Name: Windwitch
Rating: 3.923913043478261 (138 reviews)
ISBN: 9781447282327

SUSAN. DENNARD

The second novel in the Witchlands series, Windwitch is the action-packed sequel to Truthwitch, and is perfect for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Robin Hobb. Sometimes our enemies become our only allies... The Windwitch Prince Merik is presumed dead after a lethal explosion. However, he's scarred but alive, and determined to expose his sister's treachery. Yet on reaching the royal capital, he's shocked to find refugees fleeing conflict. Merik haunts the streets, fighting for the weak - sparking rumours of the Fury, a disfigured demigod who dispenses justice. While searching for Safi, Iseult is cornered by the Bloodwitch Aeduan. She proposes a deal: she'll return what was stolen from him if he locates the Truthwitch. Yet unknown to Iseult, there's a bounty on her head - and Aeduan intends to claim it. Meanwhile, Safi and the Marstoki Empress survive a shipwreck, then find themselves among brigands. And their captors plan to unleash war upon the Witchlands . . . Praise for the series: 'This book will delight you' Robin Hobb 'Susan Dennard has worldbuilding after my own heart. It's so good it's intimidating' Victoria Aveyard

Windwitch

Susan Dennard

The follow-up to New York Times bestselling Truthwitch, next in a breathtaking YA fantasy series hailed by Alexandra Bracken as "a world you will want to inhabit forever."

A Witchlands Novel

Re-read 2023: read this again for my book club, still a favorite :)

4.5 STARS
Meet the book that FINALLY got me out of a reading slump! I never expected it would be this one.

So, small story. I read Truthwitch when it first came out. And I really liked it! So when this book came out, I bought it on the release day. I started reading it.... and then never picked it up again. So 2019 comes around and so does the third book. So I go out and buy Bloodwitch on release day and resolve that I am going to read Windwitch finally. I started it, got halfway through, then stopped because I was bored and didn't care. So now, finally, after 4 YEARS, I said to myself "huh, I wonder what's happening with the Witchlands series?" So I got a new copy of Windwitch (cause I SOMEHOW lost my old one) and sit down with the intent to finally read it. I don't really expect much from it based on my previous experiences.

Dear people reading my review: past Emily, to put it simply, was a flipping moron.

I FLEW through this book. The characters were far more fleshed out and the world far more intricate than I remembered! All the characters went through a decent amount of growth, especially Merik (duh, its his book). We saw more of the world and learned of more of the politics. The romances were slow burn and angsty, but not overpowering. And the TWISTS! There were so many that I had to turn into an owl to keep track of them! The book was fairly fast paced, but not so fast that I couldn't get myself settled into the characters. I never disliked any of the different points of view. They kept changing, but I never had the thought of "oh no I don't like this plot line, go to another one." Very rare for me. And yet, despite all of this, I'm thinking back and I don't recall much of actual overall plot importance happening. Like, all of the things that happened were important to the individual characters rather than the overarching plot-line. And yet I didn't mind? It was so entertaining!

I don't really have much more to say other than this series has significantly gained much more of my interest and I really want to continue. I really do recommend this series and I will be starting Bloodwitch VERY soon. Go check this one out!

Emily B

Re-read 2023: read this again for my book club, still a favorite :)

4.5 STARS
Meet the book that FINALLY got me out of a reading slump! I never expected it would be this one.

So, small story. I read Truthwitch when it first came out. And I really liked it! So when this book came out, I bought it on the release day. I started reading it.... and then never picked it up again. So 2019 comes around and so does the third book. So I go out and buy Bloodwitch on release day and resolve that I am going to read Windwitch finally. I started it, got halfway through, then stopped because I was bored and didn't care. So now, finally, after 4 YEARS, I said to myself "huh, I wonder what's happening with the Witchlands series?" So I got a new copy of Windwitch (cause I SOMEHOW lost my old one) and sit down with the intent to finally read it. I don't really expect much from it based on my previous experiences.

Dear people reading my review: past Emily, to put it simply, was a flipping moron.

I FLEW through this book. The characters were far more fleshed out and the world far more intricate than I remembered! All the characters went through a decent amount of growth, especially Merik (duh, its his book). We saw more of the world and learned of more of the politics. The romances were slow burn and angsty, but not overpowering. And the TWISTS! There were so many that I had to turn into an owl to keep track of them! The book was fairly fast paced, but not so fast that I couldn't get myself settled into the characters. I never disliked any of the different points of view. They kept changing, but I never had the thought of "oh no I don't like this plot line, go to another one." Very rare for me. And yet, despite all of this, I'm thinking back and I don't recall much of actual overall plot importance happening. Like, all of the things that happened were important to the individual characters rather than the overarching plot-line. And yet I didn't mind? It was so entertaining!

I don't really have much more to say other than this series has significantly gained much more of my interest and I really want to continue. I really do recommend this series and I will be starting Bloodwitch VERY soon. Go check this one out!

Tutti pensano che il principe Merik, lo Stregone del Vento, sia morto nell'esplosione della sua nave. Invece, per quanto malconcio, è vivo, e deciso a dimostrare il tradimento della sorella. Giunge così nella capitale, strabordante di profughi in cerca di rifugio, e inizia ad aggirarsi per le strade, difendendo i deboli. Nasce così la leggenda di un semidio sfigurato, la Furia, che porta giustizia agli oppressi. Lo Stregone del Sangue Aeduan ha scoperto che su Iseult pende una ricca taglia ed è determinato a trovarla per primo, ma è la ragazza che gli si consegna proponendogli un accordo: gli restituirà il denaro che gli è stato sottratto se la aiuterà a scoprire che fine ha fatto Safi. Legati da un patto, attraversano insieme le Lande Stregate, domandandosi costantemente chi sarà il primo a tradire l'altro. Vittime di un attacco a sorpresa e un naufragio, Safi e l'Imperatrice di Marstock sono riuscite a salvarsi per un pelo nelle terre dei pirati. La loro vita è appesa a un filo, ma non tutto è come sembra e ogni loro mossa potrebbe essere decisiva per sventare una guerra nelle Lande Stregate o per scatenarla.

Nicole

Susan Dennards writing is incredible. It was a while between the first and this sequel so i had unfortunately forgotten a lot but that's also my own memory problems and nothing to do with these books.
I highly recommend them. This was exciting and fast paced with so many twists and turns. The way trauma was handled is really a nod to how invested Susan is in her characters and how relatable they can be even in a fantasy setting. 
The only thing i wish it had was some kind of romance, but I'll be satisfied with the characters i ship and my own internalized fan fiction.
This was a wonderful read.

Laura Kehoe

Actual rating us 3.5

I was torn about this one. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the stories and character development. It was a lot of fun to be back with these characters and this world. But, there were a lot of different stories all happening at once. It was hard to keep all the different point of views and plots straight. I'm sure they'll all come together eventually, but I had a bit of a struggle with this book. I'm still interested to see what happens next though! And I'll definitely be reading book three when it comes out!

Maria Elena Vitale Zelaia

Actual rating: 3.5

While I did enjoy reading this book, I did not love it as much as I did the first book. I feel like the strength of this series, besides the amazing world-building, is the characters and how they feed off each other. Which is why I adored Iseult and Aeduan’s POVs (I SHIP THEM SO HARD, I CAN’T EVEN!) and was bored by Safi’s, whose POVs had the worst cast of supporting characters in the series, in my opinion: Vaness, the empress, is an interesting character, but the Hell-Bards they got stuck with were pretty boring. The only scenes I liked with the Hell-Bards were the moments we get to see more of their nature. Mainly, I really missed her interactions with Iseult and her banter with Merik that made me enjoy the first book so much!

Merik is also on his own, but his companion, Cam, and the mystery we follow in Nubrevna are pretty interesting to read about. Vivia, his sister, was also introduced as a POV character. It was interesting seeing things through her eyes, and following both Nihar siblings definitely helps us get a sense of what her relationship with Merik is. That being said, her chapters did not particularly wow me. Nothing (NOTHING!) will beat the fun I had reading Iseult and Aeduan’s interactions. I live and breathe these two and would love it if things took a romantic turn. 

To summarize: I loved Iseult and Aeduan, was intrigued by the storyline in Nubrevna and bored (sorry!) by Safi’s POVs. So my rating could be roughly be a little over 3.5 if I gave a rating to each storyline, but since I always to add to a rating and not subtract, I’ll give it 4.

The second novel in the Witchlands series, Windwitch is the action-packed sequel to Truthwitch, and is perfect for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Robin Hobb. Sometimes our enemies become our only allies... The Windwitch Prince Merik is presumed dead after a lethal explosion. However, he’s scarred but alive, and determined to expose his sister’s treachery. Yet on reaching the royal capital, he’s shocked to find refugees fleeing conflict. Merik haunts the streets, fighting for the weak – sparking rumours of the Fury, a disfigured demigod who dispenses justice. While searching for Safi, Iseult is cornered by the Bloodwitch Aeduan. She proposes a deal: she’ll return what was stolen from him if he locates the Truthwitch. Yet unknown to Iseult, there’s a bounty on her head – and Aeduan intends to claim it. Meanwhile, Safi and the Marstoki Empress survive a shipwreck, then find themselves among brigands. And their captors plan to unleash war upon the Witchlands . . . Praise for the series: 'This book will delight you' Robin Hobb 'Susan Dennard has worldbuilding after my own heart. It’s so good it’s intimidating' Victoria Aveyard

Jasmine Neville

Sheila

A very different vibe from the first book, this one centres mostly on Merik. A lot of set-up and pieces moving for Bigger Events to come. Not as interesting as the first book, but I'll read the next one.

Jessica Williamson

4.75 Stars

*Re-read December 2018*
THERE WAS EVEN MORE THE SECOND TIME AROUND!!! This story is one of those you catch something new every time you read it. I feel like I understand so much more about the story now that I've re-read it. I definitely excited to get to my re-read of Sightwitch and see how much more I can take in. This series is so darn good!

*original review*
This book was so much less predictable than the first! I loved it. Dennard's writing style is fun and captivating. Going quickly from one battle to the next, hopping from character to character. There are more points of view in this book, and they are interesting, to say the least. Not only do we see Safi, Iz, Merik, and Aeduan, but we also see Vivia, a character who was mostly a faceless villain in the first book. 

There was much more land travel this time vs. the sea travel that I enjoyed before, but it was all worth it. Though you never really get to see Safi and Iz on the page together (which is sad because their friendship is my favorite ship), they both have shining moments here. Both have moments of character growth and change, and that's all you can ask for out of book characters.

Aeduan. We all love Aeduan, you know it's true. He continues to be a character that you never really feel like you know fully. There are things about his past that are still secret, and he hides them well. His void witchery is still a power not fully explained for me. I mean, why is everyone so afraid of voidwitches. Though, with crazy Esme classified as a voidwitch, I can see why.

Yeah, Esme is still here, and she's still crazy.

Merik is probably the most changed for me in the book. Though that makes sense as he's the main focus of it. He has more page time than the others, more than Safi for sure. There were some weird things going on with him, and I'm interested to see where they lead to in the next book. I'm not really sure where it's going. Which I like, because helllllooooo that predictable ass first book. 

One thing remains as shining as it was in Truthwitch. The world itself. The Witchlands are so creative, so full and bursting with life it makes even boring things fun to read. It's easy to immerse yourself into this world, to get caught up in the magic and mystery of everything going on and that is quite possibly my second favorite thing about this series so far. 

This is one of a very few book series that I've actually read in real time while it's being released. I typically wait until the whole thing is published and binge read all the way through so I'm going to be very impatiently waiting for book 3: Bloodwitch (or as the fans are calling it Aeduan, with many, many exclamation marks. I told you, he's a fan favorite).

laura

I really loved this book. I loved seeing the characters in different locations and seeing how separate they were impacted all the characters. It was fast pace read as well.

Katie Montemayor 

3.75 stars? I had trouble getting through this book, to be honest. But I hear the next one is a lot better so I wanted to push through!

New York Times bestselling author Susan Dennard returns to the epic fantasy Witchlands series with Windwitch. After an explosion destroys his ship, the world believes Prince Merik, Windwitch, is dead. Scarred yet alive, Merik is determined to prove his sister’s treachery. Upon reaching the royal capital, crowded with refugees, he haunts the streets, fighting for the weak—which leads to whispers of a disfigured demigod, the Fury, who brings justice to the oppressed. When the Bloodwitch Aeduan discovers a bounty on Iseult, he makes sure to be the first to find her—yet in a surprise twist, Iseult offers him a deal. She will return money stolen from him, if he locates Safi. Now they must work together to cross the Witchlands, while constantly wondering, who will betray whom first? After a surprise attack and shipwreck, Safi and the Empress of Marstok barely escape with their lives. Alone in a land of pirates, every moment balances on a knife’s edge—especially when the pirates’ next move could unleash war upon the Witchlands. Sometimes our enemies are also our only allies... The Witchlands #1 Truthwitch #2 Windwitch #3 Bloodwitch Sightwitch (illustrated novella)

The Witchlands

Nickie Mohler

I'm loving this series. Especially the characters and magic.

sera

Too slow for a second book in a series!! 200 pages wasted, nothing happened. I was hoping that at least, the small plots would be some kind of hints/backstory to the greater plot but nope, nothing. I love the Truthwitch so much, and to go into this after the first instalment is just disappointing. The climax couldn't save this book, I've lost all connections felt for the characters. No book 3 for me.

Windwitch

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