⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have a very mixed review but it is overall positive! I loved the first two books in this series and I cried through the last 25% of this book BUT the first 75% was a lot to get through. I just really didn’t care about so much of it. I wanted more of what we finally got at the very end. I am trying so hard not to spoil anything here. But it felt like we had to get through so much and we didn’t have enough time for what we really wanted after two other books. I think there should be another book 🤣

The four stars is really a reflection of the series as a whole and the fact that I bawled my eyes out the last 20ish% of the book. Headphones on. Trying to bake for my market today. Sobbing like a hot mess haha

Here’s to hoping we get some more!

The audio narration was great as well!
Thank you to Hannah, Netgalley & Orbit books for the ARC

This was another one my most anticipated reads of the year and IT DIDN"T DISAPPOINT!! I wasn't sure where we were going after we found out that the gods were back and the book just ended. I will admit I was nervous I couldn't shake this foreboding feeling. This book answered all my questions and gave me an ending I loved. There was really no other way this book could have ended.

I was interested to know if the MFM vibes I was getting in the beginning were going to be real and boy did it pay off. While the book wasn't super spicy as the TikTok reviewers call it. I respected how this dynamic was approached and loved every minute of it.

I have a love/hate relationship with The Nightshade Crown trilogy. Hear me out! ☝🏽

love:
-the messy ▵ between the MCs: Lore, Bastian, and Gabe
-the magic system and the mythology of the gods and the fount
-the political and social commentary about humanity and the temptation of power
-the Pirates of the Caribbean-ish vibes of the islands???

hate:
-the pacing of each book was off for me
-the repetition of certain phrases or sentences
-the edging around a certain pairing that never truly happened on page 😒

This trilogy is solidly entertaining, but being invested in the romance is what pushed me to keep going. I did want to know how it would end, and the third book had me raging while I read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for the eARC!

Phenomenal ending. I love this book and everything about it. Yay Hannah Whitten
I highly recommend everyone to read this series
5 stars

To me, this was such a good conclusion to the series.

Things moved very quickly, picking up right where book 2 left off. A number of characters and story arcs that felt drawn out in book two were finally brought to a close, which I appreciated, and we finally, FINALLY, got actual on-page acknowledgment of the throuple that I have been waiting for since book one.

I was wondering how a few things could be brought to a satisfactory resolution and also still not be absolutely emotionally devastating, and I feel like this toed that line well, giving emotional satisfaction in a way that wasn't unrealistic.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the e-ARC.

The Nightshade God is the final book in The Nightshade Crown trilogy that packed an emotional punch.

There were a lot of moving parts so I enjoyed the introduction of multiple POVs in this book and felt it was necessary to tie up all the loose ends. I wouldn’t say it’s an action packed series but it has very vivid and intricate world building woven into the fabric of the story.

The character development for Lore, Bastian and Gabe was the biggest highlight of the series for me, particularly the evolution of their love triangle. I just wish we got to spend more time with the three of them together in this book.

Overall, it was a satisfying conclusion that worked for the story and the message being told. The ending had me feeling the emotional turmoil.

Definitely one to pick up when you want to get lost in a world of necromancy, gothic setting, religious themes that question a broken institution, meddling gods, and a romantic triangle.

An epic conclusion to a deliciously gothic fantasy with a unique magic system. This was a very entertaining trilogy full of gods, avatars and how ultimate power corrupts.

The Nightshade God was a phenomenal conclusion to the Nightshade Crown trilogy. It gave me everything I could have asked for: a dark, emotionallly intense, gothic romantasy filled with flawed characters, corrupt gods, warring kingdoms, religious zealots, powerful magic that could save or break the world, and complicated romantic entanglements.

I have loved Lore since the first book. She’s a scrappy survivor who’s willing to do anything to survive, but she has to face the consequences of her actions in this book when the fate of the world depends on her. Bastian started off as the feckless, flirtatious prince, and became a good man willing to sacrifice himself for the people he loves. Gabe was the tortured monk who sacrificed everything for his religion, only to find out it had all been a lie. He’s always going to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences. They were all perfect for each other, and getting each of their POVs was perfect.

The world building was lush and vibrant, the characters are unforgettable, and the storyline is filled with danger, betrayal, and heartbreak. I loved this series and thought this was the perfect way to end it.

Thank you to Orbit Books, Hachette Book Group, Hannah Whitten, and NetGalley for the ARC.

📔The Nightshade God
✏️ Hannah Whitten
📆 July 15, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

READ IF YOU LIKE:
⛲️ dark gothic romantasy
⛲️ warring gods & elemental magic
⛲️ life & death magic
⛲️ prophecy & religious zealots
⛲️ warring kingdoms & politics
⛲️ complicated romantic relationships
⛲️ multi POV

Amazing! Hannah Whitten created an amazing ending to this trilogy. I was worried going in with how many plot threads that needed to be tied up, but I was completely satisfied with the outcome of the story.

I loved the themes of religion, gods and idols against humanity, perseverance of love, and so many others. It was a great series and I’m so sad to leave it!!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to receive an ARC of one of my most anticipated reads this year !! From the get go I have loved the magic system in this series & the gothic vibes. I feel like this book was the perfect conclusion to this series (bittersweet) ❤️‍🩹 all the relationships coming together & growing stronger was everything I needed (iykyk). The ending hurt my soul there for a bit but overall I had the best time with this series & I can’t wait to read more form Hannah Whitten 🫶🏻

Grab your tissues, because I’m not even kidding when I tell you the last 15-20% of this book broke my heart (don’t worry, it got better).

The Nightshade God is a story that truly takes a village to tell: this book is told through POVs from more characters than I care to count. It’s not only our human characters that take the wheel either–a couple of the gods get some time behind the narrative wheel too. I’m of two minds when it comes to this storytelling approach: since it isn’t consistent with the other two books I don’t want to like it, but I don’t think the story could’ve been told any other way. Maybe we can chalk it up to being a necessary measure. The book just didn’t hit the same when it wasn’t one of our core three characters at the helm.

Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of moving parts in this book, since we’re pushing toward the climax of the entire series. Bastian, Gabe, and Lore are all in completely different geographical locations across the world, with Bastian locked down in his own mind. Everyone basically knows what needs to be done, so it’s more of an issue of how to do it than anything else. Getting the band back together is one of two major focuses of this book, which allows Whitten to fully explore everyone’s thoughts and feelings now that there is nothing left to lose. The other major focus is faith, as complicated as that notion is. Faith in yourself, in humanity, in love, and in the future.

I enjoyed this last installment slightly less than the first two, but the trilogy as a whole is excellent. Another fantastic story from Hannah Whitten. 4⭐️



I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Action-Adventure/Adult Fantasy/Book Series/Dark Fantasy/Fantasy/Romantasy/Fantasy Series/LGBTQ Fantasy

A bit of a slow start but a beautiful ending. This trilogy’s impact is greater than the sum of its parts for me - it reflects on the harmful aspects of the institution of religion and shows how different characters move through that in unique ways. It also centers on a lovely and believable polyamorous, bisexual relationship and expands one’s presuppositions of romantic love in that sense. It’s nice to see this inclusion but it’s clear the author didn’t do it just for the sake of inclusion - she wanted to create space for more love, abundant love. Because isn’t it love that will save the world?

After being exiled to the Burnt Isles Lore feels she is failed. Bastian has been taken over by a god and she doesn't know what has become of her other friends. She is also missing her power. Lore must use all the skills she learned to survive and escape. Back home the rest of the group are attempting to locate the missing pieces of the broken Fount. Their only hope is to try to return magic to the original source to save their world.

I have really loved this series. Lore, Gabe and Bastian will be characters that I am thinking about for a long time. I don't want to get to spoilery but there are some developments in the relationships that I have been dying for. I also loved getting to know Alie more in this one. This book expands the world even more with getting a more detailed view of the Burnt Isles. This probably was my least favorite book of the three but I was still very satisfied by the ending. It broke my heart and then put it back together again. Hannah Whitten has become a favorite of mine so I can't wait to see what she does in the future.

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

The Nightshade God is the third and final book in The Nightshade Crown trilogy by Hannah Whitten. This book picks up a short period after the ending of book two, The Hemlock Queen, and we see our cast of characters in various parts of the world having to deal with the actions that closed out book two. Separated from each other, forced to make further sense of the Gods in their heads, and desperate to stop Apollius the characters embark on quests to find the scattered pieces of the Fount.

I really loved The Foxglove King because of the characters, relationships, and world building it introduced. The Hemlock Queen was a pretty predictable second book, in that it extensively built out the world, and really introduced the Gods whose previous lives paralleled the characters we’d come to love. It was set-up for even more character and relationship growth of our main characters amidst an epic finale that brought together religion, magic, and political systems.

Unfortunately, this finale was not quite that. The pacing was completely off. What should’ve been a tension building, twisting, race to overcome the once thought to be benevolent God Apollius was instead 65% a slow paced diasporic quest for magical items. It left no room for real character and relationship growth or for the political intrigue that was so strong in the first book. Instead of our main cast interacting we got more flashbacks to the Gods, whom as a plot device in Hemlock Queen I was okay with but as characters in this book I was bored with. Our main trio definitely deserved better. All that said, the last 30% of the book picked up and I was ultimately satisfied with the way the ‘big bad’ was overcome and the eventual ending.

Thank you to Orbit Press and NetGalley for the Arc.

Whitten wrote herself into a corner with the cliffhanger at the end of the Hemlock Queen, and I was skeptical that she could write her way out of it. But The Nightshade God delivers, and in a way which felt, when I closed the book, like the only way that it could have ended.

While the first two books followed the perspective of our main character, Lore, The Nightshade God expands to include the perspective of almost all our living gods (with the exception of sweet librarian Malcolm, who is perhaps uncoincidentally the least angsty of the crew): Bastian, Gabe and Alie. I particularly enjoyed getting to see Alie's perspective, as someone who would traditionally be a more side character in romantasy as the best friend and little sister. Her character arc throughout the book is fascinating. I wish it had gotten a little more time to breathe, but in an almost 500 page book, there was already so many subplots. But I would absolutely read a spin off of Alie's later life as the Arceneaux queen!

The book has some thoughtful things to say about religion, about literalism, about the use of religion to control and ultimately, about the obligation we all have to make the world a better place. This book may be set in a fantasy world, but it is a real balm for the pain we experience in our own. This book is for fans of Wren in the Holly Library and the Fate & Flame series.

The Nightshade God was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025, and I was lucky enough to receive an ARC (thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley!). I'm *very* happy to report that TNG's spot on my list of most anticipated reads for 2025 was absolutely deserved.

TNG picks up right after the doozy of a cliffhanger in The Hemlock Queen, with the Lore, Bastian, Alie, and Gabe spread across countries and the gods taking over more and more. What follows is a race to correct the course of the world before Apollius can fully conquer it.

There were three main aspects of TNG that I loved deeply:
1. Getting more than Lore's POV!! I loved getting to know each character more intimately, as well as the gods inhabiting them.
2. The complexities of politics vs. religion.
3. THE ENDING (no spoilers)

With this last installation, The Nightshade Crown has become one of my all-time favorite romantasy trilogies.

TLDR; Hannah Whitten deserves every ounce of praise for The Nightshade Crown trilogy, and if you haven't read any of these books yet, I cannot recommend them enough.

After The Hemlock Queen’s ending, I was ready to dive back in and see how this trilogy wrapped up, and while it wasn’t perfect, I’m satisfied with how it all came together.

One of my biggest issues with book two was feeling like Lore was just getting dragged along by the plot. So I was really happy to see her finally take charge in this one. And the multiple POVs? Loved getting to check in on everyone else and see how their arcs were building toward the finale.

Now… the ending. I’ll be honest, I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about it. Some of the sacrifices felt a little over the top, and I’m not convinced they all needed to happen. I’m not saying I was expecting sunshine and rainbows, but that final choice just didn’t sit right with me.

That said, this trilogy had so many powerful moments and offered some sharp commentary on religion, power, and human nature. I also really appreciated the rep throughout the series: disability, sexuality, gender—all woven in so seamlessly. It felt real, refreshing, and never performative.

Overall, an interesting, moody, and thought-provoking series that I’m glad I stuck with.

That ending!!

While I do feel like the first half of the book was a little slow but because we have so many POVs and we are in so many different places, the pacing picks up compared to the other books. All of these books have great worldbuilding, complex characters, and moments of hope and resilience. It does lean more towards fantasy than romance it is still an amazing adventure.

I really loved the narration

Thank you you to Orbit, Hannah Whitten and Hachette audio

I have to admit, I put off writing this a little because I did not want to accept that this trilogy has finally concluded.
The Foxglove King was so great, and I really enjoyed it---it set up the world and characters so well. The Hemlock Queen was probably my least favorite, I just wanted a bit more from the development and I wasn't loving the plot/direction it was taking. However, The Nightshade God was an absolute slam dunk. This wound together the threads of religion, the overarching plot and characters in such a fantastic way. I will say, too, that each book in this series was so well-written and really accessible for fantasy. Each character goes on such a journey and I was GRIPPING my seat for dear life. The tension and breakneck pace is unrelenting in the best way. Whitten is definitely a name to watch in the coming years---I cannot wait for more from her.

I went into this book SO excited.
Please be reminded that 3 stars is STILL a good book to me.
Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting this for book 3, and honestly, it didn’t give me what I wanted.

I am a true fantasy/romantasy girl at heart, so The Foxglove King was a 5star read for me this year. The Hemlock Queen was pretty good as well, but this third book took a different turn on things, and I kind of wasn’t ready for it.
While I did enjoy the progression of the side characters (Allie, Malcolm, Michal), I was really let down by the progression (or lack there of) of Gabe, Bastian, and Lore.

When they are finally all together, we simply get 3 sentences. I actually cried, because you’re telling me I waited 3 books of longing, pining, anger, enemies, and pain AND years for them to finally be all together happily, and I get less than a page?
Not even a chapter? Not even like… anything? I’m sorry, it just killed me.
Maybe I’m overthinking it, because I understand what the book was truly about - the world, humans, power and corruption. I just felt a little let down.

Please DO NOT take any of this the wrong way. I enjoyed the way they had an adventure to get all of the things they needed done, done. I loved the growth and power, the ideations. Again, I just felt let down with the very ending of the epilogue.

Maybe an epilogue 2.0? Just to see their happiness finally. Just a smidge. ANYTHING.

I will probably be posting a review on Instagram later as I don’t want to dissuade anyone from reading!