#Review - The Nightshade God by Hannah F. Whitten #Fantasy #Romance

Series: The Nightshade Crown (#3)
Format: Hardcover, 480 pages
Release Date: July 15, 2025
Publisher: Orbit
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Romance

The Nightshade Crown is in the hands of a ruthless god and Lore will stop at nothing to defeat him in the final installment of this lush, romantic, New York Times bestselling fantasy series from breakout star Hannah Whitten.

Lore has failed. She couldn’t save King Bastian from the rotten god speaking voices in his mind. She couldn’t save her allies from being scattered across the continent—their own lesser gods whispering to them in their dreams. She couldn’t save her beautiful, corrupt city from the dark power beneath the catacombs. And she couldn’t save herself. 

Banished to the Burnt Isles, Lore must use every skill she earned on the streets of Dellaire to survive the prison colony and figure out a way to defeat the power that’s captured everything and everyone she holds dear. When a surprise ally joins her on the Burnt Isles she realizes the way forward may lie on the island itself. Somehow, her friends must help her collect the far-scattered pieces of the broken Fount—the source of all the god’s powers—and bring them back together on the Burnt Isles, returning all magic to its source and destroying, once and for all, the gods corrupting the land. 

But as Lore gets closer to her goal, her magic grows stronger… and to a woman who’s always had to fight for survival, that kind of power may be hard to give up.

The Nightshade God is the third and final installment in author Hannah F. Whitten's The Nightshade Crown trilogy. While Lore is the main character, the author also uses Allie, Bastien, and Gabe to tell her story. The Nightshade God picks up immediately after the cliffhanger ending of The Hemlock Queen, with the trio of protagonists—Lore, a deathwitch; Gabe, a duty-bound priest; and Bastian, the arrogant king of Auverraine—scattered across the continent, each grappling with their own struggles and divine influences. 

Lore is banished to the brutal Burnt Isles, a prison colony where she must rely on her street-honed survival skills as well as a curious assortment of characters like Dani, who has her own agenda. Gabe is on the run in Caldien with Malcolm and others, fighting to resist the pull of his own lesser god, while Bastian is fully possessed by the life god Apollius, reduced to a puppet in his own mind. The central plot revolves around their mission to collect the scattered pieces of the broken Fount, the source of all divine power, to destroy the gods corrupting their world. 

However, as Lore’s magic grows stronger, she faces the temptation to keep this newfound power, adding a layer of internal conflict to the external stakes. The narrative structure shifts from the single POV of the previous books to multiple perspectives, including Alie, a secondary character whose arc adds depth to the story. This multi-POV approach is a bold choice, effectively reflecting the characters’ physical and emotional separation while allowing readers to witness their individual journeys toward the climactic showdown at the Golden Mount. 

Whitten weaves these perspectives, ensuring each voice is distinct and adds layers to the narrative without feeling disjointed. If you are a reader who enjoys love triangles, you get your wish, and more in this book. One could say that all three characters involved are bisexual and leave it at that. Lore’s fierce determination, Gabe’s journey from religious subservience to self-acceptance, and Bastian’s fight for autonomy are deeply compelling, with each character’s arc reaching a satisfying, if heartbreaking, conclusion. Alie’s expanded role adds a fresh perspective, her development surprising and welcome, though some might find her POV less essential to the core narrative.

There are no spoilers in this review; however, I am not a fan of the ending. The author hints that Lore is going to make a stunning decision, and she does, and maybe it was the best choice for her, but not for those around her. Again, no spoilers - read the book and figure out what I'm talking about yourselves. 

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