This is the second book of Wilderwood series.
If I have to be honest, I didn't like very much the first book "For the Wolf", I'm still confused about it, but I was Very curious about how the story would continue.
After finished it, I can say that this book is much better than the first! The plot was intriguing enough to continue the reading.
In conclusion I appreciate this book and I gave it 3 stars.

I've loved both books in this duology; the world-building is great and the whole story really pulls you in. For The Throne focuses primarily on Neve's side of the story (though there are multiple chapters following Red and the rest of the Wilderwood crew). I really enjoyed reading about her journey through the Shadowlands and her eventual acceptance of her fate. It was really satisfying to see all the pieces fall together and how, at the end, this story is really a story about two sisters who love each other. (I loved Solomir's character too! He and Neve had great chemistry, and I loved their scenes together.)

The stunning sequel to For The Wolf, we pick up immediately after Neve is plunged into the Shadowlands and greeted by a pair of bright blue eyes.

With less world-building required and a pre-existing connection to the characters, this book started off strong and just kept going! The parallels drawn between Neve and Red were beautiful, and the most important relationship was the exasperating, all-encompassing love of sisters.

With a satisfying conclusion, I couldn’t rate this book higher.

When I read For the Wolf earlier this year, I had mixed feelings about reading the sequel. I had struggled with Neve‘s character and worried that I would not enjoy reading a book that was focused around her story.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked Neve in For the Throne and was able to connect with her much more than I had been able to previously. I wish her character was fleshed out more - this book was, though atmospheric, rather fast-paced and plot-focused - and that she, like Red in For the Wolf, had started asking questions much earlier. I would also have preferred for her not to have an enemies-to-lovers plot, despite how well it was written. (That whole part seemed like a repetition of what happened in the first book, frankly.)

I very much liked the switching POVs between Red and Neve, but I don‘t feel like Raffe‘s chapters helped the plot along much at all. He would have needed to be more important to the plot - as it is, it rather seemed like his chapters reported on what Kayu was up to, which was not as subtle as it could have been.

Like with For the Wolf, I would have loved a map, and I would also have liked for the side characters to be of more importance to the plot. I feel like instead of having Raffe‘s POV, that of Fife might actually have been more interesting.

Either way, this was a well executed sequel with immersive world building, a beautiful writing style and a great depiction of the depth and strength of a bond between two siblings. I really enjoyed this duology and am looking forward to whatever Hannah Whitten chooses to write next.


4.25/5 stars.

Headlines:
Kings and trees
Souls and keys

I came into this sequel a bit unsure what to expect having really liked Red and Eamonn in For The Wolf and not sure if I was ready for a Neve-centric read. What I found was that Neve (and Solmir) pitched for my attention early on and won it. We got a fair bit of Red and Eamonn in this book, so fans of that couple will feel satisfied.

The Wilderwood evolved into something above and below with creepy feelings pervading. Whitten is particulary good at creating atmosphere with a sense of tension and foreboding. The quest involving keys, kings and souls was something that echoed things we've seen along folklore, fairytales and retellings in the past but with a sense of freshness to the plot.

However, some of the issues I had with For The Wolf around the plot complexity and not feeling the flow continued into this second book for me. While the plot was linear, it didn't always feel linear and I stalled a few times reading this.

I like Whitten's imagination in world and I especially like her characterisation. I'll definitely read her again.

Thank you to Orbit Books for the eARC.

I did prefer this over the first one but this might be because it was a much darker setting! I loved the descriptions and the romance in this. It is a case where I found this second book far better than the first one!

So, after reading the first book I was left pretty confused, but still curious to see what was going to happen next.
Because all in all the plot seemed interesting.
The second book anyway is better planned than the first book, the plot is nicer and I liked the characters.

In my review for book 1 ("For the Wolf"), I said it has "All the feels of a fairy tale with all the depth of a modern fantasy novel" and that holds true for this book too. "For the Throne" is every bit as compelling, the characters just as solid, the setting just as breathtaking, the world just as rich, and the writing still a joy. I truly hope there will be more stories from this world in the future.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

I received an eARC of this from NetGalley but all thoughts are my own.

This was probably my most anticipated release of this year and it really did not disappoint.

The story picks up more or less straight after the events of For The Wolf and where that was Red's story, Neve is the star of this one. It's a beautifully crafted story and a wonderful conclusion to the duology. I really love how the author just tied everything up so perfectly.

I did find myself having to give Neve a chance in this story. I'd gotten so attached to Red and Eammon and at the start I just wanted them back. But I quickly warmed to Neve being the main focus.

Overall, well worth reading if you loved the first one.

This second book in the duology is so much more than even I expected and I was a huge fan of For the Wolf , this is a stunning sequel and I am trying to decide which I loved more because both books are so fantastic. The writing is so beautiful and so lyrical, mythology Whitten weaves is so creative, world building so so good that you are just enthralled. I loved the themes believing in yourself, courage and the power of redemption. This duology is just stunning full of excitement, mystery and intrigue, a must read

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in return for an honest review

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first book, but I was excited to give For the Throne a chance. This was partly because I found the world of this series interesting, and partly because I know from experience that the second book can be so much better than the first one.

For the Throne is, in my opinion, way better that For the Wolf and I found it more enjoyable. Neve was a more engaging main character, and I came to care about her and Solmir in a way I never did for Red and Eammon. The setting of Shadowlands also provided a more interesting backdrop than Wilderwood. Which made their quest feel like it had a greater meaning to it. Speaking of the Shadowlands, it gave me some horror elements - which I guess make sense since it’s basically the underworld. Everything is dark, devoid of colour, and dead. Which wasn’t my cup of tea, I don’t like creepy creatures and gruesome descriptions.

So the book was better, but I still didn’t enjoy it as much as I was hoping for. My interest never felt deeper than surface-level, and I found it hard to keep my attention on the story. With that said, I can definitely see how other people will enjoy this book. But unfortunately it just wasn't for me.

Neve is stuck in the Shadowlands with Solmir, who is still plotting to kill the Kings and needs her help. To end them, they need to get to the Heart Tree. And to do that they need the powers of the Old Ones. A perilous quest begins...

I was 'held hostage' by this world from the very beginning and willingly so. This is mostly Neve's story and the author made the right decision. Don't worry, we still have our beloved duo Red - Eammon, and the POV of the only ally left in Valleyda, Raffe. Each POV has its own voice and its own important part to play in the unspooling of the magnificent plot.

I love that Neve isn't the damsel in distress waiting for Red to rescue her. She takes matters into her own hands. With an unlikely ally in Solmir. A forced journey in an eerie land carried out by two people who hate each other. Or at least she hates him as far as we know. The other party is an enemy, a mystery to solve. We should hate him, but he charms you at the same time you want to throttle him. He is as dangerous as he is charming. A humorous situation that is also flavored with sadness. The butting of heads between Neve & Solmir is so entertaining.

The delicious gothicness continues in the gorgeously expressive in its sculpting of words sequel. A figurative speech that soars in its beauty and creativeness. This narrative's lyrical intensity is brilliant. The evolution of the mythology is riveting.

Dealing with the judgment of others, the book says "monster is in the eye of the beholder" It is about redemption, believing in yourself, courage in the face of adversity and the power of choice. About duty and destiny.

A tale dripping in intrigue and excitement, full of spine-tingling hues, this sequel was so much more than we fans of the 1st book expected, solidifying how incredible this duology really is.

A worthy sequel to For the Wolf. Though I think in the end I still loved For the Wolf more, this was a great novel. I loved getting to see the Shadowlands and seeing Neve more; because let's face it, I didn't love her in a lot of the previous book but there are redemption arcs and two sides to every story and darkness and magic abundant in this book with an ending that was appropriate for our cast of characters.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

4/5 huge cups of coffee from me!

I feel so bad that I've just not been enjoying this one. I absolutely adored For The Wolf so much but this one just isn't for me, I've been finding it so slow and difficult to get into, I'm not enjoying Neve at all, I'm so gutted!

I received this ARC in exchange for a honest review! Thanks NetGalley

3.5⭐️

After the end of Book 1, it was brilliant jumping back into Neve and Red's dark tale of magic monsters.
At first, I was not that excited about exploring Neve's character but it did not take long for me to change my mind. Solmir initially came across a monster, an evil god with no care for anyone but himself. Seeing his character development and snippets of his love for Neve was really refreshing and the build up of tension between the two was fantastic.
With Red, I actually did not enjoy her point of view as much. For me, I could have read an entire novel bouncing between Solmir and Neverah's points of view. I think book 1 concluded Red and Eammon's story really well, apart from the issues with the Wilderwood.
Seeing Neve embracing her darkness in a selfless way was fantastic and in a similar way to the first book, The imagery and prose written by Hannah Whitten was brilliant. Apart from the odd patch of Red's and Raffe's (sorry Raffe, i found you a little frustrating) points of view, the story was fantastic and the whole duology finished amazingly. Thanks so much!

This sequel more than lives up to its first installment. I got swept away in For the Wolf and For the Throne did not disappoint. Whitten's poetic writing continues to keep my attention and make me want more, Fast-paced and exciting, but like others, i was desperate for Red's chapters as that is who I felt most drawn to. Whitten will be on my auto-buy list for the future and I cannot wait to see what she does next.

Let me start by saying For The Wolf gave me lifeee 🙌. The writing, the story and that slowww burn. So when Whitten posted that the sequel would be on Netgalley I had to shoot my shot! Big thanks to @orbitbooks_us for making all my book wishes come true and gifting me the glorious sequel For The Throne.
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Hannah will be an immediate buy in the future, I cannot get enough of her lyrically beautiful writing. From the first page I was swept away on a tide of glorious prose into a dark and gloomy, monster filled world.
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An immediate plus for me was that we continued to get Red and Eammon. We got to see an extension of their story and see how married life was treating them… pretty good if you ask me 🥵😂.
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I really enjoyed the sisterly bonds that drives this story forward. I don’t know what it’s like to be a twin but I do think there is a certain level of spiritual bond that comes from sharing the womb with another human being. Neve and Red’s desire to save each other is what really makes this story.
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I feel like I relate more to Neve as a character than Red. Like recognizes like, I may not be a twin but I am a sister and I know what it is to struggler with being the thornier of two sisters. The more complicated one, the one who is unsure of where she fits in the world and worries that she may be a little too prickly for the softer things in life.
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From his introduction, I also knew the Solmir would make me swoon just as dear Eammon. Solmir was the perfect morally grey MMC, I new from the taster we got in For The Wolf that there was more that meets the eye to him and he did not disappoint.
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Anyways I could go on for days about both of these books. Do I recommend them? Yes! 1 million percent. Do you love beautiful writing, dark vibes, monsters, fairytale retellings, morally grey characters, enemies to lovers and slow burns?? This duology has it all! For fans of Katherine Arden, Naomi Novik and Grace Draven.

Some sequels can be read as standalones - not this one. 'For the Throne' is very much a continuation of Whitten's previous book, 'For the Wolf'. They are two halves of the same story, that could in theory be published in one monumentally long novel. There's not really even any recap of events within the text - not a problem for me as I'd not long read 'For the Wolf' but if there's been a longer gap the reader might want to refresh their memory of the plot and characters of the first book. It's definitely not a book to attempt without having read the first - it won't make sense, and it will ruin the original with spoilers. This review will contain spoilers for the first book.

The action begins shortly after 'For the Wolf' left off. Neve, Queen of Valleyda, wakes up in the Shadowlands, a colourless underworld built as a prison for gods and magic. The old gods are dying, and the Shadowlands is slowly falling apart. When it does, the remaining gods - four former kings who have become entrenched in evil magic - will be free to wreck havoc on the world. There was once a fifth king - Solmir - who now claims to want to stop the rest. He's already betrayed Neve up in the real world, but now she has no choice but to team up with him in an uneasy alliance. Meanwhile Neve's sister, Red, is as desperate to rescue her as Neve was previously to bring Red back from the Wilderwood. Mysterious dreams and disembodied voices suggest there may be a way out through the 'heart tree' - but it will need both sisters to open it, and the process is difficult both to discover and to carry out.

The chapters are mostly from either Red or Neve's viewpoints, with a small number from that of one of the secondary characters. There's never switching of perspective within a chapter thankfully, and it's the only way you could tell a story of this type. There are few tropes more beloved of fantasy adventure fans than the ambiguously good villain, and Solmir was showing definite promise in the original book, although his role there was smaller. He takes a far bigger part in this novel and I suspect that will be a great draw for many readers, as it was for me. There's just something about the guilt ridden baddie that makes me want to read all about their redemption. The whole 'is he reformed or isn't he' conundrum keeps the pages turning nicely.

The best part of 'For the Wolf' was the counter-storyline with Neve, and that's the case here too - and as there's a lot more of it, it makes it a better book in my opinion. The 'goodies' - Red and her friends - are just not as interesting. They mostly get on with each other, and for a lot of the book don't know what to do. The events that do happen in their storyline feel a bit pointless - manufactured to give them some page time - rather than essential. Whereas Neve and Solmir have a clear 'quest' with plenty of excitement, in a sinister environment, spiced up with plenty of angst and unresolved sexual tension. The whole theme of the novel is stories that mirror each other and equal each other, but in terms of readability, the Shadowlands half of the tale is the strongest.

It's a dark fantasy, with elements of horror -think palaces made of bone and many-fanged giant creepy-crawlies - but also plenty of adventure and romance. People who like any of these elements within a fantasy setting are likely to enjoy it. It's well enough written for me to care what happened to the characters and shed a few tears, and it's certainly compelling despite its length. It's not the most outstanding book of its genre - but that's more about the strength of the competition. I'll certainly be looking forward to reading whatever Whitten writes next.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC for this book in exchange for my opinions!

I'll admit that I wasn't the biggest fan of For the Wolf, the first book in this duology, but I definitely saw enough promise in it that I wanted to keep going in this series. Considering that For the Wolf was Whitten's debut novel, her mastery of language and building an atmosphere was incredibly impressive, and I still see so much potential for her future stories.

Sadly, the things that hindered me from loving For the Wolf spilled over into the sequel. While the atmosphere is once again breathtaking, the story itself lacked the refinery I wished for. Many plot points are glossed over, more often than not the reason something is done is that the magic inside either of the sisters tells them that this is the right/wrong course of action, with no other reasoning besides the vibes they are getting from whatever weird magical thing they house in their bodies. This might work a couple times, but it became so repetitive and started feeling like a cop-out rather than a legitimately well-considered plot development.

I managed to care for the romance... maybe a bit more than the one in the first book? The dynamic felt quite similar at times, so that may have played a role in causing my indifference about the main couple. I understand why the dynamic between the leads should work, and I can see why others would enjoy it, but sparks just didn't fly for me.

As for the positives: I've already mentioned this before, but I am in love with the atmosphere Whitten manages to create in her books. The spooky, woodsy vibes are executed perfectly, and I'll say that I actually much preferred the setting of the second book to that of the first. It felt tangible, outerworldly and eerie - beyond brilliant.

I also very much enjoyed the side characters and the portrayal of their relationships. The themes of a first love simmering away over time and being replaced by a more platonic affection while developing feelings for another as well that of complex relationships that showcase a deep emotional complexity without requiring the physical component are not quite as common, so I always adore reading about them.

Altogether, I have to say that this series simply wasn't for me, but I am still beyond excited to see where Whitten's writing will take us, There is so much promise there, and I think that great things could be coming.

Review will contain spoilers for *For the Wolf*.

*For the Wolf* was an excellent debut, even if the marketing of it as a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood is almost entirely baseless. My main complaint with *For the Wolf* was the Neve interludes; nearly every Neve chapter just left me eager to get back to Red as soon as possible.

Given that, I had trepidations about this book. I was pretty certain it was going to be an inverse of *For the Wolf* (because of the title, and the cover art, and the fact that it’s a duology, and the fact that it’s about twins, and the way the first book ended … wasn’t hard to figure out really) which meant that Neve was going to be front & center.

The first part of the book dragged a bit because of this. Red had such great character development in the first book that I kept wanting to go back to her story even though Neve’s story was objectively more interesting. In other words, my expectations from the first book made it hard for me to be fair to this one.

Fortunately I was able to get over that. Neve’s character gets all the development that she was lacking in the first book, and a story that manages to both mirror Red’s and still be unpredictable. In particular, what made me really turn the corner on Neve was that she takes a hard look at her behavior in the first book and sees things clearly. I love a good moment of self-realization.

The one real weakness this book has, I think, is Solmir. (This is all on the back of the book, so it’s not a spoiler.) Solmir is determined to bring about the end of the Shadowlands and destroy the Kings, and he is Neve’s one ally in the Shadowlands despite everything he did in *For the Wolf*. Given his role in the story, Solmir obviously can’t be a dyed-in-the-wool villain. His relationship with Neve is complex, and (I think) his character development goes further than events can really support.

But that complaint is minor. This is an excellent duology: dark, creative, extraordinarily atmospheric, with a very mature view of romantic relationships, and (a rare thing) a recognition that other types of love can be just as powerful.

Thanks Netgalley and Hannah Whitten for providing me with this digital arc in exchange for an honest review.