Saturday, February 13, 2016

Review: Truthwitch (The Witchlands, #1) by Susan Dennard


Publisher: Tor Teen
Pub.Date: January 5, 2016
Genre: YA Fantasy
Source: Print ARC from publisher
Rating: 3.5 Stars


Blurb:
On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery”, a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.


Review:
This is easily the lost anticipated read on my TBR since I first heard about the book. It's Susan Dennard, has badass heroines, and it's about witches. Come on, what more do you even need to want to be able to dive into this baby? The story was quite interesting to say the least. I enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed the action; what I didn't enjoy was that at times I felt like I was reading a text book. Sometimes I would have to read a paragraph over and over because I had no damn idea what the hell I was reading.

The story sometimes lacked in areas, such as being dragged on and on. But for the most part I really did enjoy the book. Of course I was ecstatic when the arc landed on my doorstep. I went dancing around the house because it's a beautiful freaken book. I just wanted to keep stroking it and calling it my precious. Safi and Iseult were great leads. It's always such a great thing, in my opinion, when we have female leads that can take care of themselves. Not that being a damsel in distress is a bad thing every now and then, but it's nice to see the message all the same.

My favorite character, and the one I thought was most interesting was a blood monk, Aeduan. I thought he was well written and his character was also well developed. I found myself wishing that we could have more scenes with him in it. I do find myself anticipating the next book for him and him alone.  Overall...even though I may have hyped this up too big, I still enjoyed it enough to continue the rest of the books. Check this one out if you haven't already. The writing really is something else and Dennard clearly knows what she's doing when it comes to making a complex world.

*Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Buy the Book!

About the Author:
Susan Dennard has come a long way from small-town Georgia. With a masters degree in marine biology, she got to travel the world—six out of seven continents, to be exact (she’ll get to Asia one of these days!)—before she settled down as a full-time novelist and writing instructor.

She is the author of the Something Strange and Deadly series (from HarperTeen) as well as the forthcoming Witchlands Series (Tor, 2015). When not writing, she can be found hiking with her dogs, exploring tidal pools, or earning bruises at the dojo.

You can learn more about Susan on her website, blog, newsletter, Twitter, or Pinterest.


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