The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten

 

The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten | 400 pages | 2024

The corrupt king August is dead. Prince Bastian has seized the throne and raised Lore—a necromancer and former smuggler—to his right hand side. Together they plan to cut out the rot from the heart of the sainted court and help the people of Dellaire. But not everyone is happy with the changes. The nobles are sowing dissent, the Kyrithean Empire is beating down their door, and Lore's old allies are pulling away. Even Prince Bastian's changed. No longer the hopeful, rakish, charismatic man Lore knows and loves, instead he's reckless, domineering and cold. 
And something's been whispering in her ear. A voice, dark and haunting, that's telling her there's more to the story than she knows and more to her power than she can even imagine. A truth buried deep that could change everything.

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

I had so much trouble getting into this, despite loving the first book in the series. All the characters were so on edge after events I was having trouble remembering, and the movement seemed very slow. The second half picked up the pace and things started to make more sense. After the way it ended I'm still very invested in the series, with high hopes for book three!

The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten

 The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten | 467 pages | 2023

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 and 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.

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Since I enjoyed Whitten's Wilderwood duology (For the Wolf and For the Throne), I was eager to dive into this one. In the beginning I found the system of magic, Mortem, and poison to be a little confusing, but it became more clear as the story progressed and is actually very clever. Whitten has a really cool way of weaving nature into her stories, and this book was no exception. The romance element of the story is a nice slow burn, with a good old fashioned love triangle that left me unsure who to root for. I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment in the series!