The Foxglove King
by Hannah Whitten
The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022, and it both lived up to my expectations and didn’t. Maybe. I’m not entirely sure because any final decision hinges on what happens in the sequel. Let me explain.
This book centers on a young woman named Lore who escaped a super-creepy cult of cave dwellers only to realize things aren’t so great aboveground either. The main way this book lived up to my expectations was that whole premise and the fantasy world Whitten built. It’s unique and imaginative and pulls you right into it from the very first page.
The magical system (at least in Lore’s area) is derived from a substance called mortem, which flows from the veins of an entombed (and assumed deceased) goddess of death. And, yes, it is exactly as cool as it sounds.
Lore is able to use more mortem than she should, and her abilities land her smack-dab in the middle of political intrigue she is not prepared for. It also places her between a duke-turned-monk named Gabriel, and Crowned Prince Bastian.
SPOILERS BELOW
Where this book let me down (potentially) was the goddamn love triangle. I hate them. Hate them, I tell you. If I’d known there was one going into this, not even my love for the author would have made me read it. But The Alliterates got an early Advanced Reader Copy, and I dove in before anyone even could have warned me (there were no real reviews yet), so, alas, here we are.
My main issue with this, and most love triangles, is that the heroines always choose the wrong man. If one of the two options is a morally gray anti-hero, THAT IS THE ONE; CHOOSE HIM, GODDAMN IT. But they never seem to. They always cling to the bland, vanilla “good guy”. It was especially painful here because, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, it was done well.
Lore has a lot of issues and a lot of self-hatred. She’s been alone for most of her life, and praise isn’t something that’s doled out freely to her or her kind. The monk (Gabriel) plays the part of the “good guy” here, and while it would be easy for me to call him a self-serving, blinded-by-his-faith asshole, there’s as much depth to him as all the other characters, so I understand why he’s an asshole. I still despise him and his treatment of Lore. His order is supposed to be her enemy, supposed to hate and imprison her, so imagine how addicting it is for Lore when instead, he doles out little morsels of compassion and understanding and approval and even desire. She starts shifting her behavior to please him, and it was so hard to read when Bastian was RIGHT THERE.
Did Bastian ever judge Lore? Belittle her? Baby her? Want her to change in any way to better suit him? No. Instead, he wanted her to be herself. And he is so intelligent and mischievous and charming that it makes Gabriel look like a slightly damp dish towel in comparison.
The only other gripe I had was a bit of grandstanding from the bad guy at the end, in which he reveals all the plans and all the secrets. It felt a bit heavy-handed and like something that could have been saved for the next installment for the MCs to find out in a more organic way.
All that said, I will 100% be reading the next book because even with the aggravation of a love triangle, this world was so immersive and so cool, and the plot was so great that I HAVE to find out what happens next.
If you don’t hate love triangles, you’ll probably fucking love The Foxglove King. And hell, there’s a good chance you’ll love it even if you do hate them. The world-building and character depth makes it well worth reading.
So. I read the spoiler section, because I couldn’t resist. LOL
I agree with you – I hate love triangles, because so often I can’t understand the reasoning (or emotions) behind why the character chose as they did! Especially when, to me, the better option was the one they didn’t choose. BUT – a well done love triangle is something that can work really well for me too. I hope that this one resolves well. I’m still super excited for this book.
I low-key hope she ends up with both of them. There was *something* there, I swear it. If that happens, ALL THE STARS.
OH! YES! I’m rooting for that and I haven’t even started yet.