up to the first book in the series, which I was obsessed with when I first read it two years ago. I found the first half to be very, very slow. Not much really happened that furthered the plot in any significant way. To be honest, I was rather bored for most of it. I know second books are hard, and like they tend to do, this one felt like more of a bridge to get us from book one to book three, rather than a complete story in itself. Personally, I just like it when series have each book stand well on their own, with their own separate arcs that mesh into the arc of the series as a whole. And I didn’t get that from this. That’s my only gripe with it, and the reason it kept it from being a five star read for me. The ending, however, more than made up for it. I was so excited to learn more about the backstory of the world and the gods. I loved that we got that perspective shift for a bit. It adds so much more depth to everything that is happening with the main characters. The magic system in this series is so unique and intriguing, and it gets expanded upon even more in the second book. We also have some character development happening, although I missed the building tension between Gabe and Lore, which seemed to fizzle out. I love being in this story world and I feel so connected to all the characters and invested in what's going to happen next. I’m can't wait for the third and final installment of this trilogy! I think it’s going to be a wild, explosive ride to the finish. If you’re debating whether to continue with this series, I definitely recommend it!

Really loved book 2 and excited for book 3.
I loved the development of the characters and the new challenges they faced in this book. The magic system and history was interesting but left me with so many questions! I am here for the triangle and looking forward to how that gets resolved.
I absolutely missed book 1 Bastien and his banter with Lore, book 2 has a much more somber tone but as enjoyable as book 1.
A different and fun fantasy!

This book starts off right after the events of The Foxglove King.

The world building and plot kept me intrigued. And I loved the plot twists and scheming throughout. The tension between Bastian, Gabe and Lore was *chef’s kiss*

I can’t wait to see what is in store for the third instillment.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for this eARC.

Thank you for this ARC!

I did not realize as soon as a second book in a series. It was very lucky that I had read the first book and had loved it! Unfortunately, always seems to happen when you compare the second book of the first book, the second book falls a little flat I found myself missing the original characters wanting to spend less time with our current cast