Not going to lie, the main reasons I picked up this book was A. I'm a sucker for purple and green on a book cover and B. The representation. The book includes trans, non-binary, gay, bi, and ace rep as well as non-white main characters, so already it gets point for inclusiveness. I've been on the lookout for transmasc MCs and Wyatt is somewhat of an outlier compared to others I've seen. He holds this deep anger that causes him to lash out at those around him, even when it's not really fair of him to do so, which he acknowledges. He's a messy character, one that feels a little more genuine since it seems he's allowed to be this imperfect person. So often I see people saying that they want flaws in characters, but not too many that would make them unlikable. This balance is so difficult to achieve, mainly because each reader is going to react to them different. In my opinion, one's ability to like this book will really hinge on whether they like Wyatt's character and all the baggage, anger, and trauma that comes with him. And that's okay. I didn't mind Wyatt's constant snarky attitude or his internal or external rage, as the author did a good job of establishing where it comes from, while also making it clear that sometimes it isn't even justified.

That aside, I will admit that this book does have a couple snags in terms of worldbuilding and the overall tone/dialogue in the book. The fae in this book seem very...unfaelike. I'm fine with making a certain species your own, but not when characteristics of that species contradict themselves. For example, Edgmon's fae have the common aversion to iron, and yet somehow they're able to access phones and laptops. Of course, these things aren't made of 100% iron, so they may be diluted enough to not cause any harm, it's just that we don't really see any indication of that. This may just be a small nit pick on my part, it was just a confusing thing to see.

As for the dialogue, there are a lot of modernisms that probably won't age well in the next couple of years. Wyatt's internal monologue is very slang heavy and just gives off the air of "this is clearly how the youth speaks today as according to my social media research." While I sort of rolled with it, it may be a little overbearing for some.

The story, I think, tries to do a little too much at once. It wants to be this this modern fantasy about becoming comfortable with yourself and others while also providing social commentary on at least three different issues, none of which are very subtle, but hey who can afford subtlety these days? There's a part where the book intentionally holds your hand with it, one of the characters basically saying "Oh what witches go through in this world are like what queer people go through in the human world!" Yes, I could definitely pick up on that, being the subtext-obsessing queer person that I am. The author definitely wants this allegory to hit you hard and fast, but the attempt is more like bapping me over the head with a newspaper until I get it.

Though I may seem negative, I did at least enjoy the book. I thought it had potential to go places, which is why I am going to try to pick up the sequel when it comes out. I want to see if this series is capable of extending beyond the common problems that come with a debut work and deliver a continuation with a bit more polish.