Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon

81 reviews

bookishchef's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

• 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

3.25

I wanted to love this so much. 
And part of me does. The characters were great, I loved the representation and I thought Wyatt was a really enjoyable narrator. The writing style was good too...

But the plot was all over the place. The pacing was inconsistent. And the story couldn't seem to focus on literally anything. To the extent that the main plot point of this book doesn't get a resolution by the end. 

I thought Wyatt acted a bit old for his age too. A 17 year old with multiple years of sexual experience and sexual partners? Like... it isn't impossible and I guess some teenagers do mess around a lot but idk.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Gore, Death, Death of parent, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Drug use and Transphobia

Minor: Vomit, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Dysphoria

mxemma's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

3.5

This book was enjoyable in some ways, but suffers from a whole lot of tonal dissonance. It felt like every couple of pages we swung from fluffy fanfic romance (there was only one bed!) to horrifying gore and betrayal. The writing itself is beautiful, but I think cutting a few lines and a couple plot-twists would have made the story flow more smoothly and strengthened the book as a whole. They may be setting up the sequel, but the ending felt rather abrupt because of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Violence, Racism, Gore, and Hate crime

Moderate: Body horror, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Sexual violence, War, Terminal illness, and Transphobia

Minor: Pregnancy, Dysphoria, and Deadnaming

itsapaxycab's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

4.5

I loved this book and it will definitely be one i reccomend to other people. A very sweet story with a strong queer backing, interesting plot, and gripping tension. While i felt the conclusion/reveal was a bit rushed and a little tooo perfect, u still enjoyed the story so much, and loved the enemies to lovers plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Violence

Moderate: Deadnaming and Transphobia

Minor: Child abuse, Infertility, Abandonment, and Death of parent

kai1313's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

3.5

 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, War, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Police brutality, Abandonment, Colonisation, Homophobia, Murder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Child abuse, and Violence

hilmi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.25

This is an excellent book overall. The plot and world building is enjoyable though the magic system was... Meh? And that's important to me. Some twists I didn't see coming (at least not fully) kept the book interesting throughout. The world building could have been more thorough as well. 

Even though I'm always attempting to be an ally, sometimes the outright anger to/hate for cisgender or straight-identifying characters made me have a visceral reaction and I almost dropped the book because I wasn't in the mood to absorb the anger. Then I realized: a) that's a privilege (that I can choose not to be angry) and maybe it would be worth working through my aversion - and it was worth it; and b) historically, trans characters in particular and lgbtq characters at large have been depicted in pretty vile ways so turnabout is fair play. 

So, come for the good fiction and the feels. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse

cactuspunk's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Police brutality, Classism, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Death

naomiysl's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

I am literally dying for lack of a sequel. Yes I know there is one, I plan to read it, it's on hold and my wait time is a whole month and did i mention I'm DYING. 

Slow burn romance of friends to enemies to lovers that hits all the right touch points. And the drama is NEVER about the trans character being trans, only about all the other things surrounding their relationship. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Transphobia

ashylibrarian's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

4.25

Wyatt, a trans witch, it dragged back into the fae world he has so long avoided for the abuse and trauma that came it caused. When his fiancé (whom he left behind) shows up to take him back to the Fae Kingdom to see through their engagement to save the Kingdom, Wyatt is anything but helpful.

I have had this book on my radar for about a year now, and I finally read The Witch King for the #TransRightsReadathon. I am so happy I added this to my list.

I had a lot of fun with this one. Through humor-filled banter and action-packed adventure, H.E. Edgmon addresses important ideas of found family, the spectrum of gender and sexuality, and so much more. I have been slowly working my way up to reading more fantasy books, and this one did not disappoint. 

I will be recommending this title!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence

Moderate: Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Sexual assault

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Child abuse

zoepagereader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring relaxing sad tense 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

5.0

I was so incredibly close to bailing on this. The few chapters of this book left me in a mix of wanting to read but feeling like everyone word was dragging me through molasses. In the end though, I stuck through it and after about 100 pages, the plot made it worth while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Blood, Deadnaming, Gore, Hate crime, War, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

sglance9's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent

Moderate: Transphobia, Bullying, Police brutality, Deadnaming, Violence, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Colonisation and Infertility