Wow, I am so excited to have had the opportunity to read this book. The story continues with Lore, Gabe, and Bastian and their fated journey together. The author Hannah Whitten has a fantastic way of bringing the story to life for the reader. describing details so thoroughly that you can see the story unraveling in your mind. Can not wait for the next book to reveal the continuation of this story and all its magic, romance, and mystery.

I felt that for a middle book in a series, The Hemlock Queen was quite good. Sometimes, I feel like they can drag and that big things don't happen - - but that definitely wasn't the case here. The world building continues in this entry as does the character development. There is more information given about the history of the gods and how they initially attained their powers via The Fount. It also gives you a story of how it all initially fell apart. And there are big things going on in this book. It's not filler. It is a main player - - this book matters.

Meanwhile, things are coming undone at court where Bastian and Lore are the reigning "it" couple. With so much changing and so many questions, Lore is trying to understand her role and why Bastian is moody.

There's a great love triangle, magic, murder, battling gods, betrayal, suspicion and many twists. This was a wonderful continuation to the series and I greatly look forward to the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5 stars. I think that The Hemlock Queen struggled through some of the pacing challenges that second books in trilogies sometimes face. Did I still overall enjoy it? Yeah absolutely. The story kicks off right after the events of The Foxglove King which I really enjoyed when. it first came out, but I guess it wasn't quite as memorable as I thought because when I started into this story, I felt like I had no idea what was going on and really could've benefitted from a reread.

My overall thoughts once I collected myself: The romance, the angst, the tiny bit of spice we are graced with ~ all fantastic. I LOVED Lore's scene with Bastian and I am living for the [love triangle maybe-why-choose?] vibes we have going on. Why so little of that? More please. The story certainly delivered on eliciting emotion, if the emotion we are talking about is frustration. My god, this was frustrating. My darling Bastian is struggling to stay Bastian, we barely see Gabe, Lore feels like a washed out version of herself which I honestly get because girl, I would be tired too. I am tired. I am fully expecting book 3 to come out and kick everybody's ass into gear because something has to happen.

I really enjoyed this follow-up! It was compelling to read and I loved how the story delved deep into what was happening to each character internally - rather than focusing on action. We got to know the star players more and see how they grapple between their own feelings and the hands fate has dealt them. Overall, I think this was a really well-done book 2, but it was also clearly a book 2, setting up a big face-off in the next installment and raising stakes without really giving any payoff. That said, there was a lot of tension, a lot of intrigue, and the romance was complicated, messy, and heartwrenching. It felt believable for the story - which is something I so appreciated.

The book isn't exactly long, but it is quite dense. This is one that will require readers really pay attention to in order to follow the worldbuilding and plot development.

4.5/5
A little slow in the beginning, especially while I tried to remember everything that happened in the first book. Once things started coming back together, this book had me gripped. I absolutely LOVE the direction where Whitten is taking this series, and I am eager to see how she incorporates the gods in the next book. The plot twists are twisted as hell, and the ending killed me! Whitten, ma’am, I need book 3 asap please and thank you.

I thought I knew where this 2nd book was going but omg I had no idea…

Just like the first book I love the characters so much and all of the religious intricacies. Hannah Whitten is a terrific world builder and has done a fantastic job building a unique world with unique characters and powers in a time when fantasy has started to feel repetitive. I do feel like the first half was a bit slow but once you start to piece together the mystery it really picks up. Like Foxglove King, this book is a terrific set up for the next in the series and I can’t wait to revisit this world and characters when the next book is released.

Also, if you like a slow burn this book was made for you

Hannah Whitten continues the tale of Lore, a former poison runner. She and Bastian have killed his evil father. She, despite not being noble, is engaged to him and is The Hemlock Queen (hard from Orbit). This middle book of a trilogy tells how humans became the gods whose bodies provide magic. Bastian has a dark secret fighting him, and the gods are coming back in new bodies. Next year this will all be resolved.

The Hemlock Queen was a fantastic followup to The Foxglove King, and it made me enjoy the series more. I love how dark and sexy this series is - If I had to give a vibe comparison, I'd say this book is "Throne of Glass if Celaena, Chaol and Dorian were a throuple". I'm loving the tension and feelings between Gabe, Bastian and Lore, and I love the extra lair with Nyxara and her cohorts in the mix. I'm really excited to see how this series ends as I think there's supposed to be a third book!

The Foxglove King left us with one hell of an ending, and I have been dying to find out what’s next! Hannah Whitten did not disappoint with the second book in the trilogy, The Hemlock Queen. She takes us deeper into court politics and corruption, the myths of the gods, and of course the magic! This was everything I anticipated and more! Secrets are continually unfolding; the plot is always moving. Sometimes the middle book in a trilogy feels like a slow bridge to book 3. That is NOT the case with The Hemlock Queen.

✨Hemlock Queen by Hannah Witten✨

Rating: no rating
Spice: 🌶️.5/5

Unfortunately, I have decided to DNF this book. I read the first one in the FairyLoot edition. I definitely think having a beautiful copy of the book helped me want to read it. While reading this one from an eARC didn’t give me that serotonin boost like the first one did.

I do plan to buy the FairyLoot edition of this book and do plan to finish it eventually. When I do pick it up again I plan to reread or skim foxglove king first. I believe this book starts immediately after the first one ended, but there is very limited synopsis or background information given at the beginning so it was very hard to pick back up. I don’t know if that was a me thing or typical for everyone.

I got about 60% of the book and just didn’t have a connection to the characters didn’t really like the direction the book was going but that may have just been because I don’t remember anything from book one and I thought that I could just jump into book 2.

I plan to pick this back up in the future but as it came out this week, I wanted to at least try my hardest to finish this book but since I’m in a bit of a slump I’m soft DNFing and moving on.

This series is a gothic atmospheric book. This series reminded me of Belladonna and one dark window. If you liked those books I think you should pick up this series!

Lore’s world is spinning out of control. This once poison runner and smuggler was shoved into court near the sun prince, Bastian, to spy on him for his father. Once the plan went south and the sainted king was killed by the prince, Bastian is now in charge and making decisions throwing everyone for a loop. Lore is doing her best to balance her allegiance to Bastian but can’t help but wish to have her friendship back with Gabe. Now that a prophecy has gone unfulfilled, what will become of our young and reckless crew?

This was a fun sequel! I enjoyed it a lot. The tension between Lore and Gabe but also the tension between Lore and Bastian!! It’s all so love triangle. The book is so consumable. I couldn’t hardly put it down once I picked it up. The magic system is easy to follow and the characters have distinct personalities. The book has left a lot of questions in the balance at the end so I hope all will come to a close come the final book. One thing I will not get over is how much of it is “true” and how much of it is just from the past (iykyk). I love the thought of an “unreliable” narrator. One thing I will critique is Witten’s constant reminders. Being constantly reminded of character’s current going ons or their names, i.e. Lore, the death witch, the hemlock queen, etc. it’s like interchanging them on a regular basis is just a reminder of the 14 names each character seems to have (I’m over exaggerating a little here). Other than that, I really enjoyed the book! I can’t wait to read the third one! This gives a bit of Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince vibes. Overall, 4/5 stars! I’m ready for book 3!

After digging into "The Hemlock Queen," the eagerly anticipated sequel to Hannah Whitten's The Foxglove King, I found myself grappling with the familiar symptoms of second book syndrome. While the first installment had me enraptured from start to finish, the sequel fell short, plodding along at a slow and meandering pace that made for a tedious reading experience.

One of the most glaring flaws of "The Hemlock Queen" is its sluggish pacing, which stands in stark contrast to the riveting momentum of its predecessor. The story unfolds at a glacial pace, with revelations coming few and far between, leaving long stretches of time in between what felt like a test of patience rather than a journey of discovery.

While I understand the necessity of second books in trilogies laying the groundwork for the finale, the execution in this instance left much to be desired and we saw very few interactions between the main trio all together, which was one of my favorite parts of the first book. Whitten pairs up Lore and Bastien for a majority of this book as they navigate their growing powers and their growing relationship with one another, while Gabe was mostly relegated to the background and us as readers are just being told how much they all feel for each other but hardly showing it when it came to their interactions with Gabe.

Despite the lull in pacing and shift from a group dynamic to fracturing our main trio, there are glimpses of promise scattered throughout the narrative, hinting at the potential for an exhilarating conclusion in the next installment. Whitten's world-building remains immersive and richly detailed, offering tantalizing glimpses into the complexities of her fantastical realm.

While it may serve as a necessary bridge to the finale, the sluggish pacing and sparse revelations make for a tedious reading experience, but I remain intrigued about the next book, I just can't help but feel disheartened by the journey I had to endure to get there.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

My rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Spice level: 🌶️🌶️

Read if you like:
▫️necromancy and elemental magic
▫️prophecy and warring gods
▫️political conflict and reluctant rulers
▫️complicated love triangle

The Hemlock Queen picks up about a week after The Foxglove King ended, and it ups the stakes with even more betrayal, lies, and deadly secrets. It delves more into the magic system and gives us more world building by explaining the history of the gods. I was completely engrossed by the storyline and the dark, gothic feel of the setting.

I’m not usually one for love triangles or messy relationships, but the one between Lore, Gabe, and Bastian is so fraught with tension and chemistry, and I loved it so much that I almost couldn’t stand it. I have never read anything so angsty, and I absolutely adored it. Book one primarily focused on Lore’s relationship with Gabe, but Bastian was the primary focus in book two, and he did not disappoint! He was all charming flirtation in the first book, but here he is raw, damaged, and absolutely desperate for Lore. The slow burn was scorching hot and delicious.

This is a superb dark gothic romantasy series. It’s got forbidden love, a flawed, strong and sassy heroine, banter, found family, an interesting magic system, compelling characters, and a gripping plot. I need book three immediately because that ending was wild and the cliffhanger was brutal!! I loved this book and highly recommend it.

Thank you to Orbit Books, NetGalley, and Hannah F. Whitten for the copy. I received it for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

This book went in a direction I wasn’t expecting at all and I loved it! I enjoyed the development of the characters and how the kind of love triangle is done in a way that is not overdone. The pacing was a bit slow to get to the reveal in the middle, but the reveal was well done. I was also very happy with the ending, definitely made me want to read the next one.

Thank you netgalley, orbit, and Hannah Whitten for the ARC.

Words cannot describe the love I have for this series. AND THIS BOOK... Whitten has left me, again, in a state of awe. The world building, the characters, and just...everything about this book was truly magical. I cannot get enough of my favorite trio.
The tension, and the angst, and just...ugh.

It was action packed, spooky, DEVASTATINGLY ROMANTIC... I just loved this book. Truly.
I felt so connected to this characters, and even weeks later, I still can't stop thinking about the events of this book.

It is going to be so hard to top this book for me.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

This was such an amazing second installment in this series. I was hooked right away as the story took off.

The tension and relationship dynamics through the whole book kept me on my toes, I never knew how I was feeling or where my loyalties lie, which feels so representative of Lore’s own mind. The setting in these stories is also one of my favorite parts it makes me want to travel into the book!

The ending got so crazy I am so excited for the next book I CANNOT WAIT. I will be recommending this series to my fellow romantasy friends!

Thank you Netgalley and Orbit for the Arc!

I've enjoyed Whitten's writing in the past in particular, For the Wolf and For the Throne. I enjoy the worlds that she puts together and have found her magic systems to be interesting. I read the Foxglove King last year, and although it wasn't my favorite I was intrigued enough to read the second book. I'm not a big fan of love triangles, especially when they go nowhere. I think this series should have been a duology because this second book feels unnecessary, I like Lore as a character but she felt so passive in this story and the plot really dragged. The potential was really there with the overall world building and with the gods story line, but it was so boring. It felt like the author was dragging out the story just to make this a trilogy.

Absolutely wonderful. I love the writing, and the character development of Lore. I can't wait to get my hands on a hard copy.

Lush, dark gothic fantasy with warring gods and poisonous political intrigue. The Hemlock Queen is an intense, incredible follow-up to The Foxglove King.

As the second book in the trilogy, The Hemlock Queen spends a lot of time fleshing out the world and dark magic system. For some, this can be a slog as moving the plot forward takes a bit of a back seat. But Lore, Gabe, Bastian, and the others working to uncover the buried secrets of their gods is the plot's foundation. I thoroughly enjoyed some of the info-dumping in this book because it helped me connect the dots and visualize everyone's motivations.

The love triangle romance also heated up in this book. There wasn't spice in the first book, but that changed in book 2 in a very satisfying way after so much tension and build-up.

As for characters, Lore shared the spotlight more in book 2 alongside Bastian - whom I've come to absolutely adore. That was a surprise because I didn't really click with him in book 1, but his personality and relationship with Lore really shined in this book. On the flip side, Gabe got even grumpier, and his relationship with Lore was mostly stagnant throughout the book.

The Parisian-inspired world continues to dazzle me, and the sheer amount of incredible world-building still makes my head spin. I was in love with the author's writing style before, but The Nightshade Crown cements Hanna Whitten as a master of gothic fantasy.

Overall 4⭐️

Thank you NetGalley, Orbit books, and Hannah Whitten for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a good follow up to the first the Foxglove King. I will say it wasn't as good as the first but it's set up the next book in the series to be really great. The pacing was just a little too slow for me and the romance of this Romantasy was more of a subplot rather than a larger part of the book. I feel like the character development was the main focus of this book and the 3rd book will amp things up with the main plot. I look forward to the 3rd book coming out!