For The Throne by Hannah F. Whitten
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars**
For the Throne is the final book in the Wilderwood duology by Hannah F. Whitten. This Adult Fantasy story follows two sisters, princesses Neve and Redarys, known as Red.
In their kingdom tradition claims the first daughter is for the throne while the second daughter, Red in this case, is for the Wolf of the Wilderwood.
In the first book we follow Red as she journeys into the Wilderwood to fulfill that obligation. Once there she finds that the Wolf is much different than she expected.
He’s not a vicious beast, but a man who she comes to know and love. It was a slow burn story, but one that I thought was good and also a great set-up for a second book.
Red has a type of earth magic that really came alive once she entered the Wilderwood; I enjoyed watching that power blossom. The setting was fantastic, I loved the dark atmosphere and reading about the lore behind this world.
Neve, the first daughter, is left behind in their kingdom when Red enters the Wood. Neve will eventually take over the throne as queen. She’s fine with that, but she’s not fine with sacrificing her sister for that purpose.
She wants Red back. She just needs to figure out a way to make it happen.
Although she had a smaller role than Red in the first book, I was most intrigued by Neve’s perspective. She was adept at scheming and I never knew what lengths she was going to go to next to reach her goals.
In this book, Neve plays an equal role in the narrative to Red. Actually, I feel like she’s sort of the star of the show in this one as she evolves into a new type of queen.
In this second book though it’s not just Neve trying to save Red from her fate, but now Red feels equally compelled to rescue Neve as well.
Neither one feels like their sister is in the right place and their love for each other keeps them highly motivated throughout it all.
I would say there is much less of a romance element in this one. There’s still a little there, particularly between Neve and the individual she is forced into an alliance with, but personally I didn’t mind the less romance.
I definitely preferred this narrative over the first book, however the story still failed to ever truly capture me. It moved so slowly…
While I can fully appreciate that this is a good story with a well-built world and characters, it just wasn’t for me. I liked it, it was fine, but it wasn’t captivating enough for me to give it a higher rating.
I do know that a lot of Adult Fantasy Readers will adore this one though. If you think the premise sounds like something you would enjoy, you absolutely should pick it up. Particularly if you like slow-burn romance and dark atmospheres.
Thank you to the publisher, Orbit Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity to provide my opinion.