For the Throne by Hannah Whitten

|Synopsis|

The First Daughter is for the Throne
The Second Daughter is for the Wolf…

Red and the Wolf have finally contained the threat of the Old Kings but at a steep cost. Red’s beloved sister Neve, the First Daughter is lost in the Shadowlands, an inverted kingdom where the vicious gods of legend have been trapped for centuries and the Old Kings have slowly been gaining control. But Neve has an ally–though it’s one she’d rather never have to speak to again–the rogue king Solmir.

Solmir wants to bring an end to the Shadowlands and he believes helping Neve may be the key to its destruction. But to do that, they will both have to journey across a dangerous landscape in order to find a mysterious Heart Tree, and finally to claim the gods’ dark, twisted powers for themselves.

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|Review|

I admittedly was sad when I realized Red and Eammon would no longer be the focal point of the story any longer. I loved their story and the thought of only following Neve left me kinda putting this one off. I 100% regret that now because Whitten did an amazing job of weaving together an amazing narrative full of old and new characters that perfectly wrapped up the story of the Wilderwood and the Shadowlands.

We had a few alternating POVs including of course Red and Neve but also Rafe which was an interesting choice that worked. I ended up loving Solmir and kinda wish we had gotten his and Eammon’s perspectives, but that maybe would’ve been a tad much. I just love seeing a love story from both sides.

That being said, the romance was not really apart of this book. We of course see Red and Eammon and how their story continues, but other than that it’s nonexistent besides a smidge of slow burn. This was very much a fantasy book with a dash of romance unlike the first book which felt like a romantasy. So fair warning if that’s what you’re going into this looking for, you will be disappointment

Whitten didn’t fail me with lyrical and poetic writing though that managed to yet again ensnare me. So many relevant and awe-inspiring quotes drizzled throughout this book. She really took a look at good vs. evil, what makes someone a monster and if you can be redeemed. Life is a series of choices and you might not be good every second of every day, but those are your decisions to make.

While in the last book we got to explore the Wilderwood and the magic behind it, this book delves into the Shadowlands and the Old Kings that have a whole religion based around them. Myth and lore and where the truth lies surrounding them.

I loved the connection each sister had with their respective magic and how we explored the love they had for each other. They truly mirrored each other and while they may have screwed up at times they ultimately loved each other no matter what.

I ended up switching back and forth between listening to the audiobook along with a physical copy and I can honestly highly recommend both. The narrator did an amazing job. While For the Throne may not have captured my attention or heart as much as For the Wolf, I still thought it was a great story and ending.