Lore grew up on the catacombs under the city. A catacomb inhabited by a cult. Now she runs poisons to keep a roof over her head and food in her belly. But Lore has a special ability. She can channel Mortem…Death Magic. But after an accident brings her powers to light of others she is taken by the Presque Mort to help figure out what is killing the villagers of outlying cities.

The Presque Mort is a group a special monks, and Gabriel is both her jailer and her accomplice in this task. But there is also Basition, heir to the Sainted King and ruler of the land, who is not exactly what the city things he is.

I was thoroughly engrossed in this book and was so disappointed when my audiobook ended, because it ended in the middle of a sentence. It turns out that my audiobook was 3 HOURS SHORT!!!! And no way to get a new download. And while I still have not finished this book, I fully plan to reread it in full when it the sequel comes out because I have to know more!!!

This book was so dark and fun. It reminds me a lot of The Bobe Shard Daughter, so if you're a fan of that one, definitely check this one out. Or vice-versa.

I loved the friends to enemies and the taken from the streets to work for the king aspects. It's fun seeing this rag-tag team overcome their differences in order to find the truth and save the Kingdom. The banter between them all is pure gold!

The whole magic spilling from dead gods was such a cool thing, and it was written well, so you're not questioning what's going on or how things work.

I have a feeling I know what's going on with the King, but I'm curious to see if I'm correct in my assumptions. I also absolutely NEED to know what's going on with Lore, Gabe and Bastian. What a way to end a book!

The audio narrator did an amazing job with this story. They captured the action/adventure, the banter, and the atmosphere so well. Big thumbs up!

I can't wait to find out more to this story!

The gods of Dellaire are dead and their bodies leak magic into the world. Lore can manipulate Mortem the death magic left by Nyxara, but eventually her gifts take her from the streets of Dellaire into the court itself. She has to deal with court intrigue and the strange ties she has to Gabriel, another user of Mortem and a member of the Church, and the Sun Prince Bastian.

I always enjoy fantasy that has an interesting religious system, especially one that involves magic, and I loved the mysteries presented by this book. I thought the early book was a little too slow, but I was hooked waiting to find out what some of the mysteries hinted at were.

A Note to other Netgalley reviewers: This book has 41 chapters, not just the 34 on the audiobook.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced listening copy of the foxglove king by hannah whitten. this was amazing! i adored this and the narration was great. the book is a very very slow burn romance. betrayals, mysteries, discovery, magic. death. this had it all and worth the read. the beginning was great and hooked me. it did slow down in the middle and picked back up for that intense ending.

I would like the next book now please. If I ask really nicely that means I’ll get it right??!! LOL this book was awesome! The court intrigue and twist was so interesting. The character dynamics of Lore, Bastian, and Gabe were fascinating, I cannot wait to read more. I cannot pick which guy I like better! She should have both! The narration was great. I enjoyed it. I highly recommend this one! Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the Ebook arc in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars
I had a hard time with this book exclusively because I got an incomplete copy from the publishers from Netgalley and then had to wait until the book came out and my library hold came through to finish it.
I did enjoy the first 3/4 but once I started back up where I left off I kind of got lost because it had been over a month since I started it and I only reread the last chapter of my Netgalley copy.
If I end up continuing on with this series I will definitely reread this book and it is possible the rating will go up when I listen to the whole book at once.

“This is what I saw, in the reflections of the tomb.” She whispered it almost to herself, broken-voiced. “It’s what the goddess dreamed, but I thought I could prevent it. I thought you would choose the world over yourself.”

“I’m far too selfish for that,” Lore whispered.”

The Foxglove King was one of my most anticipated reads this year and I was quite pleased with it. From the very beginning, we are drenched in atmosphere and this gorgeous, darkly captivating world. From the cover, to the opening passage and all the way to the end of the book. This book is an immersive experience and was made even more complete due to the fact that I was able to completely submerge myself in the world by reading my advanced copy and then switching on the gorgeously narrated audiobook.

Hannah Whitten is not going to be an author for everyone, but she sure is an auto-buy author for me. I love the way she writes and the energy she brings to her novels. I love that she’s not afraid of writing romantic fantasy catering to adults. She writes these cataclysmic, ethereal, moody books that somehow stay light at the same time. The magic system she has built here was so thoughtful but not unbelievable. Our characters, Lore and Bastian are two counterparts of darkness and light, while Gabriel is there to protect the sanctity of what he has been raised to believe. Oh yes, folks, there’s a love triangle brewing. I know some people hate love triangles, but I’ve never been afraid of a little competition when it comes to love. So if they’re done well enough, I quite enjoy them, and Whitten writes romance in a way that my heart grabs onto greedily.

“The air around him almost seemed to glimmer, gold dust in the dark. Moonlight made him more beautiful, yes, but in the same way that darkness emphasized a flame. He didn’t belong in it; Bastian Arceneaux was antithetical to night.”

And I’m going to put it out there now, I am Team Bastian. I like Gabriel (sometimes), but Bastian captures my attention from the second he walks onto our page, whereas I had to grow to like Gabriel. I don’t know if I’m going to win this one, but I’ll have fun along with way.

Whitten doesn’t shy away from tackling heavy themes in this novel such as elitism or religious fervor and the many hypocrisies that can arise from it. There’s examples we see in our everyday life that are transplanted to the page; medical treatment availability and how laws apply differently across the classes, the way religion can often be used in the name of doing something for the greater good, but causes harm to vast groups of people. All this and more still. Yet, she can keep the humor going throughout the novel. She is talented at balancing the heavier themes. The characters provide us with fun banter and keep things interesting as we read.

“More than one unmarried pregnant person thought hiding in the catacombs was preferable to dealing with their families on the surface.” “Doesn’t say much for their families.” “Or society in general. It takes more than one person to make a baby, but the onus always falls on the one who bodily carries the proof.”

This book is full of court intrigue, there’s a dash or twelve of cult-like activity, murderous family, found family, and so much sexual tension. When it ended, I was already wishing I had the second book in my hands. I love these characters and can’t wait to see what happens next.

Audiobook narrator Emily Ellet was the perfect Lore. She captured her confidence, bravery, and playfulness quite beautifully. She switched easily to male voices without making them sound like caricatures. The entire production suites the novel.

Thanks to Orbit and Hachette Audio for the review copies!

The Foxglove King follows Lore, a young woman who escaped an underground cult when she was 13. But when accidentally reveals her magic publicly, she is captured and tasked by the Presque Mort and King August to find out why entire villages are dying. August suspects that his son, Bastian, is conspiring against him.

Lore's guard is Gabriel, a member of Presque Mort with a dark past and messy relationship with the court.

This book has an interesting magic system and just the right amount of angst. It took me a while to get engaged with the story, so I can't give it five stars. I was pleased to learn that there will be a sequel!

The Foxglove King is the perfect book for people who love high fantasy with high stakes.

I enjoyed the audiobook's narrator, too!

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This new title from Hannah Whitten is perfect for fans of the Serpent & Dove series (with all that will they or won't they energy and trying to get a man with morals to break for the women who goes against everything they hold true), and the Three Dark Crowns series (with the lush dark atmosphere and poison tactics), and even for readers of Shadow & Bone (there are some serious Darkling vibes happening here). Overall, The Foxglove King delivered an interesting magic system, with being able to control death, even if it was slightly confusing at times and it also has good character development and an expanding world/sense of mysticism towards the end. It was not perfect; I think the first half of the book was strong and I loved learning about Lore's life as a poison runner with a found family....but that quickly gave way to court intrigue and deception - which I still love! I just wanted a bit more constant plot pacing. I enjoyed the characters, but I also wanted more palpable tension between them - especially leading up the ending and the heat of the plot.
This was my first Hannah Whitten book, and I can say her writing is well done and I'm invested in Lore & her world so I'm excited to see where Whitten leads us.

**Note for the publisher, the audiobook stopped at chapter 34 so I was unable to finish the audiobook. Luckily I was also approved for the digital ARC and was able to finish the title that way. I contacted Net Galley about the issue but I've tried redownloading the title every day and nothing has been resolved. This was a shame since the audiobook was narrated so well.**

This book started off strong for me, Lore is such an interesting character but I'm not sure what it was but this world and the court politics/intrigue just weren't doing anything for me. I found myself struggling to get invested in the overall story. I've loved Hannah's other books and was really looking forward to this one but I ultimately ended up DNF'ing at 40%. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! The narration by Emily Ellet was well done (especially since she has a bunch of characters to portray).

3.5⭐️The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten is the beginning of a new fantasy series and is 400 pages. I read and listened to this and thought Emily Ellet the narrator was excellent. I probably enjoyed the audiobook more but that’s just me.
I understand that the author has to build a story but I felt like it dragged the first half. After that I was committed and I can’t wait to see what happens in book two. The romance was light and almost nonexistent. Am I going to read book two? Absolutely. Do I recommend it?? Maybe.
Thanks Orbit via NetGalley.

Interesting characters move this story forward. An unknown connections between the main characters makes for a tension filled story.

Dnf at 30%

I have to say, I am dnf’ing most because I’m finally admitting Hannah Whitten’s style is not for me. It’s mostly vibes with the plot designed to fit the vibes which isn’t always a bad thing but it just doesn’t seem to work for me with her books.

The Foxglove King tries to create a dark and haunted air with a death magic called Mortem. This ultimately was really poorly explained and every time it was used I was left more confused on how it worked. The world building fell really short for me as well.

The main character Lore was the most enjoyable part for me. While I didn’t love her character because she was was definitely the formula for a “badass mc with a dark magic” who just tripped and fell into a situation filled with hot men, I do like that formula so that was kind of fun.

As for said men, they’re nothing to write home about. Gabe, if I’m remembering right, is missing an eye so I appreciated that disability rep (cannot confirm or deny if the rep is well executed further into the book). I don’t vibe with a love triangle and it was so blatantly obvious that was wear it was going that I lost interest.

I think I’m also in a phase of not enjoying romance centered fantasy so that didn’t help things.

If you like: love triangles, vibey books, and forced proximity this could be up your alley still!

DNF at 32%

I think Hannah Whitten just may not be the author for me. I had mixed feelings about her debut and wanted to give her another chance. A fantasy romance with court politics and religion sounded up my alley, but I ended up having similar issues.

Frankly The Foxglove King is more vibes than anything else and while I can like a book with a lot of vibes, it has to have something more that's drawing me in. I found this to be boring with lots of description, but very surface level characterization and world-building. It also has plot elements that don't make a lot of sense and an irritating brand of insta-love/like. The main character has trust issues, and yet she just...feels like the TWO men getting set up for a love triangle somehow fit something she has been vaguely missing? Plus I'm finding the love interests to be annoying caricatures. I don't care enough about any of these characters to be invested in their relationships. And we're 125 pages into a book where not much has happened and the plot is very slow and meandering. There are authors who can make me care about a character in a matter of pages, but at 30% there's nothing to keep me hooked.

In addition, why in 2023 are we still doing this ableist trope of making a person with facial scarring evil AND saying it makes him less attractive? Gross.

This was a miss for me, but there are clearly reviewers enjoying it so perhaps you will do better with it. I think this author's style is not my thing. I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.