Reviews

The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten

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cherbles'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

3.75

sarahetc's review

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1.0

If I asked you to imagine a fantasy novel written in universe inspired by France circa-1800, where the magic system was semi-religious, with at least a two god pantheon representing at minimum a male-divine and a female divine and the associated religious bureaucracy, the monarchy still existed, and the force itself was the power of death, what would you imagine? How would people act? Or speak? What would life be like? If you answered, well, there'd be a lot of conspicuous homosexuality and everybody would talk like an American teenager in 2020, here's your book!

Seriously though-- the author's bio says that she's been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil and eventually realized that if it entertained her, it would entertain others. That's a lovely thought. I agree. What she's published, however, is a work that written for Hannah and her friends and has not been edited to flesh out all those parts of story the rest of us don't know because we're were born in the 1900s and simply do not have the background nor the information that will allow us to make reasonable assumptions. The novel reads like something she wrote for her in-group (lucky) and Orbit snatched it up for mass production. Good for her. There remains a divide, however, and I don't have the energy to attempt to bridge it when it's something she and her editor should have done.

readwithacapricorn's review against another edition

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adventurous tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

bzzkolla's review against another edition

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5.0

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit book for this eCopy to review

I'm new to Hannah Whitten and thoroughly enjoyed The Foxglove King. I felt the use of death magic was original and was well described as we learnt what it could do as Lore learns how to use her powers. I felt the love triangle was very intriguing and can't wait for the next books to see who she chooses Bastian or Gabe. I found all the characters interesting and complex and well described.

I found the twists at the end surprising and are another reason why I can't wait for the sequel to see how Lore's and Bastian's magic grows and combines.

sgilson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

mybooksarenovel's review against another edition

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3.0

This book can be categorized as dark fantasy for Adult readers. However it kind of reads like YA with the characters ages adjusted and a whole lot of profanity.

The concept and magic system for this story are quite interesting. I like that it's pseudo setting in King Louis the XIV France both kind of in fashion, and french names. The court politics are kind of vaguely royal without a whole lot of custom and manners. I like the contrasting dark and light magic without either being necessarily good or bad. I absolutely love the power competition between the King and the Clergy.

Unfortunately the setting and the religious politics it reads like something very badly researched or just not cared that much about which is kind of disappointing. If you're going to write your own version of something based in truth, I think it's important to get to know that truth before distorting it.

The pacing of the story was meandering in a way that was a bit frustrating. It was a lot of words that didn't do a whole lot. I kept thinking that something needed to happen to raise the stakes at certain points. I think Alie's character served to do nothing. She was a rival that wasn't really a rival. The "love triangle" wasn't even a true love triangle because I'm not even convinced that Bastian likes Lore more than friends, and I think his real preference is strictly men.

I want to like Hannah Witten's books so much, but they just seem to miss the mark for me. Like a decent meal but the cut of meat is fatty, and it really needs to be seasoned. The story is there, the talent is there, the execution is just a bit flat.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received an ARC through Orbit books and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.