A girl with the power to control the magic of death, brought to the castle as a spy.
The Foxglove King is an adult fantasy novel by Hannah Whitten that was published earlier this year.
Lore was thirteen when she escaped a cult housed in the catacombs below the city of Dellaire, where she was taken in by two women who raised her. They raise her as a spy, working to help them in the docks and learn more about their poison running competitors.
After feeling relative security for 10 years and trying to control her powers at controling Mortem, a magic born from death that is a high commidity drug. The issue is, her sensitivity to Mortem and her related powers are much different from everyone else she has heard about.
When Lore is caught by the Presque Mort, a group of warrior-monks who can control Mortem, after using her powers in the middle of a busy street she is taken to the castle, where she is convinced she will be sentenced to death for being a necromancer.
Lore is instead enlisted to spy on the Sun Prince, Bastian, by the King, August, who thinks his son is working with the enemy. Now she must pretend to live in a world she was never apart of, while trying to keep her powers under control.
While there, she is placed under the protection of Gabriel, a duke turned monk who is pretending to be her cousin and present her to court. Gabriel has his own history with Bastin and August, as well as with their country's enemy. Working her way through understanding the politics, while thinking of the people suffering in the docks, Lore has to find out who is telling her the truth, and who is using her for her powers.
As they get closer to the truth about Bastian and August, Lore starts to realize what she left behind in the Catacombs might be catching up to her, and be a big piece in everything happening.
I really loved the magic in this book, once I understood it. There was a lot thrown at you fast when it came to the story, but Lore does have a lot thrown towards her. I think the magic of death and having it be both a drunk but also only controllable by people who have come close to death was really interesting.
There was also an underlying forbidden romance within the story, but I enjoy that it didn't overtake too much of the plot. The book definitely leans more towards fantasy and magic than the romance in the story.
It takes a while to learn which characters you can trust, both as Lore and the reader, which leads to a lot of wondering if the information is true.
The twist at the end of the novel is chefs kiss and I am excited to see what happens in the sequel that is scheduled to come out next year.
If you are in your fantasy, romance or 'romantasy' era like much of the internet this book would be a great read for you!
This book 4 out of 5 stars for me!
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