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discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This was such an engaging and exciting read. The writing style was effortlessly propulsive, and the story was surprisingly immersive. I was almost immediately invested in the story, which is abnormal for me, and from there, I couldn’t stop turning pages.
I wish the characters had been more diverse, and there was a moment around like 2/3 of the way through when I hit a bit of a pacing snag, but other than that, this was a standout to me.
I’d recommend this to anyone who loves a dark fantasy with some angsty romance.
I wish the characters had been more diverse, and there was a moment around like 2/3 of the way through when I hit a bit of a pacing snag, but other than that, this was a standout to me.
I’d recommend this to anyone who loves a dark fantasy with some angsty romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
luckylulureads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
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: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Terminal illness, Blood, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
booksalacarte's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
3.75
The Foxglove King- 3.75⭐️ 2🌶️
When Lore was thirteen, she escaped a cult in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire. And in the ten years since, she’s lived by one rule: don’t let them find you. Easier said than done, when her death magic ties her to the city.
When Lore was thirteen, she escaped a cult in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire. And in the ten years since, she’s lived by one rule: don’t let them find you. Easier said than done, when her death magic ties her to the city.
Mortem, the magic born from death, is a high-priced and illicit commodity in Dellaire, and Lore’s job running poisons keeps her in food, shelter, and relative security. But when a run goes wrong and Lore’s power is revealed, she’s taken by the Presque Mort, a group of warrior-monks sanctioned to use Mortem working for the Sainted King. Lore fully expects a pyre, but King August has a different plan. Entire villages on the outskirts of the country have been dying overnight, seemingly at random. Lore can either use her magic to find out what’s happening and who in the King’s court is responsible, or die.
Lore is thrust into the Sainted King’s glittering court, where no one can be believed and even fewer can be trusted. Guarded by Gabriel, a duke-turned-monk, and continually running up against Bastian, August’s ne’er-do-well heir, Lore tangles in politics, religion, and forbidden romance as she attempts to navigate a debauched and opulent society.
But the life she left behind in the catacombs is catching up with her. And even as Lore makes her way through the Sainted court above, they might be drawing closer than she thinks.
—————
—————
✨My Opinion✨
Lore was a great main character. It was a refreshing change from the sacrificial skinny teenager hero that place this so nicely in New Adult Fantasy. That all the main characters are so deeply flawed was endearing.
The possible love triangle was fairly organic, with the hint of deja vu from all three of the main characters. It makes for a dynamic and ever changing trio, even if it’s more of a fated romance type of deal. You never know if they are running toward each other or away. I’m interested to see how things play out. As of right now, the chemistry leans very far toward forbidden romance and fierce friendship.
It was a little predictable, once the momentum started. I think it’s hard to keep things moving and unexpected when there is a prophecy involved. Especially when every other character is saying they are going to repeat a well known history. It makes it feel like you already know where the book is going. I’m interested and hopeful that surprising things are coming for book 2. (I think the inserts from their religious texts, while it explained more of the magic, spoiled a lot of the plot)
I loved the visualization of the magic. Hannah Whitten is so good at original magic systems and I’m loving her take on death/life magic! Considering it was only introduced in the second half of the book in bits and pieces, I’m very interested to see how the magic system fully plays out!
Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Lore was a great main character. It was a refreshing change from the sacrificial skinny teenager hero that place this so nicely in New Adult Fantasy. That all the main characters are so deeply flawed was endearing.
The possible love triangle was fairly organic, with the hint of deja vu from all three of the main characters. It makes for a dynamic and ever changing trio, even if it’s more of a fated romance type of deal. You never know if they are running toward each other or away. I’m interested to see how things play out. As of right now, the chemistry leans very far toward forbidden romance and fierce friendship.
It was a little predictable, once the momentum started. I think it’s hard to keep things moving and unexpected when there is a prophecy involved. Especially when every other character is saying they are going to repeat a well known history. It makes it feel like you already know where the book is going. I’m interested and hopeful that surprising things are coming for book 2. (I think the inserts from their religious texts, while it explained more of the magic, spoiled a lot of the plot)
I loved the visualization of the magic. Hannah Whitten is so good at original magic systems and I’m loving her take on death/life magic! Considering it was only introduced in the second half of the book in bits and pieces, I’m very interested to see how the magic system fully plays out!
Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Addiction, Death, and Alcohol
livwoods's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Thank you to Orbit and Net Galley for the e-arc!
I might come back to this review after I’ve had a chance to parse my thoughts, but I just flew through the last 11% of the book, and wow, the last 50ish pages and where the story left us bumped my rating way up!
I’ve read both For the Wolf and For the Throne, as well as the short story “One Lane Bridge”, and I think this is Hannah Whitten’s best book yet. Dellaire and the Mortem-cursed country of Auverraine is a fun, glittering, and bejeweled world of recreational poison use, dead gods, and courtly politics and espionage. The characters are fun and I enjoyed following Lore as a protagonist, but shout-out to Bastian—the seemingly irreverent, moderately dastardly Sun Prince—who was my favorite character to read. That’s not to count out Gabe, our Golden Retriever-esque monk who’s too loyal and upstanding for his own self-preservation, but right now, I’m firmly Team Bastian (but giving myself the choice to change my mind whenever Book 2 comes out). I’m a sucker for love triangles, too, and am waiting to see what shenanigans this trio gets up to in the books that follow.
I don’t read much high fantasy where intricate court politics and royal espionage are involved, but this level of intrigue, mystery, and machinations suited me fine, and the twists keep the pages turning.
The pantheon of gods was by far my favorite element, and I’m hoping we can dig more into the mythology of the world as we move further into the series. (And maybe get some backstory for what really happened beforeredacted!!
This definitely feels like a first book in a trilogy and therefore has some of the standard conventions of getting a series off the ground: slower-paced world building and character development to get you invested for when the puzzle starts coming together. And a lot of the earlier pages are spent setting up the world, the court, and the key players in the mystery. But by the end of the book, the chess board is set and the pieces are in place for whatever Book 2 has in store, and I can’t wait to see how the game plays out from here!
I might come back to this review after I’ve had a chance to parse my thoughts, but I just flew through the last 11% of the book, and wow, the last 50ish pages and where the story left us bumped my rating way up!
I’ve read both For the Wolf and For the Throne, as well as the short story “One Lane Bridge”, and I think this is Hannah Whitten’s best book yet. Dellaire and the Mortem-cursed country of Auverraine is a fun, glittering, and bejeweled world of recreational poison use, dead gods, and courtly politics and espionage. The characters are fun and I enjoyed following Lore as a protagonist, but shout-out to Bastian—the seemingly irreverent, moderately dastardly Sun Prince—who was my favorite character to read. That’s not to count out Gabe, our Golden Retriever-esque monk who’s too loyal and upstanding for his own self-preservation, but right now, I’m firmly Team Bastian (but giving myself the choice to change my mind whenever Book 2 comes out). I’m a sucker for love triangles, too, and am waiting to see what shenanigans this trio gets up to in the books that follow.
I don’t read much high fantasy where intricate court politics and royal espionage are involved, but this level of intrigue, mystery, and machinations suited me fine, and the twists keep the pages turning.
The pantheon of gods was by far my favorite element, and I’m hoping we can dig more into the mythology of the world as we move further into the series. (And maybe get some backstory for what really happened before
This definitely feels like a first book in a trilogy and therefore has some of the standard conventions of getting a series off the ground: slower-paced world building and character development to get you invested for when the puzzle starts coming together. And a lot of the earlier pages are spent setting up the world, the court, and the key players in the mystery. But by the end of the book, the chess board is set and the pieces are in place for whatever Book 2 has in store, and I can’t wait to see how the game plays out from here!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: War