Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon

44 reviews

ryankaybee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Transphobia, Racism, Death, and Dysphoria

katieandkiri's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Most of this read I had a really difficult time liking the main character, but once he became more self aware (which in my opinion took too long) I finally got into it. I really loved so many aspects of this book like the relationship between Briar and Wyatt, Emyr is an absolute sweet heart and hottie, and rolling over the complexities of the world they live in. It was just really hard to get over how frustrating it was to read Wyatt’s perspective.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, and Antisemitism

Minor: Transphobia

sglance9's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent

Moderate: Transphobia, Bullying, Police brutality, Deadnaming, Violence, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Colonisation and Infertility

hobbithopeful's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Magic, witches, queer characters, The Witch King has it all. H.E. Edgmon's story goes to dark places, but shining through each page is hope and a chance that things will get better. Wyatt is a transgender witch who thought he was free from the world and machinations of the Fae. Reality comes crashing down when his fiancée, Emyr discovers where he has been hiding and demands he return to marry him so he can ascend to the throne. Wyatt wants nothing to do with the cruel world he left behind, one that treats Witches like lesser beings and even typically will throw away witch babies that are born. Please be kind to yourself and check the triggers before reading because this book deals with heavy topics centered around healing from trauma, transphobia, and homophobia. Edgmon uses the symbolism of Witches and Fae to parallel what it is like to be queer in our world. There is so much discrimination that Witches face, and while some realize that they are all the same and should get along, others bully and hurt anyone they perceive to be too different.
I love when a main character is one you want to root for, and Wyatt is no different. Messy as he is, as flawed as he is, the growth and realizations he goes through on his journey of finally confronting his past was so beautiful to read. I felt his helplessness as he felt so lost and powerless, unable to control his future or his fate. His love for his best friend Briar was so warm to read, a welcome respite in the often difficult to read situations they found themselves in. I also found myself enthralled with all of the vivid and diverse character descriptions, every Fae and Witch had such a unique appearance it made me want to learn more about them and their lives. The Witch King is at its heart a story of fighting for what is right, and dealing with past shame and trauma. Although heavy handed at times, I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it anyone looking for a fantasy queer read.
The Cover
Inkyard Press's covers are often hit or miss with me, but this one I quite like. Briar and Emyr pose on the cover, looking off into the sky while Wyatt appears to be stepping over and into foreground. The symbolism pertaining to perhaps him stepping into another world, hands out tentatively as if unsure what he will find. I love getting to see what the characters look like, especially Emyr's design. All his necklaces and jewelry add so much to the movement and composition. That being said I would have liked to have seen Briar with flowers woven through her hair, as is often mentioned in the book. Overall the color patlette is very cohesive, and I love the look of it. Though if I had to nitpick I wish the cut off for the white shape was lower, and not cutting the cover in half so much. 
The title font and cover works really well with the cover scheme, but the author font and blurb look a bit out of place and I don't think it matches the rest of the piece at all.
Cover art by Ryan Garcia 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, and Transphobia

Moderate: Violence and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Sexual violence

lyd41's review

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a super fun read. The protagonist is hilarious and I love the inner monologue from this writer. Literally I was laughing the entire book. Even with how funny it was,  the plot and characterizations never suffered! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Mental illness, Infertility, Gore, Grief, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Suicide, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Deportation, Deadnaming, Death, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Blood, and Alcohol

Moderate: Transphobia, Vomit, and Police brutality

Minor: Genocide, Stalking, Physical abuse, Torture, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

karcitis's review

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Murder, Death of parent, and Blood

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Drug use, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Confinement, Deadnaming, Vomit, and Dysphoria

aexileigh's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Deadnaming, and Death

Moderate: Drug use, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, and War

carolined314's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Glad to have a transman star who was not at all interchangeable for a cis one, in a detailed fantasy setting. A bit challenging by how much trauma was worked in, in what seemed like a romance-type book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Grief, Toxic friendship, Death, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Gore, Police brutality, Stalking, Murder, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Child abuse, Classism, Transphobia, Bullying, and Deportation

theblerdnewsletter's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

This book is terrible. Reading AAVE by a non-Black author in 2022 is completely ridiculous. Are you serious? Ugh. Wyatt’s internal voice is annoying and repetitive. There’s not any significant character development (or real plot development, just lots of teenage angst) and it’s creepy reading about

literal teenagers having sex

. I just skipped that part. I think the

Fae being from another planet is a really cool idea but the execution was abysmal

. Also we’re not going to address Briar & Wyatt’s super toxic relationship? Or the fact that Wyatt needs a lot of therapy. I am sad

Wyatt and Emyr kind of don’t end up together

but also it’s probably a good idea because their relationship is also super toxic. Y’all love each other. Come on. 10/10 wouldn’t recommend. I want my 12 hours back.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Classism, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

urlocalhethey's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Outing, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, War, Abandonment, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, and Suicide attempt