Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - The Witch King

Originally rated it a 5 stars after reading, now I rate it a 4 as I read another 5 star read directly after it and started comparing the two experiences. I saw many reviews criticizing the world building, and how it didn’t make sense, or how they didn’t like the main character Wyatt. Personally, I came into it expecting a feel good sappy fantasy with a romance plot, and it provided just that. I didn’t read it for the complex world building and magic system. I read it purely for good vibes and it delivered, which is why I liked it. EDIT: now 3.5 stars after many months.

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annaswanangel's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

3.75

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hobbithopeful's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

brianneh's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

3.0

I really liked the beginning of this book, but I thought it got a little bogged down and flat in the middle. I wasn’t quite sure what the goal was at certain points and felt like the plot meandered a bit.

I loved that there was so much good representation and diversity in The Witch King. I really enjoyed several of the characters we are introduced to, my favorites being Briar and Jin. I wish we’d had more of Jin overall! I’d also love to hear more from Briar’s side of things, I think it would be really interesting.

At first, I really found myself drawn to the main character Wyatt and his story. One of my favorite lines of his in the early pages of the book was:

“Gender is weird. The rules are all made up and people should just do whatever they want”

But as the book went on I found Wyatt to be a bit annoying at times. The book is told through first person point of view, which I think contributed to the meandering I mentioned, as a lot of time was spent on Wyatt thinking about things, then not really communicating those thoughts to people in a conducive way. Throughout the book, Wyatt comes up these schemes which he doesn’t really seem to think through, then never really has to face any real consequences to many of his actions. This way of thinking and acting may be true to course for some teenagers, but it’s not the most compelling thing to read.

There were also quite a few mentions about pregnancy, specifically unwanted and/or forced, which wasn’t marked in the content warnings here on StoryGraph.

Overall, I know a lot of people love this book, and while it wasn’t one of my favorites, I can see why others enjoyed it.

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katebrownreads's review against another edition

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4.0

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librarianlayla's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

I adored this book so much!

If you're looking for a fantasy book with a trans protagonist, diverse characters, a slow burn romance peppered with sarcasm and wit - The Witch King is for you.

A take on the fae world as I haven't seen before and a truly twisting plot, I struggled to put this book down.

I cannot wait for the sequel!

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asworlds's review against another edition

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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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therainbowshelf's review against another edition

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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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