Review--For the Throne by Hannah Whitten

 

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.

 

 

 

 

For the Throne is Hannah Whitten’s conclusion to For the Wolf duology! I found my focus was much better this time. Whether that’s because I was already somewhat familiar with the world or if the storyline was more enticing is hard to say.

This time around we get quite a few points of view. It was mainly Neve and Red, with Neve having more chapters this go around. Neve was a confusing character the first time around, but ultimately she did what she did to save her sister. But this time, Neve is the one who will likely need saving for she is trapped in the Shadowlands…with Solmir.

Neve is anything but happy about her predicament, trapped in a hell with a devil. But then Solmir tells her he needs her help to in killing other beings of power in the Shadowlands so that he can kill the other four kings.

Neve is reluctant to trust him but the alternative is letting the kings get to these power sources first and basically breaking free of the Shadowlands for good. So she and Solmir reluctantly work together.

Meanwhile, we are seeing Red trying to find a way to rescue her sister. She and Eammon will do whatever it takes to free her from the Shadowlands, even if they have to ask the dreaded Kiri how to do it.

I will say that I was able to follow this story a lot easier than the first one. Perhaps it’s because I had grown somewhat familiar with the world. I found Neve to be a likable character! I wasn’t sure how I would feel since she did seem to be a little more commanding than her sister. Her nature was definitely more domineering but she was honestly a terrific character here. We see her deal with her past actions and how she feels she needs to make it up to Red and Eammon if ever given the chance.

I felt like the pacing was easier going in this one as well. The story seemed to flow easier with a clearer plot. The added points of view seemed to help fill in holes here and there, it made for a very engaging read.

As far as romance goes there was naturally some sparks going between Neve and Solmir. The heroine and the once villain! Definitely made for some intriguing moments between them. It was a very slow burn romance as Neve still hated Solmir in the beginning. I honestly loved the dynamics between them!

All in all, For the Throne was a very entertaining read! It had mystery, magic, romance, and action, you couldn’t ask for more really! I enjoyed that despite the characters being separated for largely the whole novel that they came together in the end to do what needed doing! There were a few surprises there at the end too and I quite enjoyed the ending and where everyone was at! A marvelous read indeed!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars