The Foxglove King

The Nightshade Crown, Book 1

By: Hannah Whitten

Narrated by: Emily Ellet

In this gilded, gothic, and romantic new epic fantasy series from New York Times-bestselling author Hannah Whitten, a young woman's secret power to raise the dead plunges her into the dangerous world of the Sainted King's royal court.

Lore has been living by her wits since she was a child, running poisons for the cartel that took her in, avoiding the attention of the law, and keeping her illicit affinity for death magic a secret.

When a job goes wrong and Lore is captured by the Sainted King's warrior-monks, she expects death. But King August has a different plan. Entire villages on the outskirts of the country have been dying overnight, seemingly at random. Lore can either use her magic to find out what's happening - or face the pyre.

Thrust into a lavish court where no one can be believed and even fewer can be trusted, Lore must navigate an intricate web of politics, religion, and forbidden romance and solve the King's mystery. A mystery more dangerous and twisted than Lore can even imagine.

©2023 Hannah Whitten (P)2023 Hachette Audio UK

Critic reviews

"Hannah Whitten is my new favourite obsession." (Jodi Picoult, New York Times-bestselling author)

"The Foxglove King is a delicious fantasy. Sinister, deadly and so seductive you won't be able to tear yourself away from this dark gem of a book." (Stephanie Garber, Sunday Times-bestselling author of Caraval)

"The Foxglove King is beautifully written, lushly cinematic, unsettling, mysterious - an unputdownable story of humans and gods. Hannah Whitten has built a world that is dark, fascinating, romantic and disturbing." (Ali Hazelwood, New York Times-bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis)

Loved it!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I know it's good when I find myself thinking about the story in between listening to the audio book. Everything from the characters to the world building is really well done. If you like fantasy and magic, you just might enjoy this book too. Can't wait to start the next one!

Brilliant!

Such a fantastic story. The world building was on point, and the character development was perfect.
The push and pull between the three main characters was done so well, it was hard to see which direction things would go.
I’m eager for the next book on this series.


*There was a slight hiccup in one of the chapters with a little audio overlap from a previous scene, but it’s not a huge deal. It lasts no longer than a minute.

I was so obsessed I had to get the sequel immediately

I absolutely love the story. The world and the magic system is unique and interesting. I'm rooting for characters even when I find them annoying. I don't know why the voice actor chose to make Lore sound like that though. That decreased my enjoyment significantly.