Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for my honest review.

"This magic she'd braided into herself was a selfish kind. It didn't allow for all the different strands of love she ached with."

I really loved For The Wolf, and it ended up being one of my favourite books of last year, so I was very excited for the sequel. And while it was captivating, gorgeous, original, sumptuous and beautifully written (as expected from Hannah Whitten), I felt there was just something missing from this book.

I loved everything that happened in the Shadowlands. The banter between Neve and Solmir was fantastic; I love the enemies-to-reluctant allies-to-lovers trope, and it was done very well here. It felt believable, Solmir's redemption arc didn't feel fake or rushed in any way. I love a complex villain and I'm glad we get to understand more about him and his motives in this book, instead of having him as just some terribly evil character like he was in book one. All the history of their world, the discussion of the Old Gods, the Kings and their plans, the stories Solmir tells Neve... all brilliant, and so enthralling.

Where it fell flat for me was the switch from Neve's POV to Red and Raffe. This was an issue I also had in book one, with the flitting back to Neve when we'd been with Red, but while that did further the story, some of Raffe's parts in For The Throne felt redundant and boring. I also hate when a multiple POV book takes you too far from the main action abruptly - going from life-endangering moments where Neve and Solmir are confronting a literal god to being dropped with Raffe who's worrying over who he loves, or Red who's tending to a seasick Eammon felt jarring at times.

Having said that, this was a wonderful conclusion to the duology and I enjoyed it immensely. I enjoyed the ending, how to was left open and wasn't all wrapped up neatly in a bow - such as real life! (view spoiler)

I really loved the sneak peak of Whitten's next book at the end and am very intrigued by it! I'll definitely be reading that in the future.

This duology is an absolute wonder.

I loved For the Wolf so much that I was a little worried For the Throne wouldn’t live up to it. Boy, was I wrong.

Hannah Whitten’s writing style is absolutely gorgeous. She weaves such a beautiful atmosphere that you truly feel like you’re standing in the Wilderwoods or the Shadowlands. I really loved the Shadowlands—they were super creepy and cold. If For the Wolf feels like Spring/Summer, For the Throne feels like the dead of Winter.

I had been a little concerned that I wouldn’t love Neve and Solmir as much as Red/Eammon, but I spent most of the book squealing excitedly when they so much as looked at each other. Individually, they were both really interesting characters. Neve’s sheer determination to save everyone and everything, at her own expense, was so reminiscent of Red’s and I just love them so much. I absolutely loved Solmir and I feel like we got to see how tortured he was really well through Neve’s eyes. Their romance felt very authentic. It wasn’t insta-love and it wasn’t without struggle.

I really loved that this book was more multi-POV than For the Wolf. It was really well balanced and I loved all of the POVs equally. In general, the pacing was absolutely spot on. All of the reveals seemed to happen just when I had to put the book down and I was just desperate to keep turning the pages.

I would read a million more pages about these characters quite happily. Hannah Whitten has quickly become one of my favorite authors and I can’t wait to read everything she has coming next.

Content warnings: Violence, blood, death, imprisonment, bones, illness, body horror, mentions of forced marriage, parental abuse.

I loved For The Wolf and whizzed through it when I recently purchaxed it so I was so excited to get this and it didn't disappoint. Well written with a completely enchanting storyline and well developed charcaters that I adore. I love retellings and this series is closely becoming one of my favourites I loved it,

I will update the review with a link to our blog closer to publication date.
I'd like to thank the publisher Orbit and netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.