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unwise_samwise's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Miscarriage, Child abuse, and Infertility
uranaishi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
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
puddlemud's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, and Child abuse
Moderate: Pedophilia and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage
kylieqrada's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
4.0
I would die for Wyatt and Emyr and Briar and the gang, OK? The characters really did it for me in this one. It dragged a bit at the beginning, but the last 2/3 were super intriguing and fun. Plus the rep was just everything. Give me a fat, bi, ace, Indigenous queen any day!!!! ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Violence
Moderate: Deadnaming, Sexual assault, and Transphobia
Minor: Drug use, Infertility, and Miscarriage
worldmoth's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
oh my gods, not only is this book one of my new favorites, I genuinely think that it might be the best book I’ve ever read. All of the characters felt so real and they developed and acted like real people do. All characters were completely morally grey, no one was truly bad or good. Not to mention the representation. Two of the main characters were Trans and Native respectively and never have I ever seen two parts of my identity represented in a better way. I am absolutely in love with everyone in this book. Also I cried so hard. HIGHLY recommend to everyone. Exited for the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Murder, Sexual assault, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Miscarriage, Infertility, Transphobia, and Deadnaming
sauvageloup's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-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
An interesting book! I think Edgmon is still finding their feet as an author but it's a decent story.
pros:
- there's a lot of description, which does really help with imagining the characters, the setting and visualising the scene, making it vivid. (The beautiful art on the front also really helped).
- although there was perhaps a bit much, I did like how Edgmon included Wyatt's strong sexual attraction to Emyr was brought up repeatedly and centralised. It didn't skirt around the physical side of Wyatt's attraction and that was neat.
- Wyatt's friendship and closeness with Briar was nice.
- the setting of Asalin, with the dragons, Boom the hellhound, the magic, was all pretty cool.
- and of course, the diversity of characters was excellent.
- oh and I liked Wyatt's backstory; that was original and dark and cool.
- i appreciated also that Wyatt's deadname was never given. I thought at one point that it had and was gutted, but no. It makes sense a trans author would get this but I was glad all the same.
- oh and I appreciated how Wyatt wearing a binder and his feelings about his body were described and handled. The issue wasn't dealt with too heavy-handedly but it got the point across and that was cool.
cons:
- somehow the book didn't *quite* work. It was disjointed, a bit slow, a bit amateurish. The plot didn't come together neatly enough, with some plot points coming out of nowhere like Clarke orchestrating things whilst the other main reveal, I guessed from like, page 10 or whatever that faery was inhabitable and Leonidas had lied
- I'm not sure if there's due to be a sequel (there's no mention of one) but it feels unfinished and the ending a bit rushed.
- the plot was also just a bit weak. I didn't understand why Wyatt agreed to help Derek in the first place (though him influencing Wyatt does explain it a bit) and then none of Wyatt's attempts to 'get thrown out' work at all, even slightly. The whole thing seemed a bit weak and yet that was what Wyatt was meant to be doing for most of the middle of the book. The riot came out of nowhere and didn't seem well integrated... idk I can't articulate it exactly, but there wasn't enough tension. The stakes weren't clear and it all seemed like a lot of Wyatt monologuing until I got a bit fed up with him.
- then there was Wyatt's character development, which wasn't too bad, but it wasn't the best either. Somehow, he didn't seem to really connect deeply with Emyr. I got the sexual tension between them, but why Emyr put up with Wyatt's shit so much, I didn't really get. Also, Emyr forcing Wyatt to come to Asalin at the start was pretty out of character compared to how he was in the rest of the book.
- OH, so this is more of a personal thing, but Wyatt was grateful several times for Wyatt getting his pronouns right, even when talking abt a past story and,, I think this should be taken for granted?? I don't know, I understand that people can mess up, but in an ideal world, everyone would get the right pronouns and that wouldn't need to be appreciated i guess is what I'm saying.
- finally, I thought a lot of uh,, message? political stuff? was too on the nose. I understood the link between the guards' brutality and police brutality, about witch discrimination and queer people's discrimination, etc. just fine without it literally being spelled out on the page and I thought Edgmon could've given the reader more space there, rather than assuming the reader had exactly zero critical thinking skills. Maybe a me thing though.
Overall, I did enjoy it. I feel like Edgmon has some growing to do as a writer, but they have a lot of potential and I loved the descriptions. I would compare this book to Out of Salem in themes and tone, but I would say that I think Out of Salem did it better overall, with more originality, better writing and more engaging characters. But this was still a worthwhile read. It's always good to see more lgbt writers and stories being told and this definitely felt like a very contemporary, 'right now' story.
pros:
- there's a lot of description, which does really help with imagining the characters, the setting and visualising the scene, making it vivid. (The beautiful art on the front also really helped).
- although there was perhaps a bit much, I did like how Edgmon included Wyatt's strong sexual attraction to Emyr was brought up repeatedly and centralised. It didn't skirt around the physical side of Wyatt's attraction and that was neat.
- Wyatt's friendship and closeness with Briar was nice.
- the setting of Asalin, with the dragons, Boom the hellhound, the magic, was all pretty cool.
- and of course, the diversity of characters was excellent.
- oh and I liked Wyatt's backstory; that was original and dark and cool.
- i appreciated also that Wyatt's deadname was never given. I thought at one point that it had and was gutted, but no. It makes sense a trans author would get this but I was glad all the same.
- oh and I appreciated how Wyatt wearing a binder and his feelings about his body were described and handled. The issue wasn't dealt with too heavy-handedly but it got the point across and that was cool.
cons:
- somehow the book didn't *quite* work. It was disjointed, a bit slow, a bit amateurish. The plot didn't come together neatly enough, with some plot points coming out of nowhere
- I'm not sure if there's due to be a sequel (there's no mention of one) but it feels unfinished and the ending a bit rushed.
- the plot was also just a bit weak.
- then there was Wyatt's character development, which wasn't too bad, but it wasn't the best either. Somehow, he didn't seem to really connect deeply with Emyr. I got the sexual tension between them, but why Emyr put up with Wyatt's shit so much, I didn't really get. Also, Emyr forcing Wyatt to come to Asalin at the start was pretty out of character compared to how he was in the rest of the book.
- OH, so this is more of a personal thing, but Wyatt was grateful several times for Wyatt getting his pronouns right, even when talking abt a past story and,, I think this should be taken for granted?? I don't know, I understand that people can mess up, but in an ideal world, everyone would get the right pronouns and that wouldn't need to be appreciated i guess is what I'm saying.
- finally, I thought a lot of uh,, message? political stuff? was too on the nose. I understood the link between the guards' brutality and police brutality, about witch discrimination and queer people's discrimination, etc. just fine without it literally being spelled out on the page and I thought Edgmon could've given the reader more space there, rather than assuming the reader had exactly zero critical thinking skills. Maybe a me thing though.
Overall, I did enjoy it. I feel like Edgmon has some growing to do as a writer, but they have a lot of potential and I loved the descriptions. I would compare this book to Out of Salem in themes and tone, but I would say that I think Out of Salem did it better overall, with more originality, better writing and more engaging characters. But this was still a worthwhile read. It's always good to see more lgbt writers and stories being told and this definitely felt like a very contemporary, 'right now' story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Death, and Drug use
Moderate: Sexual assault and Child abuse
Minor: Transphobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts
rey_therese07's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Deadnaming
Minor: Drug use, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.5
[second read, September 2023]
Rating lowered from 5 stars to 4.5.
I reread this book so I could finally read the sequel, and while I would no longer label it a favorite—I must not feel the same attachment to it that I did before—I did still really enjoy it.
Wyatt is still one of the most hilariously iconic narrators I think I’ve ever encountered. And I do mean ever. Only the smallest handful of books—most all of them written by one of the same five authors—have made me outright cackle while reading, and the fact that this book is now on that list has gotta count for something.
I’m looking very forward to all the shenanigans of the next book, queer and magical and everything in between. And I’m really, really hoping my Briar/[A Newly Single Side Character] ship theory is right.
[first read, September 2021]
That moment when you start a book and you just have a feeling that it’ll end up being a new favorite, and then that feeling ends up being right. So satisfying!!
I’ve heard nothing but good things about this book since it was released, and everyone that was hyping it up was absolutely right. It’s completely deserved. Edgmon’s debut is an urban fantasy that takes familiar ideas and puts a unique and extremely queer spin on them, and I’m so here for it. I immediately loved Wyatt and Briar, and Emyr and Jin quickly grew on me. I’d like to give all of these kids hugs and ice cream and protect them from the world. Also, Wyatt’s narration was HILARIOUS. He frequently made me laugh, especially when he was thinking of Emyr. And by the way, I ship those two SO HARD. I loved Wyatt and Briar’s friendship, and I adored Wyatt and Emyr’s childhood friends to strangers to allies to lovers vibe. And then Edgmon gifts us the only one bed trope?? GOLD. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
Wyatt is such a disaster gay and I love him for it. I love him for more than just that, but that’s definitely part of it. And honestly, I love how unapologetically queer this whole book is. There’s so much representation, and characters actually on-page asking each other for pronouns. I truly do love to see it.
What else? I love Boom. I hope Derek spends the rest of his life stepping on Legos while barefoot. The way things went down on the last page was mildly amusing to me. I’m very excited for the sequel to come out next year. Everyone should read this book. Yes, everyone.
Representation:
Rating lowered from 5 stars to 4.5.
I reread this book so I could finally read the sequel, and while I would no longer label it a favorite—I must not feel the same attachment to it that I did before—I did still really enjoy it.
Wyatt is still one of the most hilariously iconic narrators I think I’ve ever encountered. And I do mean ever. Only the smallest handful of books—most all of them written by one of the same five authors—have made me outright cackle while reading, and the fact that this book is now on that list has gotta count for something.
I’m looking very forward to all the shenanigans of the next book, queer and magical and everything in between. And I’m really, really hoping my Briar/[A Newly Single Side Character] ship theory is right.
[first read, September 2021]
That moment when you start a book and you just have a feeling that it’ll end up being a new favorite, and then that feeling ends up being right. So satisfying!!
I’ve heard nothing but good things about this book since it was released, and everyone that was hyping it up was absolutely right. It’s completely deserved. Edgmon’s debut is an urban fantasy that takes familiar ideas and puts a unique and extremely queer spin on them, and I’m so here for it. I immediately loved Wyatt and Briar, and Emyr and Jin quickly grew on me. I’d like to give all of these kids hugs and ice cream and protect them from the world. Also, Wyatt’s narration was HILARIOUS. He frequently made me laugh, especially when he was thinking of Emyr. And by the way, I ship those two SO HARD. I loved Wyatt and Briar’s friendship, and I adored Wyatt and Emyr’s childhood friends to strangers to allies to lovers vibe. And then Edgmon gifts us the only one bed trope?? GOLD. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
Wyatt is such a disaster gay and I love him for it. I love him for more than just that, but that’s definitely part of it. And honestly, I love how unapologetically queer this whole book is. There’s so much representation, and characters actually on-page asking each other for pronouns. I truly do love to see it.
What else? I love Boom. I hope Derek spends the rest of his life stepping on Legos while barefoot. The way things went down on the last page was mildly amusing to me. I’m very excited for the sequel to come out next year. Everyone should read this book. Yes, everyone.
Representation:
- gay trans (FTM) protagonist
- Black queer demisexual love interest
- fat indigenous biromantic asexual side character
- nonbinary lesbian side character (they/them)
- sapphic side character
- various queer side characters & side characters of color
- achillean romance (m/m)
- sapphic side couple (f/enby)
- minor sapphic side couple (f/f)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Police brutality, Drug use, Transphobia, and Violence
Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage
Emotional abuse and child abuse go hand in hand, both occurring prior to the story. Parent death also occurs prior to the story, as does the infertility and miscarriage, though those two are in regards to side characters. Everything else is present on-page to some degree. Transphobia is present via occasional misgendering, though it’s always challenged. Police brutality is in a fantasy context, fae targeting witches. Violence occurs largely at a riot—alongside explosions, various injuries and a few instances of rather graphic body horror—about halfway through the book. Drug use is only in one scene, entirely consensual and recreational.foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
5.0
I loved this so much!!!
Rep: white gay trans male MC, Black male love interest (Wyatt-sexual/aspec), fat indigenous (Seminole) bi-asexual female side character, sapphic nonbinary side character, sapphic side characters, achillean side characters,
CWs (from the authors website): Violence (including gore, arson, attempted murder, and murder), Misgendering (accidental and intentional, including deadnaming—however, the deadname is not written out), Abusive parents, Childhood sexual harassment and assault (harassment is graphic, assault is not), Grooming/predatory behavior between an adult and a teenager, Infertility and miscarriage mention, On-page panic attack, Suicidal ideation and brief mentions of suicide, Drug use.
Rep: white gay trans male MC, Black male love interest (Wyatt-sexual/aspec), fat indigenous (Seminole) bi-asexual female side character, sapphic nonbinary side character, sapphic side characters, achillean side characters,
CWs (from the authors website): Violence (including gore, arson, attempted murder, and murder), Misgendering (accidental and intentional, including deadnaming—however, the deadname is not written out), Abusive parents, Childhood sexual harassment and assault (harassment is graphic, assault is not), Grooming/predatory behavior between an adult and a teenager, Infertility and miscarriage mention, On-page panic attack, Suicidal ideation and brief mentions of suicide, Drug use.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
paperbrownies's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
- lgbtqiap+, ya fantasy, faeries, witchy, magic, found family trope, bffs to enemies to lovers trope, there's only one bed trope, soulmates trope, so much tension, bff i had like to steal
- m|m, nb|w
- trans gay mc, demisexual black li, indigenous-american fat bi oriented ace sc, lesbian nonbinary woman sc, lesbian sc, and other queer side characters (sapphic and gay rep)
" you have always been you. you just found the language to talk about it."
" i swear, humans have magic of their own."
" maybe we’re taught to believe darkness is inherently tied to badness because racism is everywhere."
hands down one of my favourite books 0f 2021!!!
i went into this book knowing nothing except that the mc is a trans witch: it was enough to seal the deal for me and now,,, after having read it at last i must ask one question: where in the world is the hype for this book??!!
wyatt is a messy character, his pov is super fun to read from, he is snarky, smart, and quite impulsive, he believes in doing the right thing and will go any length in order to protect the people he cares about!! his messiness come from his need to survive that forces him to lash out at the world that looks down upon witches like him along with some of it being also connected to his transness, at always being expected to live up to the expectations of others, and at never being able to be himself bc of the deep rooted judgement he had to face from a v young age from his own parents as well as from others. it built in him a huge resentment for the fae ways, it traumatized his childhood and when he finally snapped he had to flee to the human world!!
h e edgemon does an amazing job at portraying these complex emotions bc the messiness felt so relatable, the cathartic unspooling of it, followed by a realization that anger is just as much a human emotion as love and sadness is and instead of rejecting it he redirecs that anger to destroy the reign of a corrupt and broken government in order to rebuild it from scratch. the author creates a world that is a breath-taking parallel of today's world and fights against systematic oppression, racism, power imbalance, and colonialism.
i found wyatt's relationship with emyr the crown prince so very amusing!! it is full of snarky retorts and much tension as they try to gain their footing in this "something" where neither of them know each other's present versions and istg they had me clinging to the edge of my seat in anticipation the whole time!!!
this book ends with much hope but it also feels like the calm before a storm so i absolutely cannot wait for the sequel!!! i look forward to more of the author's works and finally if you are looking for a queer fantasy romance novel that is just as much magical as it is dangerous, charming and witty dotted with characters who arent afraid to fight back and stand up up for what's right, then i highly HIGHLY recommend this book to you!!
GO READ THIS GEM!!!!
- m|m, nb|w
- trans gay mc, demisexual black li, indigenous-american fat bi oriented ace sc, lesbian nonbinary woman sc, lesbian sc, and other queer side characters (sapphic and gay rep)
" you have always been you. you just found the language to talk about it."
" i swear, humans have magic of their own."
" maybe we’re taught to believe darkness is inherently tied to badness because racism is everywhere."
hands down one of my favourite books 0f 2021!!!
i went into this book knowing nothing except that the mc is a trans witch: it was enough to seal the deal for me and now,,, after having read it at last i must ask one question: where in the world is the hype for this book??!!
wyatt is a messy character, his pov is super fun to read from, he is snarky, smart, and quite impulsive, he believes in doing the right thing and will go any length in order to protect the people he cares about!! his messiness come from his need to survive that forces him to lash out at the world that looks down upon witches like him along with some of it being also connected to his transness, at always being expected to live up to the expectations of others, and at never being able to be himself bc of the deep rooted judgement he had to face from a v young age from his own parents as well as from others. it built in him a huge resentment for the fae ways, it traumatized his childhood and when he finally snapped he had to flee to the human world!!
h e edgemon does an amazing job at portraying these complex emotions bc the messiness felt so relatable, the cathartic unspooling of it, followed by a realization that anger is just as much a human emotion as love and sadness is and instead of rejecting it he redirecs that anger to destroy the reign of a corrupt and broken government in order to rebuild it from scratch. the author creates a world that is a breath-taking parallel of today's world and fights against systematic oppression, racism, power imbalance, and colonialism.
i found wyatt's relationship with emyr the crown prince so very amusing!! it is full of snarky retorts and much tension as they try to gain their footing in this "something" where neither of them know each other's present versions and istg they had me clinging to the edge of my seat in anticipation the whole time!!!
this book ends with much hope but it also feels like the calm before a storm so i absolutely cannot wait for the sequel!!! i look forward to more of the author's works and finally if you are looking for a queer fantasy romance novel that is just as much magical as it is dangerous, charming and witty dotted with characters who arent afraid to fight back and stand up up for what's right, then i highly HIGHLY recommend this book to you!!
GO READ THIS GEM!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Suicide