Whilst the premise was interesting and there were bits I enjoyed, I feel like this book wasn't for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Really good book with lots going on- but overall you can get easily gripped in and stick with the story (it is worth it)

It’s honestly one of those books that takes you into another world completely and you fall in love with the characters and story.

Cannot CANNOT wait for the next book 🖤

Copy received by NetGalley but opinion is my own.

The Foxglove King is Fantasy fiction with an interesting, original plotline: The story follows a poison runner with a secret power to raise the dead who’s swept into the sainted king's royal court, forced to uncover a mystery plaguing the lands, all the while finding herself the centre of a forbidden love triangle. The book is well written and features a really interesting type of magic system based on Mortem, a power to raise the dead & its counterpart Spiritum, old world gods, extravagant costumes and warrior monks in an unsettling and mysterious tale. It gave me the feel of an alternate old world Paris/Versailles with its catacombs & court life, this was an enjoyable page turner. A good writer can get on with telling a story & intricate world building without it feeling difficult or boring & Hannah Whitten has certainly done this with The Foxglove King! I look forward to the sequel! 4 stars!

4.5 stars

Poisonous plants and death? Badboy prince? Gods? Yes please. Honestly I don't know what else I need.

This was very enjoyable read. I loved the main characters and all the fun they get into. Especially our Lore with the Prince. Their banter and interactions were the perfect addition to the book. I do have to mention that I was not a perfect fan of the love (tri)angle (I did like the friendships tho), but I get why was it there.

Can't wait to pick up book 2.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are, as always, my own.

I am really sorry to say I could not finish this book. I wanted so much to love it because it was so intriguing to me and appeared to be something I would really enjoy and get into. The idea and thought of this book seemed perfect!!

I gave it a good go and ended up reading about 30% of the book however I was so confused the majority of the time as the plot didn’t seem to make sense. The world building was a bit all over the place and I couldn’t connect with the characters.

I have never read a book by Hannah Whitten before and by no means will this stop me from trying one of her books again but for now I will stop reading this book and maybe I will pick it up again in the future and persist longer to see if it got any less confusing!

This book wasn’t for me but I think others will find enjoyment of it. The plot felt similar to many stories of strong FMC trained to be badass but ends up entangled with royalty (think Throne of Glass exactly). It wasn’t until the final ¼ of the book that things got interesting but I would have dipped out earlier if it wasn’t an ARC.

I hate when authors take away the agency of their characters with prophecy and plots. It feels like a cop-out to not have to write characters actually developing actual attraction to each other and emotions. And then to also turn around and go just kidding, everything you are doing was a setup and planned all along, makes me think what is the point of trying when we are all swept along.

Doesn’t help that I had very little investment in any of the characters. Bastian was the only one who was ok and Gabe had a giant man-child tantrum near the end that made me dislike him more. To add to this, the worldbuilding felt like a thin veneer. I wanted depth because I could almost feel it being cool but it didn’t feel thought through, more like something given just so in the second book we can be told everything is a lie.

Finally, a small fact for authors: archivists don’t wear gloves when handling rare old books. It makes it harder to feel the pages and more likely to damage them. Books are meant to be handled and all you need are clean oil free hands.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC for the paperback publication.

I really enjoyed reading The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten. It took a few chapters to get into and for the story to settle as the FMC Lore moved from being a poison runner to a court spy - the beginning read more like an adult novel but once the action moved to the citadel it definitely seemed more YA, notwithstanding the odd macarbre element.

Once in the citadel with all its politics and courtly intrigue, and once the concept of mortem was clearer, I began to really enjoy the narrative. Indeed, it reminded me at times of early Throne of Glass (which I love) and the relationships between Celaena, Chaol and Dorian and so I became quite invested in the main characters of Lore, Gabe and Bastian. All were intriguing, complicated and likeable characters and for a while it was difficult to call just where this love triangle would end up and indeed it was difficult to root for a side! There is in fact plenty more scope for the development of the relationships between these characters in the next book which I am looking forward to.

In all it is an enjoyable court based dark and twisty fantasy with some great characters and an intriguing magic and religious system that will no doubt be further developed in the next book, which I will definitely be reading.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing me with an e arc to review.

Sadly, I had to hit the brake at 50%.

Overall this story revolves around Lore who is a mortem manipulator with the ability to bring death ☠ humans/animals back to life. She was doing this poison running "business" for her so called smuggler parents. Until one of them betrays her ability and she got captured by the Presque mort to forcedly work for them and the king as a spy to solve a mystery.

Why I basically stopped is the spying aspect of her character that didn't make sense. Tbh alot of plots didn't make any sense for me.

I couldn't connect with any of the characters. After 30%, I was basically dragging myself to find something to hold on. Because I really heard some great things and wanted to relate.

This book wasn't for me. Thank you netgalley and the Brown Book Group UK for this opportunity.

I'll be honest, I wasn't completely captured by this book until maybe 30-40%. It had a slow beginning despite everything that was happening and I often struggle with third person in fantasy books.

Once I'd finally got into the rhythm of the writing I really started to enjoy it. There was an intricate magic system that was unlike anything I've read before which made our FMC almost villainous. Born with the power of mortem, Lore has the magic capable of death, weaving it in ways that haven't been seen in centuries. She is captured by the King and the Priest Exalted and blackmailed into spying on the Sun Prince in exchange for sparing her life. They also wish to use her magic to uncover the mystery of why entire villages have been dying overnight.

The power of mortem was so interesting and I loved how it was portrayed as dangerous making Lore someone to be scared of. I was also enthralled by the legends of the catacombs beneath the city and I wished there was more detail surrounding them and the people that live there.

There's not much in the way of romance, it's a very slow burn with the promise of more to come in the second book. The tension between Lore and Gabe is slow building and forbidden due to his religious vows. I didn't sense much romantic feelings between Lore and Bastian so I didn't really see it as a love triangle as such so it'll be interesting to see how it plays out in the second book, especially with Gabes new role. Personally I'd like to see a poly relationship happen but I'm not sure how that'll work with Gabes obvious jealousy issues.

The Foxglove King was a great opener for The Nightshade Crown duet and I look forward to the next book!

Really enjoyed this and can't wait to read some more of Hannah Whitten books.

Enjoyed the romantacy aspects. Good world building and characters

I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the next!

This is my first Hannah Whitten book and probably not my last. This book is full of intrigue, court politics, supernatural magic, royalty and strong characters, my favourite being our main protagonist Lore. Really liked the world building which immerses you into the story and the magic system.
However this book was quite dense and sometimes difficult to get into. Will be waiting and reading the second.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to have an ARC in return for an honest review

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Although I will straight up admit that I bought my own copy of this book immediately because it was just that good and I wanted to support the author.

What a whirlwind ride. This book has something for everyone - it is, at its heart - a romantasy (and a love triangle romantasy at that), but please don’t roll your eyes just yet, because it is done so well, so unbelievably well that I was just ensnared. I started this book just before Christmas and honestly didn’t get much time to read over that period, but today I devoured a good 80% in one sitting. It’s just that good.

The pacing is excellent. Beyond fantasy and romance we have political drama, court intrigue, mystery, suspense, and a little bit of a thriller. So many themes, you say, how could it be done well?! I can’t answer that but oh my days was I blown away by the perfection that this book is.

Characters are wonderful. Told in the third person limited, Lore is our heroine and she is filled with life and purpose, absolutely powerful both in magic and in spirit. Gabe and Bastian are our leading men and don’t they just bounce off the page, oozing with character. Loved all three of them, all so unique. Supporting characters are also well done - we like, we hate, we squeeze the kindle just a little too hard when we don’t get our way.

Also done excellently are the twists! I just realised how I haven’t had a good twist in so long. And there are so many! That final 15%. Wow. I mean… wow. Absolutist riveting stuff.

Now this book… I don’t know if there are more to follow. I must check. I really hope there is something else to come. It is a good and well contained story but I feel I am desperate to know more. There is potential for a much more powerful and frightening enemy. Potential for much higher stakes. I hope there’s more.

An interesting and fun to read fantasy romance. I’ve heard great things about Hannah Whitten so was excited to read this one. I’ve since added her other books to my TBR. I enjoyed this first book in a new series and am interested to read the next books when they come out. I liked the characters and fantasy setting. I’d highly recommend this one.

The depth of magic intertwined with the world, explored through various characters and their diverse perspectives, captivated me. The more insights I gained into the magic system, the more it fascinated me. The depiction of societal divisions was another aspect I appreciated, enhancing the city's overall atmosphere with a darker tone.
The protagonist, narrating from her perspective, became a highlight. Her multifaceted character was a joy to explore, revealing different facets throughout the narrative. For enthusiasts of dark fantasy, intricate character dynamics, and tension-laden plots, this book offers a compelling and engaging experience.

I really enjoyed this book! Can’t wait for the next one! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

This was a very dense story and difficult to get into. The overflowery writing made it a bit difficult to concentrate however once you get into it, the story was interesting. I'm not sure if I will pick up book 2 yet.

To me, the winning aspects of The Foxglove King are the setting and Lore (our protagonist) herself.

Dellaire is a dark, almost grimy city - people get by however they can… and then there is the Citadel rotting in its opulence, a place reserved for the “better” part of the society.
Basically two places I would love to visit but I would never want to live in.
Lore is rough, a little cynical but totally relatable. She tries to make the best with what she’s given, but remains always true to herself.
Shortly after the beginning of the book Lore will be taken away from the streets of Dellaire and sent into the Citadel with a mission as spy. From here on she will have to navigate the treacherous court politics with only people she doesn’t fully trust.

I see three main fantasy elements in this book: The magic system (death/life based), the poison (similar to our drugs) and the religious system.
This is the first book of a series, I hope in the following volumes we’ll have the chance to explore more of the magic and poison system, as I could really do with some more on it.
As far as the religion we find in this world, the similarities with some branches of Christianity make the system almost familiar.
Normally I do not care much for fantasy romance, but this book kept it to a level that can be fully enjoyed also by people like me.

As a first instalment I enjoyed 'The Foxglove King' to an extent. Lore was a character that was easy to like and her calm demure and quick manner of learning meant you weren't banging your head against a wall in anguish at silly mistakes that can be a trope in Romantasy books.
Her resolve and nature to want to live in juxtaposition of her powers was beautifully written. In a world where death was consistently haunting the very catacombs of her city it carried, bringing light to a gothic realm.

My only slight issue with this book was the last 30 or so pages with the slowly twisted mind of our dear prince, however I can see that this might be in favour of our sequel. Light and dark cannot exist without the other and while our dear characters may have been chosen in birth for one, who's to say we'll see the roles swapped.

You will easy get immersed in this dark fantasy world where you are taken to a place of Gods, Goddess and dark magic. Although the about of magical knowledge you absorb from the book is a lot and took me a while to reread some bits to understand, I did enjoy the world, writing and journey.

Spice level: no smut

This is my first Hannah Whitten book and I am pleasantly surprised, With court politics, necromancy, cults, royalty and strong characters the book was set up for a win!
The magic system was easy to understand, politics in the court also easy to read as long as you have read fantasy before and this is what I enjoyed the most throughout this book.
I usually really dislike love triangles, but this one I could get on board with! It was fun and the characters really bounced from each other well. I really enjoyed Gabe as a character, with his dark past and relationship with the court.
I do wish the was a little more world building/Lore (not the character!) but that is personal preference and the ending *chefs kiss* cant wait to read the next book!

Thank you to Netgalley, Orbit publishing & Hannah Whitten for an E-book in exchange for a honest review.