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popthebutterfly 's review for:

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon
4.0
adventurous emotional reflective 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

Disclaimer: I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Witch King

Author: H.E. Edgmon

Book Series: The Witch King Book 1

Diversity: Trans MC ownvoices

Rating: 4/5

Recommended For...: ya readers, fantasy, fae

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publication Date: June 1, 2021

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Pages: 432

Recommended Age: 16+ (Deadnaming, Panic attacks, Dissociation, Violence, Gore, Drugs usage, Misgendering, Transphobia, Child abuse, PTSD, Murder, Death, Sexual assault, Fantasy racism, Sexual content)

Synopsis: In Asalin, fae rule and witches like Wyatt Croft…don’t. Wyatt’s betrothal to his best friend, fae prince Emyr North, was supposed to change that. But when Wyatt lost control of his magic one devastating night, he fled to the human world.

Now a coldly distant Emyr has hunted him down. Despite transgender Wyatt’s newfound identity and troubling past, Emyr has no intention of dissolving their engagement. In fact, he claims they must marry now or risk losing the throne. Jaded, Wyatt strikes a deal with the enemy, hoping to escape Asalin forever. But as he gets to know Emyr, Wyatt realizes the boy he once loved may still exist. And as the witches face worsening conditions, he must decide once and for all what’s more important—his people or his freedom.

Review: Overall, I liked the concept of this book and I liked how the character, who is very angry and a little off-putting at the beginning, quickly comes and warms your heart and makes you want to comfort him. The book did excellent developing the characters and did very well on the world building. I really liked this fae take and thought it better suited me than some other fae books. I also love all of the diversity and how the book discusses systematic oppression, colonialism, and power imbalance.

My only criticisms of the book are that the pacing can be a bit wonky in the book, slow and fast parts, and that the book takes awhile to get into. I'd say about 30-50 pages in is where you should be hooked if this is your type of book.

Verdict: It's great and I need more!