4 stars

Ahhhhhh, this was a great debut! I love how angry and angsty and queer and magical this book is. Wyatt is a fantastic character and I'm honestly sooooo excited for the next book plus everything else H. E. comes out with. Ugh I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy and reread this. I'm going to be recommending this to everyone.

** ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review **

Wow! I cannot believe how much I loved this book! It was everything I need in an LGBTQIA+ Young Adult Fantasy right now.

Wyatt is my new favorite person. A transgender gay boy who is really still trying to find their way in this world and how he fits. This isn't helped when his Fae fiance shows up in his backyard in Laredo TX and demands he comes back to Faery to face the future Wyatt believed he had escaped.

I love the friendships in this story, especially with Briar being that comforting source. And the love story blooming throughout this tale. Wyatt is also not a perfect person, he makes mistakes and I really loved reading his internal struggles which were often about feeling very awkward which is something I can really relate to.

Overall I thought this was an incredible read, really creative and full of insight. I definitely recommend this!

About 1% of the time, the fae give birth to horribly deformed (i.e. human-shaped) offspring called witches. Fierce, damaged, trans Wyatt is one of these, but fate decreed that he should be betrothed to Prince Emyr anyway. It would've been a huge step towards equality, but everything went hideously wrong. Wyatt spends three years putting himself back together among humans before Emyr tracks him down, insisting they marry immediately for the good of the kingdom. Wyatt's grudging return sets in motion a chain of events none of them could have foreseen. Crams an amazing quantity of deftly-handled social issues around a core of an adorably grumpy romance.

YA debut fantasy world created by H.E. Edgmon is a perfect reading experience for readers who love dark fantasy and magic.

There is a lot to love about The Witch King, most especially the fantastic queer representation and the sympathetic and compelling characters. The world building is also very cool. The downside of the large amount of world building is that the first half of the novel sometimes drags a bit--there’s a lot of time spent on explaining how things work in Asalin, which makes the pacing a bit awkward at times. But, if you like character driven fantasy, you would definitely enjoy The Witch King.

Reluctantly DNF'd. The premise was so good and I read hoping that the early signs of a DNF would go away. Sadly, no, they didn't. The narrative flow of current day was interrupted with flashbacks and worldbuilding, something that isn't usually an issue but here, when you had one line of dialog and then several paragraphs of flashback before the response, it is an issue. And then there's the problem of Wyatt.

Wyatt being trans is fine. But his comment that "It's a good thing I'm gay, so no one expects me to be good at math." was just so disappointing. I immediately flashed to the whole uproar over Barbie's anti-math comment and the whole "girls don't do math" thing - the felt as though the author was trying to ensure that this transman was stil, in some ways, a stereotypical girl. UGH.

eARC provided by publisher via NetGalley.

Thank you so much, Inkyard Press and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book!

TW: violence, child abuse, sexual harrassment and assualt, misgendering, deadnaming, murder, mention of suicide, infertility and miscarriage

In Asalin, fae rules and witches, like Wyatt Croft, don't, living as second class citizens. Wyatt's betrothal to his best friend, prince Emyr North, was supposed to change things, but one devastating night Wyatt lost control of his magic and fled to the human world. Years later, a cold and distant Emyr finds him, with no intention of dissolving their engament. In order to keep his throne and prevent a civil war, Emyr wants them to get married, so, Wyatt, willing to do anything to get back to his home, the human world and leave Asalin behind for good, strikes a deal with Emyr's enemy. But as slowly he and Emyr start to get one other again, he discovers the best friend he loved isn't lost. And as he realizes what he can do for the witches in his realm, he has to decide what's more important, his love and people or his freedom.

I LOVED The Witch King! The worldbuilding is lush and evocative, the characterization is really brilliant, the characters wonderfully complex and flawed in their fears, doubts, anger, traumas and bonds, there's a huge queer rep, with bi, gay, trans, lesbian, nonbinary, witches and fae, lesbian queens and gay kings with family and the plot is filled with twist and an emotional rollercoaster.
Waytt is the main character, he's strong, stubborn and despite his pain, traumas and anger, he's capable of incredible humor and strength, and even though he doesn't realize it in the beginning he's incredibly wanted, supported and loved.

After the terrible night, after he escaped from Asalin, Waytt found a family in Briar and her family, but duty, engament and a magic bond forced him to get back to Asalin and face the reality there.
In a skillfully, heartwrenching and moving way, through flashbacks, the reader is able to know Wyatt while he grows up, as a child, a teenager, facing discrimination and abuse, from his own family and the fae in Asalin, nurturing his anger, fear and confusion.

At the same time it's clear the profound bond and love with Emyr, reading how much their relationship grow, how they love, help and support one other and how difficult is to face each other when Emyr finally finds him and brings him to Asalin.
Their bond is one of the things I loved the most in The witch king. Despite being mates, the blood pact and their duties, it's obvious how much they love one other, how they would do anything, but their situation is complicated by the throne and duties. Wyatt and Emyr are young men, flawed and they make mistakes, there are misunderstandings, fights and so much love between them and I really loved exploring their relationship, cheering them on and hoping for the best.

Wyatt's relationship with Briar is another beautiful thing in this book. They are very close, they are a wonderful found family and Briar's biological one was a heaven for Wyatt, helping, supporting and giving him a place to stay and where to feel safe and protected.

In The witch king the author tackles issues as child abuse, violence, sexual harrassment and assuault, discrimination and injustice. In Asalin there's a distinct separation between fae and witches, the latter being mistreated and abused by the Guard (a sort of police in Asalin), the witch children abandoned or killed.
Seen as tools and only for what they can do for the fae, when Wyatt and Emyr are mated, Wyatt refused to be seen as a thing, a property, a baby making machine, wanting to be seen as a person, as who he really is. His resentment, anger and fear, his inability of controlling his magic, brings him to the fateful night and to escape to the human world. He was mistreated by those who were supposed to love him, refused by a place where he doesn't feel he can belong to, he's scared because he feels he doesn't have any choices and his future is already set in stone.

His anger, fear and resentment, his sarcasm, his guilt for the people he lost, his desire to be seen and loved are skillfully written.
It was intense and moving reading how much Wyatt changes and grows in this book, how he slowly starts to accept himself and his power, to trust people, to see Emyr for who he is, to realize how much he's wanted and loved for exactly who he is. How much he's willing to fight for the right thing, for protecting the people he loves, their and his own freedom.
Wyatt and Emyr are amazing characters, both strong and stubborn, weighed down by traumas, misunderstanding, fears, doubts, but unable and unwilling to lose one other. This slowly realization, the slow burn was at the same time wonderful and painful to read, because it was so clear how much they love one other, but duties, politics and throne complicated things. It was amazing reading their journey, bond and love.
I was upset, swooning, crying and laughing so much while reading this book. They are truly amazing and the friendship between Wyatt, Emyr and Briar is pure gold.

It's a book about profound love and friendship, finding one's family, a found one, a queer and supportive community, fighting against injustice and discriminations, for one's freedom and love.

Fae fiction is always hit or miss for me, but still I can't resist trying it - especially when the main character is a trans witch. Wyatt is a witch, bound by blood contract to marry Prince Emyr, except he really doesn't want to. The fae despise witches, and have made Wyatt miserable his whole life. Years ago, Wyatt fled for the human world and made a whole new life for himself. But when Emyr himself travels to the human world to find Wyatt, Wyatt is pulled back into the world of the fae and their brewing drama.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Witch King. I had some trouble initially getting into it, but by the halfway point I refused to put the book down. The story was well done, and the world was truly engaging. But of course the characters are the most important part. The story is told from Wyatt's point of view, and his dry/blunt narrative style is immensely enjoyable. The trans rep in this book is wonderful, and there are appearances from ace, bi, gay, and lesbian characters.

This book was.. alright...

I think I was expecting more, my expectations were too high but it fell a little flat for me. There were some very redeemable moments. The rep was well written but I needed more.

I devoured this YA fantasy featuring a trans witch named Wyatt and his handsome fated mate Fae prince Emyr. I really think I require a trans MC and/or genuine LGBTQ rep to truly enjoy books in the fantasy genre because The Witch King really delivered. The story flowed so naturally. The plot was fast-paced and balanced with fascinating character arcs. I couldn’t put it down. Perfect blend of romance, fantasy, and politics with some favorite tropes such as found family and only one bed. I adored the cast of characters and I can’t wait for the second book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the digital ARC.

This is an excellent book for those wanting a fantasy story involving LGBTQ+ characters. I really liked how trans folks were normalized. It was occasionally difficult to keep track of all the characters, but I still recommend to it to anyone looking for gender diverse fantasy novel.

For me this was a high concept, character driven novel, that just wasn’t executed in a way that I appreciated. The concept of a trans witch with a fae fiancé sounds pretty much straight up my alley considering I read LGBTQ+, fae, and urban fantasy books quite extensively. However, as I mentioned above, this is very much a character driven novel and I didn’t like Wyatt that much as a character. I found him to be incredibly inconsiderate through his inner monologue with a lot of out-of-pocket remarks that were not well thought out and sometimes offensive. I also found it to be poorly paced and relatively boring up until the last fourth. All that being said, this book is going to make a lot of people incredibly happy.

There is a ton of representation in this book that is still sorely lacking. There are just so many queer characters ranging from trans, gay, bi, ace, lesbian, and a pan/demi sexual (I don’t think it was explicitly stated for that character). They’re a quirky, unique group and the author does a really great job of describing them, but I still sometimes didn’t feel like they were fully fledged characters. I found some of their dialogue and actions to not necessarily match up with what I had previously known about them. I like the discussions around sexuality and gender in this novel, the desire of the characters to combat injustices, and the concept, but the pacing and the information dumping really let it down.

There was a lot of information dumping in this book, often in the form of flashbacks or just paragraphs in the middle of conversations. I would have to go back and figure out what the characters were talking about because I had forgotten by the time they got back to the conversation. This also made the pacing drag for a good portion of the book, by the time the author felt like they’d gotten all of the background and world-building out of the way, there was about a fourth of the book left, which blew by. There wasn’t enough of a plot to be a driving force and to keep me reading for long spans of time. I ended up just reading about two chapters a day because it just couldn’t keep my attention.

Overall, I think if you are interested in this book and like the characters, you’ll be fine. If you don’t find yourself attached to the characters, I personally didn’t find there to be enough plot to keep me interested. The fact that this book exists is so important, I just wish that I had enjoyed reading it more. I still think that this will make a lot of readers looking for some representation happy and I would be willing to try out another book by the author in the future. I just don’t think that I will continue with this particular series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for providing me with an eARC of this novel, however, all thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Very cool concept, and I was so excited to see a trans fantasy protag. This book fills an important gap in the publishing world, but the execution didn’t hold me. Wyatt spends a ton of time infodumping rules of the fae, witches, and his own history with them. When we do get action and dialogue, much of it feels forced.

*I write this as a queer cis woman, so ymmv.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ink Yard Press for the arc of this book!

Wyatt has spent the last three years with a new family after running away from Asalin, where he was abused for being a witch born among fae. But then his past comes calling in the form of Emyr, his betrothed, and the prince of the fae. He will be forced to confront his past and the institutions that make it unsafe to be witch-born in Asalin, as well as dealing with the feelings he stills has for his childhood best friend.

This book is the beautiful start to what will no doubt become one of my new favorite series. It was absolutely perfect and everything I could have ever hoped for or dreamt of for a book with such a beautiful cover and title.

The world-building is so interesting and really well done. I loved the way the author incorporated flashbacks as well as other elements to tell us the complete story of the fae and the witches in Asalin as well as the other fae kingdoms around the world.

I LOVED the characters so much! There is such a wealth of diversity amongst them and they are all so well-described and oh my gosh I just love them. I love Wyatt and Emyr and Briar and all the other wonderful and beautiful side characters and allies and villains that make up this world!

This book has trans, gay, nonbinary, ace, lesbian, bi, and potentially pan and/or demi-sexual rep in it and I love that so much!

Honestly, this book is everything. Do yourself a favor and preorder it and get ready for a new favorite series.

Pub Date: June 1, 2021


Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Violence, and Gore
Minor: Transphobia, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon is the story of Wyatt Croft, a witch from the kingdom of Asalin. Wyatt is a transgender male who is betrothed to fae crown prince Emyr North. Witches don't have an easy time in Asalin and many, like Wyatt, are rejected by their families and live in the human world. Wyatt is living with his adoptive family when Emyr arrives to bring his fiance back to Asalin to be married.

In many ways, The Witch King seems like light fantasy, but it has some important things to say. There is LGBTQ representation in mainstream fiction, but this book has many queer characters that are portrayed without stereotypes. This book also addresses issues of injustice against those who are "different", broken political systems, and forgiveness toward (or not forgiving) those who have wronged us.

This book was an easy and entertaining read with many humorous moments. The transitions between Asalin and the human world don't always work well, though. Asalin is magical and almost medieval, while the human world is clearly not magical and is centered in the present. The book is also instructive about the use of pronouns and transgender issues like deadnaming. Sometimes, these topics aren't woven smoothly into the storyline and come across as pedantic. Overall, The Witch King is an enjoyable read and the first book in a series, so fans of Wyatt and Emyr will have more to look forward to.

In terms of this book's appropriateness for libraries, library media specialists may have difficulty deciding if this book is appropriate for their school's library. The relationships are honest, and LGBTQ students NEED to see themselves in the books they read. However, the language can be foul and there are a few very grown-up romantic encounters. Community mores will play a factor in deciding to add this book to your collection. This novel will be more appropriate in public library collections since it skews more toward a new adult demographic. This is a significant piece of literature that has the potential to save lives.

CWs: Death and mentions of parental death; blood, graphic violence and injury, mild gore; physical assault; sexual harassment; child abuse; trauma relating to fires; suicide attempt; misgendering and deadnaming (dead name off the page); some graphic references to and depictions of sex

This is like the angry anti-fascist queer fae fantasy romance that I've always wanted. H.E. Edgmon really wrote about a faerie realm that actually has to contend with queerness, transness, racism, systemic oppression, colonialism, and power imbalance, and my heart has never been more full.

Our main character, Wyatt, was born in the faerie world of Asalin, where the fae rule and witches like him are looked down upon, outcast, and discriminated against. When he was young, he was bonded and betrothed to the faerie prince, Emyr, but he figured that marriage contract was null and void when he A) transitioned and was no longer the "woman biologically suited to carrying on the royal line" and B) lost control of his magic one devastating night before fleeing the faerie world once and for all. This is story is about Emyr finding Wyatt in the human word, determined to see through their betrothal, and bringing him back to Asalin to face his fate.

I honestly don't know where to start with this book because I love literally everything about it. It's funny, it's irreverent, it's smart and unforgiving, and it centers a messy trans character who is absolutely full of rage and just allows him to exist.

I think that's where I want to start, because I just love Wyatt as a character so much. He can go from being a smart-ass, to raging, to being an unapologetically horny little fuck, to deeply caring about other people and wanting to do what's right. It's rare that we get to see a trans character who has not only made so many mistakes in their past, but continues to fuck up and make horrible mistakes. Wyatt is someone who acts and reacts based on instinct, without stopping to consider the impact of his actions, and sometimes that works to his benefit and sometimes it doesn't. The story does such a good job of getting underneath that instinct and showing how it's a result of deep-seated trauma ,and how that snap judgment actually speaks to a much deeper survival response that Wyatt was forced to develop in a world that was unsafe for him.

There's also a great exploration of how Wyatt's anger is, in some ways, tied to his transness. There is an anger and a resentment stemming from people being unwilling to see him, unwilling to let him be himself, unwillingly to let him break free from expectations that didn't fit, and there was also a feeling of resentment towards people who seemed to represent everything he was told he could never be. Layer on the fact that he's also a witch—and therefore hated and hunted by fae in a world that's supposed to be his just as much as it is theirs—and that creates this perfect storm of trauma, fear, and animosity that guides his instinct to lash out and hurt others. I think transness, especially, often gets mixed up in respectability politics, and we're often not allowed to show our anger at a world and a system that actively harms us in fundamental ways, and that's why Wyatt's rage feels so cathartic.

He makes mistakes, he speaks out of turn, he acts violently, and yes he hurts people—but as the story continues, he's learning to recognize where that comes from, and also how he can *use* that anger as a wrecking ball to destroy and rebuild this deeply broken world. Sometimes it's not a bad thing to break something that's already crumbling. This is a story that recognizes that anger is just another part of love, it's a part of our humanity, it can be a tool for recognizing when something is not right, and I appreciate how this story gives anger space to exist and be known.

All in all, I think this is a story all about reconnection. It's about Wyatt reconnecting with Emyr as they try to figure out where they stand and how to navigate a relationship when neither one of them is the person they knew before. It's about Wyatt reconnecting with Asalin, the world he grew up in, and finally coming to account for the damage he caused on the fateful night he left. It's about witches reconnecting with themselves and each other, recognizing the power they hold in this world, and figuring out how they can survive this oppressive system. It's about Wyatt forcing the fae rulers to reconnect their power with the reality of the throne's abusive and harmful past, and how they can move forward from a legacy predicated on harming others, if they can at all. It's about Wyatt reconnecting with himself and realizing that he has value just for existing and that he is his own person, not merely a tool for the throne or a sum of his labels.

All of these connections and reckonings are happening concurrently throughout the book, and that is a huge part of what makes it feel so powerful.

Like I said to begin with, this book really and truly has everything. If you're looking for a queer fantasy romance between a witch and a faerie prince that's dark but also somehow incredibly soft, this it it. If you're looking for banter and community between found family, this is it. If you're looking for a faerie story that centers raging against broken systems of power and injustice, this is it. If you're looking for a whip-smart story that revels in the beauty of a faerie world while also desecrating it at every opportunity, this is it. This is such a vividly imagined fae fantasy where faeries have internet connections and angry trans boys think about their binders while standing in the midst of immaculate palaces. There's political intrigue, there's violent uprisings, there's dark and dangerous magic, there's romance. There's everything you could possibly want and it's done so incredibly well.

H.E. Edgmon has written exactly the kind of fantasy romance that I've always craved but never knew I was missing. The characters in The Witch King are deeply emotional and deeply human, even if their magic suggests otherwise, and that humanity, that anger, that innate desire and need to evolve is what makes this book so successful in my eyes.

Book 1 hasn't even come out yet and I'm already DYING to know what happens in Book 2! If literally anything I've said in this review resonates with you on any level, I strongly encourage you to pick this one up. It is essential reading, in my opinion, and it makes me so excited for whatever H.E. Edgmon is going to write next!

The Witch King is a delightful new adventure into a fae world that seems both familiar and different than one's we have seen before. This fae world is an awesome blend of the old and the new, including fighting with swords and spells through text. The main character Wyatt goes on a journey that many of the queer readers will feel mirrors their own. Wyatt discovers who they are really are while navigating a place that doesn't believe he has a right to exist. As the reader explores the power dynamic between Fae and Witches, Wyatt has to discover what he really wants from this world and what he is willing to sacrifice to achieve it. The prose is wonderfully precise and each description feels like a photograph. This is also a journey through Wyatt processing their own trauma as they go back to a world that gave them so many scars. This is perfect for the reader who hasn't been able to see themselves in fantasy literature before and wants to explore what that world would look like.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.

I really wanted to like this book, but sadly, I couldn't get into it. I love the premise: gay trans witch is the soulmate/fiance of a fae prince. Sounds like the coolest thing ever! I loved the diversity and loved the rep, but beyond that, I didn't actually like the book. I found Wyatt's voice to just be annoying, and I felt like the author was just a bit too heavy-handed in hammering home that Wyatt is trans and gay. I don't need to be told that every other page, and I felt like it detracted from the actual plot of the book and from getting to know the characters. The plot itself was overall pretty weak, and the whole purpose of the book seems to be to have a trans gay main character, rather than have a trans gay main character who actually does interesting things. Unfortunately, this book was not for me, but I appreciate having the chance to read it.

CWs: content warnings for the book - transphobia, deadnaming and misgendering(deadname not on page), sexual harassment, child abuse, mentions of suicide/suicidal ideation

To be honest, this is kind of a difficult book for me to review, because there’s such variety in what I thought about different aspects of it.

I loved the trans rep in this – the book explores all of the smaller and larger ways in which being trans impacts Wyatt, while not centering trans pain and trauma. As with a few other recent own voices trans books I’ve read, deadnaming is mentioned without the deadname being put on page. There are also a lot of really great discussions about gender and sexuality in this book that convey really important messages. Just to name one example, the book directly challenges the “born in the wrong body” narrative that cis people often try to apply to all trans people. Wyatt talks about how he doesn’t feel that applies to him at all – he’s not a boy born in a girl’s body, his body is a boy’s body by virtue of him being a boy, point blank.

So I really loved that aspect of the book – sadly, though, the execution of some other aspects of the story kind of fell short for me. I had kinda mixed feelings about the writing – there’s a couple lines I really loved, but overall I wasn’t the biggest fan of the writing style, and the transitions between scenes sometimes didn’t feel like they flowed super naturally. The pacing of the plot also felt a bit uneven, in that not too much happened for most of the book and then the ending had so much going on at the same time, which led to some of the events of the end feeling a bit underdeveloped since so little time was spent on them. I also would’ve liked the side characters to be a bit more developed – this is the first book in a series, so I do understand we need to keep that in mind and we might get more detailed character arcs for them later on, but at times it felt a bit like this could potentially approach a *side characters of colour getting used as a convenient accessory to further the white MC’s arc* situation – I’ll definitely be looking out for opinions from reviewers of colour about those characters as more reviews come out to form a more solid opinion about this.

Transmasc, super gay, friends to enemies to lovers, fae, witches, found family...This book really does have everything! It's a lot of fun, while also doing a decent job of tackling real-world issues in a fantasy setting. Wyatt's voice was unique - he was such a delightful mess - and interesting. However, many of the other characters didn't feel nearly as fleshed out as he did, except for maybe Emyr, and was more than one "I'm a quirky tumblr teen" quips too many. The pacing is uneven, with the beginning stretching out very slowly and everything happening all at once and being crammed into the last third. But if you're willing to stick with it and get to know Wyatt and his friends, it's fun, heartfelt, very gay, and interesting fantasy adventure. Love seeing more #OwnVoice transmasc titles in YA!