What a wild and heartbreaking ride this duology was. For the Wolf was one of my favorite reads of 2021 and let me tell you: it was a STRUGGLE to wait for the release of For the Throne. Now the duology is complete and all of you can experience all the heartbreak and sacrifice and love without needing to wait. This is a tough review for me to write because as much as I loved the romance and atmosphere, I struggled with parts of the worldbuilding.

"Power is pain, Shadow Queen, and monsters in the eye of the beholder."

For the Throne is Neve's story and picks up right where For the Worlf left off, so you may want to re-read the first book before diving back into the world. Hannah Whitten's writing is just as atmospheric and evocative, transporting me to the nightmarish realm of the Shadowlands.

"A Terrible, twisted grove, blood on white branches, darkness dripping."

The Shadowlands is a place of nightmares, an upside-down devoid of color where no one can truly die. The Five Kings aren't the only danger: there are monsters great and small, as well as the Old Gods. This is a darker tale where Neve not only battles the darkness of the Shadowlands in a reluctant alliance but also with her morally gray tendencies. What defines a monster, and is she one herself?

"Heroes and villains and the spaces between, a prism that changed reflections depending on the angle you turned it."

I wasn't sure how I'd like a Neve-centric book because I didn't resonate with her as much as Red, but I found myself drawn to her chapters and darkness. The pacing was a bit uneven for me and I found Red's chapters largely uninteresting and a bit repetitive, bogging down the plot overall. Barring the trip to the Rylt and a couple of other scenes, the Red & Co. chapters didn't do much to move the plot forward or increase the reader's understanding of events. I love Red and Eammon and would happily read a book of them just being Domestic Together, but not like this. I'd rather the pages went to expanding on the worldbuilding (fact versus fiction and the truth of the Five Kings) than just chronicling everything on the other side.

"I acted like I cared because I fucking did. [...] You're easy to care for, unfortunately."

The romance somehow both played more and less of a role in this book. I am a sucker for rivals turned allies who catch feelings and gleefully sent screaming gifs to Amanda. The limits of what we are willing to sacrifice and how that line shifts is a joy for me to read, and Hannah Whitten did this well. I just wish that more had been done to provide Solmir's true backstory and his obviously fraught relationship with the other four kings. There are countless references to his villainy but also to his weakness, but more could have been done to bridge the gap between what we thought we knew in For the Wolf and who he turns out to be. I feel a little cheated from character growth?

"They all knew that love made monstrous things necessary sometimes. They all knew their own capacity to burn worlds down."

At its heart, the Wilderwood Duology is a story about sisters and the lengths they will go to save each other. Their matched love instead of a romantic interest touched my heart in ways I couldn't express. While I didn't quite love For the Throne as much as the first book, I truly love this duology and wholeheartedly recommend it to fans of atmospheric adult fantasy where romance plays a prominent role.

eARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley for my honest review. This has not affected my opinion or the contents of my review. Quotations are from an unfinished copy and are subject to change upon final publication. I have since purchased a finished copy.

It took me a long time to finish this one. I would usually devour something like this in a few days (as I did with the first one) but something about this second installment wasn’t holding my attention.

It could have been my mood reading tendencies but this felt a little drawn out. My favorite part was the romance but even that was a bit less than the first book and so it didn’t hold my attention.

I enjoyed the writer style and the nods to fairy tales. These characters are great and well fleshed out. The romantic leads give me dark, brooding, even Gillian vibes which I love. But, the plot seemed to drag a bit in this one and most of the time I just didn’t feel like picking it up. Definitely enjoyed this duology as a whole but I prefer the first book.

I’m very excited to see where this author goes next though.

For The Wolf was an amazing read back when I picked it up, and its sequel, FOR THE THRONE, is no different. Beautiful writing & compelling characters & a masterfully crafted plot. Like the previous book, the atmosphere is the main character here—this sense of vague eeriness (in a good way) mixed with familiar faces and known-but-done-slightly-differently tropes. Loved it.

Neve wants to save the world and save her sister. Red wants to save her sister. They quest through two different realms, but can they find each other in time?

I adored For the Wolf, and For the Throne did not disappoint as a sequel! I loved being able to explore the Shadowlands and meet all the new, creepy characters it brought us…the Leviathan might give me a few nightmares—delicious! I almost wish it was more than a duology.

For the Throne by Hannah Whitten is the second and final book of the Wilderwood duology. Red and Eammon have contained the threat of the Old Kings, but Red’s sister Neve is trapped in the Shadowlands. The Old Kings have been building up control there. Neve isn’t alone, though, as the once-king Solmir is also trapped in the Shadowlands. He has a plan to bring an end to the place, and Neve is the key to putting that plan in motion. They must find the Heart Tree and claim the dark powers of the gods for themselves.

I couldn’t have asked for a more satisfying conclusion to this duology. I thoroughly enjoyed both Red’s and Neve’s journeys. I love all the characters. I can’t wait for more from Hannah Whitten!

First, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy, unfortunately I wasn't able to finish the book before release. I was a little hesitant to continue after the first book but I wanted to see where the story went after the woods decided to calm down and Red's sister ended up in the upside down.

Unfortunately, I wasn't a huge fan. There were parts I liked but I was pretty consistently annoyed by Red and never really connected to her sister (I honestly can't even remember her name, I'm sorry Red's sister). I might reread this one at some point when I feel less inundated with characters like this.

For the Throne is the perfect continuation of For the Wolf. I absolutely adored the character development and being back in this world. Highly recommend reading. This duology is by far my favorite of the year.

For the Throne by Hannah Whitten is the second book in For the Wolf duet. It follows the event after Red and the wolf contained the threat of the old kings. However, it came at a cost. Neve is now lost in the shadowlands. I didn’t particularly love For the Wolf but after reading both I realize that the story makes sense and it flows. I was happy with the conclusion of the story and I was glad I got to read more of Neve’s story. The world building and the sister’s bond between Red and Neve is beautiful. Overall I gave this book a 3.85/5 stars.

Thank you to Orbit books for the E-ARC of For the Throne in exchange for an honest review.

I really struggled with this story and ended up not able to finish it. The first book in the series felt too long to me, but I was intrigued by the concept and story and I love a good retelling, so I pushed through. I also enjoyed Neves POVs in book one more. Unfortunately For the Throne wasn’t different and exciting enough for me to continue reading it.

I love how so many things happened in the book. I could not keep myself from the book because it was so good

For the Throne is the second book in the duology by Hannah Whitten. You must read book one first to be able to understand and follow this second book.
For the Throne picks up where the first book leaves off. Of course we have Redarys and Neve, sisters that are both trying to save each other.
This book is an adult fantasy with magic, a slow burn romance, friendship, found family, and lots of drama. I personally liked this book better than the first one, but honestly my favorite part was the epilogue. I thought this book was just okay.
Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!

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꧁ℝ𝔼𝕍𝕀𝔼𝕎꧂
For the Throne
Hannah Whitten
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I forgot to do a review for For the Wolf, which is book 1 of this series.
I liked book 2 more than book 1 and I think that’s because I really preferred Neverah’s POV.
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I loved that the magic was so different from other books I’ve read but I really had a hard time imagining Red as the Wilderwood.
I’m sure we were supposed to imagine them as awesome mystical gods but I just imagined them as monsters which was hard to match to their personalities.
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I would recommend these books to fantasy lovers. The romantic scenes are fade to black but the relationships are realistic and I loved the love the sisters had for each other.
Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with a copy.
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Rating: 3.5/5
Smut: 0/5
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Although not a fan of the first book, I thought I’d give this one a go, seeing as how Neve was the only character I semi liked from the first.

Again, a slow burn, with a bad ended. Definitely am not planning on picking up more from this author for now. Character development and world building needs to be worked on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for a copy.

Once again I was swept away by Hannah Whitten’s writing. For the Throne delivered a great sequel with plenty of atmosphere and daring, this time around we follow Red's sister Neve as she finds adventure and dark danger in the Shadowlands. There is plenty of character growth as both sisters face inner struggles and reader will hold their breath in anticipation until the last page is turned in hopes that all ends well for these two beloved sisters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I read For The Wolf last year and absolutely fell in love with Hannah Whitten and her characters. I recommended it to everyone who would listen. I was so very excited to receive this ARC and read it. But this book feels nothing like it's predecessor. Whereas For The Wolf was rich and full, For The Throne is endlessly desolate. I've slugged along for weeks, taking breaks to read other books that have wized by, getting back to this one too get excited for a minute and then realized no, it is back to desolate again.

I know there are others that enjoyed this book. I'm jealous and wish I had. Because I do wanted to. But I didn't and had to finally walk away.

I admit I didn’t enjoy this sequel as much as book 1 in this duology. I just didn’t find the Shadowlands as interesting as the Wilderwood, and didn’t connect with the main characters as much. I liked the overall story and thought the magical component/themes were well-developed. I simply enjoyed the secondary characters more.

See Goodreads for full review!

Overall, I really liked this. I did feel a little disappointed, only because there was a lot of potential in a Nevre/Solmir story. They were my favorite characters and I wanted something epic.

The text lacked depth in both of their narratives and the plot with the Kings just felt… a litte lame? It seemed like all of the plot events were pointless, because it ended up being fate anyway.

After reading For the Wolf last year, I KNEW I needed to read For the Throne, and I am thrilled I got the chance.

The Shadowlands were an eerie and mysterious reflection of the Wilderwood, and while I might have enjoyed the Wilderwood itself more, I did find the Shadowlands very intriguing and captivating.

I also enjoyed Neve's perspective much more in this book, for which I was very thankful. I didn't really care for her in For the Wolf, but she was more likable and relatable to me this time.

I do wish I had re-read For the Wolf prior to reading For the Throne. I felt like I was forgetting some key points to the story itself as well as some key aspects relating to various characters that would have made the sequel clearer.

Also, according to my review of For the Wolf, I wanted more details about the Five Kings, but I feel like we didn't get that. I especially would have loved more details about Solmir: how he became a King and then a Once-King, etc. If we did learn that previously, a refresher would have been nice.

I had a couple misgivings about the ending. Without giving anything away, I wish a particular thing wouldn't have happened to the sisters. I also wish Neve and Solmir would have had a more closed ending. Although it was very bittersweet, and strangely enough, I do appreciate those kinds of ends.

I definitely wouldn't be against returning to these characters and continuing their stories, and I will be keeping an eye out for future works by Hannah Whitten.

***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***

Thank you, Orbit and NetGalley for the digital ARC!

I'll be honest, I did not care for Neve in the first book, For the Wolf. But I absolutely loved that book and author Hannah Whitten's dark and cozy writing, so of course, I was going to read For the Wolf's sequel.

For the Throne blew all of my expectations out of the water. Like For the Wolf, there's creepy forest fantasy and magic and a slow burn romance. But at the heart of it all, For the Wolf and For the Throne is a tale about the unconditional, powerful love between two sisters. And what a beautiful, heartbreaking, and hopeful story it is.

My only complaints are that, at times, the slow burn story with a bit too slow. And I felt that some chapters from Red's POV didn't really add much to the story - since this is Neve's tale. It also took me a bit to catch up and remember what happened previously, since it's been a while since I read For the Wolf. (Hot tip for authors/publishers: "previously on" sections for fantasy books)

However, once I got into the juicy meat of the story and started to realize that I actually do, in fact, like Neve and her character arc, the rest of the book flew by.

Hannah Whitten weaves such a fascinating, rich fantasy tale with plenty of bite, bark, and beauty. This is a duology, and Red's and Neve's stories are done. But I definitely wouldn't say no to more Wilderwood stories.

“Monstrousness is a curious thing. In its barest form, its simplest definition, a monster is merely something different than you think it should be. And who gets to decide what should be, anyway?”

The best thing about Hannah Whitten’s books is that she is truly a beautiful writer. The way she builds the descriptive part of her scenes is so vivid it’s like you’re standing in the book. I found For the Wolf to have such unique world-building that was very excited for For the Throne. The juxtaposition between Red and Neve’s plight in the Wilderwood versus the Shadowlands was so well done and it was nice to find no repetitiveness, this was truly a brand new story despite being a sequel. The side characters are just as intriguing as the twins and add so much to the story, especially Solmir in my opinion. Serious character growth and development happen in the sequel and I absolutely adored the ending.