For the Throne

Finished February 10

For the Throne by Hannah Whitten

This is the second book in the Wilderwood series that started with For the Wolf. This book focuses mostly on the older sister Neve (short for Neverah), but we do see what's happening with other significant characters as well, like Redarys (Red), her sister whose voice was the main one in the first book, and Raffe, the young man left behind in her kingdom as she gets taken into the Shadowlands. 

The Shadowlands are a greytone world, that is located under the world the characters live in. It is a world without colour, where the roots from trees above are the trees, and many things from buildings to hills and mountains are made from bones of creatures small and large. The Shadowlands are a part of this world that some of the Old Gods still exist in, they are in fact what it is made of. But there are newer Gods here too, and they want a way back into the world above. Neve holds the promise of a door to that world.

The man that has brought Neve to the Shadowlands was also a god, and a king. His name is Solmir, and he is both a vessel for magic and a man who has rejected the dream of the gods. 

The two, Neve and Solmir must go on a journey in this part of the world, a journey that takes them to some very scary situations, and they must meet gods, in many forms. And Neve must decide whether she will choose to be the Shadow Queen. 

Red and Raffe find that a visitor to their land knows some of their secrets, and she Okada Kayu has secrets of her own. She will lead Red, and Raffe and others on a journey too. As Red tries to save her sister, she finds that there may be higher stakes involved, and she must risk her own life to meet them. 

This is a story that is fast-paced and moves easily between speakers, giving us a window into what is happening in both places. The descriptions of the Shadowlands in particular are striking and bring it to life for the reader, a land bleak and colourless, yet also made up of many parts. 

I love the courageous women in this series, how they face their fears, and their truths. This is a series that will stay with me for a while.