The Witch King

2/5

This is not a final draft.

SpoilerThe first chapter may be, and starts off strong with the image of Emyr's wings pierced, but the latter half of the book simply isn't finished. There are so many things that the author wants to do here, but with each addition the story grows more complicated and frustrating and less believable or thoughtful.

There's Twilight-style imprinting (which our protagonist is told is to urge reproduction, but cannot be because there are other couples in the book who either can't or won't have children).

There's a blood contract based on that imprinting (which is resolved so weirdly and suddenly that I had to read the passage over and over again).

There's blackmailing that doesn't appear to have stakes because of how blas?? Wyatt is about it sometimes, and how anxious others (Derek exists as a caricature, a Darkling-lite, and I didn't care for the Darkling, either).

There's a clumsy pile of secrets that, when revealed, turns characters into one-dimensional ideas (e.g., Clarke).

There's an entire secret society of magical beings which functions only vaguely (why do they have US currency at all? If they're technologically-averse, how do Briar and Wyatt charge and use their phones so easily? Where do they get the wealth with which to travel first class, and how did the fae kingdoms separate and keep in contact so long ago?)

There's immersion-breaking moments where characters who have lived outside of the human world all their lives speak like they've spent years on tumblr (and let me make clear that I have no problem with characters like Wyatt speaking in tumblr-esque queerspeak and found it funny, but when Wade says ???Absolutely ridiculous. This timeline is completely fucked. I hate it here.???, that... took me out).

Many issues could be resolved through simple communication; why, for example, didn't Wyatt tell Emyr about Derek threatening him as soon as he felt comfortable with Emyr again?

And through it all there's no sense of urgency or real tension. There's friction, there's an anti-witch coalition, there's protests and secret groups and contracts and an upcoming marriage, there's a friendship that suffers and begins to heal again within a handful of pages, and overall it just feels like Wyatt is sort of... fucking around the whole time.

The Witch King celebrates queer culture and friendship and love. But it also seems to promote an aesthetic in its cover and marketing that is not yet present inside - one of adventure or something tidy and grand. There's a lot to work with, but it needed to spend more time with an editor, to have cut some elements and expanded on others, to create a likeable, believable world and to feel more complete.