The Witch King is a YA debut fantasy novel by H.E. Edgmon published by Inkyard Press.
Wyatt, a transmasc Witch grew up in Asalin where the Fae rule and the witches are treated like second-class citizens. As a child he was soulmate-bonded to the Fae prince Emyr, until one night he loses control of his powers and escapes to the human world. In the human world Wyatt finds a family of his own where he is accepted until one day his fiance finds him there and drags him back to be married so he may ascend the throne in a desperate attempt to stabilize the kingdom. On his return to Asalin Wyatt is faced with everything he ran from. In the hope to return home to the human world forever, he makes a deal with the head of the guard, Derek, a fascist fae attempting to steal the throne from Emyr to push his Fae First agenda. Wyatt is a wonderful embodiment of queer wrath as he goes through the shame and rage of learning to accept himself and forgive his past mistakes. As Emyr and Wyatt reconnect he begins to see the boy he fell in love with as a child is still there. Wyatt is forced to decide between staying and fighting for his people or returning to the human world with the family he found there. 
The Witch King has a wonderfully queer cast with great character development. This book includes some of my favorite things: childhood friends to enemies to lovers, messy gays, found family, queer friend groups, some loose Catradora vibes, and burning down systems built on oppression. I saw both parts of myself and parts of friends in these characters in such a wonderful way. Wyatt’s explanation that he was not born in the wrong body, he is a boy and his body is a boy’s body was something that I enjoyed seeing to expand on different forms of trans rep in YA. 

I was really excited to read this book, and I read through the whole thing in one sitting. I'm worried the language won't hold up long term, but it's part of what made the characters so real for me. I have Wyatts and Briars and Jins in my life, and it was so nice to see them on page. It's full of discussions of transness and queerness that are true to how I experience the queer community, and it's really nice to see presented for a younger audience so honestly. The metaphors in this book are not subtle, heavy handed and frankly discussed directly in the text - but I'm an adult, and this is a YA book, so it probably doesn't hurt to have things literally spelled out. The main villain is a little cartoonish, but that's fine, because the reveal of his accomplice was quite satisfying, with enough foreshadowing provided that I wasn't entirely surprised (that's good). Looking forwards to some kind of follow up, or at least more content from the author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ink Yard Press for the arc of this book!

Wyatt has spent the last three years with a new family after running away from Asalin, where he was abused for being a witch born among fae.  But then his past comes calling in the form of Emyr, his betrothed, and the prince of the fae.  He will be forced to confront his past and the institutions that make it unsafe to be witch-born in Asalin, as well as dealing with the feelings he stills has for his childhood best friend.

This book is the beautiful start to what will no doubt become one of my new favorite series.  It was absolutely perfect and everything I could have ever hoped for or dreamt of for a book with such a beautiful cover and title.

The world-building is so interesting and really well done. I loved the way the author incorporated flashbacks as well as other elements to tell us the complete story of the fae and the witches in Asalin as well as the other fae kingdoms around the world.

I LOVED the characters so much! There is such a wealth of diversity amongst them and they are all so well-described and oh my gosh I just love them. I love Wyatt and Emyr and Briar and all the other wonderful and beautiful side characters and allies and villains that make up this world!

This book has trans, gay, nonbinary, ace, lesbian, bi, and potentially pan and/or demi-sexual rep in it and I love that so much!

Honestly, this book is everything. Do yourself a favor and preorder it and get ready for a new favorite series.

Pub Date: June 1, 2021