Witchmark by C.L. Polk

 

Many would consider Miles Singer a lucky man.  He is born into one of the hundred families of great wealth and his father is the Queen's closest advisor.  But Miles is not lucky.  He was born a witch not a Singer like his sister.  The Singers are individuals of great prestige.  Witches' fates are either to be a Secondary to a Singer or institutionalized in an asylum.  A Secondary has no purpose except to do a Singer's bidding and give them their power when the Singer runs low, basically a slave.

Miles is determined to escape his fate.  He runs off and joins the army, getting a doctor's training and becoming a war hero.  After the war, he becomes a doctor in a hospital back home where he discovers a strange form of PTSD in the returning soldiers.  They feel like a killer is inside them and indeed, many go home and kill their entire families.  What could this be?  With the help of Tristan, a powerful witch from another country and Mile's new lover, Miles sets out to discover what is going on and to stop it.

This book won the Best Fantasy Award in 2019.  The world building is interesting with the idea of the Storm Singers and their Secondaries.  Miles must fight against his birth curse, his father who never supported him and the plague the returning soldiers are bringing home.  As he and Tristan along with his sister Grace investigate, they find an evil they never suspected.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers.