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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 sexy… 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 it’s 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, I’m 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 “girl is yanked from the streets and forced to live in a castle, where she assimilates into high society with no problem and has friends immediately” plot is getting redundant… but I’m still gonna eat it up every time.
This ends on a cliffhanger BUT as a reader who generally despises cliffhangers, it’s 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 coming—when the pages left are getting thinner and there’s 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 it’s 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, I’m 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 “girl is yanked from the streets and forced to live in a castle, where she assimilates into high society with no problem and has friends immediately” plot is getting redundant… but I’m still gonna eat it up every time.
This ends on a cliffhanger BUT as a reader who generally despises cliffhangers, it’s 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 coming—when the pages left are getting thinner and there’s 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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