Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon

10 reviews

simplyammee's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Deadnaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, and Gaslighting

Check the tw!! The deadnaming & misgendering in this book are done very compassionately

sashahc's review

adventurous dark emotional fast-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

Sometimes there are those who would rather burn the world down than bend to it.  Wyatt, MC of the "The Witch King" by HE Edgmon, is a trans witch with a predestined royal love, uncontrollable magic powers, and rage for days.  This one is an epic urban fantasy / portal fantasy about fighting tooth and nail for who you really are and who you love and deciding if the world is really worth saving or not.  Wyatt's best friend is an absolute keeper and brings the levity to what could otherwise be a heavy.  This is the best kind of epic YA #PridesSFF #book, full of teenage angst and power.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

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

Moderate: Transphobia, Vomit, and Police brutality

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

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

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

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

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

criticalbooks's review

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

asworlds's review

adventurous dark funny 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

3.25

So, I had high expectations that were not met unfortunately. There's a lot to say, but I dont want to take up your time. Some plot holes, some bad character development. If you're okay with tumblr shitpost style writing, then try it out!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, and Transphobia

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

3.0

I felt a bit so-so on this book but have absolutely no doubt that it'll be a treasure for the target audience. Many teens, especially LGBTQ teens and teens who love magic and excitablr queer culture will probably love this. I liked the fantasy setting, the characters, and the LGBTQ representation in this story. Several things about this book didn't work for me because they felt too forced to be an organic element. My top complaint was how forced the Facebook and cellphone stuff felt. It seemed like a cool concept that just needed a little more kneeding before it was fully mixed in. 

📘The Gist 📘: Wyatt ran from the Fae world and his betrothed prince following a cataclysmic, traumatic event. When the prince comes to drag him back, Wyatt finds himself facing the same anti-witch discrimination and new transohobia as he fights to return home. 

📒Representation📒: trans mc, mlm, wlw sc, nonbinary sc, bipoc mc and sc, native American mc

💕 For readers looking for 💕: Complex characters, evolving relationships, friends to lovers to enemies to...?, Magic, fantasy exploring real-world discrimination, moody protagonist

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism

lagiven's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

2.25

There's lots of queer representation in this book which is what made me most excited because there aren't many fantasy novels featuring trans characters especially. The worldbuilding wasn't very detailed, but it was interesting and needed to be explained more. The plot was probably one of the weakest parts as it was all over the place, characters faced little to no consequences for their actions, and the reveal of antagonists at the climax wasn't well planned out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

frantic_vampire's review

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

*ARC copy won in a goodreads giveaway*

I loved this book so much! It was just such a fun reading experience. The world building was incredible. I loved the mixing of fantasy and technology and the fact that not everything meshes well or in the way that you would expect. The Witch King is probably one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year. It’s just so good!

Wyatt is such a great character. He’s a little bit of an asshole, he’s a little careless sometimes, but he’s also a sweetheart that needs all the hugs he can get and I loved that about him! I loved that he got to be a bit of a mess and wreak some havoc and just be a teen making some new friends. I also really liked that this book didn’t shy away from Wyatt being trans! It was front and center and completely unapologetic. And the fact that there were so many queer side characters? I freaking loved this book!

I really liked that this book didn’t shy away from taking about politics, police brutality, the environment and climate change, protesting, and human rights. I also loved that I absolutely hated the villains by the end of this! Clarke was unexpected and she is practically the definition of Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss. And Derek? I loathed him with every fiber of my being.

Honestly there aren’t many things that I didn’t enjoy about this book. It did take a little bit to dig into this world and get past the info dumps, but this was such a great read! I loved Wyatt and Briar and Emyr to pieces. Just…everything about this book was awesome and you should definitely check it out! It’s getting a solid four and a half stars. 😊

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Physical abuse and Sexual assault