The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon is a queer ya fantasy debut featuring a trans witch who must face his traumatic past and the royal fiancé he left behind (3.25/5 stars)

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon is a queer ya fantasy debut featuring a trans witch who must face his traumatic past and the royal fiancé he left behind.

I thought the worldbuilding here was pretty cool, especially the presentation of Edgmon’s version of the fae and how everyone has cool visible auras. The first half dragged a bit for me, but I was very in for the ride during the second half.

There so much representation in this book, much of it #OwnVoices like trans rep, nonbinary rep, ace rep, indigenous rep, and queer (gay, bi, lesbian, etc) rep. The strength in characters outweighs the strength of the plot, though.

Tropes in this book include: slow burn, childhood best friends, found family

CW: violence, blood, death, murder, parental death (mentioned), misgendering (accidental + on purpose), dead-naming (off-page), emotional and physical abuse, sexual assault, panic attacks, racism, homophobia, transphobia

The Witch King duology includes:

• The Witch King
• The Fae Keeper

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