Book Review: For the Throne (The Wilderwood #2) (ARC)

Author: 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 the sequel to For the Wolf and the final novel in the Wilderwood duology. As the story is continuous, it is highly recommended to read both to get a complete understanding of the story and characters. Neverah (Neve), the first daughter for the Throne, and Redarys (Red), the second daughter for the Wolf, are twins who each have their fate decided since birth. The first novel explored Red’s journey where she is sent to the Wilderwood as a sacrifice to the Wolf, a man named Eammon. The first novel focused mainly on Red’s perspective with some brief looks at the perspectives of Neve, Raffe, and Arick who each play a role in the story. This novel switches to Neve as the main while still including glimpses into the perspectives of the other three characters.

In this novel, Neve is in the Shadowlands. This new setting was well-described, and I loved how it contrasted with the Wilderwood while still containing a mysterious type of wonder. Here in the Shadowlands, the reader learns more about Solomir, the rogue king who wants to end the Shadowlands. He finds an unlikely ally in Neve and the two of them reluctantly work together. Since the reader is beginning this novel in a new world, the pacing of the story starts off slowly as there is set-up of the setting and situation. It does pick up as more of the plot is introduced along with the reader’s catch up with the Red and Eammon.

Since each novel shifts in focus to either Neve or Red, readers have options about which novel suites their needs more if they are the type to prefer one character over the other. For me, I was slightly more of a fan of Red than Neve, but I still loved reading about Neve. In terms of their love interests, I favored Solomir over Eammon, so it was interesting to go back and forth between the two couples and their journeys. Both Neve and Solomir are more morally grey compared to Red and Eammon, but they each are trying to do what they believe is best. All four characters were all likeable in their own ways and I enjoyed the development of each. As for Red and Neve, throughout the duology, it is very apparent how much the two sisters care about each other. They will do whatever it takes to ensure that the other is safe. The sisterly bond was definitely the standout of the entire duology.

Overall, this novel was an excellent conclusion for the duology. Throughout this story there are callbacks to the first novel which is a great reminder to those that need them but may be a bit much for others. For me, I appreciated the callbacks as there were some details that I forgot when I read the first novel previously. This novel itself was a great read and makes it difficult to choose between the two in the duology if I had to decide. I enjoyed learning that the author has a new novel/series coming out soon and I cannot wait to read it. This duology was well worth the read and would be one I would reread again in the future!

**I want to give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Orbit Books, for a review copy of this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**