Reading this book felt very nostalgic (the irony--if you read it, you'll get this joke), like when I was first getting really into fantasy books as a teenager and would make the love triangles, kingdom politics, and characters' powers my entire personality. Good thing I outgrew that, right? Right...

I've never read any of Hannah Whitten's books before, and this one took me a couple of chapters to get into (the world-building was a little chonky in parts) but once I was into it I was INTO IT. It has death magic, life magic, light and dark metaphors abound, political intrigue and scheming, allusions to past lives, gods/goddesses, religious trauma and manipulation, flawed characters that should kiss (like all of them), sarcastic banter, a disaster bi prince, and a foul-mouthed monk.

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The story centers around Lore, a 23-year-old with (secret, obviously) death powers, who escaped a cult as a child and is now a poison runner and spy. In this universe, poison is used as both a recreational drug and to bring people closer to death (and ergo death magic). But of course, it's illegal, and of course, Lore gets captured on a run by the royal court of the Sainted King and his weird (and weirdly hot?) warrior monks.

Entire villages have been dropping dead for no apparent reason, pushing the kingdom closer to war with neighboring realms, and the king and his creepy #1 priest blackmail Lore into using her death magic and ~wiles~ to figure out how and why. She's tasked with getting close to the Sun Prince, Bastian--the aforementioned disaster bi boy--who may or may not be involved with the murdery plots.

Bastian definitely IS involved with lots of parties and pretty much every person at court in a wink/nudge way. So Lore has no choice but to participate in (as another reviewer phrased it) "Versailles (derogatory)" with her court-appointed-weirdly-hot-warrior-monk-guard, Gabriel, at her side. Why yes, I am obsessed with Gabe, thanks for asking.

I don't want to say too much, because I went into this knowing nothing but the blurb and was totally absorbed. But I will say that I highlighted 34 lines from this book and forced my friends to read some against their will while sporting total crazy eyes, so do with that what you will.

I will just be over here breathing into a paper bag as I wait for the next book in this series to come out, because that ending. THAT ENDING. Send help.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, & the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review of “The Foxglove King”.