Greekchoir's Reviews > The Hemlock Queen

Hannah Whitten I was not familiar with your game.

The Hemlock Queen sees us return to the events of The Foxglove King a few weeks later. Lore, Bastian, and Gabe struggle both with their new roles and with the weight of their shared history, combined with a heightened focus on politics and the magic system.

While book 1 was an easy 4.5 stars, I struggled a bit more with this one. The beginning of the book feels a bit aimless, as the characters have to resettle and find a new purpose. I’m wondering if HW has trouble with starting books, as this seems to be something consistent with her writing. But once she finds her stride, the book really gets going, hitting those same notes that I loved so much from TFK.

Something I really appreciate in this series is how much it respects the reader. We’re here for some high-stakes fantasy romance fun, some elevated CW show, and Whitten WILL be delivering. The reveals are generally obvious because they are supposed to be, and the book doesn’t waste your time with pretending to be coy. This also makes the real plot twists more rewarding.

I also continue to love the romance in this series!! Book one focused more on Gabe, so it feels right that we spend more time with Bastian here. I’ve previously guessed that book 1 feels more YA because it’s taking its time to gear up for later books. That definitely became true here. Everything is a bit gorier and a bit sexier than before MWAH

A few more scattered thoughts I had while reading this book:
- Lore occupies a more passive role in this book, which isn’t necessarily something I wanted even if it makes sense contextually. This also improves over the course of the story.
- Loved loved loved the historical flashback sequences
- Bastian new pathetic loser yearning babygirl
- The scope here gets broadened to include more of the country and larger world, which I really liked

I can’t wait for book three, I expect anyone who enjoyed The Foxglove King will find equal delights here