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soniajoy98's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Murder, Animal death, Child death, and Violence
Moderate: Classism, War, Blood, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Vomit
juliaureads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
TROPES:
š Court politics
1ļøā£ Chosen one
š® Forbidden magic
Lore is an orphan/street dealer with a secret - she can raise the dead. This is highly illegal in a world where all the necromancers were killed centuries ago. But what happens when the Sainted King needs a spy for his rogue son who he thinks isn't ready to rule? Preferably a spy that is easy to control because of a secret she doesn't want to get caught?
Escorted by a guilt-ridden duke-turned-monk, Lore must infiltrate the prince's inner circle to find the potential traitor.
I was skeptical of this one at first, but the story quickly hooked me and I was all in. Snarky characters, rich world-building, and a dash of court politics had me tearing through this in just a couple of days.
š Court politics
1ļøā£ Chosen one
š® Forbidden magic
Lore is an orphan/street dealer with a secret - she can raise the dead. This is highly illegal in a world where all the necromancers were killed centuries ago. But what happens when the Sainted King needs a spy for his rogue son who he thinks isn't ready to rule? Preferably a spy that is easy to control because of a secret she doesn't want to get caught?
Escorted by a guilt-ridden duke-turned-monk, Lore must infiltrate the prince's inner circle to find the potential traitor.
I was skeptical of this one at first, but the story quickly hooked me and I was all in. Snarky characters, rich world-building, and a dash of court politics had me tearing through this in just a couple of days.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry
takarakei's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My first Hannah Whitten and I'm def looking forward to reading her other duology and for the rest of this series.
This book is immediately so interesting right from the get-go. I find it hard to describe when writing is not good, but on the contrary when itās THIS good it just works and is so easy to read. The world building is top notch, like I was not confused at all (beyond that this is a very mysterious book so obv there are things left out on purpose).
This book is immediately so interesting right from the get-go. I find it hard to describe when writing is not good, but on the contrary when itās THIS good it just works and is so easy to read. The world building is top notch, like I was not confused at all (beyond that this is a very mysterious book so obv there are things left out on purpose).
- Court Politics
- Gods Mythology
- Necromancer Magic
- Love Triangle
- With a priest fighting his religious vows
- With a prince who hides his pain with humor
- ...Personally, I am team throuple
1.5/5 š¶ļø (so much tensionnnn)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Animal death, and Gore
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Child death, Classism, Genocide, Addiction, and Drug use
Minor: Death of parent, Violence, and Sexism
Animal Deathreadwithria's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The Foxglove King entangled me in its plot from the very first page, and left me wanting the sequel immediately. From the characters to the setting to the story itself, everything about this book was twisted together in such an artful way, and I couldnāt get enough of it.
I loved literally everything about this book. The characters, the setting, the magic, the court intrigue, the religious trauma, all of it. This book feels like it was made for me, and I couldnāt stop reading it.
I love Lore, our main character, and Bastian and Gabe as well. Their relationships with each other felt so authentic, and Iām looking forward to seeing them develop even more in the next book.
Iām officially obsessed. The sequel canāt come soon enough. 5 stars.
I loved literally everything about this book. The characters, the setting, the magic, the court intrigue, the religious trauma, all of it. This book feels like it was made for me, and I couldnāt stop reading it.
I love Lore, our main character, and Bastian and Gabe as well. Their relationships with each other felt so authentic, and Iām looking forward to seeing them develop even more in the next book.
Iām officially obsessed. The sequel canāt come soon enough. 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Drug use, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Death of parent, Classism, and Chronic illness
readbyemilee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book was everything I wanted and more. Atmospheric, immersive, and sexyā¦ Hannah Whitten is officially one of my new favorite authors. The Wilderwood duology is so so so good. The Foxglove King is even better.
Full transparency, I really had no idea what was going on for the first 50 pages or so. Not super uncommon when I read adult fantasy, but I can stick with a book if the characters are compelling and it at least feels like things will start making sense. The Foxglove King has some whodunnit aspects, and I loved finding things out as Lore and friends discovered them. The ending is a little predictable, but itās okay because the journey to the end was thoughtful and engaging.
The themes of religion and parallels to modern Christianity are very interesting. As an ex-fundie, Iām always eager to read anything that explores institutional religion. I found myself empathizing with both Lore and Gabe, but Gabe especially. His character arc is one of the most complicated I have read in a long time, and I think he will be on my mind a lot until the next book.
I would have liked to see Lore be more independent. The āgirl is yanked from the streets and forced to live in a castle, where she assimilates into high society with no problem and has friends immediatelyā plot is getting redundantā¦ but Iām still gonna eat it up every time.
This ends on a cliffhanger BUT as a reader who generally despises cliffhangers, itās not bad. The story has a good conclusion and sets us up for what to expect next. This is the kind of cliffhanger that you can feel comingāwhen the pages left are getting thinner and thereās still a whole mess of things that need to happen.
Thank you Orbit for the ARC!
Full transparency, I really had no idea what was going on for the first 50 pages or so. Not super uncommon when I read adult fantasy, but I can stick with a book if the characters are compelling and it at least feels like things will start making sense. The Foxglove King has some whodunnit aspects, and I loved finding things out as Lore and friends discovered them. The ending is a little predictable, but itās okay because the journey to the end was thoughtful and engaging.
The themes of religion and parallels to modern Christianity are very interesting. As an ex-fundie, Iām always eager to read anything that explores institutional religion. I found myself empathizing with both Lore and Gabe, but Gabe especially. His character arc is one of the most complicated I have read in a long time, and I think he will be on my mind a lot until the next book.
I would have liked to see Lore be more independent. The āgirl is yanked from the streets and forced to live in a castle, where she assimilates into high society with no problem and has friends immediatelyā plot is getting redundantā¦ but Iām still gonna eat it up every time.
This ends on a cliffhanger BUT as a reader who generally despises cliffhangers, itās not bad. The story has a good conclusion and sets us up for what to expect next. This is the kind of cliffhanger that you can feel comingāwhen the pages left are getting thinner and thereās still a whole mess of things that need to happen.
Thank you Orbit for the ARC!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Drug use, Religious bigotry, and Genocide
Minor: Death of parent, Violence, Sexism, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Murder
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