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orion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing and Drug use
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Physical abuse, and War
theblerdnewsletter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
urlocalhethey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
sliceofsav's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Bullying, Sexual content, and Colonisation
bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
There were a lot of things that I liked. The dialogue was fun. Wyatt’s narrative voice was incredibly entertaining (though I can definitely see why some readers wouldn’t like it). Every scene that was just characters hanging out and bantering was extremely enjoyable.
I loved several of the side characters, especially Briar (though I’m not sure how I feel about the twist regarding her character, even though it was totally unsurprising).
The politics and the ruminations on oppression were interesting, but more on that later.
But then there were a LOT of things that didn’t work for me. Here is the list, in no particular order:
- First person present tense is my least favorite POV/tense choice for novels, and I especially didn’t like that the flashbacks were still in present tense. That was the part that really got to me.
- I HATE the term “theydy.” Hate it.
- Super fascinating that this is a book that is largely about indigenous climate activism, both in a real way and in a fantasy metaphor way, WRITTEN BY AN INDIGENOUS AUTHOR, that still centers a white main character. Maybe it’s not my place as a white reader to have an issue with this. But I thought it was a weird choice and I certainly don’t think it helped the book’s message.
- Wyatt was a deeply frustrating main character generally. He is annoying and oblivious, and every bad thing he does is justified as self-defense or something. I think I would have liked him better if he’d been a worse person, honestly. Maybe that’s just an issue with this book being YA. I don’t know.
- Honestly the fantasy oppression metaphor was very confusing. Were the witches a metaphor? The author was trying hard to make them NOT be one by creating a cast that was super diverse in a variety of ways. So they weren’t a metaphor for queer people or people of color, at least not intentionally, but it ended up feeling like they were an unintentional metaphor for disability, especially since there were no disabled characters in the book. Regardless, it felt messy.
- All of the interpersonal conflict was kind of annoying, but again, that’s probably just a YA thing that I’ve mostly avoided by only reading really good YA.
- I absolutely hated the whole soulmates/fated mates thing. ESPECIALLY when only one partner even felt this special draw to the other one. I think that’s an awful, nonconsensual way to wrote a relationship, and this book totally failed to interrogate this really really weird idea that there’s one person who’s perfectly fated to be with you. I kept thinking it would, especially after the whole Clarke thing, but NOOOOO the main couple is meant for each other and we just have to suck it up and root for them! Very frustrating.
- The transitions between scenes and the action scenes generally were simply not well-written. I was very confused about how the characters arrived at certain locations and conversations in almost every chapter.
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, and Transphobia
criticalbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
uranaishi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Infertility, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Minor: Child abuse, Genocide, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, and War
bingo_banjo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
librarianlayla's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If you're looking for a fantasy book with a trans protagonist, diverse characters, a slow burn romance peppered with sarcasm and wit - The Witch King is for you.
A take on the fae world as I haven't seen before and a truly twisting plot, I struggled to put this book down.
I cannot wait for the sequel!
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
midnightgremlin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail