Week 17 Review: The Foxglove King

From Goodreads:

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.

My Review:
Oh, this was such a fantastic read! I really enjoyed her first two books, and I was excited to be in this new world with this new cast of characters! Getting to know this world of courtiers and Mortem and dead gods and one "true" god, yeah, it was so fantastic!

Lore was a font of secrets. We knew something was up, about her beginnings and her power, and I had a suspicion about part of it. But the whole story, and how it came together, with hidden plots? Loved how it all worked together! 

The dynamic's between Lore, Bastien and Gabe were really fantastic to read, with the history between the two guys, and the sense of knowing them between all 3. With the positions that they ended up holding at the end of the book, I'm excited to see what happens next! 

I was pretty suspicious about the whole thing with the gods, that Apollius was right to kill Nyxara, and that that Apollius told all this to Gerard Arceneaux who became the king. History is written by the victors, so I was questioning that. On top of that, that the guy became king, yeah, that was not a great idea, because there's a good chance that he lied or omitted stuff, and I was pretty sure that I didn't trust those beginnings. It wasn't really questioned in this book, so I'm hoping it is in the sequel! 

Loved reading this book and I can't wait to continue on! 

Author: Hannah Whitten
Series: The Nightshade Kingdom #1
Read: April 25th, 2023
Source: Library
Reason Why: Love her writing and it sounded really great, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2023 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Orbit
Published: March 7th 2023

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars