The Witch King
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- Create Date：2022-06-02 09:52:12
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：H.E. Edgmon
- ISBN：1335425845
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Summary
A New York Public Library Best Book for Teens 2021
To save a fae kingdom， a trans witch must face his traumatic past and the royal fiancé he left behind。
In Asalin， fae rule and witches like Wyatt Croft…don’t。 Wyatt’s betrothal to 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 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 again， Wyatt realizes the boy he once loved may still exist。 And as the witches face worsening conditions， he must decide what’s more important—his people or his freedom。
Don’t miss the next book in H。E。 Edgmon's highly anticipated duology， THE FAE KEEPER， AVAILABLE MAY 31， 2022
To save a fae kingdom， a trans witch must face his traumatic past and the royal fiancé he left behind。
In Asalin， fae rule and witches like Wyatt Croft…don’t。 Wyatt’s betrothal to 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 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 again， Wyatt realizes the boy he once loved may still exist。 And as the witches face worsening conditions， he must decide what’s more important—his people or his freedom。
Don’t miss the next book in H。E。 Edgmon's highly anticipated duology， THE FAE KEEPER， AVAILABLE MAY 31， 2022
Reviews
Rachael Telford
，
Cool world building， great representation， first person narration that sounded like my children speaking at times got to me， but that's a me problem， not a book problem Cool world building， great representation， first person narration that sounded like my children speaking at times got to me， but that's a me problem， not a book problem 。。。more
Kelsey H
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I *love* that this book is unapologetically queer as hell， super funny， and also magical。 One of my favorite parts was the description of each fae's horns， wings， and energy， and who can forget the cute magical creatures that populate Asalin？Where the book lost a few points with me: I was totally on board with the parallel between witches vs fae and marginalized people （especially trans people） vs the privileged and powerful， but at one point the author literally spells it out， going "huh， now t I *love* that this book is unapologetically queer as hell， super funny， and also magical。 One of my favorite parts was the description of each fae's horns， wings， and energy， and who can forget the cute magical creatures that populate Asalin？Where the book lost a few points with me: I was totally on board with the parallel between witches vs fae and marginalized people （especially trans people） vs the privileged and powerful， but at one point the author literally spells it out， going "huh， now this is just like how queer kids are treated by their cishet families！ And I think people don't like Emyr's family because racism exists！" I think the story did a great job getting those concepts across without Edgmon needing to add those super on-the-nose asides to make sure we got it。Additionally， my interest kind of petered out toward the end， because （view spoiler）[ there are so many characters to keep track of， plus who is betraying whom， who's done what backstabbing activity， who's trying to grab power。。。。 there are some random twists that didn't land for me because everything felt so jumbled by that point。 （hide spoiler）] The pacing also seems to struggle; for example， （view spoiler）[ Briar randomly goes a lil evil and opens the door to Faery-- but it's okay！ Because she's sorry！ But the door will let mutant， revenge-bound fae through at any second！ Buuuuuut we're not going to tell anybody about it， because we need to have a romantic scene and then a bunch of goodbyes。 Like what are the stakes here？ （hide spoiler）]Finally， I have to say that I found this book hilarious， although a lot of the humor is very *Internet Person* if you know what I mean （Edgmon thanks queer writer Twitter in their acknowledgements， if that gives you any indication）。 But I recommend picking this up to lovers of fantasy and the LGBTQIA+！ 。。。more
charlotte，
，
Rep: gay trans mc， Black achillean li， sapphic side characters， nonbinary lesbian side character， Native American bi side characterCWs: transphobia， violence， misgendering， deadnaming
Kueckibooks
，
This was just such a great book， I brought me so much joy seeing these queer characters have fantasy adventures， navigating romance， friendship and family and just claiming a spot for themselves in their own stories。 I also really liked the way the intersectionality was incoporated into the story and how many interesting thoughts regarding gender， racism and "biology" were integrated into a story about fairies and witches。 Highly， highly recommend！ This was just such a great book， I brought me so much joy seeing these queer characters have fantasy adventures， navigating romance， friendship and family and just claiming a spot for themselves in their own stories。 I also really liked the way the intersectionality was incoporated into the story and how many interesting thoughts regarding gender， racism and "biology" were integrated into a story about fairies and witches。 Highly， highly recommend！ 。。。more
piper | monarchsandmyths
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"you have always been you。 you just found the language to talk about it。" sometimes i forget how much a book can get me， and then i read a book like THE WITCH KING。 it’s a story that is undeniably queer， one of queer hope and queer rage。 and i felt so many parts of wyatt’s story in my soul， the anger， the pain， but also that overwhelming desire to do good to those you love， to see a better world than you’re living in。 combine that with a modern-day fantasy setting that drew me in from the firs "you have always been you。 you just found the language to talk about it。" sometimes i forget how much a book can get me， and then i read a book like THE WITCH KING。 it’s a story that is undeniably queer， one of queer hope and queer rage。 and i felt so many parts of wyatt’s story in my soul， the anger， the pain， but also that overwhelming desire to do good to those you love， to see a better world than you’re living in。 combine that with a modern-day fantasy setting that drew me in from the first page， and a plot that kept me turning pages （seriously i read this in less than 24 hours）， and this book absolutely has my heart。THE WITCH KING takes us to a fae kingdom， a fae prince looking for his fated betrothed， a jealous cousin trying to steal the throne， and a run away witch who doesn’t fully understand his magic。 the worldbuilding was subtle but satisfying， almost seeming effortless as it combined our world with this magic one。 and while the central conflicts all are around wyatt and emyr taking the throne， no plot point felt too overwhelming or too overlooked。 none of the conflicts seemed unnecessary or half baked either， instead individually enriching the story。 it left me not only wanting to know more about each and every character， but also what would happen to the fae， to the witches， to asalin， and all the magic inside。 a satisfying story， but also one that had me wishing for the sequel as soon as i turned the last page。 "i am not your punching bag。 i am not your charity case。 i am not a pawn in your chess game， or a pretty face to look good next to you， or a warm body to put your hands in。 i am a whole person。 i am a person。 i am a person。 I AM A PERSON。" this book is unsurprisingly queer， but it feels so much deeper than that。 it is so full of care and love for queer people， for their pain and their softness， for their love。 and by extension， a love letter to personhood， to identity， something so often stripped away from marginalised groups， something that plays a central theme to THE WITCH KING。 queerness is woven into this book to a degree where it’s impossible to ignore， but it still feels so genuine and realistic。 even further， i absolutely loved the way that queerness and transness were used both as an extension and part of wyatt’s identity， but also as a foundation of doing and being better， with character and relationship growth。 bigotry still exists， but this book is unabashed in its message of queerness， messy and wonderful。 "the chaotic energy of me entertaining gay thoughts right now is unmatched。" as much as i enjoyed this book because of the way i connected and its portrayal of queer identities， i also just plain enjoyed it。 it’s funny， and wyatt felt like such a genuine YA protagonist， surrounded by other teenagers and young adults。 there is so much heart， but they are also sincerely dumb of ass as wyatt would say。 to some degree that means that the slang feels a little bit outdated at times， but i think for the most part this book skates the line well of being set in the modern day and acknowledging all of what it means to be a teenager today， without isolating readers who aren’t reading right at publication， or aren’t teenagers at all。 "whatever。 gender is weird， the rules are all made up， and people should just do whatever they want。" needless to say， i’m a fan of this book， and i anticipate that i will be inhaling THE FAE KEEPER when it comes out。 it’s so queer， so full of heart and care for its characters， and i genuinely couldn’t put it down。 long live the witch king， king or not。 。。。more
Bec Scabs
，
This was another disappointing book。。。 which I feel terrible saying when reading the author's beautiful note about how much of their own experience and self were put into this book。 When I read the blurb and hinted at the content of this book， it sounded like it was right up my alley。 But it just missed the mark for me， there was so much info dumping in the opening chapters， and the dialogue and pacing threw me。 Perhaps this was more of a 'me' issue than anything else， and I'll definitely see wh This was another disappointing book。。。 which I feel terrible saying when reading the author's beautiful note about how much of their own experience and self were put into this book。 When I read the blurb and hinted at the content of this book， it sounded like it was right up my alley。 But it just missed the mark for me， there was so much info dumping in the opening chapters， and the dialogue and pacing threw me。 Perhaps this was more of a 'me' issue than anything else， and I'll definitely see what else this author releases because it is excellent to see diverse experiences reflected in fantasy！ 。。。more
Lynn
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This book was amazing。 I loved the complex nature of the Fae bond。 I loved how Eimer and Wyatt had grown up together and been best friends but were separated when Wyatt had to defend himself when he was attacked and ran away （well maybe not loved but understood）。 It was a wonderful fantasy and had some great characters。 Brier was a wonderful best friend and family like support when Wyatt went to live in the human world。 At first when I heard that Wyatt was seventeen， I wondered if this book woul This book was amazing。 I loved the complex nature of the Fae bond。 I loved how Eimer and Wyatt had grown up together and been best friends but were separated when Wyatt had to defend himself when he was attacked and ran away （well maybe not loved but understood）。 It was a wonderful fantasy and had some great characters。 Brier was a wonderful best friend and family like support when Wyatt went to live in the human world。 At first when I heard that Wyatt was seventeen， I wondered if this book would be good for middle school， but I don't think that anything that happened would be too advanced for the audience: yes attempted rape， but it was described loosely enough that though you knew the intention it wasn't explicit; yes hate speech， but I think most students hear worse any day of the week in their own homes or school buses; and yes they do get up to shenanigans to steal mystical flowers to get high， but again it was not so explicit that i think it would cause trouble。 This was a well-done book and I would be able to strongly recommend it to any reader。 。。。more
Christine
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3。5 stars
Stephi
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A fun story that I loved the premise of， but the execution was just a bit messy。 3。5 stars
Anna Stacey
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LGBTQIA+， written for and by one of our own。
Jennifer
，
Dragons don't do much for me， and the endlessly supportive Black best friend is， um。。。， but the trans dude main character， despite being annoying as all heck （mostly because he's just a kid， really， and going through some stuff）， is a welcome protagonist。 He's surrounded by a whole panoply of LGTBQ+ folks， too， as Edgmon matter-of-factly acknowledges and creates space for folks of all genders and sexualities。 The book's other themes - genocide， colonization， supremacism， oppression， police bruta Dragons don't do much for me， and the endlessly supportive Black best friend is， um。。。， but the trans dude main character， despite being annoying as all heck （mostly because he's just a kid， really， and going through some stuff）， is a welcome protagonist。 He's surrounded by a whole panoply of LGTBQ+ folks， too， as Edgmon matter-of-factly acknowledges and creates space for folks of all genders and sexualities。 The book's other themes - genocide， colonization， supremacism， oppression， police brutality， sexual consent， classism， bullying， and corruption - could be （should be？） heavy， but are filtered first through a world of fairies and witches and then through a youthful， wry， first-person narrative of angst， adventure， and self-discovery。 Edgmon thus forefronts the story， just peripherally prickling our awareness of ugly current events and deep historical wrongs。 In fact， despite all the themes， the book's touch is light， not dark or complex; it's more sweet， mostly building a place for people who are too often excluded。 The writing is clear and effective。 The audiobook narrator does a really good job。 。。。more
Emma Presnell
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4。5 rounded up because I loved it and I need the sequel🤩🤩
Brinkley Blum
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Representation？ 5/5。 Every identity deserves to be represented the way HE Edgmon illustrates them。Romance？ 1/5。 As Wyatt said， "Stockholm syndrome is a hell of a drug。" Aaaaand。。。 split the difference。（Also， if I hear this man call Emyr's lips "plush" one more time 。。。 well， I'm not going to think about what I'll do。） Representation？ 5/5。 Every identity deserves to be represented the way HE Edgmon illustrates them。Romance？ 1/5。 As Wyatt said， "Stockholm syndrome is a hell of a drug。" Aaaaand。。。 split the difference。（Also， if I hear this man call Emyr's lips "plush" one more time 。。。 well， I'm not going to think about what I'll do。） 。。。more
Diana
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3。5⭐️The ending was AMAZINGI didn’t love this book， but it was good。There were few moments in which i found myself really shocked by what was happening。 Even at the plot twists， although i was surprised， it wasn’t like “OHMYGODWHAT”， but more like “oh， cool”I liked the characters， although Wyatt was annoying at times and while in some cases it was understandable， in others i kinda wanted to punch him。The world was interesting and i was glad to have read another book about fae。 It kinda gave me g 3。5⭐️The ending was AMAZINGI didn’t love this book， but it was good。There were few moments in which i found myself really shocked by what was happening。 Even at the plot twists， although i was surprised， it wasn’t like “OHMYGODWHAT”， but more like “oh， cool”I liked the characters， although Wyatt was annoying at times and while in some cases it was understandable， in others i kinda wanted to punch him。The world was interesting and i was glad to have read another book about fae。 It kinda gave me gay ‘folk of the air’ vibes。 Over all， i had a good time reading this book， and i can’t wait for the next one 。。。more
Es Gee
，
Really enjoyed this book。 For the first half I wasn't as taken with it， I thought it was a bit too on-the-nose。 But there was a turning point for me when Amir talks about their childhood and uses the correct pronouns， and Wyatt thinks how much Amir "gets it"， and most cis people need to be told。 I needed to learn that too， had to take a moment to process that。 That one line made the whole book worth it for me。 After that I had no qualms with the book。 That may have been a change in me， or the fi Really enjoyed this book。 For the first half I wasn't as taken with it， I thought it was a bit too on-the-nose。 But there was a turning point for me when Amir talks about their childhood and uses the correct pronouns， and Wyatt thinks how much Amir "gets it"， and most cis people need to be told。 I needed to learn that too， had to take a moment to process that。 That one line made the whole book worth it for me。 After that I had no qualms with the book。 That may have been a change in me， or the final point Edgmon was trying to make， but it felt like the story pivoted to full fantasy after that。I like how the story ended and am looking forward to the next book。 。。。more
Oliwier
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A trans witch who gets to ride dragons？ Of course I'm projecting。I love Wyatt's chaotic energy。Also I understand what a Fae Influencer is， but I can't stop imagining a fae posting vlogs and Instagram stories A trans witch who gets to ride dragons？ Of course I'm projecting。I love Wyatt's chaotic energy。Also I understand what a Fae Influencer is， but I can't stop imagining a fae posting vlogs and Instagram stories 。。。more
August Harper
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This book made me laugh！ I really like Edgmon's snarky， humorous narrative voice。 This books is also a wonderful example of found family， and I love Wyatt and Briar's relationship。 Additionally， I like that several magical elements are tied to real-world modern technology like the ability to send spells through cellphones。 I can't wait to read the sequel！ This book made me laugh！ I really like Edgmon's snarky， humorous narrative voice。 This books is also a wonderful example of found family， and I love Wyatt and Briar's relationship。 Additionally， I like that several magical elements are tied to real-world modern technology like the ability to send spells through cellphones。 I can't wait to read the sequel！ 。。。more
gray
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DNF @ 25% | wanted to like it， here for the rep， but the writing style was…not great and the world building was nonexistent。 cool idea but poorly executed unfortunately。
Amber D。
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The first half， maybe even the first two-thirds， of this book were very angsty。 The plot focussed so closely on the main character and how he felt and struggled with everything and the rest of the story just kind of got lost。 It wasn't bad but I was a bit bored in places。 But once things started to fall into place and the story started moving I couldn't put the book down。 It turned around and all then angst that had been building *finally* had a purpose。 All in all it ended up being a very enjoy The first half， maybe even the first two-thirds， of this book were very angsty。 The plot focussed so closely on the main character and how he felt and struggled with everything and the rest of the story just kind of got lost。 It wasn't bad but I was a bit bored in places。 But once things started to fall into place and the story started moving I couldn't put the book down。 It turned around and all then angst that had been building *finally* had a purpose。 All in all it ended up being a very enjoyable read and I'm dying to read what comes next。 。。。more
Alixe
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3。5☆
Jael
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I absolutely wanted to like this one。 I was immediately drawn in by the concept and was so excited for this book。 But the execution of it。。。 wasn't for me。 I thought Wyatt and Emyr had an arranged marriage deal， but then the book threw me with mate bonds。 Apparently， they're felt by only fae， but the bonds can happen between witches and faes， but the witches don't feel them。 Books with mate bonds aren't really my cup of tea。 I don't mind books where the MC is unlikeable or makes bad decisions。 B I absolutely wanted to like this one。 I was immediately drawn in by the concept and was so excited for this book。 But the execution of it。。。 wasn't for me。 I thought Wyatt and Emyr had an arranged marriage deal， but then the book threw me with mate bonds。 Apparently， they're felt by only fae， but the bonds can happen between witches and faes， but the witches don't feel them。 Books with mate bonds aren't really my cup of tea。 I don't mind books where the MC is unlikeable or makes bad decisions。 But。。。 Wyatt almost seems like he's self-sabotaging a lot of his life， except in regards to Briar。 Once I started reading it， it didn't take me long to churn through it。 But this one wasn't to my liking。 。。。more
Justine
，
4。5 ⭐️
Mitzy
，
immediately yes about everything about this book。 yes to the relationship development。 yes to the character development。 yes to the world building。 yes to the friendship。 yes to Everything。 i need to read the sequel asap。 5✨
hal
，
Tl;dr version- This book， along with The Tiger Mom's Tale have taught me the difficult lesson that representation （be it for POC or Queer folks） is not enough to save a novel。 The queer rep in this book is good in the sense that it is respectful and real （well， relatively - apparently some reviewers took issue with Jin's self description of being a "theydy"。 I have no idea why this is considered offensive but by all means please feel free to tell me /gen ） but goddamn this was not a good boo Tl;dr version- This book， along with The Tiger Mom's Tale have taught me the difficult lesson that representation （be it for POC or Queer folks） is not enough to save a novel。 The queer rep in this book is good in the sense that it is respectful and real （well， relatively - apparently some reviewers took issue with Jin's self description of being a "theydy"。 I have no idea why this is considered offensive but by all means please feel free to tell me /gen ） but goddamn this was not a good book。 My biggest bones to pick with this novel are: Wyatt is an incredibly selfish and unlikable narrator （although I do empathize with him for the amount of trauma he's gone through）， the relationship between Emyr and Wyatt as well as Wyatt and Briar's friendship are toxic and daresay abusive， the plot is messy， and the analogy of fae's prejudice to witches versus humanity's oppression of POC & queer folks is heavy handed and simplistic。 。。。more
Amy Beth
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I was super in love with this concept from the start， and that’s really what kept me reading as fast as I did。 The booming Fae-featured fantasy industry is in desperate need of lgbtqa+ and antiracist representation and this book delivered！ I’m not the target audience， as our main character Wyatt is only seventeen， so I didn’t love how young the dialogue felt， but I think a few years ago I would have found it extremely charming。 The narrative style too wasn’t my personal favourite but I loved the I was super in love with this concept from the start， and that’s really what kept me reading as fast as I did。 The booming Fae-featured fantasy industry is in desperate need of lgbtqa+ and antiracist representation and this book delivered！ I’m not the target audience， as our main character Wyatt is only seventeen， so I didn’t love how young the dialogue felt， but I think a few years ago I would have found it extremely charming。 The narrative style too wasn’t my personal favourite but I loved the vibrant characters and fun plot enough to accept that。 This was a fast paced， entertaining， and extremely creative story。 I loved the colourful descriptions of vastly diverse characters and their appearances。 This wasn’t just diversity out of obligation; the author clearly put time and effort and passion into each described character。 I can’t wait to see what they write next！ 。。。more
Meg
，
- I found the first 30-40% of this one really slow， but the ending more than made up for it！- one thing that helped me push through was the narration reminded me so much about what I liked from the Percy Jackson book’s narration （even the sarcastic chapter titles）！- there were some twists at the end that really made me want to read the second one！ I wish some of them had happened earlier to help me get more hooked。- this helped me realize that I think I’m not very into fae/fairie stories， but I - I found the first 30-40% of this one really slow， but the ending more than made up for it！- one thing that helped me push through was the narration reminded me so much about what I liked from the Percy Jackson book’s narration （even the sarcastic chapter titles）！- there were some twists at the end that really made me want to read the second one！ I wish some of them had happened earlier to help me get more hooked。- this helped me realize that I think I’m not very into fae/fairie stories， but I liked the characters/narration so much that I was able to overlook that！ （which also means if you like those kinds of stories， it’s even more likely you’ll enjoy this one！） 。。。more
em ♥
，
I liked this so much， not necessarily because of the writing。It read like a fanfiction， but it was hilarious and I related to the characters。 It was a super enjoyable read
Madison Buckles
，
I liked the representation in this book， but I thought there was a lot going on which ended with this book feeling disjointed and messy 🫤
Calum Ezar
，
3。75
Jude
，
this book lit me up from my toes to the top of my head。 it was like settling into a warm， trans blanket。 i highlyrecommend it。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Witch King
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Witch King&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Witch King&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0