I received with thanks an ARC copy of Truthwitch from Pan Macmillan / Tor and Netgalley.

This is my true and honest review of Truthwitch (Witchlands #1) by Susan Dennard This was published on 12th January 2017.

This is the start of the Witchlands trilogy. This follows two young witches and their journey through a world of society and politics. I loved the world and the magic system. The author has created a fantastical world that is interesting will defiantly be carrying on with the series.

Would recommend if you love a good YA fantasy and if you are fan of Sarah J Maas.

I really liked this!
I paused it whilst reading another book but jumped straight back into it.
The characters are great - really enjoyed them and the power of friendship really shows in this book!
The world building was fantastic and the depth of the characters history as well.
I love a fantasy book and this ticked the boxes for me!
It’s really hard to find an original fantasy book they overlap with others so much but this was great in its own right.
The writing was similar to Sarah j mass novels and that works for me! Can’t wait to continue the series.

I like any book that includes close female friendships. It's something that often falls to the wayside in YA fantasy since so often the narrative is focussed on the sole woman working against all odds to conquer all, which doesn't often leave much space for anything more than a kindly maid who slips her the keys to her shackles or something similar. In this story, however, the close friendship between two women is explored in quite a bit of detail. What I thought was most interesting, is that it isn't the case that the story focusses on one character and she happens to have a female friend, this is most certainly the stories of two women which happen to share elements. So you don't get one female protagonist - you get two, which is no bad thing. 

What is of note is that these characters don't spend a huge amount of the book together. That's neither a positive nor a negative in and of itself, but my personal preference would have been to have a few more moments between the two within the story, just to set up that relationship a little more clearly. 

I thought that the world building was well done, it's another one of those 'show don't tell' kind of things, where you learn details of things like geography or the magic system as you go. For the most part, it does work, though I would definitely read a companion guide or something similar that goes into more detail (I'm a sucker for companion guides). I loved that 'witch' is a gender-neutral title in this world, as otherwise, I feel like you can get bogged down in some strange ideas about 'Wizards vs warlocks' and the gender divide feels very obvious at times. Instead, this felt like a levelling of the playing field, it was extremely fun to read the scenes with magic, particularly fights and battles between witches, especially given the different kinds of magic which could potentially clash. 

The only reason this wasn't a five star read for me was that I found some of the plots a bit too hard to follow. I thought that some of the pacing was a little bit off, which meant some important plot points felt skimmed over and I wasn't quite clear on what was going on. By book two I had my bearings a bit more, but in this first book, there are so many different things going on, so many different characters all with differing motivations and backstories that it got quite muddled in my head. 

I did think this was a great book, and an interesting take on the idea of witches that draws on quite a few fantasy ideas, pulling them together into something that feels very new. I finished this book wanting to read the next one - and that's all I can ask for really!

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

IN SUMMARY: TRUTHWITCH is a thrilling tale with authentic characters and gorgeous, rich world full of mystery and magic. If you’re looking to invest in a promising, fun high fantasy, this is it.

MY THOUGHTS:

I heard from Dennard that people found this hard to follow which made me very nervous to start, but my fears were for naught. Honestly, this was probably a five star in enjoyment level. This really opens a great new world to explore, and I can’t wait to dive in further.

This is everything I wanted Sarah J. Maas novels to be: epic world-building, a simple and effective magic system, and a cliffhanger ending that affords all the characters some closure whilst leaving room for some suspense. TRUTHWITCH even manages to make one of its primary antagonists relatable, in that I simulataneously wanted Aeduan to succeed and fail.

Some criticisms I have is the rushed romance. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it InstaLove, but it does blossom very quickly between two characters who, when they first meet, dislike one another heavily. It seems to flip to the opposite extremely quickly.

By the end, however, I didn't mind the relationship in question, and overall, I really enjoyed TRUTHWITCH!

WILL I READ ON? Yes! Can't wait to read WINDWITCH!

Not sure how this series passed me by but better late than never- and Truthwitch was a whole lot of fun, with witchery galore, political shenanigans, a touch of romance and a whole lot of adventure.

The writing is genuinely immersive, the world building very visual and at the heart of the story you have the magnificent pairing of Iseult and Safi -loyal to each other, beautifully different and highly engaging.

This is a great piece of storytelling here with plenty of thought provoking themes within the magical adventure, it is a bit of a rollercoaster ride at times with moments of light and dark and some edge of the seat action.

Really enjoyed it. I have book 2 lined up and am very much looking forward to reading it.

Recommended.

The first thing that comes to mind after reading this is "Thank god I have Windwitch already downloaded on my Kindle!"I don't think I could wait to find out what happens to Safi and Iseult... possibly my favourite withcy duo of all time.

This book had me hooked pretty much from page one, the writing is sublime and I love the world that Dennard creates. This is definitely a book that has lived up to its hype. Safi and Iseult are fantastically written characters, both of whom I love. They are the perfect contradiction to each other which I believe is what makes them such a good team.

This book has enough twists and turns that if you weren't already in love with the plot and characters would keep you reading until the end nevertheless.... and what an ending it is! I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting a nice and easy fantasy read that doesn't lack in writing, plot and character strength. An easy 5/5 for me.

This was a good YA fantasy book but it didn't work for me. The magic system is definitely a strength of this book - it is interesting and complex. However the world building was lacking. I wasn't fully invested in the story or characters. There is also insta-love in this book, which I'm never a fan of. Overall it's good, but it didn't work for me personally. If you love YA fantasy though I think this is still worth checking out.

The first chapter was a bit wham bam kerpow - lots of action, lots of nformation to assimilate. I think Susan Dennard has a strong enough story, cast and world that she could have taken it a little more slowly. That's a minor quibble, though - this is a great, riotous read, with a pair of strong, unconventional female leads, and a complex world of politics and intrigue. I'm really looking forward to the rest of this series.

I was seeing this book around, and didn't know if I'd like it or not. I'm glad I got this ARC, I really enjoyed it. It wasn't overly unique, but a solid fantasy, fast and easy read.
I think the star is Safiya and Iseult's friendship in this book. I'm so glad the romance was a bit at the background. I liked the other characters and their place in the world. The magic system was fun.
All in all, a solid, fun, enjoyable fantasy. I'd recommend it.

Ok it didn’t rock my world but I did enjoy it as a solid piece of fantasy. I liked the female friendship aspect although I wish that had actually been the focus rather than the slightly saccharine romance – which I just couldn’t get invested in. Still the world building was stellar and it was fast and fun read. I’m glad I have an arc of the next book.

I read this book when it first came out last year and really enjoyed it however i must say this story is even better after a second read.
The world building in this story, whilst interesting, took a while to get off however once it did it was unique and really fun to read about. I was instantly drawn to the characters during the first read and during the second it was like reuniting with old friends. The magic system is great - i loved reading about it and the friendship between Safiya and Iseult is strong and wonderful to read.


I really enjoyed this book and am diving into Windwitch straight away!