This Own Voices book takes readers to a fantasy realm where diversity is normalized, and while opposition to change still exists within the world we are reading, the characters themselves are fervently authentic in their identities. Wyatt is a trans witch struggling with a societal assumption that he will marry and become king. He has tons of “fight-the-power” energy while also having a deeply emotional voice in narration. I cannot wait to see where this story (yes, we’re left with some seriously exciting what if’s)!

I enjoyed this book! It was slow to start, and I really didn’t like Wyatt for the first 3/4 of the book, but thankfully they came around and now I’m looking forward to the rest of the books in this series (duology? trilogy?)

I was excited when I became aware of this book. This is the debut novel of H.E. Edgmon and I will be looking forward to more of his writing. While "The Witch King" is well-written and creative but I didn't really connect with it. I respect the fact that the author wrote in an introduction that the novel was a part of his own self-discovery process so I don't doubt the authenticity of the voice. I think it's wonderful for such a relevant "own-voice" novel to be on the horizon.

Wyatt is an interesting character. He has been born a "witch" in the Fae world which means that he is not only discriminated against but he has been committed to an arranged marriage by his parents. Wyatt was to marry Emry - the Prince heir to the throne. Unable to deal with the possibilities of his upcoming life, Wyatt fled to the human world and his new family (complete with lovely best friend, Briar). In the human world Wyatt is able to live as the man he has always been.

I did enjoy the way that the author wrote about Wyatt's transness. He is accepted by his family of choice lovingly and without judgment. When Emry comes to find him and basically forces Wyatt back into the contract he has fled... that was when I began to lose my connection to some of the characters.

Emyr I was intrigued by. I enjoyed that as the Prince of the Fae, he wanted to become a uniting influence over the world. He definitely loves Wyatt and immediately requests his pronouns and never misgenders or deadnames him. Sadly, I didn't feel like I really understood the relationship between Emry and Wyatt. I've never been much of a fan of stories in which a characters is in a "forced" or "contracted" relationship which progresses to love. I find that type of relationship problematic at best as I think that it glosses over the rights of individuals to choose their own fates.

This novel also has a huge component of bigotry and "racism" in terms of a large portion of the Fae people being discriminatory towards witches and humans (to a much lesser degree). It was portrayed as very simple and lacking a lot of nuance. Then again, that's only part of what is going on in the story and this is a YA novel.

Wyatt's voice was a bit difficult for me to connect with. I found that there were some really casual phrases/words that made their way into Wyatt's thoughts repetitively, and some of it just felt really awkward or a bit off-putting. For instance, Wyatt repeatedly adds confirmation that he's gay as a way of describing his attraction to another male character.  Another book reviewer suggested that some of this may change in the final edit of the story. As I read an ARC, I'm not sure how much editing is left to be done on this book.

The author's writing style is great and I would gladly pick up another title. I will always support own-voices authors.

The concept really drew me in: a trans boy witch going back to the fae home that rejected him. It's the kind of plot I dream of. But the book... it's not good. From the writing to the world building, it was poorly done.

I almost stopped reading when that really weird "gays are bad at math" remark happened. No. Just no.

And then the rest of the book happened.

<spoiler> The fae world makes no sense. They have no native currency, their government is nonsense, like kids playing pretend. How do North American and South America get their own fae towns, but Africa gets ONE? Eurasia gets ONE?

The way architecture is described is strange. The castle, also called a palace like they are the same thing, is "hundreds upon hundreds of feet high". So it's a skyscraper. With turrets. That people can see from the ground. Made out of "mountain stone". Ok.

They use dragons for meat and sport. The dragon, Summanus (I don't know if that name is a joke or not, Summanus is black as a void and at one point breathes hot air), is described as the size of a house with multiple rows of metal teeth the length of swords. His tongue brushes against Wyatt's cheek. Dude, if the dragon's teeth are like 2 feet long, how big do you think the tongue is? The size of the tongue is close to the volume of the oral cavity. That tongue would have killed Wyatt. "Whispered across my cheek" my fat ass, that kid is dead.

One of the creatures in faeland, called a hellhound (because why wouldn't you immigrate to a new world with a creature called a hellhound?) is given the same proportions as a dachshund. Imagine a great dane, but the body is three times as long. Those are the dimensions given for this dog. Speaking of which, why would people from another world know what "hell" is? Why would it be in their lexicon?

They speak English, they use American cliches (constantly, every single page, cliche after cliche) and pop culture references. There is no sign they farm or manufacturer anything, no indication they produce anything they can sell or trade with other faelands or the human world, no education, no real culture of their own outside of a couple of LOTR Elvish-sounding foods. It just doesn't make sense.

Wyatt is a sociopath. Straight up, the dude is an asshole. He repeatedly sexualizes and uses his "best friend," he goes from a horrific event to flirting without batting an eye. He shows almost no regard for anyone's emotions, not even his own, the few he does express. And when he does have an emotion, it's uncontrolled, remorseless anger. It's fine to have an unlikable protagonist, but he does no protagonist-ing at all. Nothing comes of a big decision he makes early on. It's supposed to be this huge, soul crushing deal but, honestly, nothing happens. He pointlessly drifts from event to event, sometimes losing control of his uncontrollable magic. I swear, at one point Briar is reading magic books next to him, and despite a lifetime of being denied access to this knowledge, Wyatt shows ZERO interest. He just lies there. Our protagonist, everyone.

The relationship between him and Emyr is just stated to exist. We are told how they feel. We are never shown. Or maybe Wyatt isn't capable of empathizing and comprehending the emotions of others? It's probably not that deep though. At no point do we see this couple really getting along, except when they lust after each other. Also like, Emyr? Really? <i>Real</i> subtle naming.

This is all very, very obviously a hamfisted, current US events (BLM in particular) allegory. Wyatt straight up tells us it is early on. At the end there is a blatant "defund the police" moment. Yeah, dude, I'm like really passionate about it too. But I don't couch it in some crap YA book and pretend like it's revelatory or a call to action.

And there's like times when just the wrong word is used. Wyatt calls the Guard, a "branch" of their dumb government, a militia. A militia is a <i>civilian</i> force. He says someone is wearing "knitted leather shoes," I think you meant woven? There is so much repetitive word usage, uncomfortable AAVE usage, the fae in a given location are coded (i.e. given names and physical descriptions) to the predominant local population. Wings and horns are described constantly and I just don't give a fuck what these side characters without any dialogue look like.

How many times was the word "huff" used? 100? 200? (It's only like 20, but it feels like a lot.)

Big SJM vibes with all the shadows and fang licking and mate shit.

It's all directionless and passionless, anti-climatic, boring, horrible dialogue, infodumped telling, telling, telling. </spoiler>

I'm here for the trans rep, the ace rep, the gay, bi, all the reps, and I'm so happy that the author wrote this so more own voices books can exist. However, that doesn't make up for poor writing and storytelling.

Dark, epic fantasy is a genre I like, depending on a few things - one of which is probably my mood at the time. Apparently, I was in the mood for The Witch King because everything about this one just worked. Worldbuilding is also a biggie, and that's top-notch here too. It's done just as it should be without a lot of info dumps to wade through. Then we have the LGBTQ representation with a trans MC, and that's done wonderfully as well. As I mentioned, this is dark fantasy, and it does get violent and disturbing, which is all the more reason to thoroughly appreciate the well-timed and refreshing wit scattered throughout. As a debut, this one far exceeds my expectations for the genre, and HE Edgmon has set the bar quite high for the next in the series.

Rainbows and Sunshine Book Blog
May 28, 2021
Wow! This book is absolutely stunning! Check this out if you love:

✔Betrothals
✔Fae magic
✔Only one bed
✔Childhood friends to enemies to lovers
✔Fated mates
✔Gay Trans witch
✔Queer found family

This is the queer revolutionary fantasy that you've been waiting for! Not saying any about the plot except I really liked it. Don't want to spoil anything.Wyatt is my new favourite character. He's angry and funny and sad and so very real. Also super gay! Emyr is so loyal and kind and I love him so much. He's been pining for so long and deserves everything! Also he has fangs, claws and WINGS?!!!!!

I love the secondary characters, they are all very well developed. Wyatt's relationship with his best friend Briar is one of the highlights of this book. They have an incredible bond and I love how they can read each other so well. I also adored Jin, Tessa and our favourite hellhound Boom!

The world building is really good and I definitely want to see more of Asalin. This book is entirely told from Wyatt's POV and while I'd have loved to get Emyr's POV, it didn't make me enjoy it any less.
I cannot wait for the next book and I need it so bad!! Highly recommended!!

CW: abuse, sexual assault, death, transphobia, deadnaming (not mentioned), violence

*ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

Teen (and adult) fans of the Fae and/or Holly Black novels will find this right up their alley. Trans rep, dragons, and really I'm surprised that there isn't more buzz about this one. Super fun.

I love queer magical stories and I loved this book so much. The characters were so well written and complex, I loved reading about Wyatt and how we as readers could see him healing along the way. I really grew to love Emyr throughout the book and I also loved how Briar was a fierce friend to Wyatt but had her own story going too. The world itself was beautifully written and the struggles of people in Asalin reflects social issues of our own world- the parallels were good. There were twists that I did not see coming but were definitely hinted at perfectly. Overall I just enjoyed so much about this book and I am blown that it is going to be a long time until the second book comes out. I want to know what happens to everyone!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I love everything about this book. First of all, fantasy romance is so my jam, so I knew that I was going to pick it up. Second of all, LGBTQIA+ representation? Sign me up. I love all of that. Third of all, dynamic characters that are not perfect, but actually flawed and the writer demonstrates that they're flawed in an exceptional manner? This is such a good book for that.

I wasn't sure what I was getting when I picked this book up, but I am so glad I did. It's exciting, it has a diverse cast, and the story and the characters are compelling. I can't wait for the second book to come out.

I know there are a lot of fae book lovers out there. And I absolutely think if you love books about fae you will adore this one as well!

I absolutely love that there are so many queer books being published this year and this one was definitely the queer fantasy book we all needed!
I liked the MC a lot, he was a complex character, he funny and likeable, but also morally grey at the same time. But that are usually the characters I love.

I am looking forward to the next book!

The Witch King was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021. The premise immediately hooked me, reminding me of Holly Black’s gritty Fae Folklore that I obsessed over in my high school days.

And after finishing the first book of this new duology, I’m left hesitantly optimistic.

First of all, I found this book immensely empowering.

I love how much queer representation there is, and the fact that queerness never makes characters feel targeted or even as if they need to come out.

The fact that Emyr immediately accepts Wyatt as male, and even makes the effort to use him/his pronouns without question was so refreshing.

In that sense, this book just made me feel so hopeful for a more inclusive future.

One issue I had was with the writing style, particularly with the dialogue crafted for Wyatt. At times, his inner dialogue seemed forced, almost taken directly from an episode of Letterkenny, and jarring from his usual introspective nature.

I also thought his thoughts towards Emyr were at times too harsh, and I wasn’t rooting for their relationship as much as I would have liked.

That being said, I think this story has much potential, and I can’t wait to see where H E Edgmon takes us next.

I had heard great things about this book and was really looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately, this one was not for me. I absolutely loved that this book had a gay, trans MC. However, the writing style did not work for me. I found the book relied too much on flashbacks and internal commentary from the MC, and the story moved too slowly for my taste. There was also a line towards the beginning of the book in which the MC states "It's a good thing I'm gay, so no one expects me to be good at math." Personally this did not sit well with me, as a reader or an educator.

Before we begin, two things:
1) There are quite a few content warnings for this book and I suggest reading the author's note before diving in.
2) Absolutely seek out ownvoices reviewers (which I am not).

Ooookay. This is a hard book to rate.

There were so many absolutely wonderful things that this book had going for it that ended up getting a bit clouded by a few other more problematic things. Rather than start positive and save negatives for the end, I'm going to discuss them hand-in-hand.

First, Wyatt is the transmasc main character that we all needed. He is an absolute mess. His inner monologue is chaotic and funny as hell. *However.* He is also whiny and manipulative and just an all-around toxic friend. While I 100% understand that he's going through some shit, he spends the entire book talking about how terrible he is basically, but not doing anything to come to terms with his trauma or be a better person.

One other good thing I'll say about him, though, is that I appreciate how accepting he is of himself (in the non-magic-monster way). He snaps at someone for saying that it wasn't his fault that he was "born in the wrong body." Instead, he says that his body is a boy body because he is a boy. And yes. Love that.

Second, along side Wyatt's personal toxicity, is just all the relationships in this book. I'm not sure there was one that was healthy. While I enjoyed Emyr as a character (and very much loved the plotline of Wyatt stuck with his "ex-fiancé), Emyr dragging Wyatt back to the Fae-realm was hella manipulative and it was hard to get past that. Wyatt, though, lied to a bunch of people and in general, had a pretty questionable relationship with his best friend Briar. I get that their friendship is complicated, but it went beyond messy and was just Wyatt abusing Briar's willingness to be by his side forever and always.

Third, the plot was in many ways very enjoyable. I already mentioned the ex-fiancé thing and just complicated relationships like that are always fun. But once you kind of get past that and get more into the politics of Asalin (Fae-realm -- but not Faery), things get a bit weirder. But weird in the sense of very on the nose. The tensions between the Fae and the witches is very much like homophobia and racism in the real world. In fact, Wyatt comments on this as well. It's one thing to use this familiar idea to prove a point, but it just felt a bit too... preachy? for me. I don't know, that's probably not the right word. Just too on the nose.

Fourth, while the plot, like I said, was enjoyable most of the time, the writing wasn't always top notch. A few scenes felt like they went on for too long and told too much through dialogue. And not, like, super great dialogue either. Half the time it felt like the author was using Wyatt explaining transgender things to Emyr as an excuse to explain these things to the audience--here I'm particularly thinking of when Emyr asked Wyatt about his relations with other guys in the years they'd been separated. It didn't feel like necessary information. Maybe it satisfied a bit of morbid curiosity, but it wasn't essential.

Along that same vein, I would say that the author spent too much time telling instead of showing. Especially the political stuff, like I mentioned. Oh, and I should say, also, though I'm not the best resource on this, there were also a few times that the writing came off as a little too anti-woman and several comments just didn't seem right. For instance, Wyatt, though has undying love for his best friend, also makes remarks about Briar that are just a little off.

I'm not going to go on and on, ripping this book to shreds, so I'm going to stop there. While I had some issues with this story, I truly did enjoy most of it in the moment. And I for sure know that this is the trans story that a lot of people need and crave, so I do appreciate the incomparable diversity here. I just wish some aspects were a little less toxic and misogynistic and a little more cleaned up writing-wise. So, to all trans writers out there, keep going! We're ready for more beautiful stories.

I don't even know where to begin with how much I loved everything about The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon. Besides stating this is a YA LGBTQIA+ fantasy I am not going to going into the plot because I don't want to accidentally spoil anything so just scroll up and read the synopsis.

I'll start with the characters who are unique and flawed and beautiful. They make mistakes, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve love. The lead Wyatt is a trans witch who wants nothing to do with where he came from, and he has every right to feel that way. He struggles with doing what is right for his fellow witches and what's right for himself. Then there's Emyr who even though he's technically forcing Wyatt to uphold their marriage contract you can tell he really does care for him. He's accepting and tries to be patient with him. There are more than a few moments with them that will tug on your heart strings. Let's not forget Wyatt's best friend Briar who was literally a ray of sunshine and I loved her relationship with Wyatt.

Plot wise, The Witch King has twists and turns that will keep you fully invested in its outcome. Sometimes I feel like stories can be hindered from only one POV but I didn't feel that was the case here. While yes I'd love to see inside Emyr's head because he totally stole my heart, I still felt completely connected to the characters. Wyatt's voice was so strong and expressive, you connected with them through him perfectly.

The story is compelling and the characters are captivating. Witches, fae, magic, diversity, love, deceit, trauma, arranged marriages, bonds, obligations, dragons and at one point even one bed 😉 The Witch King just has so many aspects to keep you hooked and make you feel ALL the feels. Knowing this is a series and not a standalone makes me ridiculously happy because I need more Wyatt, Emery and their friends' in my life.

Trigger Warnings: graphic violence and injury, mild gore; physical assault; sexual harassment and assault; child abuse; drug use; trauma relating to fires; suicide attempt; misgendering and deadnaming (dead name off the page)

This is a fun read and I enjoyed the diversity of representation that was included. It's an enjoyable fantasy novel.

The Witch King is such a wonderful queer fantasy story, and I was immediately sucked in! The characters are all relatable for some reason or another, and the motivations and plot are incredible. Definitely worth at least one read!

DNF.

This book was cringe with a capital C. Before I start, I want to say that I am the target audience of this book - a queer Zillenial who likes fantasy.

It had an interesting concept, but unfortunately this book was just not well written. It had a very diverse cast of LGBT characters, which is great and something we need more of in books, but it took it so far that the characters felt more like they were fulfilling the LGBTQIA+ alphabet soup quota than actually having a personality or a point to being in the story.

Wyatt’s inner voice was extremely mean. No other way to say it. And again, it felt more like this book was an excuse to have a trans main character (who unnecessarily reminds the reader he’s trans and gay every other page) rather than have a cool character who happens to be trans. I hope that makes sense.

I also had a big issue with info dumping. And a ton of flashbacks.

Content Warning- Death and mentions of parental death, blood, graphic violence, mild gore, physical assault, sexual harassment, child abuse, trauma relating to fires, suicide attempts, misgendering, some explicit sexual references.

The witch-king is every fantasy trope you ever wanted, with a very likely transgender witch king as your main character. Wyatt is like the big brother who needs a hug cause no one wants to accept them for who they are. Born to be something his parents did not wish to a witch in a Fae community and paired with a royal fae to be married in the future, he runs away from his life after he tragically uses his powers to defend himself. Now the community that never wanted him needs him to come back and save their world by being the face of a rebellion that never wanted him in the first place.

There a lot to love about this book, passionate characters, real-life, relevant situations, and crazy family relationships that are so real to life. I love Wyatt adopted sister; she is so fierce and loyal. I want her to be my best friend. Wyatt is also the best character as he was so real; he makes mistakes, gets angry, and grows from the crappy past that life dealt him, and he learns that this world can be so much more than what it is. Witch-king is the start of the healing of a community, and i can't wait to read the next book.

Wonderful opening, middle, and end. Sets up nicely for a sequel but it closes up the current plot. Nondescriptive sex scene lends itself to older readers, but still appropriate for the young adult category. Solid 4.5.

This book really made my non-binary heart happy. Full of great and fun characters, interesting twists and turns and a story that was fun to follow, this was all in all a really nice book.