I absolutely DEVOURED this book. As a queer woman of color, this book deeply resonated with me. It is beautifully written, with descriptions powerful enough to feel like you’re really in the world. This is character-driven story about a trans witch and his fight for acceptance and power in the fae world. It is also a timely story about love and self-actualization. There’s power dynamics, found family, danger, and lust. I was hooked from the first scene, and loved the everything that followed. I would 100% recommend.

Everything in this book lined up to make this a perfect reading experience. I ate this book up like candy. It's a perfect blend of dark fantasy told in a fresh, funny voice that just made it exactly what I was hoping for and so much more. I don't often put off finishing a book but this one, I just wanted to savour, and I didn't want it to end.

Seriously, this is a book deserving of a huge fandom. I can already pictures all the fan art, all the memes, all the merchandise. I want this featured in book boxes, I want to see special editions, I just want all the hype.

There's really nothing I didn't love about this book. It's exactly as amazing as the synopsis makes it sound: it has chaotic monsters boyfriends and even a dragon or two. It's exactly the book for you if you enjoy fae books, but also very refreshing if you're not the biggest fan of Sarah J Maas and Holly Black.

And I haven't even gotten to the trans rep yet. Damn. I just loved it so much. The way it was interwoven in the story and all the commentary, it was just amazing, and it resonated with me a lot.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Inkyard Press.

This book is magical, queer and far and I loved every moment of it.

I love the protagonist Wyatt and the dialogue sparkles.
This book is fantastic and an absolute joy to read.

Let me start off by saying I am not trans so as always please seek out own voices reviews first. Also I want to quickly say this book does have several trigger warnings so please check those out as well before reading this book.
Alright so I loved this book! A fantasy novel with a trans male main character is something that would interest me no matter what but the overall premise of this book was amazing.
I really appreciate the diversity in this book. We had multiple queer side characters as well as multiple characters of color. This book is what I am talking about when I say we need more diverse books out in the world.
This book also had some of my absolute favorite tropes! We had a found family angle, a friends to enemies to lovers story line, amazing action, great twist and turns and over all everything you look for in an epic story!
All said and done this book had everything I was looking for and more! Edgmon out did themselves with this book! I can not wait to see what else they have in store for us!

I've been struggling to find the right words to describe just how much this book meant to me. I could have used a book like this as a sixteen year old. Wyatt, in all his sharp, awkward glory, reflects my soul in a way few other characters have. But I'm just as happy I get to read it now. Every character in this book is their own disaster, and every character, good or bad, is so tenderly and sharply real in a way that makes you understand them, even when they're making choices that make you want to shake them. The world building is unique and fascinating, a take on fae and witches I've never seen before complete with claws and wings and horns. I spent far too long after finishing this book thinking longingly about how I wanted to keep reading, then being sad I have to wait for a sequel.

I also want to draw specific attention to the language used in the book. So rarely have I read a book where the characters talk exactly like me and my queer friends do. Sentences like "I wanted to make out with him and also steal his face" and exclamations! thrown into! the middle of sentences! for emphasis! just felt so uniquely queer nerd culture in a way I don't often see, and it made this book feel even more special.

When it comes to YA fantasy, I love anything involving faeries or some kind of fae. Like many of my favorite YA novels, the witch king had the magic, romance, angst, and politics that I've come to love about this specific sub genre of YA fantasy. It was also full of glorious LGBTQ rep. I can't wait to read the sequel.

If I were to ever use this is a classroom, there would be lots of material to start discussions about topics like queerness, colonialism, and racism. There excellent parallels between the social and politic issues in the fantasy aspect of the world, and the one that mirrors our own, and the characters were aware of many of these.

This would be a great book to adopt for a class because it is a beautifully written, tense story with much needed queer representation, and it digs into so many relevant issues without becoming an "issues book." Students would enjoy it and have plenty to say about it.

*ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher*

I don't think I knew how much I needed this in my life until after I read it. If you liked the Folk of the Air series, you will absolutely want to get your hands on this. Wyatt is an angry trans witch who has escaped from his home and his arranged marriage with soon-to-be-king Emyr after a horrifying accident sets his life ablaze. When the prince of faerie turns up to convince Wyatt to return to their kingdom, he is quickly thrown back in to political coups, uneasy alliances, and feelings he spent years trying to bury. Magic, romance, humor, and terrifying truths weave themselves on to every page of this novel.

I think the strongest (or at least, my favorite) part of this book might be the romance. Emyr is everything I love in a love interest: he's kind and gorgeous, and he adores the main character almost unconditionally. I love how things developed over the course of the story, how they both came to really understand each other and respect each others boundaries, despite the years of pain between their past and present.

Another standout was Wyatt's relationship with Briar, I think its really important to show different kinds of love that can be just as deep and complicated as romantic love, and I'm really excited to see where their relationship goes in book 2.

The world building was very lovely, I really enjoyed the descriptions of the different fae and their auras and wings. I'm not usually one for a political upheaval plot, but it was executed well.

I did find that sometimes the use of modern phrases (especially when used by the faeries) took me out of the world a little bit, but I think the way they was used did its intended job. The villains/main conflict was a little rushed into the tail-end of the story, but I liked the romance and the characters way too much to care.

Overall, I had the time of my life reading this book. Reading more LGBT+ (especially trans) characters in fantasy is simply delightful, and the amount of different identities and relationship dynamics that were showcased really made the story stand out. If you like faeries, gay people, incredibly cool magic, and a hot and satisfying romance; absolutely read "The Witch King" when it comes out later this year!

I am completely and utterly in love and pleasantly surprised with this book. This book features trans rep as Wyatt, a witch who ran from his past. I absolutely love. LOVE. how real his emotions were. They were raw and honest and angry. I fell in love with this book within the first chapter and if you love slow burn fantasy adventure books with a fabulous diverse set of characters, you will too.

This book is amazing! The diversity of the main cast was what pulled me in at first (as well as the design of the cover), and I stayed with it because of the author’s wonderful storytelling. It’s an awesome read, and it feels really good to see queer and diverse characters in fiction.

4/5

***A special thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review***

READ THIS BOOK...

LIterally, though this book is amazing, it is super diverse, has an amazing trans MC and a delightfully queer :) cast of characters.

*Spoiler free*

A book with a trans MC? A fae book with a trans MC? Oh yeah, sign me the heck up. Even though I was bit nervous about this book, simply because of my history of not liking a lot of fae books, I knew I wanted to give it a try. Making deals with the enemy, witches and fae, and a throne to secure is incredibly intriguing and I was ready to give it a shot. Trigger warnings: transphobia, abuse (verbal and physical), blood, gore

Alright folks, buckle up, because I've got some screaming to do.

I have tried a good number of fae books and I think I've discovered I do not like straight fae books. Because the last two that I have read have been queer as heck and they immediately jumped onto my "favorite books of all time list". Yes, this is about this book and A Dark And Hollow Star.

This book was so good.

I guess I will start with the fact that this book has the modern world and a fantasy world in play, simply because I've talked before about how I usually do not like that. Well, I loved it in this one. I think because the modern world was pretty much on the fringes the entire time. But, it makes it's mark in different ways, most noticeably in the way that Wyatt acts. He loves chicken nuggets, uses language that I see on social media, and is basically an all around feral teen boy. In short, he is wonderful, but more on him later. The modern world takes a back seat to Asalin, the place where fae live. It's embroiled with it's own problems, and they reflect the ones plaguing our own. It has dragons and cool food and sprites and there's witches and fae with wings and horns and all kinds of cool stuff. But there's also a hatred towards witches, a corrupt Guard, and people stuck in old ways. It is wonderfully crafted and the there's even more to be discovered. The darkness lurking just beneath the surface, just behind a door yet to be opened, wow is it alluring.

I guess characters can be next, and I guess I'll start with Wyatt. I've already mentioned that he's awesome, but wow is he awesome. He's angry and sad and dealing with so much trauma, but he's also hilarious and caring and SO gay. Brair was wonderful; gorgeous, fierce, strong. Emyr took my breath away a bit. He's steadfast, loyal, and wants so badly to do the right thing. There were also other side characters that I adored, Jin and Boom and Tessa others!

The way this book is written was also one of my favorite things. There were lines that I just got on a fundamental level, that just spoke to a deep part of me. I also noticed that there were lines that I didn't quite get exactly, but I still understood in other aspects. Wyatt is not bothered by some things, because he just doesn't see the use in being bothered by it. And just, yes, I have done that before. It might be exactly what Wyatt does, but I've done that with other things. On a less heavy note, this book slips in phrases and lines that are just so teen-like. He uses pop culture phrases (I think that's the correct term) and makes jokes about how gay he is. And just, please, more of this. It's so relatable and honestly, simply downright hilarious at times.

This book also deals with anger, pain, and fear. Wyatt deals with guilt and darkness that seems to consume him. This book burns. And I can't wait to see the flames it brings upon the world.

Overall, this book was amazingly incredible. Seriously, when I finished it I couldn't decide whether I wanted to laugh or cry. I decided to do both. It's wonderfully queer, full of anger, super gay, has incredible friendships, magical creatures, and is just an all around spectacular book.

I am broken, and need the next book NOW. How dare this book get me so emotionally invested and then end on a cliff hanger. Now, I'm gonna try and be as spoiler free as possible, but warning that I might ref some small things.

This book is everything I have ever wanted. I am a gay transman with a Thing for supernatural creatures, so this book was practically made for me. This book has it all: soulmate bonds, arranged marriage, found family, there was only one bed. Name one of my fave tropes, this book has it. Also, this is a book anyone can enjoy and love, but there were references and lines that were specifically for a trans audience that made it connect to me on a personal level.

The rep in this book was so diverse and well done. The main cast has a range of sexualities, gender identities, races, and ethnicities. Also, this book was educational but fit it in with the plot so it didn't feel like a lecture. The characters were all authentic and none of their identities felt tokenized. Our MC, Wyatt, is a transman and I adored him. He's working through trauma which makes him emotional and angry, but he's also so caring and funny. His sense of humor is exactly my own and his lines had me laughing out loud several times. I loved how this book handles his trauma and his responses to it which showed both through his emotions and magic. His best friend Brair was the perfect sidekick for this story. She was strong and supportive, but also well rounded and had her own character development. And Emyr, our love interest. Oh my. I am so jealous of Wyatt. He is sweet and stubborn and sensitive and very, very attractive. and like HELLO?!? FANGS?! HORNS?! CLAWS?! WINGS?! I have a huge fictional crush on him, oh my god

Also something a lil weird, but that made me so happy and I wanna mention was that in the *steamy scene* Wyatt was depicted with his binder on. Its such a small thing, but as a pre-op transman who's very insecure of my binder when with partners, it meant alot. The way how Wyatt's body is described is similar to my own, his binder, his curves, his scars. And despite that all Emyr finds him sexy, and Wyatt himself loves his own body. I really loved that.

Basically, this book is perfection and everyone needs to read it. Thank you so much HE Edgmon for the ARC, I am so happy I got the opportunity to read this, and trust me I will be hyping it so hard and making everyone preorder. If you are seeing this, I demand you to go preorder now, you won't regret it.
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Trans ftm, gay, bi, lesbian, ace, nonbinary representation, POC (indigenous, Black), side character wheelchair user, mental illness(PTSD)
Own Voices
CW: abuse (emotional, verbal, physical), sexual assault, death, gore, blood, transphobia, fantasy racism