susan dennard – GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 464 pages
Author: Susan Dennard
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: June 22nd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Susan Dennard’s New York Times bestselling, young adult epic fantasy Witchlands series continues with Witchshadow, the story of the Threadwitch Iseult.

War has come to the Witchlands . . . and nothing will be the same again.

Iseult has found her heartsister Safi at last, but their reunion is brief. For Iseult to stay alive, she must flee Cartorra while Safi remains. And though Iseult has plans to save her friend, they will require her to summon magic more dangerous than anything she has ever faced before.

Meanwhile, the Bloodwitch Aeduan is beset by forces he cannot understand. And Vivia—rightful queen of Nubrevna—finds herself without a crown or home.

As villains from legend reawaken across the Witchlands, only the mythical Cahr Awen can stop the gathering war. Iseult could embrace this power and heal the land, but first she must choose on which side of the shadows her destiny will lie.

BORDERLINE.

I enjoy this series, I do. And I read a lot of fantasy. This is one of those fantasies that I’m on book four and still feel turned around half the time about the world building and who’s doing what and where. It feels borderline genius or convoluted. And I flirt with that line every other chapter. Which is why my rating is lower. While an enjoyable book, the density of everything can be hard to grasp.

The complexity of the characters and their arcs are something I liked in this installment. There was SO MUCH going on. Honestly not very many dull moments. The continual rotation of point-of-view keep the action moving and the pace steady. Iseult definitely saw the most growth and I love that this book focused more deeply on her story. I did miss some of the general relationships (friendship and romantic) that have been brought up in previous books. Everyone was kind of on their own for most of this one.

I’m curious enough to keep reading the next book in the series. I have plenty of questions and I know the writing will be as great as always. It’ll be interesting to see how this series ends!

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy
Language: very little
Violence: physical altercations, magical/elemental magic, murder, loss of loved ones

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Book Review: Bloodwitch (The Witchlands #3) by Susan Dennard

July 17, 2020March 16, 2020 GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult fantasy
Length: 464 pages
Author: Susan Dennard
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: February 12th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Fans of Susan Dennard’s Witchlands series have fallen in love with the Bloodwitch Aeduan. And now, finally, comes his story.

High in a snowy mountain range, a monastery that holds more than just faith clings to the side of a cliff. Below, thwarted by a lake, a bloodthirsty horde of raiders await the coming of winter and the frozen path to destroy the sanctuary and its secrets.

The Bloodwitch Aeduan has teamed up with the Threadwitch Iseult and the magical girl Owl to stop the destruction. But to do so, he must confront his own father, and his past.

I LOVE AEDUAN.

Oh man. I’m so happy to get a book that had him more at the forefront. Gosh, I am smitten with this broody sassy man with a huge heart. And him and Iseult? Just stop. TOO CUTE.

But I mean, this whole book hurts. This is not some happy-go-lucky fantasy novel. The amount of backstabbing and political maneuvering that happens throughout this series blows my mind. I honestly can’t tell you where I think everyone *exactly* lies. All of these characters have their own motives and it definitely influences that intense action of Bloodwitch.

Addressing what I mentioned last time [not loving Vivia], she did grow on me over this book! She is truly having to claw her way to what she deserves and I feel that. I am enjoying her character arc. Also, real obsessed with pretty much everyone else. I love these characters. Everyone is unique and vastly opinionated and I here for it. This is a cast to enjoy and hug tightly because I’m convinced someone won’t make it to the end.

THE SHIPS. How can you not love them ALL? Seriously. I have intense emotions for everyone of them. I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO BE HAPPY. I will go down in flames with Aeduan and Iseult because they have one of the best developments I’ve read. The sparks between them will set the world in flames.

There were a lot of emotions throughout. I was up, down, and all around. So many things happened and I was convinced one too many times for my heart that someone was actually dead. WHY. Such strong and steady writing. Maybe a little slow at times, but this definitely [overall] held my attention.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy
Language: a little mild
Romance: kisses
Violence: plenty; skirmishes, physical, magic, arrows, swords

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Book Review

Book Review: Windwitch (The Witchlands #2) by Susan Dennard

June 25, 2020March 4, 2020 GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 384 pages
Author: Susan Dennard
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: January 10th, 2017
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Sometimes our enemies are also our only allies…

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.

I HAVE SO MANY CONCERNS.

This book left me hanging. And not in a bad, huge cliffhanger that drives you up a wall, but more in a, I have many questions and am concerned for all my characters, give me answers, kinda way. I found this to be a great second book, kept me interested, and the audio books are fantastic.

I am SO VERY UPSET that all of my loves are split across the lands and everyone thinks everyone else is dead and I JUST CAN’T. This is the worst feeling when reading a series. I need everyone happy, together, conflicts resolved and I know I can’t have that yet. While upsetting, I always remember how great it is an author can make me feel this way about their characters. SO YAY.

Pretty obsessed with everyone currently. Except Vivia. I am still not sold on her. Granted, it was the first time I was getting her POV so I’m figuring in Bloodwitch I might get behind her more. I can’t decide how villainous she actually is and what her plans are. Which makes her ambiguously nerve-wracking. We’ll see. I AM IN LOVE WITH AEDUAN THOUGH. For real. He’s my sweet favorite and you can’t convince me otherwise. If you can’t feel the vibes between him and Iseult then we need to talk. I am the captain of their ship and need more. Need.

Also I have an intense amount of time invested in my love of Merik. And I am very concerned for him. I’m going to need some answers. ASAP. There will probably be a Bloodwitch review sooner rather than later. I love these characters and how they’re developing. I wish we had Safiya and Iseult in the same location for a bit because I missed their bond. But good things come to those who wait. And wait I will (because apparently there’s 5 books all together?!).

Needless to say, I’ve become hooked on this series and am confident they’re going to only get better from here.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy
Language: a little
Romance: none
Violence: magic, physical, swords, poison, skirmishes
Trigger warning: two characters remember their mother passing away from suicide

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Book Review

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

June 12, 2020February 25, 2020 GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult fantasy
Length: 415 pages
Author: Susan Dennard
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: January 5th, 2016
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

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.

FINISHED STRONG.

I know I know, I can’t believe I haven’t read this series yet either. A few years ago I chose the Falling Kingdoms series by Morgan Rhodes over this one (which side note: was WONDERUFL). Then Truthwitch sat there…until it didn’t. I nabbed the audio book from the library and dove right in.

Things started off a bit slow and confusing. This often happens to me with fantasy books + audio books. So after I got a few chapters in and understood the story and characters things coasted much more smoothly.

I looooove that this had a heavy focus on the threadsister bond between Safiya and Iseult. They were an amazing combo who continually looked out for one another and truly love each other. I thought they were a great duo who brought out the best sides of themselves when they were together.

There’s an amazing world being set-up with grey characters who I can’t decide what level of evil anyone is. MY FAV. Keeps things interested and keeps me intrigued. I found that the action picked up a good pace and yet, there were still those slower moments where I got to see another level of the characters. The magic system is really interesting and I love the way that witches are portrayed in this series. I like that there’s so many different types of them and that the magic makes sense for the world too.

The other two POVs, Merik and Aeduan were stellar too. Everyone had there own roll to play and I loved switching up the point of view and getting all the angles. Merik is swoon-worthy and I am pushing the Safiya and Merik ship off the shore. I adored their interactions and the way things progressed between them. There’s definitely a spark that will ignite the world by the end of this series. Aeduan, our grumpy Bloodwitch was one of my personal favorites. Sassy and angry with the ability to help others while hunting down witches. Yup, I’m here for it. And I can’t wait to see what happens between him and Iseult.

Clearly, I am smitten with this book. I can’t wait to read book two and see where this story moves too. The ending left things nicely open without being a total cliffhanger.

Overall audience notes: