MoodReads - Romance Book Discovery

Beta soft launchEvery book’s tags are being checked by hand ✨ some categories are fuller than others while I work through them all ✨

Cover of The Hemlock Queen

The Hemlock Queen

by Hannah F. Whitten

🌶️🌶️🌶️moderate·spoiler·The Nightshade Crown #2

Why Read This?

You'll get a gripping tale of political power struggles and complex relationships that delivers satisfying angst and romantic tension.

Synopsis

In the second installment of New York Times bestselling author Hannah Whitten's lush, romantic epic fantasy series, a young woman who can raise the dead must navigate the dangerous and glamorous world of the Sainted King's royal court. The corrupt king August is dead. Prince Bastian has seized the throne and raised Lore—a necromancer and former smuggler—to his right hand side. Together they plan to cut out the rot from the heart of the sainted court and help the people of Dellaire. But not everyone is happy with the changes. The nobles are sowing dissent, the Kyrithean Empire is beating down their door, and Lore's old allies are pulling away. Even Prince Bastian's changed. No longer the hopeful, rakish, charismatic man Lore knows and loves, instead he's reckless, domineering and cold. And something's been whispering in her ear. A voice, dark and haunting, that's telling her there's more to the story than she knows and more to her power than she can even imagine. A truth buried deep that could change everything. With Bastian's coronation fast approaching and enemies whispering on all sides, Lore must figure out how to protect herself, her prince, and her country before they all come crumbling down and whatever dark power has been creeping through the catacombs is unleashed.

At a Glance

3.83 ★ Goodreads
Spice Level🌶️🌶️🌶️moderate
Endingspoiler
PairingM/F
Romance Pacingmedium burn
Energymedium

Top Tropes

secret relationshipblood feud romancecaptive romancehidden past revealedlove triangle

Mood

darkintenseromanticmysteriousbrooding

Book Details

Goodreads Rating

3.83 ★

Page Count

400 pages

Published

2024

Primary Genre

Romantasy

Pairing

M/F

POV

First Person

Romance Pacing

Medium Burn

Audiobook

Available

Yes

Format

Standard

Narrator

Emily Ellet

Narrator Count

Single

Tropes

RomanceMagicActionAngstWorld
Theme Constellation

Mood & Vibe

Mood

Writing Style

lushatmosphericbroodingimmersive

Story Pacing

medium

Emotional Weight

heavy

Energy Required

medium

Vibes

Dark court intrigue with necromantic magic and fraught romance that feels like walking through a gothic palace at midnight.

Characters

FMC Archetype

necromancer / death magic usermorally gray fmcsurvivor

MMC Archetype

morally gray mmcbrooding princedark/tortured soul

Relationship Dynamics

forbidden lovepower imbalance

Spice Details 🌶️

🌶️
🌶️
🌶️
🌶️
🌶️
🌶️
🌶️
🌶️
Spice Level 3

Spice Style

intense / passionatedark / taboo

Getting Steamy

power exchange softpossessive/protectivetension

Bringing the Heat

monstrous anatomyBDSM elements
Browse more books by spice level →
deathmurdertraumaviolencebloodcaptivitydubious consentgriefpolitical intriguewar
Browse books by content warning →

World & Setting

World Type

high fantasy

Primary Setting

royal court / palace

Fantasy Creatures

Reading Context

Emotional Payoff

Best Time of Year

autumn

When & Where to Read

Short Takes

quick 280-character reactions for this book. drop a thought, rate the vibe, keep scrolling.

Sign in to share your take.

Loading...

Book Chat

Talk about The Hemlock Queen with other readers

this page is just the start

  • import your Goodreads or StoryGraph TBR—we tag every book with spice, tropes, CWs, mood, all of it
  • tell us a vibe (“enemies to lovers fae, high spice”) and BookMatch finds the book
  • 3,800+ romantasy books searchable by 40+ fields
  • covens, pacts, book chat—readers who get it
free account, 30 seconds