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asahome's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Gore, Violence, Classism, Deadnaming, Racism, and Colonisation
Minor: Sexual assault, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Infertility, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Sexual content
simplyammee's review
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Suicide, Cursing, Physical abuse, Death, Gore, Grief, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Xenophobia, Deadnaming, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, and Blood
Check the tw!! The deadnaming & misgendering in this book are done very compassionatelyabarnakwn_ourcolourfulpages'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Gore, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Deadnaming, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Cursing, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Child abuse, Slavery, Outing, Miscarriage, and Transphobia
Minor: Sexual content
stormeno's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual content, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Dysphoria, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcohol and Drug use
orion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Murder, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing and Drug use
Minor: War, Bullying, Deadnaming, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
bookwormbi'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
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, Sexual violence, Racism, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Pregnancy, Transphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
uranaishi'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Bullying
Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Cursing, Drug use, Infertility, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child abuse, Xenophobia, Genocide, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Miscarriage, and War
saffyre's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexual assault, and Transphobia
caseythereader'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
4.0
- Though the book is a wild ride through the fae kingdom, it also covers a lot of hard topics, too: cruel parents, trauma recovery, broken friendships, racism, trying to burn the system down.
- You know I love a book with a prickly protagonist, and that's Wyatt. He makes a lot of bad choices and says a lot of hurtful things impulsively, but much of this book is about him and his friends growing through it together.
- THE WITCH KING is just such a unique book for so many reasons that I can't fit it all here. If you love queer fantasy, put it at the top of your list!
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Genocide, Infertility, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Transphobia
booksthatburn's review against another edition
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Sexism, Drug use, Blood, Violence, Murder, and Death
CW for misgendering.