I had a few issues with the world building (or lack of thereof) and how the novel felt condensed into a little more than 300 pages, but overall I still loved how relatable The Witch King was to our world and how seen Wyatt's thought process made me feel. 
Looking forward to reading the sequel.

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

I love fae stories. And I love it even more when they're queer. So when I heard that this is an ownvoices transman fae story, with an M/M romance, I got very excited. I'm happy that the hype was real with this one! I enjoyed Wyatt's character and the journey that he went on. Facing and confronting a home that didn't really feel like a home. He was a good character. I didn't love his voice -- meaning the way the story was written -- at times, but he's a solid character and there needs to be more stories like this. It's totally unbelievable that there would be no LGBTQ+ fae.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via Netgalley for review purposes. This in no way influences my review; all words, thoughts, and opinions are my own.

Full review closer to release, but seriously y’all better be preordering and recommending this book to your library cuz it’d phenomenal on so many levels! Very queer, very angry, revolution and change and chosen family. How does that not absolutely sell this book??

Full review:

Holy smokes, this book is phenomenal! Wyatt is a trans guy living in the human world but he’s originally for Asalin, the place where Fae and witches have lived since Faery became inhabitable. Witches are the children of fae but they’re treated as lesser as they’re different, different magic and different appearances. After the death of Wyatt’s parents from an accidental fire his magic started, he ended up in Laredo where Nadua found him and brought him home. Nadua, Sunny, and their daughter Briar became his family for the last three years, before Wyatt’s fiancee and crown prince of Asalin shows up to take him home to fulfill the engagement and become king and king.

There are so many truly wonderful things about this book. I loved how queer this whole book is and how diverse the characters were. One of my favorite characters was Jin, who is a nonbinary lesbian. That’s not rep I see often and while they are a secondary character, it still felt so good to see a character self described as a nonbinary lesbian. I also adore the friendship between Wyatt and Briar. They’ve been friends so long that they’re able to communicate silently and Wyatt often describes it as an open door between their thoughts that connects them. I also appreciated seeing them declare their love for one another - normalize best friends saying they love each other! And Emyr! He’s such a good guy with so many good intentions, and his interactions with Wyatt were so layered and full of their shared history and the time they spent apart where they’ve grown individually.

I just honestly love this book so much on so many levels and the characters and the world are all just wonderful. I really hope many people plan to read this because gah it’s phenomenal! And I cannot wait for the sequel, especially after that ending!!