The Hemlock Queen by Hannah F. Whitten

Rating: 4 stars

Age Recommendation: 18+

Release Date: April 9, 2024

The Hemlock Queen is an engaging and exciting read. I was thrilled to make my way back to Lore, Bastian and Gabe. The sequel to The Foxglove King, second in the Nightshade Crown trilogy, there were a few moments of frustration, but overall I think that may have been a symptom of it being a middle book.

The middle book in a trilogy is nearly always an awkward book. The first book often has a beginning, middle and end--a shorter subplot resolved in a quest to the larger conclusion, but one that can be taken on its own if need be. I'm speaking in generalities, of course. You could have the occasional cliffhanger at the end of the first book, but as this first book must draw the reader in to reading not one, not two, but three books, that ending should be, at the very least, satisfying.

The middle book may not get the same treatment. If a reader has picked it up, that reader is likely invested in the world already. The middle book tends to be a continuation of those smaller threads that still hung loose at the first book's end. Those threads get longer, they split apart into new threads, and weave into a larger overarching plot--usually a plot which derives its origin from the first book, but is more vast and with higher stakes. What an author cannot do, however, is resolve that larger plot in the middle book. There is, after all, a third book. So middle books often have a beginning, a middle, and a... pause. A beat. A... just wait. A true cliffhanger. Perhaps some subplots are broached and resolved in the middle book. Perhaps very few are resolved. The middle book is a journey, not a destination.

All this to say that The Hemlock Queen does an admirable job of being a middle book, but it is still a middle book. It's hard to be completely satisfied when I'm just journeying; learning new things but left with far more questions. To be honest, I wish there were more duologies, not because I don't love reading about some of my favorite characters, but because there's no middle book. The end isn't too far away.

We find Lore, Bastian and Gabe as we left them in The Foxglove King. Everything is just kind of... awkward between them (fitting, as this is the middle book). Trust doesn't come easy for any of them. There is a lot of secret-keeping, even when there shouldn't be. When trust perhaps should have been established, Lore is still very secretive. I can't say this didn't frustrate me. This wasn't quite the "miscommunication" trope; more the "lack of communication" trope. Luckily, her penchant for not telling people things she should probably tell people didn't muck things up too much (at least, that's not why things got mucked up for her). I simply found it a bit aggravating.

Big changes are in store for our trio after the night of the eclipse didn't go the way the bad guys planned. Because it turns out there are consequences for not completing a ritual involving a god, and they can be pretty nasty, earth-shattering consequences. I found the treatment of the changes that resulted from that night to be done quite well. The reader discovers them slowly--a puzzle to be pieced together not just by Lore, but by the reader as well. There were moments where our heroes got together, Scooby Gang-style, to figure out how they were possibly going to get out of the mess they were in. I do wish we had more of those scenes.

We get more of Malcolm and Alie, especially in the second half of the book, which was quite welcome. Being the middle book and all, I was bound to not be entirely satisfied with the interactions between all the characters I grew to love in the first book. I do wish there was more interaction between Bastian and Gabe. We hear so much about their relationship; I wish we actually saw more of it.

Overall, however, I am excited about the setup for the third book. The stakes are far higher now for our characters. While yes, it is frustrating that I haven't been brought to any destination, I can at least see that there could potentially be a very satisfying one at the end of all this.

Thank you to Orbit for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.