[Blog Tour] Review | White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton

”Magic is life,” She had told him in her thick Oklahoma drawl.
”Spirit is life. So all living things have magic. That’s why the immortals have more magic than any of us.

I have received this review copy for free. My opinions are my own.

I am not gonna lie when I say that White Trash Warlock has been the best urban fantasy I have read in a long time. It’s an adult fantasy, but in some aspects it isn’t too far off from a lot of upper-YA with adult characters the age of teenagers. But this actually had adult aspects, as the main character is in his early twenties and his brother is about 30 years old. A lot of people talk about wanting to make New Adult a proper age range, and I think this book would fit right in, perfect for anyone who feels too old for YA, but don’t quite want to go for actual ”grown-up” books.

This book resonated so much with me. Adam Binder is a gay guy in his early twenties, living a live where he struggled all the time and had to fend for himself because everyone shoved him aside. I rarely read about people around my own age and if I do, it’s often about people either having (or on their way to getting) their life together according to societies standards or finding the love of their lives, or something like that. But Adam Binder is nothing like that. He is both healing from past struggles, but also living his life as he wants, not how others want him to live. On top of that he is also a clueless queer that is pretty much the master of gay panic, and you know, same. Wer really need more books about people in their twenties that fall outside of societies norms and expectations.

Something I really appreciate in this book is how Adam’s scars from the past carried over into who he is today, and the author didn’t just write him like a regular guy ”with a tragic past”. The fact that people treated Adam’s struggles as something broken, something to be fixed and the loneliness that comes forth out of that really shapes a person, no matter how much time has passed and to see that actually properly written and represented just made me really happy. It shows that the author actually cares about that kind of stuff and not just adds it to apply some flavour to a character or story, about which I am appalled by that it even happens in the first place.

One of the reasons I liked this book so much is that the main character is really driving the story. There is a very strong plot in the book, but Adam Binder (the main character) really makes the book what it is. His look on life, his relationships with his family, his general personality, everything is well established and the dynamic between him and all the events of the book, this book would absolutely not the same if any other character was the main character. Obviously, this goes for any book, but Adam Binder has such a unique character and he really is the core of this book.

As for the writing style, it read really nicely. It both kept you in the story and made it easier to just keep reading for longer periods of time, and it was generally really fun and not too complicated. The writing also flowed really nicely and ebbed back and forth between slower pacing and a faster one to suit what was happening. I really want to compliment David R. Slayton for doing it so seamlessly, as authors that play with pacing often end up with a ragged back and forth that and that has brought me personally into my worst reading slumps.

Overall, there is very little I can fault about this book. I really loved it and it made me feel so happy and reminded me exactly what I love about reading and the fantasy genre, and I am so glad I was asked to read and review this book. I can highly recommend this book to anyone who likes contemporary/urban fantasy, a disaster gay, magic and just general gay panic and I personally cannot wait until the second book, Trailer Park Trickster, which is coming October 12th, 2021 according to the author and I am so excited to read more about Adam Binder and co.

Content warnings: Animal torture/murder (mentioned), attempted murder of a child, child abuse (physical, detailed flashbacks), child neglect, death, depression, homophobia (including F-slur), loss of a loved one, mental institution (mentioned, flashbacks), miscarriages (multiple, mentioned), murder of parent. (Source.)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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