The Nightshade God

The stunning conclusion to Whitten’s Nightshade Crown trilogy (after The Hemlock Queen) begins with protagonists Lore, Gabe, and Bastian torn apart by the events of the previous book. Deathwitch Lore has been trapped on the Burnt Isles, a prison colony, by Bastian, king of Auverraine, who is now fully possessed by the life god Apollius. Lore and her friends, meanwhile, all play host to gods of their own, though none have been subsumed by them like Bastian has. Gabe, along with friends Malcolm, Michal, and Lore’s mothers, has fled to safety in Caldien, away from Apollius’s grasping hands. Meanwhile, Bastian, pushed down into a golden sea in his own mind, fights to take back control of his body. The friends’ best chance for survival lies in restoring the Fount, the source of the gods’ powers, and using it to return all magic to its source, banishing the gods. As Gabe and Malcolm race to find the pieces of the broken Fount before Apollius can stop them, Lore works to escape and make her way to the Golden Mount, where the ritual must be completed. Balancing a large cast of complex characters, gorgeous worldbuilding, juicy romance, and a page-turning plot, Whitten’s epic conclusion does not disappoint. Agent: Whitney Ross, High Line Literary. (July)