👑 "A secret is a flame, and it cannot burn forever"

👑 SUMMARY: Lore was born in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire, among a cult. She managed to escape as a teenager and has been surviving in the streets of the city since, running poisons to earn money. But Lore has a special and illicit power, and when it's revealed, she's taken prisoner. She expects to be sentenced to be death, but something way worse looms over her.

👑 REVIEW:
Consider this your sign to pre-order this book, you still have time 🙃
When I tell you that I got obsessed with this book, I'm not even joking. I love fantasy and this is the epitome of fantasy! You got a world building that's completely insane and so well done I couldn't even believe it. The depth, the mythology, the history of this world has so much depth. The characters, the plot, the tone of the book, ugh everything was amazing!

I truly think that, this is the kind of book that makes people fall in love with Fantasy. It's got something for everyone:
⚔️ The fantasy lovers will appreciate the detailed and meticulous world building
🔪 The thriller girlies will love the dark and cultish vibes, the mystery and the investigation Lore's forced into
💖 The romance ladies will find a dash of sparks and couples to ship and fight about 🔥

I don't want to say too much because I'd hate to spoil anything but seriously, this is the beginning of one of the MOST amazing fantasy series. I said what I said 🔥 and now go read it, please 🥹

🛑 Do check the TW beforehand please, the book is quite dark and deals with a lot of hard subjects. Don't hesitate to DM me if you wish.

Thank you NetGalley, Little Brown Book Group UK for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Foxglove King story is a unique new take on a fantasy kingdom where the magic of the gods has seeped into the world causing death and destruction.
Lore our FMC is one of the few that can channel Mortem (the remnants of the god of nights power) and after an unfortunate event is captured by the king and his brother the high priest. Her life is spared as long as she works with them to uncover what is killing the villagers and spy on the Prince Bastian.

But in doing so Lore soon must question who really is the one causing harm and who can she really trust.

The story/plot is great, original and something I haven’t really read much before. I loved the used of the magical elements and some fun slow burn sexual tension between the three main characters. The unraveling of Lores life and story was also well spread across the novel and you see her develop as a character as she begins to understand what is happening around her.

My main gripes with the book is the author didn’t really allow the reader to make sense of what has happening. Over explanations of simple things as body language or expressions. It made for a much longer then necessary book. The first scene itself was so detailed and seemed absolutely pointless.

I really enjoyed the story, I just wished the Author had more trust in the reader.

This was a wonderful start to the trilogy. As usual with the first book in a new world, there was a lot of world-building and some plot holes, but that is the wonder of a trilogy, they can be sorted out. This has all the elements of high fantasy, romance, suspense, and obviously a quest. I really enjoyed this one, it was fun and I just generally enjoyed the plot. I am looking forward to book 2.

This book is described as a gilded, gothic, and romantic epic fantasy, and it is one that overall I enjoyed.

This was my first experience with the authors work and I didn’t mind their writing style, although I typically prefer books written in first person — I find they’re easier to submerge yourself in the story.

I would have appreciated some extra details and descriptions earlier into the book to make it easier to understand the magical system, and the hierarchy of the religion, church and crown.

However, once I wrapped my head around this world building it was very easy to follow and understand.

I enjoyed the characters. I loved both Lore and Bastian, and I enjoyed their easy relationship - though I am not sure either can be fully trusted. Gabe I could take or leave, although I appreciated how he furthered the plot.

However, I wish there has been more focus on relationship building between them — while I think the author did a good job with individual character development, their romantic connection felt almost like an after though.

I have many questions that I still would like answered so I am looking forward to the sequel and I’m excited to see what is next for Lore.

4/5 stars.

An intriguing plot line, unique magic system and an interesting cast of characters herald the first of Hannah Whitten’s Nightshade Crown series.

I loved the light and dark shades of magic, not just balancing each other but boosting the power of the user. I loved the interaction between Lore, Gabe and Bastion and the sparks between all three.

I agree with other Reviewers that there were flaws in the world building but when it came down to sheer enjoyment and fun factor, the Foxglove King had it in spades. Bring on The Hemlock Queen, book 2.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten is a mesmerizing fast paced fantasy with many twists and turns.We follow Lore, a poison runner for her two moms, which is quite illegal in this fantasy world where poison can lengthen your life, if taken correctly. Lore also has death magic, which is a bit mysterious and hazy at first, but we’ll find out more throughout the book. Because of her illegal magic (lots of illegality in this book lol) instead of getting thrown in prison, Lore is sent to the court to spy on the crown prince, who might have some ideas to betray his country to their enemy, accompanied by a young man of the church, but nothing is what it seems as they navigate the intrigues of court and get to know each other and the crown prince better.

I love court intrigue! Really this novel has everything I want on that part. Depth in the story, character depth, banter, plot twists and overall epicness. It was quite fast paced actually, which is normally not my favorite, but in this book I really liked it. This feels like a YA fantasy book in the best sense and has all the things I love in this genre. There are some clichés like the feisty heroine, modern language, a love triangle (more on that later), and a world that feels a bit generic. For me the worldbuilding was enough though, it has everything I want even if it is a little simple (I have to say I didn’t see the French court it was based on at all, it didn’t feel European/French). The religion that plays such a huge role was done well, I was invested in the theology.

But oh that love triangle! Granted, this is as well as a love triangle can be done in my opinion, but still I didn’t like that aspect and is the reason I give 4 stars instead of 5. We have a pining heroine, though it is a bit funny she realizes it herself and mutters that she should just get it out of her system and focus on the important part like staying alive. Lore does have a healthy, slightly egoistical world view (go Lore!) and will not put her love life above everything and the angst is minimal so I can stand this triangle. I think many will actually like it as it is done quite well. It helps that the boys are likeable, too. We have Gabriel, who is a celibate monk-soldier/duke with a dark past, he has always followed the church, but Lore gets under his skin and slowly he starts deconstructing his faith and world view a bit. And Bastian, the crown prince, is the bad boy and seems like he cares about nothing but having fun, but as you get to know him he loses the mask and you actually see he cares a lot. The three of them get thrown together trying to solve some mystery – with varying result to be honest lol. The banter is epic though and the trouble they get into hilarious. The language used is quite modern and feels American, which for me didn’t feel weird as more YA fantasy does this, it actually is a bit funny.

The end is a bit evil with a cliffhanger and I now want to read book 2.  

Overall, I really liked this book and I think many YA readers will. Especially if you like Serpent and Dove (but so much better! The heroine for once isn’t a bully), This Vicious Grace, The Prison Healer and This Poisoned Heart.

I received a free e-arc of through Netgalley but it hasn’t influenced my opinions.

I have loved everything written by this author so far and this book is no exception.
The world building is well done, we are kept in one kingdom but another is introduced so I wonder if we will see more at some point.
Each character feels like they have a life of their own and there was though and consideration put into their back stories too.
That ending though, made me scream. I'm too eager for the sequel to be written and released now. I gotta know what happens to our deathwitch.

Thank you very much to NetGalley & the publisher and Hannah whitten for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book but I just couldn't connect with the characters or the plot. I just felt like I was getting to the point I was skimming over the pages to finish it quicker and was bored overall. For now I have soft dnfed I may pick it up again in the future and try again though!

The world of The Foxglove King is one where gods have either died (somehow) or ascended, leaving behind residual magic in places. Although the city of Dellaire worships the god connected to Spiritum, or life magic, buried deep beneath the city is the corpse of another goddess and this one is leaking out death magic or Mortum. It is this magic that Lore, who emerged from the city's catacombs at thirteen, can channel better than anyone.
After several years of avoiding detection, she inevitably comes to the attention of the authorities and they have plans for her. She's dragged into the court of the Sainted King, forced to spy on the Prince and try to uncover plots and solve mysterious deaths.
The vibes, the atmosphere, the magic and gods set up were all really interesting- but I also found the world-building to be slightly confusing - it had the feeling of being both too detailed in some places and yet too vague in others.
The three main characters (in a proto-love triangle that I could have done without) were fairly likeable and intriguing in the own ways.
Overall, it seemed like there was too much hinting at things and not enough revealing. The story seemed quite bogged down, rambling and repetitive: lounging around talking, going to parties or talking about going to parties, what clothes were being worn - I just wanted them to hurry up and do something that moved the story on.
Having said that, it was fairly easy to read - Hannah Whitten has a chatty, modern writing style that lends itself to fantasy romance - and the ideas were interesting. I just wish there was more momentum with the plot.

The Foxglove King is an interesting young adult story set within a world with a unique magic system. It follows familiar patterns in the genre and readers who enjoyed Maas or Maniscalco’s books will also enjoy this.

Firstly I just wanted to say thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read this e-Arc for an honest review.

And building on that point, I honestly loved this book so much, it has been a while since a fantasy book has hooked me as much as this did.
This was a fast paced, high stakes fantasy book that keeps you hooked right to the end.

I personally love a fantasy book, and this is just like a lot of them, a woman not of royalty or wealth finds herself entangled with those very people she doesn't understand or has a hatred towards. But this does it in such a way that I personally haven't read in a long time.

The world building of this novel was so well done that not for a moment did I find myself questioning what was happening or who's who. I also found the same with the magic system (because yes there is magic, which really makes a fantasy book for me). I found that once the basic premise of the system was laid out it was easy to follow and I could keep up with what the author was putting down.


Now for the part I know your all waiting for...
The Foxglove King features a love triangle as one of its main tropes, which as a person that is not drawn to that kind of thing actually found it pleasant to read. there was the clear fondness towards both love interests but I found it easy to pick which I would prefer the MC to eventually fall in love with.
For most of this book I would have said it was a YA, however, there is one scene that really changed this for me. This book is not spicy there is little to mention of s*x, however these is one scene towards the 3/4 point of the book that has a mild moment of wanting to add a little bit of spice.
I just want to point out... I do like my spicy in a fantasy book... but I DID NOT MISS IT
I did not for one moment think anything was missing with element not being present.
there was just so much other world building and politics happening that spice was
actually not needed.

So once more... in love with this book, I will be purchasing a copy once this is released to add to my shelves. And I will be waiting on the edge of my seat for book 2.

This story was addicting and I didn’t want to put it down. It had everything you would want in a fantasy-magic, forbidden romance, suspense, betrayals, a quest! I loved every second of it!

As the first book in a new series it starts off strong. I can’t wait to see where this world takes us.

A must read for fantasy lovers!

I really enjoyed reading The Foxglove King because it had all the things I love about the fantasy genre. The story had unique and captivating magic, an interesting plot, a good pace, and well-developed characters that I could connect with. The book follows the journey of Lore, who has the ability to use Mortem (death magic), as she teams up with the Warrior Monks to expose Prince Bastian as a traitor. Lore is accompanied by Gabe, who used to be an outcast from the court but is now a monk. The story is full of tension, unexpected twists, and turns that kept me engaged. The author's descriptions are vivid and well-crafted, making everything come to life. If you are looking for a new fantasy book with romance, mystery, and plenty of magic and suspense, I highly recommend The Foxglove King. The only downside is that the story ends on a cliff-hanger, and I am eagerly waiting for the second book to find out what happens next. I wish there was more closure at the end of the first book.

I wanted to love this book as I've been into fantasy books a lot lately, but I found it quite difficult to engage with the story and its characters.

However, this didn't stop me from trying! I liked the aspect: it was dark and creepy and the fact that is was a heavily based fantasy. But when trying to engage with the characters, I just couldn't really find myself attaching to them and wanting to read more - which I was super disappointed in. I liked the ending of the novel, but don't know if I would pick it up again if there was a sequel.

Where to start?

I've begun this review about 4 times, and each time, it's not felt quite right!
I hate to give things away in my reviews, which makes this really hard because so much happens in this book over a short space of time, but the base premise (as blurbed so I am giving away nothing you wouldn't find on the book cover) is that in a world where the Gods have fallen and the last remaining God has disappeaed, a young woman with a secret, forbidden, power gets found and caught. Rather than the death she expected, she is instead coerced into working for the King and his priest brother to find out who, in their lavish court, is a traitor, and who is behind the unexplained deaths of entire villages along their borders.

Our main characters are Lore (love) Gabe (love, but want to slap!) and Bastien (love but just cant be sure where he's headed) who are thrust together as unwilling pawns on a chessboard being played by kings and faith.

I dont think I have ever been led through so many twists and turns trying to figure out exactly who is doing what, and who is on whose side as much as I did reading this, and the lies and deceptions were made even harder to spot when the world is so throughly built and beautifully described. Similar enough to our own to feel familiar, with a touch of added magic, the place is as important as our characters and while there could be some repetition to the 'daily' aspect of the storys timeline, given the circumstance our characters find their lives revolving around, there is none which was wholly refreshing.

Wonderfully dark and twisty, it's a solid 'would recommend' 5 ⭐️s from me.

I enjoyed reading The Foxglove King. It had everything I love about the fantasy genre. Magic that I hadn't read before, an intriguing plot, great pace, and characters I could get behind. The story follows Lore and her ability to channel Mortem (death magic) and how she is forced to work alongside the Warrior Monks in a bid to get close to prince Bastian and prove him a traitor. Her helper is Gabe (an outcast from the court turned monk). There's great tension in the story and I found all characters to be fully formed and I built up quite an affinity with each of them as the story progressed. There are twists and turns and plenty of elements I wasn't expecting. The descriptions on the page bring everything to life and are exquisitely done. If you're looking for a new fantasy read with romance, intrigue, and plenty of magic and suspense, The Foxglove King won't let you down. The only disappointment will be in having to wait for book 2 to learn what happens next for these characters. I would have liked more closure at the end of this story.

I’ve been wanting to read a book by Hannah Whitten for so long after I saw For The Wolf in Waterstones a while ago and when I found The Foxglove King on Netgalley I couldn’t resist requesting it!

This has everything you could want in a fantasy novel - a complex magic system, religious system and court system, a love triangle, necromancy, betrayal…

Whitten is an incredible writer and has a brilliant imagination. It was refreshing to read as fantasy books can run the risk of being quite similar but this stands on its own.

The reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because I found it quite hard to get to grips with the concepts at the beginning. There is a lot of world building and I kept having to go back to chapters and re-read what had happened to understand the story. I wouldn’t let that put you off giving the book a try though!

This book has a great map and mini exerts opening each chapter - need I say more?!

Release Date: 9th March 2023

✨ Thank you to Hannah Whitten, Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for the ARC! ✨

Review also uploaded to Goodreads.

I find that fantasy novels can often be sluggish and dense due to too much exposition and awkward 'high fantasy language' (aka American writers pretending to be British), but The Foxglove King certainly didn't have this problem.

The novel is set in a city ruled by the crown and dictated by the church. Our main character is a streetwise spy who has the unwanted ability to channel Mortem - a type of magic that allows you to manipulate death itself. After a poison drop goes awry, Lore finds herself used as a pawn by the crown after a series of mysterious incidents in the kingdom leads to several villages being wiped out over night. Not only must Lore use her unwanted Mortem ability to solve the mystery of the murdered villages, she must use her spying abilities to get close to the King's son and discover whether there's a traitor in the court.

This is the sort of book that could easily become sluggish with too much exposition, but the quick pace and the contemporary way in which the characters speak make this an easy, vivid read. Oh, and there's a love triangle - always an added bonus.

My only issue with this book is that I wish the characters' budding relationships could've been explored a bit deeper; the whole 'I feel like I've known you my whole life but I don't know why, anyway let's kiss' trope got a bit old by the end.

4/5, and I eagerly await the next in the series! Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I desperately wanted to love this one as I understand it’s an upcoming Fairyloot book but it just failed to engage me for the first 75%. We learn a little about Lore and Bastian as time passes through and their somewhat hidden connection however it was Gabe and Lore’s relationship I was most interested in. I am wondering if it can survive the betrayal for book 2. Would read book 2 but don’t need an SE!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC for this book.

I LOVED this so much.
I've been following the author for a while and while I didn't really enjoy her first duology, I was very excited about this book because the concept sounded so cool.
Necromancy? Royalty? Lots of court politics? Discussions of religion and cults? Count me in!

Usually I'm pretty good at telling if a book is objectively good or if I'm just enjoying it a lot, but to be honest, I couldn't even give you an objective opinion for this because I was just so excited the entire time.
The only minor thing that bothered me is that Lore sometimes made, uh, interesting decisions, but other than that I just had a blast with this.

The love triangle was so fun, I generally really enjoy love triangles (as long as they're done well, of course), but Gabe and Bastian were both such good characters. I really appreciated the contrast between the fun-loving but smart and strategic prince, and caring but pious monk.
The character dynamics between the three were done so well, I really liked how Bastian's and Gabriel's complicated past influenced their current relationship and watching them overcome their differences because they both care for Lore and their country.

The plot was really intriguing and it just had a lot of elements that I love in fantasy. Mysteries and investigations are some of my favorite tropes, and having that wrapped up in court life and politics was so good.
The nods to religion and the discussions of the separation of Church & State were ever present, but I thought it was done in a tactful way and never overpowered the plot.

I also think the author improved in terms of storytelling and writing, while I loved the concept of For The Wolf/Throne, I really struggled with the way the story was crafted because it felt a bit messy and convoluted. The Foxglove King on the other hand was a lot more straightforward.

Overall, I just had a really great time with it, thematically it felt like it was written for me because I just loved all the different elements, and I highly recommend it. Can't wait for the sequel!