After loving book one I was looking forward to jumping into this book.i loved the character Lore and dealing with the court politics dragging into wars with gods a nd goddess. The love triangle you see develop is still there and you are at odds who you want lore to end up with. ( go Gabe!) I thought the plot picked up quickly and even though you could see where it was going I still
Throughly enjoyed it.
Looking forward to book 3

Once again; a phenomenal sequel!!!! Idk how Hannah Whitten is able to always write a gem but I gobble it up everytime!!!!!

4.75/5 stars! This is the second installment in the Nightshade Crown series by author Hannah Whitten. I loved The Foxglove King and was so glad to see that same energy, dark humor, and energy continued in this book. This book hops right into the action and it stays that way for the majority of the story. There were a few heavy times, but I'm really excited to continue the series when book 3 comes out.

This book is the second in the series and it picks up right where book one left us. And j found it to be a great read, with great character building!! The romance was done well, and I can’t wait to continue with the story in book 3

I was a little nervous going into the hemlock queen I loved book one until the last few chapters at the end, so I was happy to continue with the series but I had doubts about this one and I’m so sad to say I really didn’t enjoy this. I think my biggest complaint about the hemlock queen is there is barely any plot progression in here, which makes for a really boring middle book. Actually think this would have been better as a duology. It’s mostly building the love triangle relationship and while I really liked the love interest by the end in here I still wasn’t on board with it even being a love triangle, maybe a me thing but just didn’t gel at all with it. Will still probably continue with the series just to finish it out but again my hopes aren’t high for book 3 sadly.

After reviewing The Foxglove King I was so happy to be approved for this ARC, but I found myself a little disappointed with the story. I found it hard to understand the main characters motives a lot of the time and they got a bit whiney and annoying. I had high hopes following the first book but I don't think I'll be continuing with the series now.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a little while to get into the second book, but i think thats just a me thing. I still love the lore, the magic system and the intrigue that the book gives. It went in a different direction than i was expecting but i enjoyed it overall.

The Hemlock Queen picks up shortly after the events of the first book. Charming, outgoing Bastian is now King and Lore is his right hand necromancer. All good so straight forward. Sure. Theres politics afoot and as Bastian tries to keep everyone happy Lore sees changes in him she’s not happy with and being on the outs with her hot warrior monk isn’t helping. Who to trust? Not the voices in her head that’s for sure. There’s gods at work too which is never good. This book was a bit of a ramble and suffered a bit of second volume slog. There was a lot of padding to fill out the bits in between key Plot Points that will become important in book three you can kind of see where Whitten is going but in the mean time not enough is happening in book two to keep the tension and everyone becomes a bit whiney. Also Whitten has this really annoying writers tick of foreshortening words that irks me no end but that’s but the by and I only pick up on it because the rest of it is such good quality. Is this negging? Maybe. Anyway this was good but not up to her usual snuff.

This is fantasy, fantasy romance and it's the second book in a trilogy.

This picks up shortly after the end of the first book, our female main character is a necromancer and formerly a smuggler, but now the right hand woman of the new king. Together they're supposed to change everything that was wrong with the kingdom, they have opposite kinds of magic so they can bring something new, except something's not quite right. He doesn't seem to be himself and something is whispering to her.

This was fine, I really liked the first book, I think we have a bit of middle book syndrome going on in this one. Not helped by the fact one of our 3 main characters is not himself for most of the book so that kind of changes the dynamics. One of the best parts of the first book was that we had a genuine seeming love triangle and the relationship and banter between them was great. Things are off in this one - for story reasons but it does change the dynamics.

As a result, it feels like this is a lot more inner monologuing from our female main character and a lot less interaction with the 2 male main characters.

But they are going up against gods here, so there's a lot of work to do in book 3! I'm still very much interested in finishing the series.

The Hemlock Queen was such a great read. We have a lot of information send our way and some strong character development. It felt dark and lush while balancing between life and death.

The romance in this book combined with the intrigue kept me hooked until the last page. I cannot wait for the next instalment of the series.

Picked this up after loving the first book, unfortunately after three attempts I just can't finish The Hemlock Queen. Everything I was enjoying about the story seems to have been reduced to a sappy romantic triangle I couldn't care less about.

I really wanted to love this as much as the first one but the characters are harder to connect with and it didn't have the same depth.

Wow. Just wow.
This book was the perfect mixture of info dump and character development (maybe relationship(s) development?). It is not an easy feat to achieve, but there was just a great balance done, between the mysteries behind the gods and the burning love among our three main characters - because if this doesn't end in a throuple after this book, I swear I will riot.
Lore has become one of my favourite heroines, and I want to hug her so badly. I loved her strength, her resolution, and damn if my heart didn't break for her as the chapters continued.
The real scene-stealer, though, was Bastian - and no, not in the way he was in the first book, when he might have just been the other guy, when even if there could be a throuple, we were mostly into Lore and Gabe alone. I won't say much, only that if Lore needs hugs, Bastian needs to be wrapped in a shit ton of blankets and be protected from the world.
Gabe in this second book might not have been predominant, not the way he was in book one, but he was there, and damn if he doesn't need a hug, too. There's a very nice character development in him, an important one, and even if we don't get his POV, one can't miss it. He made me really proud.
I also think I know where things are going (it's mostly foreshadowing than actually theorising, but still) and in most cases I wouldn't go for it, I wouldn't like reading that kind of ending, but in this trilogy I think that would be the only solution... Unless Hannah won't throw us all a curve ball. Honestly, I can be happy with anything as long as my three loves are happy and healthy and loving one another!
So yeah, when is the third book coming out because my heart is bleeding, mine, not Apollious! I need answers and some happiness for my beloved.

I love the first book in this series and so I was thrilled to get this to read early and it did not disappoint! The characters and world building is amazing.

I have more questions than I had in the first book. Send help - I have so much anxiety for the ending of the series

If you enjoyed the first book then you'll definitely enjoy this book.

I felt like this book was similarly slow paced like the first but it doesn't feel like a bad thing. I enjoyed the gradual build up in excitement.

Cant wait to read more from this author

Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for providing me with this arc

With this being the second part of a trilogy instalment (and the fact that I luuuurved the first one) I was a bit nervous to see where this went. Firstly, I should say that I love books where gods play a defining part in the story or are specific characters. (It's one reason why I was disappointed by the movie, Troy. WHERE ARE THE GODS?).

I digress.

I love this world/setting and I'm a big fan of Lore, so I really enjoyed that this book doubled down on that. It feels dark and lush, which is fitting for a story where life and death and magic are all balanced with romance and intrigue.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this and can't wait for the third instalment.

This is book 2 in the Nightshade Crown series, and it truly felt like a second book and a filler book. I did enjoy it, although not as much as the first. So if you did not like the first book, this is probably not for you.

There was not really that much that happened in this, while at the same time there was. It truly set everything up for the last book, and I am really excited for that and think it can be really good.

Rating : 4,5 stars (rounded up to 5 stars here)

The Foxglove King was one of my favorite reads of 2023 and I waited, impatiently, for more than a year for the sequel. i'm glad to report that it did not disappoint!

This still feels very slow, letting you soak up all the vibes, the gothic ambiance and the character development. So I know it won't be everyone's cup of tea but I definitely had a great time!
I love how deeper we got into the MCs' state of minds, their own history, their flaws and how each of them got their own demons to deal with.
The lore here is so well thought out, and I really enjoyed getting more bits and pieces about the history and the genesis of this world.

I ended up doing the audio and the narrator was incredible! I was just sucked in and couldn't stop listening.
I am so pumped for The Nightshade God in 2025.

And I will finish this review with this : Bastian is the man of my dreams, protect him at all cost.

Thank you NetGalley, Little Brown Book Group UK and the author for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️.5 / 5 (rounded up to 3)

The Hemlock Queen is the sequel to The Foxglove King, a Romantasy series where the main premisses are the relationship between Religion, State and Magic. I enjoyed the first instalment, so I was really excited when I was approved for this ARC.

I had to comeback to this book a second time as when I first started reading it didn’t grip me as well as the first book, and I wanted to give it a fair chance.

I think the main premisse and Magic System of this series is very interesting, however the world building was underdeveloped and the plot’s pace dragged - it just started to pick up at about 65% of the book.

One of the things that I really liked in the first book was how well developed the love triangle was (and I am not a fan of that trope). Although in this book the romance subplot felt immature. The poly relationship felt forced, with no chemistry between MMCs and with Lore continuously repeating - ‘I love one but I also love the other’ type of mantra.

Overall, this second instalment was underwhelming and the ending had some inconsistencies. I missed Bastion’s comic relief moments and some deep dive in the Kyrithean Empire, Burnt Isles, court intrigue and city life.

Thank you Hannah Whitten and Orbit for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC through @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.