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aexileigh's review
- 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
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Racism, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and War
urlocalhethey's review against another edition
- 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
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
bookwormbi's review
- 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
4.75
Before I start, I would just like to say: afab people using binders, do NOT use a binder the way Wyatt does. He contemplated sleeping in one and I nearly had a stroke. Don't sleep in your binder, don't exercise in your binder, don't wear it for more than 8 hours, take it off if it starts to hurt. Be safe.
Normally when I like a book, I don't bother with a super detailed review, because I'm lazy. In light of the extremely mixed reviews on this one, however, I've decided to take a different approach. THE WITCH KING isn't for everyone. It's unabashedly queer, it's written in the voice of a terminally online abuse survivor who's difficult to love at times, and the humor can be a little--to quote some of the 1 star reviews--cringe.
All that being said, I ADORED this book.
I think if you were raised on MG/YA books like Percy Jackson, like I was, you may have been a little spoiled. Despite all the magical bullshit and no therapy, Percy and his friends remained lovable, relatable, quirky kids we could find ourselves in. Wyatt is not that guy. I didn't really start to like him until about 70-80% of the way through, and even then, it was frustrating to keep reading in his pov because it was so clear that his dynamic with Briar was not sustainable and that Emyr loved him, but he wasn't doing what he needed to do to get better. But that's life, isn't it? You go through some terrible shit, and sometimes you don't rise above. The self-hatred makes you a worse person, unable to see what's in front of you, unable to see who you are and what you can do. And so, you lash out. You make the wrong choices. You depend on other people to take care of you when you really need to take care of yourself.
To tell the truth, I think a lot of the reason I didn't like Wyatt at first is that he reminded me too much of me. Not the parts of myself that I like, not the parts of me that are lovable and relatable and quirky. The hard parts. The parts of me that build codependent friendships and push away love and make deals with the devil. I read to escape that, not to confront it. I think it speaks to Edgmon's skill as a writer that even though I didn't like Wyatt most of the time I was reading this book, I got him, and I wanted to know what would happen to him next. Moreover, I think Edgmon deliberately putting forward a difficult protagonist (and admitting that he felt very close to this character!) speaks to their courage. It would have been far easier (and probably more profitable) to write a story with a bland, vaguely likable protagonist in which the heroes upheld the status quo and saved the monarchy. That's not what Edgmon chose to write, and I'm immensely grateful. By the end of the novel, Wyatt has conquered (most of) his demons and made a commitment to love and to be better, and while it was a long journey to that point, I'm so happy to have been a part of that. I really think Edgmon is going places. With everything going on in the world right now, we need writers who encourage their readers to heal themselves and dismantle these systems in the process.
And they did it so well! My jaw was on the floor when Spoiler he revealed that Briar was part-witch and had opened the door to Faerie. I truly think that was some of the most masterful writing in the book. Wyatt's voice contributed so much to the effectiveness of that twist: he thinks of Briar as this perfect angel who can do no wrong, as a fragile human he needs to protect, and so we as the audience are lulled into this way of thinking along with him. The illusion breaks, and we see her, really see her, at the same time he does. Absolutely fantastic. THIS is the kind of writing I want to see from up and coming authors.
To briefly touch on what I didn't like: the book dragged for a little bit after the crew got to Asalin, there was one part where Wyatt describes a Black woman's hair as looking like an "elegant bird's nest" which I'm sorry, no, unacceptable, and Spoiler the twist with Clarke was not NEARLY as well set up as the one with Briar like Clarke was saying "oh everyone's already pieced it together" bestie no I did not because you being evil came COMPLETELY out of left field . But overall, I'm really impressed with this, and I'm excited to read the next book!
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
mazomazli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It also feels like the story needed some rearranging and adjustment of length of various scenes. There was so much potential :(
Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Genocide, Infertility, and Dysphoria
thewildmageslibrary's review
5.0
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Dysphoria
Minor: Drug use, Infertility, and Sexual content
criticalbooks's review
- 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
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
midnightgremlin's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
princess_peach's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Racism, Transphobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
- 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
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
- 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
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