Name: arwen's review of Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
Item: Truthwitch
Rating: 4
Author: arwen

Susan Dennard

The first in the Witchlands series, Truthwitch by Susan Dennard is a brilliantly imagined coming-of-age story perfect for fans of Robin Hobb, Sarah J. Maas and Trudi Canavan. 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.

Truthwitch

Vanessa Bintou

arwen

Annalissa Powner 

this book didn't grab me at first, in fact I almost didn't finish it. I felt like it was a sprint that would soon stall and I just wasn't in the mood for that, but then they danced... and I'm a sucker for those kind of moments.
ill admit it wasn't earth shattering, it didn't steal my heart, but by the end I was wondering why I didn't have the second book on hand.
I didn't love Safi, I did love Merik and I liked their connection mostly the closer we got to the end and saw most of the relationship through the threads. 
speaking of threads I flipping LOVE that idea, it was so much more interesting to hear the colors and their meaning instead of hear any of the characters talk about their feelings in some long winded explanation. not to mention it was a fun way of being it from a third person pov.
above all my favorite parts of this book were its fast phase, the bond between the girls and the bloodwitch. 
it may not be perfect but for a first book in a series that was try to be different but also fit the here and now trend it did a good job, and the ending wasn't blah worthy, instead it was good enough to make you really wonder where the author is heading with this group of characters, not to mention it leaves a lot of interest open for back stories.

As the Twenty Year Truce in their homeland's centuries long war is about to end, two magic-wielding witches team up with a royal privateer to outmaneuver a vengeful witch and preserve the balance of power in their world.

A Witchlands Novel

Nessa Luna

Probably one of the most anticipated books of 2016, if not the most anticipated. Truthwitch tells the story of Safiya and Iseult, a truthwitch and her threadsister. Safi must keep her identity hidden, for if anyone finds out she's a truthwitch, they'll all want to use her... Or kill her. But of course, not everything goes according to plan, and soon Safi and Iseult must flee their home.

I think I first heard about this book from Sarah J. Maas, author of the Throne of Glass series, because the author of this book, Susan Dennart, is her best friend. So of course, if your best friend has a new book coming out - you'll promote it, which of course will mean that people that haven't read her books yet (me) will pick it up. I was super pumped for this book, because it was about witches and that is honestly one of my all time favourite subjects.

Unfortunately - for me - right as I was about to start this book, I fell into a sort of reading slump. I just didn't feel like reading at all, and maybe that's partly because of the book (which I will be talking about later), and partly just because I felt like crap. Still, I didn't want to put the book down, so I just read bit by bit whenever I was in the mood.

Safi and Iseult are best friends, threadsisters, and they would probably die for each other. I honestly loved their friendship, and they are just so good together. I really hope we'll see more of them fighting together in the upcoming books, because those fight scenes were honestly my favourite parts of this book.

What I didn't like so much, was the fact that this book had multiple POV's. Yeah I guess it's a thing with high fantasy books that there are multiple POV's, and that probably is the best way to tell a story like this, but I just don't like it. It wasn't that each character had a chapter (which for me is the better way of using multiple POV's), but in each chapter, several characters would get their part, and that is just so so so annoying. I would have been okay with just Safi and Iseult getting a POV, but then there was Merik, and Aeduan, who I honestly didn't care about at all.

(view spoiler)[Okay, honestly, I didn't like the romance at all. I knew Safi and Merik were going to be 'a thing' from the moment they met, and I secretly hoped that I was wrong. But, of course, I wasn't, and they spend the entire book flirting with each other which was just so annoying. Merik was all about how he couldn't do anything with a domna and the bethroted of the emperor at that and seriously - that went on and on and on every time they were looking at each other. Either kiss the girl or stay the f away from her, damnit. I really hoped the book would be more about the amazing friendship between Safi and Iseult, but instead it was this. Such. A. Shame. (hide spoiler)]

This was my first Susan Dennart book, and I think I will go and try out some of her other books in the future. I like her writing, and even though her other series - Something Strange and Deadly - is about zombies, I just want to try it out!

And the best part about this book? It. Has. A. Map! Books with maps are always my favourites, because those maps help me imagine the world better. I mean you can write about how *country* is located to the south of *another country* and about how *village* was north of *city*, but if you have a map, your readers can imagine it so much better! I always give a little extra points to those books that have maps...

So yeah, in the end, I really enjoyed Truthwitch even though I was going through a reading slump and there were some minor things I didn't enjoy. I will definitely be picking up the second book called Windwitch. Are you a fan of Sarah J. Maas' books? Or just high fantasy in general? You should definitely pick up Truthwitch!

My opinion on this book in one gif:

alexandra

3.5/5 –

Truthwitch was such a fun read! i loved the world, characters, and intense feelings of friendships. we rarely see that nowadays with the focus usually being on romance (although the romance was also great – slow-burn and sexual tension HIGH). the main problem i had with it was that it was really hard to get into the world at first. i was this close to DNF-ing at first because i had trouble getting into it. maybe it was the audiobook's narrator, but i couldn't understand all the magical terms, names, countries, etc etc. luckily, i also had a physical copy and could look over the map and reread parts. if i'd only read the audiobook, i would've been really confused – even by the end. i felt susan dennard could've done a better job at easing the reader into the magical world, especially since her world is so intricate and vast. however, when i did understand what was happening, i loved it. <333

Beatrix Haase

** spoiler alert **
           Book: Truthwitch

Author: Susan Dennard

Publisher: Tor Teen

Date Published: January 5, 2016

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic

Date Read: January 28 – January 29

Goodreads Rating: 4.07/5

My Rating: 4.5/5

Pages: 416

Synopsis:

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:

“Sometimes justice was all about the small victories.”

This book is probably my new favorite book. I loved it so much. This was the best adventure book that I have read in a while. Would I say it was better than Sarah J. Maas’s books? No. I love her books. Truthwitch is a close second. The characters were wonderful and the plot was just so gooey and amazing.

Characters

Safi and Iseult are best friends; they do everything together. They both keep each other alive and they know what their strengths and weaknesses are. Safi is a Truthwitch, that means she can see when someone is telling the truth or lying. Iseult is a Threadwitch, that means she can see what everyone is feeling and she can feel their pain or happiness. You meet a ton of other people along the journey like Prince Merik. Safi and Merik start to form a budding romance. I like how the romance wasn’t the main part in the book. The romance started towards the middle of the book. Safi and Merik hate each other in the beginning. They always fight and it is never happy between them. When Iseult reads Merik and Safi’s threads however, you see pink. Which means that they do have an attraction towards each other. 

Plot

While the characters were super fun and interesting to read about. I felt like the plot was a little confusing. The world-building was kind of confusing and you really had to read and pay attention to detail to really picture the world. There are a ton of witches in this world and sometimes it was hard to keep track. There are Bloodwitches, Threadwitches, Truthwitches, Waterwitches, Windwitches, etc. There were just so many that it was hard to keep track. 

Other than that however I really enjoyed the plot and I really love all the characters personalities. 

Let’s talk about the super sad ending. I hated the ending. I loved it but hated it at the same time. It was so sad. I was curling up in a ball and rocking back and forth because it was so sad. I can’t tell you what the end said but it broke me. There are 4 different pov’s in this book: Iseult, Safi, Merik, and Aeduan (Bloodwitch who is hunting Safi and Iseult). All four of them had their own ending. All four of them went different ways. All four of them broke my tiny little baby heart. Susan Dennard you have officially killed me. 

xoxo,

Bebe

P.S. I recommend this book for Sarah J. Maas lovers. This book is fun and entertaining and it is just like a Sarah J. Maas book. 

Sarah J. Maas wrote the Throne of Glass Series and A Court of Thorns and Roses.

grace richards

3.5

this book has all the makings of a great YA fantasy but boy does it fall short on many aspects. 

let’s start positive. first of all safi and iseult are the saving graces of this book - iseult especially (that girl is carrying this book on her back i’m going to call a chiropractor for her ASAP). these girls would serve as girlfriends but alas they are just *sisters*. there is also great potential for this series so i WILL read on even though i wasn’t going too. 

now for my qualms with this book. 

-why is safi the one who is technically the “main” character in this cast? yes her power is like rare but the fact of the matter is, it’s kind of useless most of the time. iseult on the other hand? girlie is talking to a shadow thing and there’s clearly more to her than what we’re being told at face value. 

-safi and merik and their insta-love is not it. bro sees her blue eyes and then all of a sudden decides that he is in love with her but, oh no he isn’t because she makes him so angry he must have an antagonistic relationship with her until their sexual tension becomes so much they cannot control themselves anymore. 

-safi and iseult are clearly the best option for a relationship in this book. iseult especially seems like she’s in love with safi, like the way that girl would kill and die for safi? but alas there must always be a man that separates them. also they’re the weird c a word which i can’t currently remember so like?? they’re girlfriends to me i don’t care what anyone else says 

-you’re also thrown in the deep end with the world building of this book. there was a war? why? who knows? not me. the place we start the book in also has a total different style of government to every other place in the book but are those explained to us? not really. same with the way the witchery works. there’s no explanation it just works how it works because that’s what the author said. 

but yeah. i’m hoping the further through the series i get the more things will become clear and the less confusing things are (and the more gay they get 😁)

Rachel Kanyid

DNF at 300ish pages. Just couldn't stay interested. It was pretty good, technically, but it didn't hold my enthusiasm the way a book should!

Emily B

4.75 STARS:

I've decided I'm going to reread the entire Witchlands series. For no reason other than I miss these characters and this world! 

I haven't read this book in nearly 6 years. Still, my brain remembered it well! It was just so incredible that, no matter how much time had passed, it stuck in my brain.

This is the series you read if you want amazing characters with great development. If you want complex villains. If you want a beautiful, diverse world and a twisty plot. If you want friendship and romance and magic.

I will always and forever recommend this series. It is in my top 3 of all time. Please, if you haven't yet, read this book! I promise that it'll only get better from here!

tina

Truthwitch tried so hard to be an epic high fantasy novel and failed. MISERABLY. This was very lacking in so many aspects needed for a fantasy book. It was trying TOO hard to be action-packed, kick-ass, and fast paced. But all those things are literally irrelevant when the storyline is just plain and bland, when the action scenes become repetitive, when there's no development within the characters, and when there is zero to no worldbuilding AT ALL. 

This had such a promising plot and had the potential to become a fantastic book, but it turned out to be a huge disappointment. Let me start complaining about the non-existent plot that this book had. It was very confusing because it was so hard to grasp what the fuck was actually going on. Halfway through this book, I found myself questioning what I wanted to happen to the characters by the end of the story. And I literally had no idea. Apparently, Safi is trying to get away from the people who want to use her for her witchery, so along with her Threadsister, they try to escape from the enemies with the help of Prince Merik. Safi was supposed to go to Lejna so that she could meet this person that her uncle sent. But what happens after that? I don't know. Is she going to some other place and live happily ever after? But where, exactly? And how could she possibly be sure that when she does manage to escape, those people won't be able to find her again? And there's also this war that's going to happen because this 20-year truce that they made was going to end. But it seems that nobody wants to start a war, so why don't they just sign the treaty again so peace can be maintained? And what even is the war? Why is there even a war in the first place? What are they fighting for and who are they fighting against with? So many things weren't properly explained. And this, in turn, resulted in an overall poor plot. 

As a replacement for a mess that is the storyline, this book consisted of too many fight scenes. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy action-packed scenes. In fact, I actually love it when the protagonist starts kicking ass. But to repeatedly read about these characters getting chased by their enemies and them trying to run away becomes absolutely uninteresting. Sure, it was all fun in the first few parts. But when the action scenes completely overtakes the plot and when it's literally being thrown every 10 pages or so, it's so tiresome to read about. I felt like the only reason it always happened was so that readers would deem this as "fast-paced". But I'm not one to turn a blind eye to all the things this book lacked just because there was a ton of "action and kick-ass scenes". 

The characters felt so flat. One of the protagonists, Safiya, felt like a carbon copy of Celaena Sardothien from the Throne of Glass series. She had so many traits and actions that reminded me so much of Celaena. She was very annoying most of the times because she tends to act abruptly before thinking about the situation. I wasn't interested in her character at all, and the "character development" that she had to go through in the end seemed a little too forced. Iseult, on the other hand, was a complex character. She was my favorite and I loved reading about her. Although, as I got farther into the story, I started to lose my interest in her as well. I felt like her character was a bit inconsistent sometimes and that ruined it for me. Another character that I think was really interesting was the Bloodwitch, Aeduan. But, again, my interest faltered by the end of this book. Mainly because there was so many things about him that didn't make sense, at least to me. 

The romance, in my opinion, was completely unnecessary in this story. Romance doesn't have to be present in each and every YA book. I love romance and I think it's very fun to read about, but sometimes authors just need to cross it out because it doesn't fit into the story. Dennard should've just focused on developing Safiya and Iseult's friendship rather than write about another cliche insta-love romance that was completely not important. I love female friendships and that's something that I rarely see in YA. So I was rooting for this friendship that they had, but there was just no connection. There was no development and it was kind of a let down. Dennard didn't focus on the friendship even when she should've. 

And now unto the worst thing about this book. Worldbuilding is the highlight of a fantasy book, right? It's the most important aspect of a fantasy world. Never have I ever thought that a fantasy book would have no worldbuilding at all. But props to you, Truthwitch, because you failed to give me ANY knowledge about this world. You cannot throw in new terminologies and not give me a clear explanation as to what they mean. You cannot throw in a magic system and not provide vivid descriptions of what they are. You cannot throw me into this fantasy world without giving me any information about it. How can I be immersed in the world, when I'm only given vague descriptions and explanations? First books of a fantasy series take some time to build up the world and magic system and this is usually the fun part because we enter into this new world and get to learn so much about it. Whilst on this one, Dennard expected that we're already familiar with the world and doesn't even bother to explain any important information. Not even the basic magic system. I'm assuming she wanted us to "figure it out for ourselves", but it doesn't even make sense because by the end of this book I still didn't understand a single thing. How did the witches obtain their power? Was it inherited? Was it just random? Where does the power even come from? How many kinds of witches are there? And what about voidwitches? What really are they? And is the emperor a tyrant, or is he good? What is the political system? How many nations are there? Why is there racism in Iseult's kind? What about the war? Why did it happen and why is it going to happen again after the truce ends? What is the Cahr Awen? What is the Cleaving? Why does it happen? What is the Puppeteer? At some point, the world just became ridiculous to me because it seemed that even the characters themselves were not familiar of the world they were living in. 

Also, I did not understand why everyone thought Safiya was a powerful witch when all she can really do is distinguish truths from lies. Which isn't really an exciting and powerful kind of magic, right? Again and again Dennard tells us that Safiya is a powerful witch, a force to be reckoned with, but she never SHOWS us why. 

I can see why there are some people who enjoyed this, though. If you aren't that picky and wouldn't mind reading a fantasy that is solely, entertaining then go for it. The writing style was very easy to get into, although it wasn't anything special. Sadly, this book took out all the aspects that I love about fantasy. So because of that, this gets only 2/5 stars from me.

Elda Mengisto

When I first stumbled upon this book, when Sarah J. Maas raved all about it, I thought I would want to read about it. Two women with magical powers running away from an empire who wants to use her for their own nefarious uses. It sounded interesting on the outset, and therefore I started reading.

The first part of the book was okay, but nothing remotely interesting. However, after the 1/4 point, it starts getting more interesting, with the chases and ambitions of the characters combined all together. Obviously, I enjoyed the adventures of Safi and Iseult, but it also looked at other characters as well, such as Merik, a charming young man who takes Safi's eye; and Aeduan, the Bloodwitch who sought the two girls. All the characters are given some meat, making me want to know what would happen next.

And in a lot of ways, I associate myself with Safi. She' determined, brazen, and loyal, but she's also impulsive to the point of immaturity. She sincerely wants to protect her friend, Iseult, as seen when she got injured and made sure she got a Firewitch. One of my favorite quotes noting her was near the end:

"She wasn't trapped inside her skin or her mistakes, and she didn't need to change who she was. Everything she needed was inside of her: the tools from Mathew and Habim--even Uncle Eron--and the solid, unwavering love of her Threadsister. Safi could bend and shape the world. And it was time to do so" (393-4)

All before punching Empress Vaness in the face.

The above quote also notes a flaw in the book--it utilizes a bit too much telling, rather than showing. The result is a bit of narration which can get irritating if one wants a more splendid world shown through these pages. Another problem is Safi's character development--or lack thereof. Though she does fall in love in Merik and is determined to use her abilities for the right reasons, I think she could've found something better other than working for Empress Vaness.

But all in all, this is a good book. I enjoyed seeing how Safiseult's friendship developed, the adventures shown, and the multiple perspectives shown. I want to see more of the world in the sequel--which sounds like it would be good: the friendship in jeopardy, a breaking truce, a potential romance, who knows? (8/10)

Nicole

Goodness this book! It stole my heart from the first chapter. Susan Dennard doesn't mess around, it may be a fantasy land but it is filled with kick ass characters that will bring a dagger to your neck or sword to your heart if you cross them. And the sisterhood between the two main characters is mundane blowingly good! This is how female friendships should be.
I was not expecting the political intrigue that just gets more and more interesting, a possible foretold future or such a diverse, structured magic system. 
Fans of Sarah J Maas would love this book I'm sure. I, for one, can't wait to read the next book.

Mikaela Iturregui

I bit of a slow plodding book, but it's such an in depth view into the world. The author clearly has many plans for the characters. I was so taken by the world and the description within it. Though at some points I wished the story would move a little faster, I have figured out my system for coping with the need to know what happens without ruining or losing some of the incredible depth and detail.

Laura Kehoe

It took me a little bit to get into this book. Right off the bat I found the characters interesting and the world intriguing. But, the writing felt a bit choppy and I found myself getting a little confused about what exactly was going on. Once I began getting to know the world and characters better, however, things really took off and I found myself flying through this book. I loved Safi and Iseult's strong friendship and the other relationships were also well-developed. It was so easy to connect with multiple different characters and I found bits of myself in almost everyone.

Nicole Dykeman

The first half of this is a bit slow and confusing but the latter half MORE than makes up for it. I’m hooked and I need the second book as soon as possible. A fascinating magic system, magic contracts, pirates, and old legends of goddesses? Everything I could ever want. 

These characters are lovable, flawed, complex, and incredible to read about. I adore the close female friendship between Safi and Iseult SO much. I need more girls being bffs who would die for each other in my books please. Also, Evrane may be the only priestess-like character I have ever liked but you know what? Those years of failures were worth it because apparently I was just waiting for my badass warrior aunt the whole time. 

The romance is actually incredible and I was not expecting to fall in love with it so much. It was the perfect amount of pining before THAT MOMENT™️ and I was losing my mind whenever they made eye contact so. Good job Susan Dennard for writing a believable romance that made my heart do jumping jacks. 

Brb, going to buy the next book.

jess

This was a pretty cool fantasy. Its biggest strength (yet a prominent weakness) was its worldbuilding, to be honest. Dennard sets up a fascinating history around the nations of the Witchlands, but she throws a lot of names, terminology, and nations at the reader at once, so for the first half of the book I was wandering around in confusion trying to keep everything straight. However, once it becomes apparent who is who, the worldbuilding is quite strong and complex, moreso than most fantasies. What I liked is that - in many fantasy novels - a culture comes, more or less, straight from its real-world counterpart or every nation falls into Generic Medieval Kingdom territory. Ketterdam and Kerch in Six of Crows is Dutch; Araluen from Ranger's Apprentice is England. The cultures and nations in the Witchlands were distinct and each had definable cultures and languages, yet none of them were distinctly a real-world counterpart. 

I liked the concept of threads, but I think it could have been elaborated on more, particularly on Iseult's witchery - what do threads look like? How do Heartthreads and Thread-families work? It was hard keeping all the magic straight as well. 

The characters were kind of one-dimensional - Safi was the loud and impulsive one and Iseult was quiet. That was it. I wanted them to have more personality. Merik and Aeduan could have done with a bit more development as well, and I didn't buy the insta-love between Merik and Safi. I also feel like Aeduan and Iseult will get together later on, which ... ugh. 

I feel like pacing was weird at some parts; it was really slow at the beginning. But all in all - fun read.

Maria Elena Vitale Zelaia

There’s not much I can say without sounding like an incoherent fangirl, so I’ll try to keep this brief. Not far in the book I already felt like facepalming so hard that my head buried itself in my pillow for not reading this sooner! So good! The reason I held off from reading this were the mixed opinions on the worldbuilding, and while I do agree that it might be challenging for some at first, I found it to be brilliant. Don’t be discouraged! The author lets the reader piece stuff together as the story progresses, which made this fantasy setting feel so realistic it felt like breathing the characters’ same air. 

If you read fantasy like Tyrion Lannister drinks wine, then this book is perfect for you. And if you love reading of amazing friendships and having your heart be consumed by glorious banter, then  pick this up! I am so grateful my friends on Instagram made me excited to read this, and I highly recommend it! 

P.S. I found a new book boyfriend in this one!

Savannah Winchell

Honestly I deserve better than this mediocrity. I DNFed at 75%. It was fast and I liked the world, magic, and overall concept, but I couldn't get past the characters. I liked 1/4 POV characters and the others infuriated me so much it wasn't worth it to continue. The buildup of the big romance of this story was not enough to motivate me.

FIBALLY FINISHED

Overall thoughts: *sad trumpet*

I was starting this book at least five times before finally completing it.
Not gonna lie, it is a bit hard to get into, since you do not know nothing about the world- if you are not in the mood to have wierd words thrown at you at random, this is probably not a book you will enjoy. 
But still, I did enjoy it. I really like the world and the writng. 
The charaters are enjoyble and the story is decent.
Not a favourite, but it is one of the better ya fantasies.

Alex

"As Aeduan walked onward, he was pleased to find he'd left a trail of muddy boot-prints throughout the house.
Sometimes justice was all about the small victories."

3.5/5 (Great, I enjoyed myself, but I wasn't blown away or excited)
Highly anticipated and hyped the beginning of this year, Truthwitch by Susan Dennard was sitting on the shelf of my local book store. So, I decided, why not? Here we follow Safi and Iseult, two Threadsisters in the Witchlands. Safi is a high noble Truthwitch, and has hidden her witchery due to the fact that her type haven't existed for centuries, and she would be hunted and owned. Iseult is a Matsi "gypsy" Threadwitch who keeps Safi grounded and is always the one getting them out of trouble, but is hated by every other culture and struggles with her powers. Safi has this brilliant heist plan to rob a right rich fellow, but their plan fails and they end up being hunted down by a Bloodwitch for ransom. We follow Safi, Iseult, the Bloodwitch Aeduan and Prince Merik as they are flung around in the life of Safi, as well as sort of their own lives (I guess).

This book was on the shorter end of what I`ve recently read, and was very fast paced. There wasn`t one page where something drastic wasn`t happening. I loved the constant action. It was refreshing to read and was one of the major reasons I was kept hooked on this novel. 

I`ve read mixed reviews about the characters, but I enjoyed them all. There were a ton of them though, more than I expected and maybe more than necessary. I feel like the characteristics of the main characters (Safi, Iseult, Merik and Aeduan) balanced each other out, and the relationships that exist between them was fun and entertaining. There`s a lot of room for expansion here. I found Safi a little bland on her own and slightly annoying, but when she was in the presence of the other main characters you could get a sense of her personality depth coming through. She's a bit of a brat honestly, and I'm looking forward to some character development. Iseult and Aeduan were my favourite, together and apart. They have very complex backgrounds and I can`t wait to see how they progress and grow in the next novels.

Problems I had with this book:
1. First, a small thing, the character names. I am all for having unique character names, but these were excessive. I am 100% certain I pronounce some of them wrong, and won`t know exactly how theyre supposed to be pronounced unless I do some research and hear it from the author`s mouth.
2. Second, the world building. There practically is none. The author just throws you in and leaves you to fend for yourself. I found myself very, very confused for the first 3 chapters, and remained confused about the different monarchys and some of the slang/dialect through out the rest. I almost needed to flip back to the map every couple of chapters just to gived myself and idea of what was happening. This was a major throw-off and really dissapointed me. 
3. Super cheesy YA romance. I loved the two characters that end up sort of "together" (you know who, if you've read it) and the dynamic they had together. They are a great couple and I ship it, I really do, BUT the way it was written put me off a bit. Still, to make it clear, I LOVE them together.

All in all, this was a great book, and I'm looking forward to see where this series is taken. I've noticed that we have 3 more books coming our way that have been announced, and that makes me hopeful for some real world action that was left unsolved in this book. I'm just hoping that by the time the next installment comes out, I haven't lost interest in the series and story. We will see!

Anwesha 

**I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.This does not affect my opinion on the book.**

I wanted to read this book way back last year,when it came out but #brokestudentproblems . And also,I wanted to read something this year,that had witch-magic (what I mean by 'witch magic' is that a magic that involves witches and not the magic of A Darker Shade of Magic or The Crown's Game ) that wasn't Harry Potter.(And shh..don't bring up the fact that I also wanted it cause it looked downright gorgeous.)

Cover and Title: I repeat again,this cover is gorgeous.Yes,there is another cover too,but this is more gorgeous and you do not get to disagree about that!And the title is obvious.I mean,it will be obvious once you read the book.But I like how the titles are based on a particular kind of witch,like this one's named Truthwitch,next one's named Windwitch ,then Bloodwitch.I like that.And the series is title 'The Witchlands' which probably means that we get to see a vast world of witches and all new characters,which sounds like fun!

World building :This is going to be confusing,go slow.You hear the names of different places and kingdoms,and different kinds of people and other beings,like you get to know that there's a big world out there,with things and places and people you've never met before,but the things is there are not much details about them.For instance,there's this Empire of Marstok.The thought of the existence of this new magical place made me exited,but then there weren't much details in the book to make up a visual image of that place,which is something that kind of disappointed me.So,what I meant to say in short is that,there's a world out there,but no world building.

Plot: I loved how the story went.Yeah,it was like one mistake led to a whole chain of events,but the plot and story line,they were really entertaining and fast paced.And a major reason behind the rating.I wouldn't deny that there were parts of it that were predictable,like the ones regarding The Origin Wells and The Cahr Awen ,among others.And another thing that plays a big part in this book-Safi and Iseult's friendship.I love how strong their friendship is.And that they choose each other over everything else,which is a  not-so-frequent-thing in YA books. People are always choosing the love interest over the friend,and this friendship between Safi and Iseult,it is something beautiful.

“Because ‘just me’ isn’t who we are,” Iseult hollered back. “I’ll always follow you, Safi, and you’ll always follow me. Threadsisters to the end.”
― Susan Dennard, Truthwitch
“Initiate. Complete.”
― Susan Dennard, Truthwitch
Did I mention that there were some pretty hilarious lines, too?

“Who the rut is that Nubrevnan Windwitch? And: He should really learn how to button a shirt.”
― Susan Dennard, Truthwitch
And the romance,I'm not sure yet,if I like it or not.It seemed it was too quick,or maybe it's just me.

Characters:Safi is the main character.She is a Truthwitch and the book is titled Truthwitch,so she ,obviously is the centre of most events in this book.And she has a penchant for making poor decisions that puts both her and Iseult in perilous situations.Really poor at decision making.But I still like her,for the that last decision she made,for the 'greater good' ;and for her love for Isseult (no,not the romantic love).I like Isseult more actually!Where Safi is special for being a Truthwitch,Isseult is really special.She's different.She's a Threadwitch,but still,she is different from the others,and please don't make me say why,cause that would be a spoiler .But those girls,they are both badass.And there is that other character ,a Bloodwitch ,who is one of the elements in the book that makes it more interesting!He's a multilayered dark character,about whom I would love to read more! and since the third book is named Bloodwitch,I think we're going to get a lot more to know about him.(*makes excited fangirl faces*)I'm not sure how much I like Merik though.I like his concern and love for his people,but we don't get to know much about his character.I really hope we get to know more about him though,cause he isn't a bad character,plus the next book is titled Windwitch,and he is one.And another character I need more about is The Puppeteer (Is that how it's spelled?)

I wonder who smells of Clear Lake and Frozen Waters and I didn't get the concept of being cleaved. *sobs cause that seems like a very important thing in the book*

“I guard the light-bringer,
And protect the dark-giver.
I live for the world-starter,
And die for the shadow-ender.
My blood, I offer freely.
My Threads, I offer wholly.
My eternal soul belongs to no one else.
Claim my Aether.
Guide my blade.
From now until the end.”
― Susan Dennard, Truthwitch

Meg Cornhill

4.5*

I absolutely adored this book, because I’m all about women supporting women and found that this just encapsulated the beauty and strength that women can form to one another. I loved the magic system, all the main characters had a place in the book and didn’t feel like ‘filler’ which I appreciated. I ate it up in about 5 hours overall, so I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequels.

Laura

Maybe the reviews and opinions I had read about this book affected how hyped I was when I started it, and maybe I shouldn't have hoped for it to be that good. Anyway, I did enjoy the plot and I think the story has a lot of potential, but I won't be reading the sequel any time soon (if ever).

Sheila

This book has been super hyped for months, and I was so glad it didn't disappoint me!

The characters are SO great! Impulsive Safiya & reserved Iseult, tempestuous Merik & cunning Aeduan, even all of the secondary characters were so much fun to read! For the most part, the POV shifts were smooth & made sense, supported the ongoing plot & were restricted only to Safiya, Iseult, Merik, and Aeduan. (Even the POV's for Merik & Aeduan didn't happen until after the halfway point) The sexual tension between Safiya and Merik was a pretty obvious development, BUT I am personally more interested in learning more about the Leopold-Safiya relationship dynamic! 

I am desperate to get more backstory on Aeduan and Iseult; Iseult's family story was really great, but there's obviously a moral struggle in store for her in later books. Aeduan has a storyline that mirrors Iseult's, but we have far less information about him & I need to know more! 

The downsides of Truthwitch for me were: 1) the world-building was lazy & played to the stereotypes of fantasy writing. Hell, the world map even looked like Europe! Not to mention the obvious real-world parallels. I like to see more imaginative stuff going on, & this missed the mark. 2) The magic system was Graceling-esque with oddly specific magic specializations?? I also couldn't entirely tell the difference between magical abilities classified as 'Void' or 'Aether' beyond...'Void' may = "evil" & 'Aether may = "not evil"??? 

Despite all that, this book gets a solid 4 stars from me. Hooray!

Vanessa Bintou &
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

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