Title:
Truthwitch
(The Witchlands #1)
Truthwitch
(The Witchlands #1)
Author:
Susan Dennard
Susan Dennard
★★★☆☆
3.75 out of 5 stars
(rating might be higher)
(rating might be higher)
In a continent on the edge of war, two witches hold its fate in their hands.
Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.
Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.
In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.
Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.
Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.
In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.
I haven't struggled so hard to rate a book in a long time, for as much as I liked Truthwitch I disliked it at the same time, I feel I would have to re-read this book in order to decide how much I actually like it, also to understand its world better.
I have gone through many reviews of this book and one of the things people mention the most is the confusing world building, and let me tell you guys, it is confusing indeed; you get thrown in a world that is not only new but also a little complex with distinctive terminology and none of it is properly explained, and as a reader, I was forced to make my own definitions with the little information I got. This compromised my experience, I couldn't get into the story that easily because I had no idea of what was going on; my liking for some of the characters and the relationships between them is what made me continue reading.
As I mentioned before, I highly liked some of the characters but the main character isn't one of them. Safiya is a little childish, spoilt, and annoying when she is by herself, her other half, and by other half I mean her threadsister* Iseult, is the complete opposite, she is more of a quiet character but when paired with Safi they complete each other and become a great team, and that is what I liked the most about Truthwitch, that it is a book that focuses more on the relationship between friends than it does in the romantic ones; the friendship between Safiya and Iseult is beautiful and strong, you can tell the girls love each other deeply and will always be there for one another, this kind of relationship isn't so easy to find on YA fantasy and for that I absolutely engaged into my reading. Having two heroines instead of one makes the whole story better and makes it original, now it is not only one girl against the world, it is two best friends.
The male characters are also appealing, they are funny and smart. Prince Merik is not the typical perfect guy, he has flaws and the biggest one he has got is that when it comes to magic, his is actually pretty weak, making him feel more reachable and less cliché. Even the bad guys end up being likable as the bad guys, you know? Villains you love to hate, although at the very end you can tell one of them is not so much a villain but an antihero and oh my, I loved that.
For those who are seeking for some romance when reading YA novels, there is some romance in Truthwitch, it wasn't insta-love but it still felt a little fast passed, it was as if the characters were just beginning to like each other on one page when they were confessing their undying love for each other on the other. I like when the romances cook slower, otherwise, I find them hard to believe. I do feel there will be more than just one couple in the book, the first one is the one I just described, the second one might take a longer time for them to get together if they get together at all, but sparks fly all over the place when both characters interact, and I must say that I ship them both together more -and harder- than the other couple.
Have you guys read this book yet? If so, what were your thoughts about it? Will you continue on with the series? Let me know what you think in the comments below.
I have gone through many reviews of this book and one of the things people mention the most is the confusing world building, and let me tell you guys, it is confusing indeed; you get thrown in a world that is not only new but also a little complex with distinctive terminology and none of it is properly explained, and as a reader, I was forced to make my own definitions with the little information I got. This compromised my experience, I couldn't get into the story that easily because I had no idea of what was going on; my liking for some of the characters and the relationships between them is what made me continue reading.
As I mentioned before, I highly liked some of the characters but the main character isn't one of them. Safiya is a little childish, spoilt, and annoying when she is by herself, her other half, and by other half I mean her threadsister* Iseult, is the complete opposite, she is more of a quiet character but when paired with Safi they complete each other and become a great team, and that is what I liked the most about Truthwitch, that it is a book that focuses more on the relationship between friends than it does in the romantic ones; the friendship between Safiya and Iseult is beautiful and strong, you can tell the girls love each other deeply and will always be there for one another, this kind of relationship isn't so easy to find on YA fantasy and for that I absolutely engaged into my reading. Having two heroines instead of one makes the whole story better and makes it original, now it is not only one girl against the world, it is two best friends.
For those who are seeking for some romance when reading YA novels, there is some romance in Truthwitch, it wasn't insta-love but it still felt a little fast passed, it was as if the characters were just beginning to like each other on one page when they were confessing their undying love for each other on the other. I like when the romances cook slower, otherwise, I find them hard to believe. I do feel there will be more than just one couple in the book, the first one is the one I just described, the second one might take a longer time for them to get together if they get together at all, but sparks fly all over the place when both characters interact, and I must say that I ship them both together more -and harder- than the other couple.
Have you guys read this book yet? If so, what were your thoughts about it? Will you continue on with the series? Let me know what you think in the comments below.
*According to Miss Phi: a thread family is formed when the threads of life between two people intertwine and form bonds that are stronger than blood.
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