The Foxglove King (The Nightshade Crown, #1)

by Hannah Whitten

[Quirky Cat]

Book Summary:

Lore is a rare magic user with a tie to death. It makes her a criminal in the city of Dellaire, so she’s been forced to hide it her whole life. Until a betrayal changes everything, and now the powers that be want to use her.

So now Lore has to use her death magic for the crown - while also spying on the crown prince. It’s a complicated situation, to say the least. One wrong move could easily result in her execution.

My Review:

Let me preface my review by saying this is the first time I’ve read anything by Hannah F. Whitten, so I cannot make any comparisons to her past work. Perhaps that’s why I seem to have enjoyed The Foxglove King more than her regular readers.

To start with, the magical system and world are fascinating. We have a world torn apart by forbidden (death) magic and religious zealots, from the sounds of it. There’s also a complex political system, especially if you enter the capital. And then there’s the poison, which can be used for the obvious, in addition to lengthening one’s life, if used carefully enough.

As for the characters, there are three primary characters. I mostly liked the three of them, with varying degrees. I’m not huge on the romantic subplot and may even be in the minority for my ship (I have no idea; I haven’t seen people talking about it too much).

Long story short, I really enjoyed how creative The Foxglove King was! I already went ahead and got my hands on The Hemlock Queen, so I’ll have to make myself some time to read that, hopefully soon.

Highlights:
Romantasy
Magic & Poison
Lies & Betrayal
Forced Proximity

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