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    The Foxglove King
    The Foxglove King
    The Foxglove King
    Audiobook16 hours

    The Foxglove King

    Written by Hannah Whitten

    Narrated by Emily Ellet

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In this lush, romantic epic fantasy series from a New York Times bestselling author, 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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette Audio
    Release dateMar 7, 2023
    ISBN9781668622025
    The Foxglove King

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    Reviews for The Foxglove King

    4/5

    82 ratings12 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Great worldbuilding in a unique fantasy world. I loved the way each reveal unfolded. Lore, Bastian, and Gabriel are interesting characters who balance each other, even when they seem antagonistic to each other. I've already preordered the next book.
    • 4/5
      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!!!
    • 4/5
      The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten is a very interesting take in the morally gray hero. In a lot of books lately, it always seems to be the male protagonist, but in the case of this book, is the superb female protagonist, Lore. She is a “death witch” with the ability to channel and use Mortum (death) and manipulate the deceased. (How cool is that?!) Hers is part of a duality— the Spiritum gives life— and there hasn’t been anyone who could channel that in years… until now. Throughout the country, the citizens use poison to prolong their lives — such as Belladonna — and Lore works as a poison runner / spy. When she gets caught, she becomes a spy for the king August and his twin brother Anton. She has to spy on Prince Bastion to find out if he’s a traitor. Lore and her “fake cousin” Gabe (who’s a monk in the Presque Mort) infiltrate the royal court to seek out answers for why villages are being attacked and everyone killed.
      This book has everything — slow burn, he falls first, morally gray characters, found family, world building, magic — everything that I could want in a fantasy novel. I can’t wait for book two!
    • 3/5
      The premise is interesting but it just didn’t pull together. The love triangle was bland and felt forced. The pacing was too slow and I found myself wanting to DNF many times. Things pick up right at the end where everything happens at once. I’m not interested in continuing.
    • 5/5
      460+ pages of intrigue, secrets, unusual magic and vivid characters, only to have to wait like at an uncooperative stoplight for what comes as you make a turn into the second book. I'll wait as patiently as I can
    • 3/5
      The story is well enough told to carry the reader and interesting enough not to manhandle her, but the writing and world building are shoddy and ill-informed more than is acceptable in anything beyond a first novel, which this is not. A fantasy world in which all gods but one have died and that one absent though the corpse of his most recently killed wife leaks a death miasma which empowers those who have barely escaped death themselves and Lore, a young woman of mysterious antecedents who gets caught up in a royal power struggle. Very YA, with two hunky damaged guys bracketing our girl.
    • 4/5
      I thought that this was really good! After enjoying this author’s previous work, I was excited to have the opportunity to read her newest release which is the start of a brand-new series. I must say that I think that this may be my favorite book of hers yet. I loved the magic, characters, and world-building in this story and was thrilled that the story kept me guessing right up until the last page.

      Lore works as a spy and poison runner. After things go wrong, she is brought to the palace to spy on Prince Bastian and help the king and his priest figure out what is going on in some of the villages that are being wiped out. Lore is brought to court with Gabe who is posing as her distant cousin. Lore, Gabe, and Bastian were all great characters that were up against an almost impossible situation. I loved learning about the magic system in this book. Lore can use a type of death magic known as Mortem which I found fascinating.

      I was never quite sure who could really be trusted and I thought that the politics of the story were incredibly well done. The story was exciting and had enough action to keep me glued to the pages. To say that some parts of the story came as a shock is a bit of an understatement. There is a bit of a love triangle but I didn’t mind because romance is not the main focus of the story and I thought that it was handled well.

      I think that fantasy readers will really enjoy this one. I found the story to be very entertaining and almost impossible to put down at times. I am eager to see what will happen next in the series.

      I received a digital review copy of this book from Orbit Books.
    • 3/5
      Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

      A quick summary. Lore, who is just trying to survive, ends up in trouble by using some magic that deals with death and is given the option to help the King find out who is killing people in his country or she can die. With the help of a monk, Gabe, who was once a Duke, she ends up spying on the Kings son, Baistan. When things aren't as she thought, she has to figure out who really is behind the killings.

      Lore is brave, sarcastic, and definitely doesn't hold back on her thoughts. She's a little selfish, but she seems to still have a good heart. Gabe intrigues me. He's quiet, says less than you want, and has me screaming at times. Baistan is your bad boy prince with the smirks and his flirting. I am not a fan of love triangles, but this doesn't scream usual love triangle to me. I, personally, feel a stronger connection about one of the guys, but this is one of those stories where I feel that they both should have her. Why choose? Lol.

      Now the writing was enough to keep me entertained and wanting to read more, so that's a plus. But there could have been more world building and character development. And the plot starts to just unwind and then picks back up near the end, where it's left with a cliffhanger. My rating is such because I want to read more, to get answers and find out what happens to the three, but I just expected more from a first book in a series.
    • 5/5
      *Free e-book ARC received from the publisher through Edelweiss Plus - thank you!*

      Lore's death magic means she can't leave the city. She works as a poison runner until an encounter brings her to the notice of the Presque Mort religious order, and the priest and his twin brother the king have a job for her to do. With Gabe, one of the order, she is ordered to stay close to the heir, Bastian, whose father suspects as a traitor. Unsure what to do, but between a rock and a hard place, Lore tries to navigate the politics of the Citadel and figure out what's really happening to the towns where suddenly everyone dies.

      I love a good fantasy with people thrust together in a political situation they're not sure how to navigate. This was a really fantastic start to a series with great characters, and an intriguing history and religion. There's hints of potential romance, but it's not central to the story. The revelations of what's really going on are delivered at just the right moments. While I'd figured some of it out before the denouement, I was riveted from start to finish, and I am looking forward to finding out what happens next.
    • 5/5
      This is definitely one of my new favorites. The characters are just amazing, interesting and definitely have you invested in their development throughout the story. Lore is such a great character. She is tough, smart and the fact she is can channel mortem better than anyone makes her rock as a main character. Grant is our morally conflicted character, torn between his faith to the "priesthood" he is a member of and his feelings for Lore make for a great slow burn trope. If you enjoyed Hannah Whitten's first two books your gonna love this one. Definitely looking forward to the next book in the series!
    • 4/5
      The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten is one of those novels I thoroughly enjoyed, but I am struggling to explain why I did. I don’t know why words fail me for this one. The characters are feisty and complicated. The plot seems simple but is much more complex than it seems. The story contains lots of witty banter, twists, life-and-death situations, magic, death, power struggles, secrets, and even revenants. Really, what more do you need in a story?

      Lore is one of those main characters that automatically garners your sympathy. A girl forced to hide her power, making ends meet through illicit methods, finds herself at the mercy of the king and the religious order that rules just as much as the king. Thrust into the unfamiliar and high-stakes world, but with the sass and skepticism that come with living on the streets, you can’t help but admire her spirit. Your admiration for her is genuine if only because the plucky heroine with surprising talents is one trope that never grows old.

      Because Lore isn’t anything without a foil, Ms. Whitten gives us not one but two perfect characters against whom she can match wits. Bastian and Gabriel are nothing alike, yet you cannot help but love them equally. Gabriel tears out your heart with his tale of woe, while Bastian, well, Bastian has the opposite effect on your heart. Sexy and sly, you know he has an angle, but I’ll be damned if he doesn’t worm your way into your heart just as much as Gabriel does with his sob story. There is most definitely an entire story we are missing as Lore finds herself torn between the two, but half the fun of The Foxglove King is watching the verbal sparring and romantic sparks fly between them.

      The Foxglove King is not all fun and games, though. Any story revolving around death magic is not going to be a happy or wholesome one. Lore’s life has been difficult, and Ms. Whitten spares no reader’s sensibilities when ensuring we understand that. The same applies to the descriptions of city living versus life inside the court. Ms. Whitten does not shy away from highlighting the stark differences between life in Dellaire and within the Sainted court. One could even say that she uses The Foxglove King and Lore to make some very pointed statements about the U.S.’s severe wealth gap, whether that was her intent. Even if she did not mean to do so, her depiction of the haves and the have-nots through Lore’s eyes is compelling yet heartbreaking.

      The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten is an excellent story with a little of everything. It is darker than some readers may like, but it also has plenty of heat to ease the darkness or create a different tension. ? Lore is sassy but vulnerable, and her magic is as horrifying as you would think death magic would be. At the same time, there is something weirdly fascinating about an entire civilization that celebrates death and actively courts it through recreational poison usage. Lore’s story is anything but over at the end of The Foxglove King, and that is a good thing because I want to learn more about this dark and unusual world and continue to see how Bastian’s, Gabriel’s, and Lore’s little triangle fares.
    • 4/5
      Thanks to Hachette for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

      Cons: The worldbuilding struck me as shallow, two of three main characters (Lore and Gabriel) are not well fleshed out, the whole thing reads like YA and some of the inclusivity is awkward and forced.

      Pros: Bastian is almost a perfect enough character to carry the whole novel with a flourish and flair. Whitten is masterful in writing about just plain sexual desire and how it can slip in unexpected ways, or more accurately, in queer ways. I feel that Whitten is on the cutting edge of this king of writing and will only get better and better, and so will this series. She is also wonderful with humorous dialogue and there is loads of it to enjoy here. The ending was spectacular and I impatiently begin my very long wait to discover what happens with the delicious trio of the royal, the witch, and the monk. Adaptation is guaranteed, so that is something else to look forward to.
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