Book Title: The Foxglove King
Author: Hannah F Whitten
Genre: Fantasy
Target Audience: Young Adult
Publication date: March 9th 2023
Format: Kindle
What it’s about
In this lush, romantic new epic fantasy series from New York Times bestselling author Hannah Whitten, a young woman’s secret power to raise the dead plunges her into the dangerous and glamorous world of the Sainted King’s royal court.
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.
About the Author
Hannah Whitten has been writing to amuse herself since she could hold a pen, and sometime in high school, figured out that what amused her might also amuse others. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, making music, or attempting to bake. She lives in Tennessee with her husband and children in a house ruled by a temperamental cat.
What I thought
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review
Although this book started a little slow for me this ended up being my favourite read for February.
Lore is an interesting MC with a complex background and a strange type of magic I’ve never encountered before. After an incident with a job gone wrong as a poison runner, we’re then introduced to Gabe a monk with the same power but a weakened version in comparison. Lore and Gabe are taken to a citadel where the King has a “cunning plan” of reestablishing them both in court under the pretense of keeping an eye on the Prince. Soon were introduced to Bastian the prince of the realm and this is where things get interesting for all three of them.
It was only after I was introduced to all three parties that I was unable to put the book down, the dynamic between them was something else and I couldn’t decide who I was pulled more towards, Lore and Gabe or Lore and Bastian.
I didn’t think I’d get sucked in so much on a story with a religious take on it but it was described so well that you can understand why there are difficulties and why the characters are torn between their duty and their heart.
This was well and truly worth the read and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Star rating
Laura's Literary Loves 