The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon

To save a fae kingdom, a trans witch must face his traumatic past and the royal fiancé he left behind. This debut YA fantasy will leave you spellbound.

Wyatt would give anything to forget where he came from—but a kingdom demands its king.

In Asalin, fae rule and witches like Wyatt Croft… don’t. Wyatt’s betrothal to his best friend, fae prince Emyr North, was supposed to change that. But when Wyatt lost control of his magic one devastating night, he fled to the human world.

Now a coldly distant Emyr has hunted him down. Despite transgender Wyatt’s newfound identity and troubling past, Emyr has no intention of dissolving their engagement. In fact, he claims they must marry now or risk losing the throne. Jaded, Wyatt strikes a deal with the enemy, hoping to escape Asalin forever. But as he gets to know Emyr, Wyatt realizes the boy he once loved may still exist. And as the witches face worsening conditions, he must decide once and for all what’s more important—his people or his freedom.

 

 

Book 1
Buy Links

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Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  Kobo
Audiobook (US)  ~  Hardcover (US)
Inkyard Press (HQN)

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This is a fun young adult fantasy adventure with lovable characters and wonderfully complex world building. The story belongs to Wyatt, a witch with a dark past who is an outsider in both the fae and human worlds.

At its heart, this is a simple coming of age story. Wyatt must come to terms with his past and find out where he belongs as he becomes an adult. It’s not a completely fresh story. Fantasy and Urban Fantasy fans will recognise many familiar tropes. Fated mates, a reluctant heir, and an outsider with special powers aren’t new fantasy themes, but they do work well here.

Beyond Wyatt and Emyr, the character development in this story doesn’t feel completely consistent. Emyr is a complicated love interest for Wyatt. It is difficult to trust the beautiful prince – but it is also impossible not to love the tormented and reluctant heir to the throne. The rest of the characters feel somewhat loosely sketched. It’s a huge cast of witches, nobles, guards, and others. Without spoilers, I loved the world building and enjoyed the action. But I wasn’t invested enough in any of the other characters to feel any emotional impact from the action scenes and revelations at the end. The author leaves room to develop these characters further. The ending offers many exciting possibilities for further stories in this world.

I love that Wyatt’s trans identity is a non-issue. He’s a protagonist with a difficult past that has little to do with his gender. He’s a complicated survivor with a unique skill set and the potential to be a hero. This isn’t a book about being trans. It’s a book about a fabulous fantasy hero who happens to be trans. Sadly, that’s still a rare and special treat for modern young adult readers.

 

 

H.E. EDGMON was born in the Deep South but has had many homes, dropped out of school to do gay stuff, and is at least a little feral. In both their writing and daily life, they aim to center the voices of Indigenous people, trans people, and survivors of trauma. It is always their goal to make fascists uncomfortable. They have an eccentric little family of their own design, several very sensitive pets, and a lot of opinions. They can most often be found on Twitter.

Connect with H.E.

Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

 

 

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Witch King (The Witch King #1) by H.E. Edgmon to read and review.

Cover Reveal – Lone Star in Jersey by Gina Harris & Anne Key

Eli faced the fallout of returning to school after his transition, and now he’s starting over in a new school where no one ever knew him as Elizabeth. The best thing about this new beginning might be the girl in the bedazzled Keds.

Sammy’s world of cheerleading, advanced math, and popularity in her Texas high school crumbles with her mother’s death. She’s shipped off to New Jersey to face a father who feels like a stranger and a world where she doesn’t feel like she belongs. At least there’s Eli, the cute boy who is also new at school.

As their friendship deepens and romance begins to bloom, Eli knows he owes Sammy the truth. He hopes he can trust her, and Sammy hopes she can understand falling in love with a trans boy. It’s a lot to deal with alongside the long-buried family secrets coming to light, and neither of their worlds will ever be the same. But maybe building new lives won’t be so hard if they do it together.

Cover Artist: Tiferet Design

Releases April 30^th

Pre-Order Links

Harmony Ink: eBook  ~  Paperback

Gina Harris

Gina Harris is caffeinated. When she’s not drinking coffee, she is on the beach or in a boat. Occasionally she can even be found writing. Gina holds a theater degree, and as an author, her strength lies in creating relatable, human characters who are flawed, but step up when you need them most. That unassuming but brilliant girl in your math class. The shy boy who is fantastic on his skateboard. The best friend that doesn’t need to ask because he just gets you, and the new friend that wants to be something more. Gina is the author of I Kiss Girls, a sweet YA romance about a lesbian girl in a small suburban town whose best friend, a straight guy, always gets the girl—until one day he doesn’t.

Gina loves all kinds of live music, musical theater, and superhero movies. She lives in the suburbs of New York City with her wife and children.

Connect with Gina

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
East Meets West YA Facebook Group


Anne Key

Anne Key recently left her beloved Texas and now lives with her amazing wife in the New Mexico mountains, spending her time writing the kinds of books she wants to read, playing with her basset hounds, and making stuff that wants to be art when it grows up. She’s been writing and illustrating for decades, exploring media from poetry to sculpture, from romance novels to weaving. She believes in ghosts, in cowboys, in forgiveness, in happily ever after, in magic, and in love at first sight.

Mostly, she believes in experiencing your own personal joy wherever you can.

Connect with Anne

Facebook  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
East Meets West YA Facebook Group

The Princess of Baker Street by Mia Kerick

When she was a child, Joey Kinkaid, assigned as a boy at birth—wearing Mom’s purple sundress and an imaginary crown—ruled the Baker Street neighborhood with a flair and imagination that kept the other kids captivated. Day after day, she led them on fantastic after-school adventures, but those innocent childhood days are over, and the magic is gone. The princess is alone.

Even Eric Sinclair, the Prince Eric to Joey’s Princess Ariel, has turned his back on his former friend, watching in silence as Joey is tormented at school. Eric isn’t proud of it, but their enchanted youth is over, and they’ve been thrust into a dog-eat-dog world where those who conform survive and those who don’t… well, they don’t. Eric has enough to deal with at home, where his mother has abandoned him to live in isolation and poverty.

But Eric can’t stay on the sidelines forever. When Joey finally accepts her female gender and comes to school wearing lip gloss, leggings, and a silky pink scarf, the bullies readily take the opportunity she hands them, driving Joey to attempt suicide and leaving Eric at a crossroads—one that will influence both their lives in not just the present, but the future.

Is there a chance the two teens can be friends again, and maybe even more?

Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Harmony Ink

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This is the story of two childhood best friends whose relationship is nearly destroyed by social pressures in middle school. While Eric is determined to make himself as invisible at school, Joey finds it impossible to keep pretending to be a boy.

This story is told from Eric’s perspective and I kinda love that he isn’t a hero – he’s just a kid trying to survive middle school without drawing attention to himself or his increasingly scary home life. Eric makes some awful decisions and keeps some pretty huge secrets. Joey is both stronger and more vulnerable than Eric. Joey refuses to compromise herself but the reactions of her father and the kids at school soon destroy her self-esteem. And while Joey suffers emotionally, Eric starts to suffer physically as he attempts to manage on his own without food, electricity, or heat.

The one aspect of this story that doesn’t ring true for me is Eric’s mum’s transition from absent parent to supermom. As an experienced foster carer, I’ve never yet seen anything like the miraculous turnaround Eric’s mum makes in a relatively short period of time. I worry that this storyline could give kids like Eric unreasonable hopes and expectations.

Mia Kerick always makes me cry. Her writing is beautiful, and I love the way she makes Eric’s voice feel authentic in this story. I think the author captures Joey’s sense of identity well, but her experience is pretty brutal. At the moment, I’m caring for a child the same age as Eric and Joey and I know from their stories that not every trans child has experiences as difficult as Joey’s.

As an English teacher, I think this story is useful for kids who are learning lessons about acceptance and inclusion. I like the way the book explores friendships, peer pressure, and loyalty. However, I do worry that Joey’s story could cause unnecessary fear and anxiety for kids who are already struggling with gender and identity. I do like the sense of hope that infuses the end of the story and I really enjoy the resilience we see in both Eric and Joey.

Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children, a political Progressive, and a writer of multiple award winning YA LGBTQ fiction that focuses on emotional growth in complicated relationships.

Her books have been featured in Kirkus Reviews magazine, have won a 2015 Best YA Lesbian Rainbow Award, a 2017 Best Transgender Contemporary Romance Rainbow Award, a Reader Views’ Book by Book Publicity Literary Award, the Jack Eadon Award for Best Book in Contemporary Drama, a YA Indie Fab Award, and a Royal Dragonfly Award for Cultural.

Connect with Mia

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Princess of Baker Street by Mia Kerick to read and review.

In the Desert by Elliot Joyce

Can a Navajo trans teen and a nerdy Catholic find the place they belong... and maybe themselves? In the desert, anything is possible…

When Wren came out as transgender before his senior year, it cost him most of his friends. His father hopes joining a Boy Scout troop might help Wren meet other young men his age and be accepted for who he is.

Felipe Nieves wants the new guy in the troop to feel comfortable, and he reaches out to Wren. They become fast friends… with something more beneath the surface. Those feelings confuse Felipe, since his religion considers this a sin—and he’s always assumed he was straight—but he can’t help pining for Wren. Asking him out will take courage, and getting together won’t be easy… but through their friendship, both young men might find their identities… and learn to embrace them in a unique coming-of-age story set against the beauty of the American Southwest.

States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.

Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is a very enjoyable coming of age story about two boys (one trans) who find that they are drawn to each other when they meet at Scouts. As we spend the last few months before college with them, we get a good understanding of their thoughts and hopes for the future.

We get to meet both their families and understand some of the dynamics which form the background to their developing relationship. Kyle and Travis are also key to getting Wren and Felipe to admit to each other how they feel – and they definitely add the comedy, as well as Kyle being a mentor to Wren.

A lovely mix of a simple young romance, the complexity of not following the standard paths, and a good appreciation of the way it affects family and friends.


Sarah – ☆☆☆
This is a really sweet and innocent feeling young adult romance. It is the story of the unlikely relationship between a gay trans Navajo kid and a closeted Mexican Catholic boy. Both Wren and Felipe are social misfits who find a scout group where they can belong.

I have to admit that I liked the idea of this story more than I liked the actual book. I feel like too many ideas and moments are mentioned but not fully developed. I wanted to know more about Wren’s Navajo culture. I wanted to know more about his sibling relationships. We get some insights into Wren’s experience as a trans teen but I’m not sure we ever properly get into Wren’s head or his heart.

Very few of the characters in this book feel real to me. Wren’s parents say and do the right things. They are nice and good – but they aren’t interesting, and Wren’s family never moves past 80s sitcom family clichés. The teenage characters are alternately far more mature and more kind than real life teens and also more innocent than any high school seniors could possibly be.

Probably because I can still remember dating 18 year old boys, I didn’t ever buy into the nervous hand holding and stolen kisses between Wren and Felipe. This is a sanitised, low-heat romance without much sexual tension between the characters. The result is a sweet and gentle coming of age story. The boys are adorable but not very believable. This is the book I’d lend my mum if she wanted to try a LGBT romance.

ELLIOT JOYCE is a social-media obsessed, selfie-taking millennial and he’s proud of it. He can usually be found in his room playing D&D or in a theater lurking on the catwalks. Sometimes he even writes.

Other notable facts include the fact that he’s bisexual, he cannot juggle, and he regularly trips over thin air. Catch him on tumblr or really any social media, he spends enough time on it.

Connect with Elliot

Twitter  ~  Tumblr  ~  Blog  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of In the Desert by Elliot Joyce to read and review.