Hannah Whitten's new novel, The Foxglove King, is a gilded, gothic, and romantic epic fantasy that immerses readers into the dangerous world of the Sainted King's royal court. The novel follows Lore, a young woman who has been living on her wits, running poisons for a cartel, and hiding her illicit affinity for death magic. When a job goes wrong, Lore is captured by the Sainted King's warrior-monks and is given an ultimatum: use her magic to solve the mystery of villages dying overnight or face the pyre.

The magic system in The Foxglove King is one of the standout elements of the book. Whitten's portrayal of death magic is unique and intriguing, and it sets the book apart from other fantasy novels. Readers will find themselves drawn into the complex and intricate world of the Sainted King's court, filled with politics, religion, and forbidden romance.

Lore is a perfectly flawed and relatable protagonist, and her relationships with Gabe and Bastian are engaging. The dynamic between the three of them as they journey to uncover the truth behind the village deaths is a highlight of the book. The romance in the novel seems to be a slow burn, with the potential for a love triangle, but it doesn't take center stage in this first installment of the series.

The Foxglove King's world-building takes up a significant portion of the story, but the intricate details and atmospheric writing make it an enjoyable experience. The novel does have a slow start, but once readers are immersed in the world, it's difficult to tear themselves away. Whitten's writing style is impressive and captivating, and the book's ending sets up the next installment of the series in an interesting way.

Despite its strengths, The Foxglove King does have some flaws. Some of the characters can be highly annoying, and Lore seems to be the only one without a secret agenda. However, this adds to the book's intrigue and leaves readers wondering who they can trust. Additionally, the romance is not as prevalent as the book's description suggests, and readers expecting a significant focus on it may be disappointed.

In conclusion, The Foxglove King is an enjoyable and immersive read, filled with unique magic, court politics, and a relatable protagonist. Despite its slow start and some annoying characters, the atmospheric writing and intricate world-building make it difficult to put down. The book's ending sets up the next installment of the series in an intriguing way, and readers will undoubtedly be eager to continue Lore's journey. If you're a fan of fantasy novels with unique magic systems and political intrigue, The Foxglove King is definitely worth checking out.

Here you have politics, you have magic and you have varied and interesting characters!

It wasn’t an easy read, took me a while to get through it, but it was an enjoyable read, and I can’t wait for my (hopefully) beautiful Fairyloot edition!

Dans ce récit il y a tout ce que j’aime,
Un personnage principal avec une forte personnalité, ni bonne ni mauvaise, un tantinet égoïste ( parce qu’il faut bien penser à soit même de temps en temps), et avec des belles valeurs, que demander de plus ?

On y suit Lore, ( accessoirement née dans les catacombes, mais je vais absolument pas vous en dire plus)
qui se retrouve contre son grès ( autrement c’est la prison en version pire ) entremêlée dans des histoires qui dépassent absolument tout le monde !

J’ai adoré le workbuilding, c’était fou !
Avec une magie particulière avec des belles affinités avec les poisons..
Ainsi qu’un system politique, et une religion.. non vraiment, je suis sous le charme !

Chaque début de chapitre nous offre un proverbe, ou des citations du Book of Holly laws, qui en plus d’être intéressantes, nous permet d’en apprendre d’avantage sur ce monde et ces croyances !

J’ai également beaucoup apprécié la dynamique entre le petit groupe qui s’est formé autour de Lore, chaque personnages étaient intéressants, de par leurs diversités ( social), mais par leurs aspirations, croyances, loyautés différentes… avec un même but.. je vous laisse imaginer ce que cela donne quand il faut travailler en équipe !

Bref, beaucoup d’humour, de trahisons , de complot… et un moine qui jure comme un charretier!
Convaincu ?

This book was really enjoyable to read. This gave me all the things i wanted from a fantasy book. I was most intrigued about the magic system, i loved learning about it. It was different then the death magic i had seen in other books and im looking forward to finding out more about it in the next book, hopefully along with learning more about the gods. I loved Lore, she was perfectly flawed and relatable. Her relationships with Gabe and Bastian were amazing, there was good banter. I had such a good time following the three of them on their journey to discover the truth. The romance seems to be slowburn and maybe a love triangle, im not really sure. There wasnt much romance in the book and i did expect there to be more with romance being in the description of the book, if this was a standalone it would be a 3 star because of that. I am looking forward to see where the romance goes and who is actually the love interest. I just cant wait for the next book as this one had me hooked from beginning to end.

I really enjoyed this book, I found every character had highly annoying qualities and some had highly redeeming qualities. I like how it showed the secret agendas everyone held, it was as though Lore was the only one without one, and everyone used her to achieve what they wanted, her dark magic being a needle in a haystack. I really loved how the magic worked it was well thought out and held its own secrets. Overall I really liked this book and the ending was interesting.

Incredible and atmospheric writing within an interesting world of death magic and court politics. It took me a while to get into the book and the world building took up the majority of the story. It was fun though.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the advanced copy.

One of those books that you pick up with really high expectations of settling in for a juicy readathon and find yourself going ‘huh’? 🤨

The story focuses on Lore who we meet living with her boyfriend Michal and his sister (who hates her). Lore has strong feelings for him but we find out that he is a poison runner and that Lore is an undercover spy for a rival gang run by her 2 adoptive mothers. So far so woke. Not only that but Lore can channel Mortem!! Dah dah dah - you didn’t see that coming, right? Probably because you have no idea what that is and what any of it means.

None of the information about this world is provided, you have to infer it, as though the author has been lectured hard about exposition and decided to avoid it at all costs. The result is that you’re a third of the way into the book before you have any idea what’s going on.

By that time you’re in the middle of unconvincing love triangle - because can it ever be as simple as straightforward attraction, 1 on 1, in a YA fantasy novel? Now it’s all about Gabe and Bastion and she’s forgotten that Michal ever existed.

None of the characters are terribly well-drawn and the storyline is at once a bit too familiar and yet confusing. I really feel that the whole plot and character- building needed a bit longer in gestation and readers need a bit more help understanding the author’s concept.

Sorry.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by the author.

Bit of a slow start in the beginning and it takes a while to understand what is going on and who is who..obviously this might not be the case for everyone. Overall the whole book left me wanting more? There were some good parts and great quotes that I highlighted but it didn't leave me with an exciting feeling that fantasy books I love do.

I probably won't continue the series but that feeling might change later on.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I liked the magic system, I liked the religion that Hannah Whitten came up with and I am curious to see what happens next.
I am severely allergic to “not like other girls” characters, but I liked Lore. Two male leads were predictably tall, strong, gorgeous and brooding and there was a lot of mutual pining and no spice, which I really appreciated.

Thank you to #netgalley for an #earc of this in exchange for an honest review.

This is probably the first fantasy book that I found quite hard to follow. Can you over do the world building? It seems that you can 😬. I think coupled with the slow movement of the plot it made things feel a bit muddled.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Gabriel and Lore but must admit to finding the other characters, such as the Bastian, a bit meh. Overall, I liked all the elements of this book but not how they came together.

I'm a big fan of the way Hannah Whitten writes. I find it incredibly readable and there hasn't been a single one of her books that didn't suck me in right away. She has a very clear and compelling voice.

The story of the Foxglove King is perhaps best described as modern gothic romantic fantasy. It tells the story of Lore, a refugee from a religious death cult, and her strange powers over death magic (called mortem). There were parts of this that I didn't entirely understand, but it was a very different take on magic, which I appreciated. Throw in a spoiled prince and an uptight religious knight, and you have fun for days. I loved the complexity of Lore's character. She was strong, a survivor, but Whitten also allowed her to be vulnerable and lonely. I think we've all been there and it meant I really related to Lore in a way that I didn't to Whitten's other MCs from Wolf and Throne.

I do have to say that if you're deeply irritated by tropes in fiction, then parts of this might rub you the wrong way. We have a love triangle, and the chosen one, and insta-love, but I don't think it detracts from the book.

I will absolutely be reading the next book, because I can't wait to find out what happens to Lore.

<<<arc was provided by netgalley>>>

i had to dnf this. ugh the premise was great but i simply could not get into the writing style. i tried twice over the course of 2 months but no luck :(

A great mix of court intrigue, romance and high fantasy. This book really captured me and I did not want it to end. I loved the long female lead and honestly for someone who doesn't enjoy romance I really loved this one. I am looking forward to more.

This book took me three tries to actually get into, but then I loved it! Once I understood the world, the characters and their surroundings, I really fell for this story! It was such a complex world, surrounding death and recantation (to some extent). It was definitely worth the read, I’m so glad I didn’t give up on it. I cannot wait for book two and will definitely get it as soon as it come out.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for letting me read and review the eARC of The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten.

I have ALOT of mixed feeling about this book, hence the average rating. But firstly, I want to make it clear to any potential future reader: this book is completely young adult and should not be classed as an adult.

See, I enjoyed the plot and 80% of the writing, of which you could physically see improve as the book manifested. But the first 30-40% of the Foxglove King was dangerously close to making me DNF. I will give it to Hannah Whitten though, the plot had a level of intrigue in it that did make me want to know how it all tied up. I wanted to know more about Lore's powers, more about Mortem, more about their gods, about everything. I am glad I stayed, and I will likely continue the series as I do want to know this world. It is an amazingly thought up one.

But the main character, oh my lord. She just seems childish, I dont know if it's the growing up in the catacombs or something but gosh, sometimes I wanted to scream grow up! Now I don't know if I class it as character or writing but the whole 'my boobs are too big for me to be inconspicuous' thing just aggrevated me. I didn't expect writing like that from a female author, not going to lie.

Apart from Lore, the other characters were lovable. Gabe is a complicated soul, who is struggling with who he is, who he trusts, and his image. Bastian, is a lovable flirt who's trying to survive. Both characters are trying to right their fathers wrongs and are childhood friends but would rather not be in the same room....unless it was with Lore. I do hope Lore never chooses between the two, and may just choose both. (Take note!)

Overall, The Foxglove King has the plot, the intrigue, a loveable flirtatious side-character, but also an annoying, childish main-character and a young adult plotting advertised as an adult one.

The Foxglove King is the first book in The Nightshade Crown triology. It’s a dark fantasy story full of court politics, necromancy magic and it has a romance sub plot. I liked the book, it’s a good read but the writing, world building and characters were all ‘okay’ and nothing particularly excited me about it. There is a love triangle of sorts, made interesting by the fact we have a celibate monk, a dashing prince and a spy who can raise the dead and all this is simmering away in the background. I liked Lore and Gabe’s relationship dynamics but I would liked to have seen more intensity of feeling and chemistry between them. The plot was a bit staid and on the whole and needed some action and adventure to pull me into the story and hold my attention. Of Whitten’s previous work, For the Wolf remains a firm favourite, with its rich and description writing, detailed imagery and intriguing plot line and this one didn’t quite step up to the mark.

Overall, I did enjoy it and I will read the next one in the series in the hope that there some exciting developments to the plot and romance.

Thank you so much to the publisher for the eARC via Netgalley.

The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten starts The Nightshade Crown series (duology, trilogy, I don’t care, I’ll read it all). The world has lost its gods. Five of them have died and one has disappeared and is now worshipped as the one true god, the god of life.

The body of the goddess of death rests underneath the town of Dellaire, heavily guarded. It’s oozing Mortem, a substance of death that needs to be regularly channeled away from humans so that it won’t kill them. Only the priests of the Presque Mort, people who have briefly died, can do it. And then there’s Lore who was born with the ability.

Lore has kept it a tight secret ever since she accidentally resurrected a dead friend when she was a child, as necromancy means a death sentence. So, when she does it again in a very public way, she’s instantly caught by the Presque Mort. But instead of killing her, the head priest—king’s brother—brings her to court and makes her spy on the crown prince, Bastien.

She’s also tasked with figuring out what’s killing a village after a village of people without a trace. Helping her is Gabriel, a Presque Mort and a former childhood friend of the crown prince. But things aren’t what they seem. Lore has no idea who she can trust or who’s pulling the strings behind the scenes. And the cause for the deaths may hit closer than she could’ve imagined.

This was an excellent book. Told in the point of view of Lore, it instantly drew me into its world. Lore was a great character with conflicting interests and a healthy self-preservation instinct. She wasn’t a simpering YA heroine, and she owned her choices, even the questionable ones.

Gabe and Bastien made excellent counterparts to her. Both had troubled pasts and neither was a black and white character, even though Gabe tended to see the world that way. I’m a bit over triangle dramas and I kept hoping the author would veer the romance towards a threesome, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Fingers crossed that’ll change later.

The world, and especially Mortem, was a bit complicated and I’m not sure even the author always knew what she meant it to do. The court drama and the king’s need to spy on his son seemed far-fetched, but there was a reason for that in the end. I was a bit frustrated at times when Lore was slow to figure out things the author all but spelled out to readers, but not so much it would’ve marred my enjoyment. The great showdown that everything built towards came and went a bit fast, but it laid ground for the next book. I’m looking forward to reading it.

The Foxglove King is a book packed with death magic, love triangle energy and no small amount of righteous anger. I went into this story a little trepidatious having not loved Whitten's earlier book but I was interested to see how her writing had developed. I definitely got the impression of a deepening of theme and ideas in this book which has me very hopefully for more from Whitten in the future.
The strongest aspect of this book is definitely the concept, including this world and it's management of the somewhat volatile death magic mortem. I really enjoyed the main character Lore's way of being somehow immersed in that world and also standing against it in a lot of ways.
I think readers who enjoy fantasy books packed full of tropes and comforting familiarity will enjoy this story, I will say I rolled my eyes at some of the love triangle elements but that might be a product of my being raised in the 'Team [insert bland male character here]' era. If you love a love triangle this one is worth exploring.
I would have loved to have seen a bit more breaking from those tropes and familiar ideas in this story just so that this felt a little more fresh but given we are still so early in Whitten's career I have faith that with each book she will grow - and I love her concepts and worlds so much I will definitely keep reading to find out!
I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley - all opinions are my own.

Hannah Whitten has created a complex and fantastical world in the "Foxglove King". The character relationships, the magic system, the effects of poison on the greater society, the conflicts with the church system, and the eventual plot twists have built a wonderful novel that left me on the edge of my seat.

I received a free arc through Netgalley all opinions are my own.
2,5 stars

"Spare us your religious bullshit" is literally what I was thinking throughout this whole book.

The start was interesting, but the characters quickly blended into each other for me.
I felt quite confused because I didn´t know who was who.
They also mentioned this Jax a couple of times without giving any context as to who he was. Or maybe I just missed it the first time he was mentioned.

Furthermore the plot didn´t really make sense. Why would the king choose Lore to be his spy? Wouldn´t you want someone you trust to spy for you?
And since the king knew Lore was a necromancer since she was a child, then why didn´t he just take her in then and train her to be loyal and actually a good spy for him.

Gabes hatred towards Bastian really annoyed me too, and got tiring early on.

I really got tired of them constantly referring to Gabe and Bastian as Mort and Sun Prince.
I also only started to get into the book and interested around the 85% mark so thats literally chapter 35-36..💀

Also fuck Gabe. I really didn't like him at all. He fucking sucks in my opinion💀

I did like the magic and found it quote interesting!

Overall I wasn't really a fan of this book. I was bored or just not interested at all.
I was contemplating DNF'ing this book so many times, but I really wanted to finish this.
I gave this book 2,5 stars because the last page actually made me want to read the sequel.