Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - The Foxglove King

Pitch a story to me with ‘necromancy’ in the description and I’m going to sign up 9 times out of 10. Like a lot of people I love the idea of magic based around the dead - one of my favorite characters I’ve made for a D&D game was a necromancer! The Foxglove King has some of that in the truest sense. The story follows Lore who can channel the power of Mortem, death magic, and raise the dead. This is definitely not on the legal side of things in her world, and when she’s captured and given a bargain - work for the king or live in exile, she obviously takes the job.

From there we get our usual Fantasy Romance setup. A magic girl, and two guys. The prince she’s supposed to be investigating for treason and the stoic guard who is assigned to follow her every step. On the whole this follows every beat you’d expect for a Fantasy Romance and I enjoyed that. Unfortunately, my first big complaint ties into this. While it followed familiar beats, it let itself get caught and really drag in the middle. The story was a bit overwritten and when Lore and her associates became trapped in the castle so were we the readers, so there is a huge slog of dry reading from 50 to 85%. We spend so so much time in the heads and conversations of the characters that it felt like we were trapped in the same three rooms and one garden for a huge chunk of time. Editing was desperately needed here, 50 to 100 pages could have been trimmed.

Past that our characters are interesting, though nothing mind blowing. My favorite character was Lore. She was not the standard ‘bad ass girl’ we typically get, but had some soft edges and quiet attributes I enjoyed. She was selfish but not brash, and held secrets (possibly for far too long) that seemed very important to have, as opposed to melodramatics. Bastian, our Sun Prince was the best built of the two male love interests, the other a dull shadow to him. My other big complaint about the story is in the villain of the piece. - SPOILERS HERE He did not need to be scarred in the face in the way he was. It’s 2023, can we not turn every person with a facial scar or disfigurement into a villain. I despised this portion of the book and I’m glad that he’s out of the picture at the end - END SPOILERS.

The ending was a hair bit on the predictable side with it’s reveals if not explosive and jaw dropping in it’s action, leaving me wanting the second book. I’m hesitant to recommend this one, without the warning that the middle is dense and the villain a terrible stereotype. However if you’re okay with that and you love Fantasy Romance I’d say give this one a read.

3 out of 5 Stone Roses

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maddiementions's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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soniajoy98's review against another edition

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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

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readwithria's review against another edition

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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 couldn’t 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 couldn’t stop reading it.

I love Lore, our main character, and Bastian and Gabe as well. Their relationships with each other felt so authentic, and I’m looking forward to seeing them develop even more in the next book.

I’m officially obsessed. The sequel can’t come soon enough. 5 stars.

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samandthebookstack's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

A huge thank you to Hannah Whitten, Orbit Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to enjoy this ARC and share my thoughts on it with all of you.

As much as I enjoyed For the Wolf, The Foxglove King was even better and I am utterly shook. I literally just finished it like two minutes ago and now I'm sitting here with my mouth hung open, slightly irritated that I have to wait until the next book comes out to continue the story.

Hannah Whitten is a master of her craft, that much is easily apparent if you read For the Wolf. But this book....it was everything all at once in the very best. way. Hannah's writing is as descriptive and captivating as it is comforting and familiar and that stood out with The Foxglove King. But the best part was the world-building. In between delicious banter and heaps of intrigue and mystery, Hannah wove a world that is as unique as it is mysterious. I am a sucker for worldbuilding that is intricate enough to require me to keep tabs on things but doesn't make that process feel laborious and Hannah delivers on that front with a degree of precision that is utterly uncanny.

Lore is wonderful. We see so many sides of her personality. We see her strength and courage as well as the telltale signs of someone who hasn't quite come into her own just yet. Lore is relatable and despite the world she lives in and her role in it, there's an honesty to her that I absolutely loved.

I don't want to delve too much deeper (my reviews are always spoiler free), but this is a must-read if you love the fantasy genre, especially if you enjoy mysteries, angsty banter, and deep worldbuilding that whisks you away from the perils of the "normal world".

The Foxglove King releases on March 7th, 2023 and I highly recommend it for lovers of the fantasy/romance genre.

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