In THE FOXGLOVE KING, Hannah Whitten has crafted an elaborate world where readers are given the perfect escape, quickly immersed in magic, religion, betrayal and court politics. The plot twists that follow are all-consuming and make for an incredibly enjoyable first installment of Whitten’s epic fantasy trilogy, The Nightshade Crown.

Lore was found at the age of 13 in the catacombs under the city of Dellaire with blank eyes and a fresh burn of a crescent moon on her palm. She was born with the ability to sense Mortem, “the essence of death, the power born of entropy,” which lays dormant in everyone. The only way to awaken such a power is to nearly die. It may extend life in some cases but not the quality of it. Some call her a deathwitch as she is able to control and puppet the dead.

"THE FOXGLOVE KING is thrilling, page-turning and incredibly engaging. I haven’t had this much fun reading a book in quite some time, and I highly recommend it to anyone who misses the days of losing themselves to a world outside our own."

Lore is now 23 and working undercover as a spy. After a moment of exposing her abilities, she is taken and summoned by Anton Arceneaux, the Priest Exalted and the Sainted King August Arceneaux’s twin brother. Anton and August assure Lore that no one wants her hurt, but they require her assistance. Whole villages in the countryside are dying off overnight with no marks of poison. They need Lore to reanimate the victims long enough to find out what happened. Her job is to establish herself in the inner circle of Prince Bastian. The king believes that his son is an informant for an opposing emperor, claiming that he has no desire to rule and that “the crown sits heavy.” When Lore meets the prince, she feels like she intrinsically knows him, though she can’t understand why.

Lore disguises herself as the distant cousin of Gabriel Remaut, Duke of Balgia. Gabriel’s return to court is major after he took oaths of priesthood. He is given the opportunity to prove that his family is not built of traitors, which is atonement for parental sins that were shed upon him at the age of 10. His father was killed; his own eye was carved out by the neighboring Emperor Jax; and by the end he took upon him the cloak of priesthood to become Presque Mort Gabriel, one of the Mortem-using monks who serve under the Sainted King.

In case you haven’t already surmised, the narrative captivates readers with a setup of motivations and unsaid intentions --- and this is only within the first 100 pages or so. This is a very brief overview as there are already a lot of complexities to the plot and rich world-building in the first act. The court that Lore is thrust into is glittering and deceptive. And when learning more about these players, the book becomes politically explosive with doubt, lies, deception and corruption.

In much the same way that Lore feels a familiarity with the two men, readers will fall in just as easily with the characters. Lore’s personality shines on these pages; she is allowed to be flawed and ultimately selfish. Gabriel is good, described as placid and easily led, smothering the flames of his anger when he should let them burn. Through him we get a critical look at how religion takes advantage of guilt and forges it into loyalty. Bastian is the arrogant sun-prince who is flirtatious and charismatic, exceedingly clever and manipulative. These characters talk, bond and face danger together, and you can feel the charge between them fly off the page.

This entire ride, which feels inexplicably nostalgic, culminates in a stunning third act. Whitten unravels everything we think we know about each character and leaves us floored, unsure of who to trust. Until the very last page, we are left to piece together the sides that everyone is on. The finale highlights the nature of cycles and repetition. There is an inherit tragedy that seems to hint that our protagonists are marching toward a fruitless attempt to escape something “predetermined.”

THE FOXGLOVE KING is thrilling, page-turning and incredibly engaging. I haven’t had this much fun reading a book in quite some time, and I highly recommend it to anyone who misses the days of losing themselves to a world outside our own.