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A review by beccisays
The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Overall I really liked this! As with almost all second books, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first one but I still enjoyed revisiting these characters and their world again. I believe this series is perfect for romantasy readers who want a magic-infused world with a darker tone.
I absolutely loved how often the sky was described. The author really brought attention to the transitions between day and night and the colours of the sunsets and rises were written so beautifully:
"Lore watched the sky through the window, honey and lavender and encroaching indigo. No moon tonight."
"Night fell like layers of veils, each darkening the sky further. Lavender became indigo became midnight-blue, pricked through with stars."
If I'm being honest, this did feel a bit slow to get going for me personally and I didn't feel fully immersed in the story until about the 50% mark. After that, I became swept away by the mystery and clues being dropped left, right and centre by the author. I wish there had been more suspicious activity and characters to throw the reader off the scent and keep things interesting in the early stages. By the end we knew for definite what was happening, who was joining forces and who could be trusted but the characters just couldn't speak openly about it and I would have enjoyed some more detective work, suspects or twists thrown in along the way.
"His throat ticked as he swallowed, hard, shifting his eyes between her and Gabe. For a moment, he looked like someone on the edge of a confession, as if the space between his deathwitch and his Priest Exalted was the only safe place to let his guard down."
"That triangle, again, three points that left them all bleeding."
I spent most of the book on the edge of my seat and eating every bit of sexual tension I could get. I know all the signs are pointing to a love triangle but I'm still holding out hope for a throuple. I said this in my review of the first book and we got such a tantalizing glimpse of what could happen through the flashback memories. Lore has had to make choices for the greater good or survival her whole life - she deserves a why choose era.
I enjoyed that this book started to draw some of the minor characters from the first book into the spotlight and plotlines. I really like Alie as a character but I would love to learn more about the inner workings of her mind and her motivations, as we so often see her behaving gracefully and acting noble. I'm excited to see more elemental magic in the next book, as the spiritum/mortum magic system and poison use was minimal and purposefully performative in this book. which was a bit of a let down after how well it was utilized in the first book.
Thank you to Orbit & Hannah Whitten for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
I absolutely loved how often the sky was described. The author really brought attention to the transitions between day and night and the colours of the sunsets and rises were written so beautifully:
"Lore watched the sky through the window, honey and lavender and encroaching indigo. No moon tonight."
"Night fell like layers of veils, each darkening the sky further. Lavender became indigo became midnight-blue, pricked through with stars."
If I'm being honest, this did feel a bit slow to get going for me personally and I didn't feel fully immersed in the story until about the 50% mark. After that, I became swept away by the mystery and clues being dropped left, right and centre by the author. I wish there had been more suspicious activity and characters to throw the reader off the scent and keep things interesting in the early stages. By the end we knew for definite what was happening, who was joining forces and who could be trusted but the characters just couldn't speak openly about it and I would have enjoyed some more detective work, suspects or twists thrown in along the way.
"His throat ticked as he swallowed, hard, shifting his eyes between her and Gabe. For a moment, he looked like someone on the edge of a confession, as if the space between his deathwitch and his Priest Exalted was the only safe place to let his guard down."
"That triangle, again, three points that left them all bleeding."
I spent most of the book on the edge of my seat and eating every bit of sexual tension I could get. I know all the signs are pointing to a love triangle but I'm still holding out hope for a throuple. I said this in my review of the first book and we got such a tantalizing glimpse of what could happen through the flashback memories. Lore has had to make choices for the greater good or survival her whole life - she deserves a why choose era.
I enjoyed that this book started to draw some of the minor characters from the first book into the spotlight and plotlines. I really like Alie as a character but I would love to learn more about the inner workings of her mind and her motivations, as we so often see her behaving gracefully and acting noble. I'm excited to see more elemental magic in the next book, as the spiritum/mortum magic system and poison use was minimal and purposefully performative in this book. which was a bit of a let down after how well it was utilized in the first book.
Thank you to Orbit & Hannah Whitten for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.