A review by cakt1991
The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

 I really enjoyed The Foxglove King and the themes it had to offer, and The Hemlock Queen offers more in a similar vein. While it does suffer in some areas from “middle book syndrome,” there was enough to keep my attention. 

One aspect I had forgotten about between books was the amount of deep lore (haha!) conveyed through epigraphs, and sometimes even footnotes to add further context to those epigraphs. It’s not as heavy on that side of things as similar books that dive deeper into the fictional lore and literature of the world, but it was an aspect I enjoyed nonetheless. 

The characters continue to be fairly intriguing, and their complex relationships with one another evolve in interesting ways, especially with them all in positions of power. I wasn’t sure how to feel about Bastian’s turn from charming to cold and controlling, feeling like a very familiar heel-turn for those of us who’ve read other romantasy *coughSJMcough*. But there’s still nuance there so that both he and Gabe are viable love interests, albeit with a lot of trauma and baggage. As for Lore, she remains compelling, as she too is trying to adjust to her new position as well. 

Like the first book, the pacing is a bit all over the place. I was somewhat invested in the beginning, but I wasn’t truly grabbed until halfway through. I can’t put my finger on what I would want to streamline, although perhaps having more of a “hook” at the beginning would help. 

While it’s not perfect, I enjoyed this book for the most part, and would recommend the series thus far to readers looking for “romantasy” series.