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.

For the Wolf was one of my favourite reads last year, so I was really looking forward to the second book in this duology. In fact, For the Throne was probably one of my most anticipated reads this year.

This second book picks up right where the first one ended. I didn't re-read For the Wolf before starting this one, but it might be worth doing if you have the time as, outside of the main characters, I had a hard time remembering who was who for a few chapters.

The book mostly follows Neve, Red's sister, while she is stuck in the Shadowlands with Solmir, but there are also some chapters in Red's POV as she struggles to find a way to save her sister and even some showing Raffe's POV. Neve was by far the most interesting character, and I loved getting to know her more deeply than before, exploring her complexities and witnessing both her incredible strength and her touching vulnerability.

The author does an amazing job with the atmosphere. It was dark and chilling and just absolutely perfect. I could almost feel the Shadowlands as Neve and Solmir made their way through them to try and destroy them and the Old Kings. I also really liked the original way in which some classic folklore tropes and elements were woven through the story, and the addition of the gods was a very welcome one for me.

Action on the surface wasn't quite as captivating as that in the Shadowlands for me, and I did find that rather a lot of it was too slow-moving to really hold my interest. I still love Red and Eamonn, but some of the other characters failed to really grow on me and, by the end, there were a few too many couples going around. Some of the surprising twists were also not so surprising after all, which was disappointing as I love being surprised!

Still, I really liked the ending and was very satisfied with it as a conclusion to this duology even if this second book didn't quite live up to the first one for me. Hannah Whitten was a fantastic discovery and I look forward to reading many, many more of her books in the future.


I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way. ( )

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

4+ This is a really solid second and final wrap-up to the series. Hannah Whitten does a great job writing so that scene is easily visualized and also with all of the emotion going through each character. There were a few plot points that didn't feel as fleshed-out to me as the rest, like they were put in to help manage other pieces of the story, but it wasn't enough to detract much from the book. This is a great duology that I have really enjoyed reading and I look forward to the author's future work. ( )

Originally posted on Just Geeking by.

Content warnings:
The author lists the following content warnings on her website:

blood/gore/general violence
mutilation (one instance)
moderate sexual content
parental neglect/abuse
religious trauma/abuse
giant insects



For the Throne continues on directly from where For the Wolf left off so if you don’t quite remember what happened in that book it is worth re-reading or catching yourself back up before picking this one up. While there isn’t a direct catch-up written in, it is pretty obvious from the way Whitten writes the narrative what has happened and through the character’s dialogue you learn what happened. Neve is in the Shadowlands, a choice she consciously made, and Red and Raffe watched her make the decision.

The first book was Red’s story, whereas this one is Neve’s and likewise it is an echo of the first book in that this time it’s about saving Neve rather than Red. As with the previous book the main character’s narration is dominant, and the other sister’s narration runs parallel. While we follow Neve’s journey through the Shadowlands, we also follow Red’s attempts to find a way to get Neve out of the Shadowlands. This time there’s a third narrator; Raffe who acts as the reader’s eyes in Valleyda just as Neve did in the previous book. He plays a much larger role in this book, throw into the position of keeping up the ruse that Queen Neve is ill rather than missing in the Shadowlands. It was great to see more of him as a character and his narration is a wonderful change of pace to the two sisters.

Neve is the dark to Red’s light, and with much of For the Throne set in the Shadowlands Whitten was able to delve into a much darker space. While the Wilderwood had its Grimm fairytale elements of horror, the Shadowlands is pure gothic horror. I got some very strong Lovecraftian and H. R. Giger vibes from it. These vibes mixed with Whitten’s luscious style result in some dark and disturbing descriptions that are also just so delicious. It’s like eating delicious ice cream that gives you brain freeze; tastes so good, but it has that wicked edge to it.

I like Red as a character, however, it’s Neve that I found easier to understand and connect with. The dedication for this book reads “for anyone who grew thorns instead of flowers – you had your reasons” and that really resonated with me on many levels. This is a book about exploring the decisions we make, the truth of our feelings regarding them and taking ownership of them, especially the darker aspects of ourselves. In For the Throne Whitten explores how we create our own identity, the one that we are happy with, that we can answer to. Neve has to come to terms with her actions and their consequences, and decide how they are going to let them define her.

Once again I was blown away by Whitten’s storytelling and visual descriptions in For the Throne. I loved the world-building in both books, and how she brought everything full circle to fit together. I don’t think I’ve ever read such a well written duology, and I’m looking forward to reading Whitten’s next book The Foxglove King!

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For the Throne is a fantastic ending to a book that was among my top favorite reads in 2021. Not only do we get the continuation of the fantastic romance between Red and the Wolf, but also we get another treat in the form of Solmir and Neve’s experiences in the Shadowlands. I had no idea what to expect from page to page, as Ms. Whitten keeps you guessing throughout the novel. The ending is oh-so-satisfying and solidifies my determination to read anything Ms. Whitten writes going forward. ( )