Book Review: The Hemlock Queen
If you thought Hannah Whitten’s The Foxglove King was an emotional roller coaster, then buckle up, because her follow-up, The Hemlock Queen hits the ground running and won’t let up. Mixed metaphor aside, Whitten truly embraces all the joys of the darker middle chapter with the second installment in Lore’s story, building in an intriguing mystery that will see our beloved characters through to the end of this Versailles-inspired fantasy story.
Where The Foxglove King was a slower burn story, taking its time in setting up the world inhabited by Lore, Bastian and Gabe, The Hemlock Queen plunges straight into the court intrigue left behind after the first book, with Bastian now tapped to be crowned king, with Lore serving beside him as his queen, and Gabe as the begrudging Priest Exalted. While the first half does take its time getting into the what and the why of the book’s central mystery, once it really sinks in what’s happening as the three of them, along with Alie and Malcolm, navigate their new status quo, the story moves along at a riveting, breakneck pace.
All that said, there was still plenty to love in this, particularly the growing relationship between Bastian and Lore, which remains dynamic and engaging throughout. And the few scenes we do get with them and Gabe make this book a rare case for an actual compelling “why choose” romance, should Whitten choose to head in that direction (the key is, all three of them actually have chemistry with each other, as opposed to the usual “two people with chemistry, and their sad sack friend they feel sorry for”).
If there’s one thing I mourn in The Hemlock Queen, its that we don’t spend nearly enough time with Gabe. Objectively, I understand why that is, as his new role and earlier hurts make him feel distant from Lore and Bastian, but his dynamic with the two of them individually, and their dynamic as a trio was a highlight of The Foxglove King for me, and I was looking forward to more of that this time around. While that may not have come true, with the way the book ends, I expect we’ll get lots of that in the third and final installment, the wait for which already feels unbearable.
The Hemlock Queen hits shelves on April 9. Special thank you to Orbit Books for an advance copy for review purposes.
