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The Witchlands #2
Windwitch
Alternative cover edition of ISBN13: 9780765379306.
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.
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.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 10, 2017
About the author
Susan Dennard
24 books9,120 followersSusan Dennard is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of the Witchlands series (now in development for TV from the Jim Henson Company), and the Something Strange and Deadly series, in addition to various other fiction published online.
Before becoming an author, she got to travel the world with her M.Sc. in marine biology. She also runs the popular newsletter for writers, the Misfits and Daydreamers. When not writing or teaching writing, she can be found rolling the dice as a Dungeon Master or mashing buttons on one of her way too many consoles.
You can learn more about Susan on her website, blog, newsletter, Twitter, or Pinterest.
Before becoming an author, she got to travel the world with her M.Sc. in marine biology. She also runs the popular newsletter for writers, the Misfits and Daydreamers. When not writing or teaching writing, she can be found rolling the dice as a Dungeon Master or mashing buttons on one of her way too many consoles.
You can learn more about Susan on her website, blog, newsletter, Twitter, or Pinterest.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,181 reviews
March 3, 2019
I loved this addition to the series but it didn't quite match my obsession with Truthwitch. It felt like the forward progression of the story stalled a bit. But with that being said, I can tell a lot of new foundations were laid in this book and I CANNOT WAIT for the next book! Video review to come.
Re-read 3/3/19: I enjoyed this even more on re-read! 4.5 stars this time around!
Re-read 3/3/19: I enjoyed this even more on re-read! 4.5 stars this time around!
February 25, 2017
2.5 STARS
Those of you who follow my reviews regularly know that Truthwitch was one of my favorite reads last year and main protagonists Safiya & Merik even made it to my top favorite ships of 2016. To say that I was super excited to read sequel, would be an understatement. I simply could not wait to get my hands on Windwitch. So imagine my disappointment when it did not meet my expectations...
Almost everything that I loved in the first book (Safi/Iseult interactions, Safi/Merik banters and chemistry, fast paced storyline) was completely missing in this instalment. There was nothing to make my heart beat faster, nothing to evoke a passion in me. Windwitch definitely suffers from "second book syndrome" and I'm hugely disappointed!
The only positives when comparing Windwitch to Truthwitch were that we got (a) more Aeduan+Iseult scenes and (b) plenty of Merik's POV (this guy is breaking my heart and he is definitely my favorite character in this series).
Usually, I don't have a problem with multiple POVs but in this case all those plotlines and POVs didn't work in the favor of the book as a whole. Safi's storyline was the least exciting one, even boring at times (pointless I dare to say). Which is sad since her POV was my favorite one in the first book. Same goes for new POV. Vivia's POV just did not touch the right buttons for me and I didn't care much about her.
Even though pacing and flow of the story were weird, world-building and writing itself was still strong and I look forward to third instalment which hopefully will bring more of what made me fall in love with this series in the first book.
Meanwhile, I'm going to think about this book as a filler, unnecessary evil to get the plot going to the right direction of another awesomeness to come. Because you simply CAN NOT create chemistry like Safi and Merik shared in Truthwitch and then just PUFF... let it completely disappear like it never happened. (I refuse to believe that this series will lose its potential so early in and throw away everything that made it special to me).
I'm counting days until release of Windwitch. I need to spend more time with these awesome characters that I fell in love witch in Truthwitch!
Those of you who follow my reviews regularly know that Truthwitch was one of my favorite reads last year and main protagonists Safiya & Merik even made it to my top favorite ships of 2016. To say that I was super excited to read sequel, would be an understatement. I simply could not wait to get my hands on Windwitch. So imagine my disappointment when it did not meet my expectations...
Almost everything that I loved in the first book (Safi/Iseult interactions, Safi/Merik banters and chemistry, fast paced storyline) was completely missing in this instalment. There was nothing to make my heart beat faster, nothing to evoke a passion in me. Windwitch definitely suffers from "second book syndrome" and I'm hugely disappointed!
The only positives when comparing Windwitch to Truthwitch were that we got (a) more Aeduan+Iseult scenes and (b) plenty of Merik's POV (this guy is breaking my heart and he is definitely my favorite character in this series).
Usually, I don't have a problem with multiple POVs but in this case all those plotlines and POVs didn't work in the favor of the book as a whole. Safi's storyline was the least exciting one, even boring at times (pointless I dare to say). Which is sad since her POV was my favorite one in the first book. Same goes for new POV. Vivia's POV just did not touch the right buttons for me and I didn't care much about her.
Even though pacing and flow of the story were weird, world-building and writing itself was still strong and I look forward to third instalment which hopefully will bring more of what made me fall in love with this series in the first book.
Meanwhile, I'm going to think about this book as a filler, unnecessary evil to get the plot going to the right direction of another awesomeness to come. Because you simply CAN NOT create chemistry like Safi and Merik shared in Truthwitch and then just PUFF... let it completely disappear like it never happened. (I refuse to believe that this series will lose its potential so early in and throw away everything that made it special to me).
I'm counting days until release of Windwitch. I need to spend more time with these awesome characters that I fell in love witch in Truthwitch!
June 26, 2017
“The holiest always have the farthest to fall.”
Merik Nihar is dead.
Yes, that's right. Admiral Merik Nihar, the Prince of Nubrevna, the Windwitch with the infamous temper, died in a horrible fashion. Except he did not. Forgotten and broken, physically and emotionally, he crosses the filthy streets of Nubrevna, streets filled with the famished and the poor, he seeks revenge against those who wronged him and lets his wrath guide him, only to discover black tendrils and smoke, and a greater darkness, that is bound to destroy his country once and for all. In the meantime, his sister, Vivia, a ruthless leader and a woman who tries to dominate in a world built for men, fights her own battles. Against the council, against poverty and her own regrets for her crimes.
“Mhe varujta. Trust me as if my soul were yours.”
Iseult det Midenzi, the Threadwitch, is alone. Except she is not. Her best friend, her other half, her Threadsister, is far away, and Iseult is determined to find her and bring her back. In this effort, she will meet an unexpected ally. Aeduan, the former Carawen Monk and Bloodwitch, shouldn't form an alliance with the Threadwitch. After all, he is ordered to capture her. But there is something fragile yet strong about her, and they'll find themselves fighting savage pirates and monsters. Together, they'll discover Iseult's true nature. And that will terrify and fascinate them.
“Oh, I know!" Safi clapped her hands, delighted by her own genius. "I shall call you Un-empressed."
"Please," Vaness said coldly, "stop this immediately."
Safi absolutely did not.”
Safiya fon Hasstrel, the precious Truthwitch, is captive. Except she is not. After a shipwreck and an explosion, she and the Empress of Marstok cross paths with the Hellbards (witch-hunters), who are ordered to deliver them to Safi's worst nightmare. But there is something sinister brewing in the Witchlands. A war that seems unavoidable, and a fight for power and glory that makes the lines between friend and foe blurry. And maybe, just maybe, the two Threadsisters are the mythical Car Awen, the heroines that are destined to heal this broken land. If they don't get killed in the process.
Wow.
One word that sums up perfectly the explosive plotline of
Windwitch. There was not a sigle moment of boredom or reprieve from action, Susan Dennard is established for me as an excellent and resourceful fantasy author. Lush and brutal descriptions, three-dimensional characters, masterfully crafted battle sequences, intricate and rich worldbuilding, all of them constitute a solid and utterly beguiling novel. Susan Dennard is an enchantress. One moment you were sitting in the bus, with fatigue closing your eyelids, but once you opened the pages of Windwitch you were transported in bloody battlefields, pirates' lairs and undercover caves, crowded streets and tropical forests. Even though most of the main characters were separated, all of their arcs were complete and well-crafted, portraying their weaknesses but also their strengths.
Windwitch focused on Merik, and showed a darker side of him. Abandoned and presumed dead, with Cam as his sole companion, he witnessed the true state of his city, and tried to fight injustice as the Fury, a merciless god. It is no secret that I am madly in love with him, but I can't shy away from the arrogance that sometimes blinded him, nor his wrath that seemed a little off. Of course, with that excellent twist we got the explanations for his behaviour, and eventually I felt proud of the way he grew up and realised his mistakes.
A character I didn't expect I'd love was Vivia (aka Yara Greyjoy). You could feel the irony when the exact same thoughts crossed both her and Merik's minds regarding the welfare of their country, even though they held each other accountable for everything that went wrong in their lives. Their relationship was full of jealousy and misunderstandings, and I was frantic for it to heal, because together they could achieve greatness.
“It is always easier to blame gods or legends than it is to face our own mistakes.”
The Iseult/Aeduan partnership was an unexpected treat. Besides the romantic relationship that is slowly blooming, watching them interact, fight and discover each other was enthralling. Iseult is a strong and competent heroine, the one always on the backround who suddenly makes some devastating discoveries about herself, and even though embracing them was hard, she did not cower. Aeduan on the other side, except his pragmatistic and murderous self, he also showed a vulnerability that made him more humaine, and I loved being inside his head.
And finally Safi. Her attitude was entertaining as ever, and her snarky comments kept making me snicker. Badass and reckless, always looking for trouble, Safi was an oasis that made you breath easier, and I'm curious about the way her storyline will evolve.
“Share the glory, share the blame.”
The only thing missing, and the reason I gave Windwitch 4 stars, is the absence of the dynamics of the first book. The friendship between Safi and Iseult was always present, but I would love it if they had some scenes together, to witness once more the way they complete each other. And the lack of scenes between Merik and Safi? I was so disappointed. Their relationship, the tension that set you aflame was one of the features that made Truthwitch one of my favorite books, and I'm desperate to see more of them together. Do you hear me, Susan?
All in all, Windwitch was a great sequel, one that delivered a wonderful blend of magic, war and friendship! Do give it a try!
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Before release review
The cover
THE COVER
"with a focus on Merik"
Excuse me while I'm building a time machine
April 19, 2018
3.75⭐️
I’ll say as little as possible because I seem to be a tad bit confused about my feelings.
Here’s the thing, everything happened in here which under normal circumstances, I’d hate. This would be where I’d have smoke coming out of my ears, along with a raging rant review. Strangely enough, I enjoy it all here.
In a nutshell, as far as plot is concerned, nothing happened. Nada.
The world building was no better than the first book, in fact, I’d go as far as to say it was worse.
None of my questions were answered i.e. the magic system, the politics, the (sensitive) relationships between the kingdoms, the truce, the prejudices against the tribes and so much more.
However, the characterisation and character developments were so good that I was kept engaged the whole way through.
To put it simply, I read it for them and only them. They were memorable, dimensional, and distinct from each other. They each had a sense of agency and owned and controlled their actions within the world that I overlooked Almost everything I usually appreciate in a fantasy book.
I would say though, out of the four leads, I though Safi’s storyline was the more boring and predictable. Her arc as a whole fell completely flat in comparison to the other three which is fine ‘cause It’s always been Iseult who’d had my attention from page one of the first book, and I loved her even more here.
All in all, it was Aeduan, the bloodwitch and Iseult, the Threadwitch who gave this book life and made it every bit the WORTHY READ that it was.
I’ll be honest; I was too busy swooning over Aeduan to care about anything else. I broke one of my cardinal rules for him and I regret nothing.
I’ll say as little as possible because I seem to be a tad bit confused about my feelings.
Here’s the thing, everything happened in here which under normal circumstances, I’d hate. This would be where I’d have smoke coming out of my ears, along with a raging rant review. Strangely enough, I enjoy it all here.
In a nutshell, as far as plot is concerned, nothing happened. Nada.
The world building was no better than the first book, in fact, I’d go as far as to say it was worse.
None of my questions were answered i.e. the magic system, the politics, the (sensitive) relationships between the kingdoms, the truce, the prejudices against the tribes and so much more.
However, the characterisation and character developments were so good that I was kept engaged the whole way through.
To put it simply, I read it for them and only them. They were memorable, dimensional, and distinct from each other. They each had a sense of agency and owned and controlled their actions within the world that I overlooked Almost everything I usually appreciate in a fantasy book.
I would say though, out of the four leads, I though Safi’s storyline was the more boring and predictable. Her arc as a whole fell completely flat in comparison to the other three which is fine ‘cause It’s always been Iseult who’d had my attention from page one of the first book, and I loved her even more here.
All in all, it was Aeduan, the bloodwitch and Iseult, the Threadwitch who gave this book life and made it every bit the WORTHY READ that it was.
I’ll be honest; I was too busy swooning over Aeduan to care about anything else. I broke one of my cardinal rules for him and I regret nothing.
April 14, 2017
❝The holiest always have the farthest to fall.❞
Well... that was a disappointment. Truthwitch was one of my favorite books of 2016 and I was already anticipating Windwitch before I even got through the first book. It was one of the first books I read last year and the wait for the second book was unbearable! But sadly, this was not what I was expecting. :( I expected fast-paced, action-filled storylines but instead we got quite the opposite. Everything that I came to love in Truthwitch was nonexistent in Windwitch.
I figured going into Windwitch that this book would be very Merik-centered. But because I loved Merik in Truthwitch, I had no complaints. In fact, I was even thrilled to finally see and learn more of the prince! BUT. Unfortunately, his chapters were the most boring and the dullest of the bunch. Where was the Merik that I came to love in book one?! I am not exaggerating you one bit when I say that I fell asleep after every chapter because this book could be summarized in one word: S-L-O-W. Truthwitch was info dumpy in some areas but it was nowhere near this slow and boring.
On top of that, we also got a set of POINTLESS POV chapters from Vivia, Merik's sister. The only other character that was even duller than Merik and a pack of bricks was VIVIA. I'm sorry but why, oh, why does Vivia have her own POV and why in the world should we care about her struggles? Her chapters reminded me a lot of Amara and Lucia from the Falling Kingdoms put together, and it doesn't help Vivia's character one bit considering how I despise both of those characters. The only thought I had the whole time I was "reading" (skimming) her chapters was why this irrelevant character was worthy enough to even get her own chapters. All that effort should've just been put into making those Vivia chapters into AEDUAN chapters because you can never have too much Aeduan.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHERE IN THE WORLD WERE THE SAFI AND ISEULT SCENES??? Because there were literally NONE. So don't get your hopes up of getting a reunion in this book because you'll wind up having the biggest disappointment ever. -___-
The only good thing that I loved about Windwitch were the Iseult and Aeduan interactions. But even they couldn't save the sinking ship that was Windwitch. Safi was my favorite character in Truthwitch and I was even bored with her chapters. I've waited a whole year for Windwitch and I didn't expect to be this disappointed. I don't know what happened, but this book possibly suffered the worst case of middle book syndrome. The whole time I was just wondering what in the world are these characters doing and WHY. I loved all four main characters but I... just... didn't... CARE about them in Windwitch. This whole book just felt kinda pointless and was just all around a filler book to make this a four book series. I'm just so mad and bitter because of how much of a letdown Windwitch was and because of how many times I wanted to actually DNF it. :/
Susan Dennard is an amazing person and a great writer. I wish I didn't have to give this a two star rating because Truthwitch truly did make its way into my favorites, but I feel like we could've gotten so much more in this book. This was not her greatest work but I can only hope for better in Bloodwitch. And since it's named after Aeduan, I'm hoping we get a major improvement in the third book. Aeduan is a fantastic character that needs more attention, and I feel like Susan can do no wrong with more Aeduan. Hoping for the best in book three!
July 21, 2021
Buddy-read with the loveliest Vera
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
“Though we are safe with our friends near, we are safest with our enemies nearer.”
Wow, what an emotional ride this book was! I honestly must admit that mostly all my expectation about this book were based on Aeduan/Iseult relationship. And when I found out they will have shared chapters in this part, my joy was limitless. But, oh boy, this book had a couple more surprises in store for me.
First of all, the world-building became wider, richer, less confusing than it was in book 1. Politics and intrigues are getting more vicious and tangled. Who betrays whom first are absolutely defining words for this book, because at every step there are doubts and sly game. Everyone lies. It's in the way we banter with our friends. It's in the mundane greetings we give passersby. It's in the most meaningless things we do every single moment of every single day. Hundreds upon thousands of tiny, inconsequential lies.”
Kudos to Susan Dennard for creating such complex world! And the writing improved since Truthwitch a lot too. It was not an easy task to read book 1, because words seemed to be in each other's way: some phrases stuck and tumbled on my tongue and seemed out of place, add to that a really confusing titles of all kinds of witches, and ultimately I was more lost in the Witchlands than a foreign traveller should be lost in an unknown country. In Windwitch, though, the writing flows; there's less confusion (yes, some things still are confusing, but it is totally due to the plot and the fact that some things are not meant for readers to be understood yet), there's more drive, more action, more development. Before Nubrevna, it had been Dalmotti. Before Dalmotti, it had been Marstok. For centuries, this peninsula had changed hands, and for centuries, no one had ever fully won—or ever fully lost.
I guess I only wished that maybe there was a little less action, because, at times, it was non-stop and made me tired from all these blurring in front of my eyes, and who fought whom, who ran where and such were indiscernible at times.
The Characters
Let me tell you that Susan Dennard is a genius when it comes to creating threads (see what I did here!) between characters. She so masterly connects and divides, and even when you think there's nothing between two characters, she creates a connection that binds them in the most wondrous ways. There's no rush, no insta-anything -- everything is gradual and balanced and so natural. Let's start with my favorites:
●Aeduan/Iseult. These two... 
This is me every time Aeduan and Iseult shared a chapter. Gosh, I think these two are becoming one of my all-time favorite couples, because that chemistry!! From enemies to allies to friends and more (?). I hope so! At first, they are so cautious of each other, so distrustful, but then little by little, they learn each other's moves and gestures and changes in moods. Aw, it was so adorable when Aeduan returned Iz his favorite coat, and how she was secretly happy about it because she already got attached to it. Or remember how Aeduan at first didn't let Iz walk behind him, because he didn't trust her, and then there was a scene when he finally let his guard down and let her behind his back. He walked in front now, as if Iseult had passed whatever test he’d issued the day before. Or perhaps he’d just forgotten not to trust her. She suspected both. He’d also given her the salamander cloak and reclaimed the bland coat she’d first found him in.
It meant something—giving her that cloak for a second time. And though Iseult didn’t know what precisely, she did know it felt good to be back beneath its thick fibers.
Awwwwwww, such little snippets that might seem meaningless, but they mean a world when it comes to trust issues for Iz and especially for Aeduan. He's been through hell it seems, and, though, we don't know the whole story yet, but those words he couldn't forget, the ones his mother said to him the last time he saw her, "Run, my child, run.” They broke my heart every time I saw them. Peculiar, but Aeduan reminds we a lot of Arin from The Winner's Trilogy. Both lost something when they were children. Both had to harden themselves to survive. Both felt alone and unloved. And with Arin we already know how his story ended, with Aeduan, though, there are still so many unanswered questions, and I hope the author will keep my cinnamon roll whole and unharmed, or else I'll turn into a Fury myself. There was pain too, though Aeduan could ignore that. After all, pain was nothing new.
Also, one more stark similarity between Arin and Aeduan. Remember the scene from The Winner's Kiss where Arin acts as if he was the God of Death himself slaying his enemies without mercy? So here it is: there's a similar scene with Aeduan. A real treat for the fans of both characters!He twisted back to the slaver, who was clearly at a loss for who posed more of a threat: Aeduan or the mountain bat. To Aeduan, the answer was obvious. “You should run now,” he warned the man. “Or I will kill you.”
The man’s lips curled back. “Seven of us and only one of you.” He grabbed Aeduan’s shirt.
“Exactly,” Aeduan said. “Which is why you should be running.” Then, with a speed that no man could match, he clutched the man’s hand to his chest, and punched up. His fist connected just above the elbow, breaking the joint and snapping the humerus in two.
Bone tore through flesh; the man screamed.
This was only the beginning. With the man’s arm angled in a way it was never meant to be, Aeduan thrust the limp elbow toward the man’s neck. The jagged tip of bone that had erupted outward now pierced soft throat.
The man’s beard was instantly red, and with a soft flick of his wrists, Aeduan pushed the body over.
After that, everything was a blur of shaking earth and screams and blood. Of terror that expanded in men’s pupils when they realized that they were going to die.
Aeduan is merciless, we should never forget that, but also there's a tender side to him, the one he grudgingly hides and doesn't want the world to see. “Aeduan.” She’d never said his name aloud. She was surprised by how easily it rolled off the tongue.
He looked back, his expression inscrutable as always. But laced with … with something. Hope, she found herself thinking, though she knew it was fanciful.
Aeduan was not the sort of man to ever hope.
But Iseult penetrates his defences one by one. She sees the man behind the "monster" everybody else sees. And they are so natural with each other, they feel one another, they work in sync. A perfect team!No stopping, though. Only running onward through the weak rain. Men charged with blades, but swords were so easy for Iseult to evade with Aeduan at her side. Together, they arced, they lunged, they ducked, they rolled. A fluid combination of steps built on blood and Threads.
And apart from this thing they have, there's something else that unites them, makes them similar. Something darker...This was not the Threadwitch who had cornered Aeduan beside a bear trap. Nor the Threadwitch who’d sparred with him that very morning. This was a woman changed.
Aeduan knew because he’d been there before himself. Soon she would learn—just as he had—that there was no outrunning the demons of one’s own creation.
Gosh, I can go on babble and babble about Iseult and Aeduan endlessly, and I'd probably quote their every scene together here if I could (honestly I kind of... might have already quoted almost every scene between them in GR quotes, oops #sorrynotsorry), and turn this review into a fangirl ground... or maybe I already had done that...
●Iseult/Safi. Though Threadsisters never cross path in this book, it still felt like they were together, because there wasn't a situation our girls didn't think of or one another or a time they didn't miss each other. I already have written in my review for Truthwitch that I find their friendship to be one of sweetest things ever, and here again, they proved their bond is beyond borders and miles. Every time one of them found herself in a difficult or dangerous situation, she thought of her Threadsister: What Safi would do? How Iseult would act in my place? They helped each other to stay strong even being miles away apart.If Iseult were here, then Safi could charge off into that jungle without a second thought. With Iseult, Safi was brave. She was strong. She was fearless.
Iseult struggles with her own nature; she is trying to understand who she is without Safi and if she could become her own self.
She was broken. She was useless. She was the pointless half of a friendship. The one who would live forever in shadows, no matter what she did. No matter whom she fought.
Safi is finally trying to embrace her duties; to grow up and face her responsibilities.
Safi was beyond anger. Beyond temper. This was her life now—forever running, forever changing hands from one enemy to the next until eventually, the enemy severed her neck. It had been inevitable, really. Her magic had cursed her from the day she was born.
●Merik/Cam/Vivia. I swear, Merik and Cam are the cutest outcasts! They so much reminded me of brother and sister. How they protected each other, how they helped and understood each other. So cute! And Cam may seem little and fragile, but she's strong; she guides Merik when he loses hope, she opens his eyes when he loses his way. Plus Cam is a very intriguing character and has a couple of revelations, I am sure, will be a pleasant surprise for readers.“Stop seeing what you want to see, Merik Nihar, and start seeing what's really here!”
Honestly, Merik got on my nerves at first. The arrogance! Duh, his pompous speeches every few pages made my eyes roll, but then the twist happened and everything took its place, everything finally made sense. Another genius move from the author! And as it is Merik's book, after all, I must say a couple of words about his struggles. Merik went through hell and back, if not for Cam, he'd totally be all alone in this world. I am not approving of his decision to become the Fury, but I am proud of him for growing and realizing his mistakes; for making amends.Merik had seen potential trade for Nubrevna where there was none. He’d seen a navy that had “needed his leadership” when it hadn’t. He’d seen a selfish domna in Safiya fon Hasstrel, a frustrating Threadwitch in Iseult det Midenzi, and then an inconsequential ship’s boy in Cam—yet none of those presumptions had proved true.
Vivia, Merik's older sister got her own POV in this book, and I must say she is also not who she seems at first. In the previous book, I found her quite unfeeling and at times evil; in this part I rooted for Vivia, shared her struggles and doubts. It was an unexpected feeling for me, but Vivia seemed so human and fragile on the inside that I couldn't stop sympathize with her.No more stalemates because they thought her unqualified and unhinged.
No more tiptoeing around a room because women oughtn’t to run. To shout. To rule.
And above all: no more blighted regrets.
And once more, the brother/sister relationship between Vivia and Merik was so believable. Jealousy, misunderstanding, love - all is so messed up, and where whose loyalties lie... Once more, who will betray whom first, right?Merik had been everyone’s favorite. He’d had the Nihar rage, and he’d had the good sense to be born a man. Easy, easy—that was how Merik’s life had always been. No resistance. Whatever he’d wanted, he’d gotten.
Even his death had been easy.
●Safi/Vaness/Caden. This trio is a very curious one! After Safi agreed to help the Empress of Marstok, Vaness cleanse her country from corruption, they travelled together, but they didn't make it far when Hell-Bards (guards who hunt witches) intercepted them. After that things got a little bit peculiar, meaning that you never know who might turn out to be one's ally. And the quote below perfectly describes an adventure our reluctant allies found themselves in:She felt no relief at having survived this attack. No heady satisfaction surged through her because she’d made it to shore. She felt only a growing emptiness. A gathering dark. For this was her life now. Not boredom and lectures, but hell-flames and assassins. Massacres and endless flight.
To say it was a non-stop action is to say nothing! No respite for the wicked, my friends. I'd say it was an unexpected adventure in many ways, and once again I couldn't stay indifferent to the characters' fates. Also, there might've been hints of a love-triangle between Merik/Safi/Caden, but this book is so light when it comes to romance: meaning that there's almost no romance at all, and the author so far wasn't predictable when it comes to building believable relationships, so I hope this whole "maybe" love-triangle will be resolved to our shared satisfaction: meaning Safi and Merik will be together.
Overall, I feel like there are tons of things I haven't said about Windwitch yet, but I fear I might bore you with my tales and fangirling. I definitely expected to like this book, and I definitely did not expect to love it so much. For me this experience was brighter than with its predecessor. Apart from the awesome characters, more developed world and intriguing plot, there's also creatures of myth (yes, yes, be ready for the mountain baits), vicious Firewitches (gosh, these were really nasty) and beautiful ancient ruins for tired travelers to lay their eyes upon. Without argument, this book is way darker and more brutal than the first one, I'd say maybe even more mature (?). And I probably would not be able to express how excited I am for Bloodwitch, book 3 in the series, which will be dedicated to Aeduan (finally!). I have so many theories and regards to his book. I am looking forward to reading it and sharing my thoughts with you, my friends.
Windwitch is a highly recommended sequel!
June 21, 2021
I'm so grateful to 2019 for bringing me to this series. Every single one of these characters already mean so much to me. Knowing that this is going to be a five book series has me ecstatic!! I can't wait to dive into Bloodwitch.
Immediately after I finished this book I had the same thought as when I finished Truthwitch: Where the hell has this series been hiding from me?
After the events of Truthwitch our four main characters are separated. Safi is captured by the Marstoki empress. Iseult will stop at nothing to find her threadsister. Merik is on his way back to Nubrevna to help his suffering country. And Aeduan is on the search for his stolen coins.
At the beginning of Windwitch we find out that Merik's ship is destroyed enroute, the crew dead but Merik somehow survived. Injured and severely burnt but still alive he makes his way to the capital. And there he searches for answers and evidence. Evidence that his sister, Vivia, had his crew assassinated. I really felt for Merik in this book. He had just witnessed his threadbrother cleave and then lost his whole crew. His family and country thinks he is dead. He is grieving, he is hurting and the only thing on his mind is vengeance.
I was determined to hate Vivia. And when her POV's popped up they really irked me because I didn't want to like her. (Remember was under the impression she tried to murder her own brother). But she grew on me and I can now say I am a fan and she is going to be a kickass queen one day. I'm excited to see where the future books will take her.
Safi is on her own misadventure as prisoner of the Marstoki empress. But not for long.... in the same manner as Merik's ship, the Marstok ship is also attacked and only Safi and Vaness make it out. Stuck in hostile lands the two of them are then captured by Hell Bards sent by the Emperor of Cartorra to retrieved his betrothed. Safi's POV was really interesting. I found out a lot about the Hell Bards and they turned out not to be as bad as I'd first assumed.
Both Iseult and Aeduan's POV's were my favourites. Them teaming up and going on a journey gave me Elide and Lorcan (from Throne of Glass series) vibes and I WAS LIVING FOR IT. They're both so closed off about emotions and it was not one of those heart to heart journeys but I did think that in the end they formed a bond and there are some feelings between them. I am excited for their journey to continue. I NEED THIS SHIP TO SAIL.
I've seen in a few reviews that some readers thought this book had plot holes and was too confusing at times. I think it was purposefully written like this. This is going to have five books so it only makes sense that we won't understand everything yet. Ground is being laid for the next books.
Can you tell how excited I am to continue this series?
On another note: the audiobook sucks. The narrator made it difficult to distinguish voices and her accents were terrible. I suggest reading it.
Safi was ready to bend the world. Ready to break it.
And with that thought, a new life began.
_______
My reviews for:
1: Truthwitch
Sightwitch (A MUST READ. THIS NOVELLA IS VERY IMPORTANT)
3: Bloodwitch
4: Untitled( where I give a recap as well as theories and predictions)
5: Untitled
Immediately after I finished this book I had the same thought as when I finished Truthwitch: Where the hell has this series been hiding from me?
After the events of Truthwitch our four main characters are separated. Safi is captured by the Marstoki empress. Iseult will stop at nothing to find her threadsister. Merik is on his way back to Nubrevna to help his suffering country. And Aeduan is on the search for his stolen coins.
At the beginning of Windwitch we find out that Merik's ship is destroyed enroute, the crew dead but Merik somehow survived. Injured and severely burnt but still alive he makes his way to the capital. And there he searches for answers and evidence. Evidence that his sister, Vivia, had his crew assassinated. I really felt for Merik in this book. He had just witnessed his threadbrother cleave and then lost his whole crew. His family and country thinks he is dead. He is grieving, he is hurting and the only thing on his mind is vengeance.
I was determined to hate Vivia. And when her POV's popped up they really irked me because I didn't want to like her. (Remember was under the impression she tried to murder her own brother). But she grew on me and I can now say I am a fan and she is going to be a kickass queen one day. I'm excited to see where the future books will take her.
Safi is on her own misadventure as prisoner of the Marstoki empress. But not for long.... in the same manner as Merik's ship, the Marstok ship is also attacked and only Safi and Vaness make it out. Stuck in hostile lands the two of them are then captured by Hell Bards sent by the Emperor of Cartorra to retrieved his betrothed. Safi's POV was really interesting. I found out a lot about the Hell Bards and they turned out not to be as bad as I'd first assumed.
Both Iseult and Aeduan's POV's were my favourites. Them teaming up and going on a journey gave me Elide and Lorcan (from Throne of Glass series) vibes and I WAS LIVING FOR IT. They're both so closed off about emotions and it was not one of those heart to heart journeys but I did think that in the end they formed a bond and there are some feelings between them. I am excited for their journey to continue. I NEED THIS SHIP TO SAIL.
I've seen in a few reviews that some readers thought this book had plot holes and was too confusing at times. I think it was purposefully written like this. This is going to have five books so it only makes sense that we won't understand everything yet. Ground is being laid for the next books.
Can you tell how excited I am to continue this series?
On another note: the audiobook sucks. The narrator made it difficult to distinguish voices and her accents were terrible. I suggest reading it.
Safi was ready to bend the world. Ready to break it.
And with that thought, a new life began.
_______
My reviews for:
1: Truthwitch
Sightwitch (A MUST READ. THIS NOVELLA IS VERY IMPORTANT)
3: Bloodwitch
4: Untitled( where I give a recap as well as theories and predictions)
5: Untitled
March 29, 2018
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads
WINDWITCH picks up pretty closely where TRUTHWITCH left off, which is to say, it hits the ground running. As you should recall, the first book ended rather explosively, so we're dealing with the (almost) immediate aftermath.
Merik, a broken shadow of himself, is newly arrived to Nubrevna (b/c death wish, as far as I can tell), and Safi and Iseult are for all intents and purposes at opposite ends of their world, with only their flashy-when-in-danger stones connecting them.
I found out afterward that book bff struggled with waiting for everyone to be reunited, and while I didn't share her struggle, I can see why she would, so I'm going to go ahead and tell you: they aren't.
Reunited, that is.
Knowledge is power, my friends, so I'm hoping that you'll appreciate being forewarned rather than furious b/c (not really a) spoiler.
Their separation for the entirety of this book is just one of many things that makes me wonder how many books are planned for this series? I'd assumed it was three, but after WINDWITCH . . . It's not so much a concern over how Dennard will be able to satisfactorily wrap things up in the next (and final?) book, as it is disappointment, b/c this world has so much potential.
Potential aside, this was not a perfect book.
I can't rightly say that the beginnings no was slow, b/c it was pretty much pure adrenaline from start to finish, but about halfway through, I started to get frustrated b/c it didn't feel like much of import was happening.
But almost immediately after that realization, important things did start to occur, and a lot of that seemingly unimportant stuff turned out to be key, so I caution you not to lose patience.
My real issue is--once again--a matter of personal preference.
You: No purple eyes?
Me: Not this time.
You: Once you're dead, YOU'RE DEAD?
Me: Bingo.
Except it's not cut and dry. There are, occasionally, exceptions to rule . . . the problem is that I already made an exception of Aeduan, the Bloodwitch-who-won't-die.
Aeduan can survive just about everything short of burning and/or beheading, but we were informed of this as soon as me met him, and it was made clear that he's a rarity = exception.
But now there's all kinds of Dead Things, so even though in one of the instances, it's a magical process that can only occur under specific circumstances (like vampirism), in conjunction with the Bloodwitch-who-won't-die, AND nottellingbutWHOAHOLYplottwist, there's too many ways for a person to not really be dead for me to be happy.
So there's that.
Plot wise, there's not much I can say that I haven't already (b/c spoilers), but I repeat, it was super action packed, and there were at least three major plot twists that had my eyes threatening to come out of my head, so no second book syndrome here.
Basically, WINDWITCH cemented Susan Dennard's TRUTHWITCH series as one of my favorite unfinished YA fantasy series. Bad Guy himself was off page in this installment, but his schemes were long-reaching, keeping my hatred fresh, and while I long for the day when all my favorite characters are reunited, I loved their individual journeys as well as the new friends they made along the way . . . Never in my life could I have imagined a scenario in which I might wish for my own giant green bat, but here we are . . . Highly recommended.
My other reviews for this series:
Sightwitch (The Witchlands, #0.5)
Truthwitch (The Witchlands, #1)
Bloodwitch (The Witchlands, #3)
WINDWITCH picks up pretty closely where TRUTHWITCH left off, which is to say, it hits the ground running. As you should recall, the first book ended rather explosively, so we're dealing with the (almost) immediate aftermath.
Merik, a broken shadow of himself, is newly arrived to Nubrevna (b/c death wish, as far as I can tell), and Safi and Iseult are for all intents and purposes at opposite ends of their world, with only their flashy-when-in-danger stones connecting them.
I found out afterward that book bff struggled with waiting for everyone to be reunited, and while I didn't share her struggle, I can see why she would, so I'm going to go ahead and tell you: they aren't.
Reunited, that is.
Knowledge is power, my friends, so I'm hoping that you'll appreciate being forewarned rather than furious b/c (not really a) spoiler.
Their separation for the entirety of this book is just one of many things that makes me wonder how many books are planned for this series? I'd assumed it was three, but after WINDWITCH . . . It's not so much a concern over how Dennard will be able to satisfactorily wrap things up in the next (and final?) book, as it is disappointment, b/c this world has so much potential.
Potential aside, this was not a perfect book.
I can't rightly say that the beginnings no was slow, b/c it was pretty much pure adrenaline from start to finish, but about halfway through, I started to get frustrated b/c it didn't feel like much of import was happening.
But almost immediately after that realization, important things did start to occur, and a lot of that seemingly unimportant stuff turned out to be key, so I caution you not to lose patience.
My real issue is--once again--a matter of personal preference.
You: No purple eyes?
Me: Not this time.
You: Once you're dead, YOU'RE DEAD?
Me: Bingo.
Except it's not cut and dry. There are, occasionally, exceptions to rule . . . the problem is that I already made an exception of Aeduan, the Bloodwitch-who-won't-die.
Aeduan can survive just about everything short of burning and/or beheading, but we were informed of this as soon as me met him, and it was made clear that he's a rarity = exception.
But now there's all kinds of Dead Things, so even though in one of the instances, it's a magical process that can only occur under specific circumstances (like vampirism), in conjunction with the Bloodwitch-who-won't-die, AND nottellingbutWHOAHOLYplottwist, there's too many ways for a person to not really be dead for me to be happy.
So there's that.
Plot wise, there's not much I can say that I haven't already (b/c spoilers), but I repeat, it was super action packed, and there were at least three major plot twists that had my eyes threatening to come out of my head, so no second book syndrome here.
Basically, WINDWITCH cemented Susan Dennard's TRUTHWITCH series as one of my favorite unfinished YA fantasy series. Bad Guy himself was off page in this installment, but his schemes were long-reaching, keeping my hatred fresh, and while I long for the day when all my favorite characters are reunited, I loved their individual journeys as well as the new friends they made along the way . . . Never in my life could I have imagined a scenario in which I might wish for my own giant green bat, but here we are . . . Highly recommended.
My other reviews for this series:
Sightwitch (The Witchlands, #0.5)
Truthwitch (The Witchlands, #1)
Bloodwitch (The Witchlands, #3)
December 28, 2016
WOW. Susan, you have outdone yourself. I loved Truthwitch, but THIS BOOK has far surpassed book one. The characters. The drama. The intense, high stakes mixed in with the mystery and the world-building, and the "my heart hurts from this book" and...good grief. I am so impressed!!
Dying for book 3.
I NEED IT NOW, SOOZ!!! So proud of you!!
Dying for book 3.
I NEED IT NOW, SOOZ!!! So proud of you!!
July 26, 2018
not finishing this book was the only time I've practiced self care all year
→pros←
➽I love Vivia. Vivia is my GIRL, I love her, I am her ride or die fan and I would die for her, she's the morally grey lesbian icon we deserved
➽Iseult is, as promised, my babe, my love, my angel, my daughter, I would go to bat for her
➽Aeduan is okay
➽that didn't sound like a compliment but yeah Aeduan is decent and I don't hate him and that's more than I can say for anything else in this book
→cons←
➽Oh god, I just feel like I have no investment in a single thing that happened in this whole ass book
➽I… hate Merik. I find him so annoying and I feel so petty for that because he’s done nothing to deserve my hatred, but I just don’t like him at all?
➽I also don’t like Safi and I find literally nothing compelling about her. she's super naive and I recognize that as a character trait but it really... doesn't feel like a character trait, it feels like a plot device?
➽this statement could be applied to everything about this book
➽I think there’s a love triangle being added in that whole Safi/Merek mess and you know what, fuck off. Just like. Fuck off
➽Oh, and then there’s the fact that I don’t remember a single plot point
➽it is actually laughable how little of this book I remember
➽I was just rereading Melanie’s review of Truthwitch and I realized I literally do not remember a single thing that happened in this fucking series and I just. I give up
➽r i p this didn't go well
Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Youtube
→pros←
➽I love Vivia. Vivia is my GIRL, I love her, I am her ride or die fan and I would die for her, she's the morally grey lesbian icon we deserved
➽Iseult is, as promised, my babe, my love, my angel, my daughter, I would go to bat for her
➽Aeduan is okay
➽that didn't sound like a compliment but yeah Aeduan is decent and I don't hate him and that's more than I can say for anything else in this book
→cons←
➽Oh god, I just feel like I have no investment in a single thing that happened in this whole ass book
➽I… hate Merik. I find him so annoying and I feel so petty for that because he’s done nothing to deserve my hatred, but I just don’t like him at all?
➽I also don’t like Safi and I find literally nothing compelling about her. she's super naive and I recognize that as a character trait but it really... doesn't feel like a character trait, it feels like a plot device?
➽this statement could be applied to everything about this book
➽I think there’s a love triangle being added in that whole Safi/Merek mess and you know what, fuck off. Just like. Fuck off
➽Oh, and then there’s the fact that I don’t remember a single plot point
➽it is actually laughable how little of this book I remember
➽I was just rereading Melanie’s review of Truthwitch and I realized I literally do not remember a single thing that happened in this fucking series and I just. I give up
➽r i p this didn't go well
Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Youtube
Shelved as 'dnf'
January 14, 20171.) Truthwitch ★★★★★
One of my goals for 2017 was to DNF books, instead of forcing myself to finish them, but I didn't expect to utilize that goal so soon, especially when I gave Truthwitch five stars.
DNF @ 50%
This is so god-awfully boring, I'm bribing myself with rewards every 5%. Also, I can smell an unnecessary romance/love triangle happening, and I'm not in the mood for a romantic lead to become a villain (I know SJM is this author's best friend, but still).
I thought this series was going to be about best friends, and sisterhood, and girls coming together to fix their problems and save the world? Instead, it's about moody, bossy boys, with a million other points of view that I don't care about either. Meanwhile, the girls are constantly captured or forced to do some other task that keeps drawing them away from each other.
One of my biggest reading peeves is miscommunication. Some is completely understandable, but when you have characters constantly believing the other characters are dead it just becomes unnecessary angst that I have no desire to read about.
Aeduan is the only shining light, but even he isn't enough for me to pick this book up again. In fact, I'm not wasting anymore time thinking about it or discussing it.
Blog | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram | Youtube | Twitch
One of my goals for 2017 was to DNF books, instead of forcing myself to finish them, but I didn't expect to utilize that goal so soon, especially when I gave Truthwitch five stars.
DNF @ 50%
This is so god-awfully boring, I'm bribing myself with rewards every 5%. Also, I can smell an unnecessary romance/love triangle happening, and I'm not in the mood for a romantic lead to become a villain (I know SJM is this author's best friend, but still).
I thought this series was going to be about best friends, and sisterhood, and girls coming together to fix their problems and save the world? Instead, it's about moody, bossy boys, with a million other points of view that I don't care about either. Meanwhile, the girls are constantly captured or forced to do some other task that keeps drawing them away from each other.
One of my biggest reading peeves is miscommunication. Some is completely understandable, but when you have characters constantly believing the other characters are dead it just becomes unnecessary angst that I have no desire to read about.
Aeduan is the only shining light, but even he isn't enough for me to pick this book up again. In fact, I'm not wasting anymore time thinking about it or discussing it.
Blog | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram | Youtube | Twitch
February 6, 2017
3.5 “There were advantages to being a dead man.” stars
The problem I sometimes face with multiple PoV books is that sometimes it feels like nothing is happening. Wait just let me explain. Windwitch starts out with a bunch of dire things happening and for the first few pages it felt intense, like super intense and it was amazing and then for a long time it just seemed like nothing happened until the last third of the book that felt like EVERYTHING happened. Pacing is really hard with Multiple PoVs and there are a few authors that do it seamlessly and others who might struggle a little. I think Dennard is still finding herself here.
The other issue I have with Multiple PoV books comes in the waiting.
☞ - Waiting for Safi to find Isuelt
☞ - Waiting for Safi and Merick to find each other
☞ - Waiting for Isuelt and Aeduan to run into each other
☞ - Waiting for some explanation about the magic system and how it works.
☞ - HOPING that there is not some stupid love triangle that happens with the Chiseled CheaterI will scream
☞ - Waiting for some answers about the Cahr Awen
I sorta wish I’d reread Truthwitchbefore starting this because I felt like I had forgotten a lot. But alas it is my 2017 resolution to not reread every book series that has a new book coming out in it unless it is the end of said series and it looks like this will have 6 books total so I’ll need to wait.
But don’t let me be a negative Nelly (does anyone else ever wonder if that saying was because of Nelly on Little House on the Prairie or is that just me) there were some really great moments. I think I would have focused on those a little more if I knew that some of the people in this were not going to make it even close to back to one another in this book.
Best Things
❤ - Isuelt and Aenuan traveling together #justkissalready
❤ - Owl and her witchery
❤ - Cam (she cross dresses as a boy AND stands up to Merick)
❤ - Isuelt figuring out how her power can really work and totally busting it out. #thatwasAWESOME
❤ - That thing at the end with the guy that I wasn’t sure we were going to show up and the revelation that brought with him about Merick and the decision Merick made… yes I know that was really vague but you will have to read it to find out
Overall this is a decent fantasy story. It was missing a little of the magic of the first book for me only because I LOVED LOVED LOVED the womance (it’s like a bromance but better because it is between women) between Isuelt and Safi. Since they spent 99.9% of this book apart I missed that connection. There is a ton of potential in this world and story so I’m pretty excited for the next book because I think it will conclude a natural minor arc.
This is my last complaint - Please PLEASE have some sort of glossary of terms in the next book with a few explanations of some of the stuff that is magic related that has been revealed. Like Hell-Bard. I little one line refresher would have been appreciated. The different elements that witches come from and a small synopsis on each. The only one I remember vaguely is the VOIDwitch but I know there are like 6 or seven and I can’t remember if they are just simple like Water, Earth, Fire and Air or something else.
Edit 20Jan17
So for those of you who might have forgot a few of the things from Truthwitch...*raises hand* Scott is amazing and put this helpful information in the comments section.
“Why do you hold a razor in one hand?
So men remember that I am sharp as any edge.
And why do you hold broken glass in the other?
So men remember that I am always watching.”
The problem I sometimes face with multiple PoV books is that sometimes it feels like nothing is happening. Wait just let me explain. Windwitch starts out with a bunch of dire things happening and for the first few pages it felt intense, like super intense and it was amazing and then for a long time it just seemed like nothing happened until the last third of the book that felt like EVERYTHING happened. Pacing is really hard with Multiple PoVs and there are a few authors that do it seamlessly and others who might struggle a little. I think Dennard is still finding herself here.
The other issue I have with Multiple PoV books comes in the waiting.
☞ - Waiting for Safi to find Isuelt
☞ - Waiting for Safi and Merick to find each other
☞ - Waiting for Isuelt and Aeduan to run into each other
☞ - Waiting for some explanation about the magic system and how it works.
☞ - HOPING that there is not some stupid love triangle that happens with the Chiseled Cheater
☞ - Waiting for some answers about the Cahr Awen
I sorta wish I’d reread Truthwitchbefore starting this because I felt like I had forgotten a lot. But alas it is my 2017 resolution to not reread every book series that has a new book coming out in it unless it is the end of said series and it looks like this will have 6 books total so I’ll need to wait.
But don’t let me be a negative Nelly (does anyone else ever wonder if that saying was because of Nelly on Little House on the Prairie or is that just me) there were some really great moments. I think I would have focused on those a little more if I knew that some of the people in this were not going to make it even close to back to one another in this book.
Best Things
❤ - Isuelt and Aenuan traveling together #justkissalready
Mhe varujta. Trust me as if my soul were yours.”
❤ - Owl and her witchery
❤ - Cam (she cross dresses as a boy AND stands up to Merick)
“Stop seeing what you want to see, Merik Nihar, and start seeing what's really here!”
❤ - Isuelt figuring out how her power can really work and totally busting it out. #thatwasAWESOME
❤ - That thing at the end with the guy that I wasn’t sure we were going to show up and the revelation that brought with him about Merick and the decision Merick made… yes I know that was really vague but you will have to read it to find out
Overall this is a decent fantasy story. It was missing a little of the magic of the first book for me only because I LOVED LOVED LOVED the womance (it’s like a bromance but better because it is between women) between Isuelt and Safi. Since they spent 99.9% of this book apart I missed that connection. There is a ton of potential in this world and story so I’m pretty excited for the next book because I think it will conclude a natural minor arc.
This is my last complaint - Please PLEASE have some sort of glossary of terms in the next book with a few explanations of some of the stuff that is magic related that has been revealed. Like Hell-Bard. I little one line refresher would have been appreciated. The different elements that witches come from and a small synopsis on each. The only one I remember vaguely is the VOIDwitch but I know there are like 6 or seven and I can’t remember if they are just simple like Water, Earth, Fire and Air or something else.
Edit 20Jan17
So for those of you who might have forgot a few of the things from Truthwitch...*raises hand* Scott is amazing and put this helpful information in the comments section.
February 10, 2019
Bland. Absolutely nothing happens in terms of world building, character development, or plot expansion. I am giving up on this series.
October 29, 2019
This started off really strong for me, but sadly, fell apart from middle to end.
I feel like we got nowhere in this book. In fact, instead of getting any answers for pretty much anything, I feel like we were left with even more questions. The characters all seemed to be scrambling around in their own individual quests for...something. The purpose is never truly clear.
Overall, I felt like this book lacked cohesiveness and the potential for stellar world-building that was hinted at in book one never came to fruition here. Sadly, I don’t think I’ll be continuing with the series.
I feel like we got nowhere in this book. In fact, instead of getting any answers for pretty much anything, I feel like we were left with even more questions. The characters all seemed to be scrambling around in their own individual quests for...something. The purpose is never truly clear.
Overall, I felt like this book lacked cohesiveness and the potential for stellar world-building that was hinted at in book one never came to fruition here. Sadly, I don’t think I’ll be continuing with the series.
December 27, 2016
3.5 stars.
***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
Windwitch by Susan Dennard
Book Two of The Witchlands series
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: January 10, 2017
Rating: 4 stars
Source: ARC sent by the publisher
Summary (from Goodreads):
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.
What I Liked:
One-line summary of my review: Windwitch is a good, non-sequel-slump novel, but not as strong as its predecessor Truthwitch, and seriously lacking in the romance department.
This sequel novel picks up some time after the insane ending of Truthwitch (how much time passes is not specified). Merik is burned and badly injured beyond recognition, and haunts Nubrevna as The Fury, fighting for the weak and trying to help the city. Safi and Vaness barely escape the explosion of the ship they were on, and are captured by legendary Hell-Bards. Aeduan seeks his silver talers, but he is also tasked with finding the Threadwitch, Iseult. And Iseult... Iseult is desperate to find Safi, so much so that when she comes across a badly injured Aeduan, she strikes a deal with him: help her track Safi, and she'll return his silver talers to him (which she found and hide). All four of the protagonists are so close yet so far away from each other. Meanwhile, a fifth protagonist emerges, and proves to be an extremely important player in the political game. All the while the Puppeteer's power is growing, and something strange is happening to dead men, and a war that will sweep across the Witchlands is about to unfold.
This book is told in third-person, limited to five protagonists. It's a lot, but so many narrators actually really works for this series. We know four of them - Merik, Safi, Aeduan, and Iseult. The fifth is Vivia, Merik's sister. Of the five, I liked Aeduan and Iseult's narratives the best, and probably Safi's the least. Her part of the story was the most boring. But I'll get to that.
This book is titled Windwitch and so you expect it to be mostly about Merik - and you'd mostly be correct. It starts with him and ends with him. He is badly burned and his facial features are utterly disfigured. He has adopted the title of The Fury, which is actually a figure in legend. Merik is somewhat aimless, though he doesn't realize it. When he learns that the ship that Safi was on exploded, he loses it (he thinks she's dead). Merik's narrative is the most heartbreaking, and the most cruel. My heart broke every time he came across someone that should know him, but didn't recognize him. However this series turns out, I hope Merik gets a satisfying ending.
Safi's part of the story is the most boring, in my opinion, though I was interested in it. She and Vaness are captured by Hell-Bards after they survive the ship's explosions. From there, the Hell-Bards take them to Saldonica, the Pirate Lands. Like I said, her part of the story is the most boring, because she and Vaness are just prisoners the entire time.
Iseult's narrative is very interesting, especially towards the end. She is running for her life initially, and then she stumbles upon Aeduan. She doesn't know that Aeduan is charged with finding her and bringing her to Corlant, alive. But she needs him to track Safi, and he agrees. Iseult and Aeduan don't necessarily get along at first, but they work well together and save each other many times.
Finally we get a really good look inside Aeduan's head! Besides Merik, he's probably my favorite. He has quite the past, and an intriguing lineage. I'm curious to see how that will come into play in future novels. Aeduan is an interesting guy.
Vivia is the final protagonist; her narrative is interesting but not the most interesting of the story. I love that we get to know her better, because I hate her a looooot less. In fact, I really understand her and started cheering for her as the book went on. She isn't heartless and cruel, nor is she malicious towards Merik.
I like that Dennard takes each of the different parts of the story to different places. Vivia and Merik are in Nubrevna (unbeknownst to each other - well, Merik knows that Vivia is there), Safi is traipsed all over the place, and ends up in Saldonica, Iseult and Aeduan are tracking Safi and travel everywhere. There is a lot of ground covered, in this book.
On that note, hats off to Dennard for the intricate and fascinating fantasy world that she has created. Things get a lot bigger and crazier in this book. Dennard is taking the story in the direction of chaos, ruin, and war, and she's weaving all of the magic, politics, and legend together extremely well.
On the romance front, this book doesn't seem to have any. Iseult and Aeduan get to know each other more and definitely trust each other more than in the previous novel. Unfortunately, on the Merik/Safi front, there is nothing. There is a tiny inkling of a Vivia romance with someone.
The ending isn't wrapped up (obviously; there are two, maybe three more novels to go), but it ends on a somewhat positive note. There were a lot of bombshells dropped in the last one hundred pages or so, and the stakes are definitely a lot higher than they were in the beginning of the book. But the end is not bad. It's not really a cliffhanger. I'll be looking out for book three, in 2018!
What I Did Not Like:
Unfortunately there were some things that I didn't quite like, in this book. The first one hundred pages or so really dragged, for me. Part of it could have been me dreading certain things I anticipated (and I was right). Part of it could have been that the first hundred pages just weren't that interesting.
I am so frustrated with the romance. There is none, in this book. That works for Iseult and Aeduan because perhaps that relationship will develop over the next two books (if at all)? But it doesn't work for Merik and Safi because Truthwitch established that they have a powerful connection.
It's frustrating because Merik and Safi do no interact a single time during this entire book. What's more, they both believe that the other is dead. They barely even think of each other (granted, they had other things to worry about, like staying alive). I was so sure that they would be endgame, in terms of romance. Now I'm not. I could see the author taking them into two diverging paths, possibly developing other romances for each of them. Which is frustrating. I'm not saying I'm sensing a love triangle for each character, but I AM saying that I could see them never interacting romantically again and possibly developing feelings for other people (people we may meet in future books, people we already have meet, I don't know). I guess I'm just annoyed because they interacted not one time during this book. Not once! It didn't even have to be romantic! Catching a glimpse of each other as one sails in the opposite direction, or something, that would have been nice.
In Truthwitch, Merik/Safi seemed obvious. But in Windwitch, not so much, especially since both Merik and Safi believe that the other is dead. Maybe I shouldn't be so worried about this? Maybe I should trust Merik and Safi's powerful Threads connection that Iseult witnessed in Truthwitch, or Kullen's note about Merik and Safi's witchery reacting to each other meant something powerful (again, in Truthwitch). I don't know, and not knowing frustrates me.
There are also no Safi/Iseult interactions, which was frustrating too because the powerful female friendship was a huge selling point, in Truthwitch. Honestly I hope the rest of the series really makes up for the scarcity of interactions there are, among certain characters.
Would I Recommend It:
Tricky tricky. I did like this book (though not as much as I LOVED Truthwitch). I'd definitely recommend this sequel if you read and liked Truthwitch. HOWEVER. I would seriously consider waiting to possibly binge-read this one and the next one, or the entire rest of the series, if I were you. I read Dennard's debut trilogy and I'm sorry to say that I don't 100% trust her to dish out a "fair" ending. With this being a four-, possibly five-book series, a lot can happen that we don't see right now (like love triangles, or ridiculous protagonist deaths).
Rating:
3.5 stars -> rounded up to 4 stars. But seriously, it's 3.5 stars. I liked Truthwitch a lot more, despite both books getting the same final rating. Truthwitch was a 4.5, Windwitch a 3.5. This one isn't a new favorite, but it was worth the read and I enjoyed it. I am very much looking forward to reading Bloodwitch and am excited to receive my preorder of Windwitch. Huge thanks to Tor for allowing me to read this book early!
EDIT: November 28th, 2016
Happy Sock Sunday!
EDIT: May 3rd, 2016
GUYS I CAN'T!!!! MERIK!!!!!
November 8th, 2015:
WHY TRUTHWITCH WHYYYYYYY!??!?!??!?!?!?
(You see, I just finished Truthwitch. And I loved it. Except that now I have to wait for this bad boy to publish OVER A YEAR FROM NOW. *sobs*
***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
Windwitch by Susan Dennard
Book Two of The Witchlands series
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: January 10, 2017
Rating: 4 stars
Source: ARC sent by the publisher
Summary (from Goodreads):
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.
What I Liked:
One-line summary of my review: Windwitch is a good, non-sequel-slump novel, but not as strong as its predecessor Truthwitch, and seriously lacking in the romance department.
This sequel novel picks up some time after the insane ending of Truthwitch (how much time passes is not specified). Merik is burned and badly injured beyond recognition, and haunts Nubrevna as The Fury, fighting for the weak and trying to help the city. Safi and Vaness barely escape the explosion of the ship they were on, and are captured by legendary Hell-Bards. Aeduan seeks his silver talers, but he is also tasked with finding the Threadwitch, Iseult. And Iseult... Iseult is desperate to find Safi, so much so that when she comes across a badly injured Aeduan, she strikes a deal with him: help her track Safi, and she'll return his silver talers to him (which she found and hide). All four of the protagonists are so close yet so far away from each other. Meanwhile, a fifth protagonist emerges, and proves to be an extremely important player in the political game. All the while the Puppeteer's power is growing, and something strange is happening to dead men, and a war that will sweep across the Witchlands is about to unfold.
This book is told in third-person, limited to five protagonists. It's a lot, but so many narrators actually really works for this series. We know four of them - Merik, Safi, Aeduan, and Iseult. The fifth is Vivia, Merik's sister. Of the five, I liked Aeduan and Iseult's narratives the best, and probably Safi's the least. Her part of the story was the most boring. But I'll get to that.
This book is titled Windwitch and so you expect it to be mostly about Merik - and you'd mostly be correct. It starts with him and ends with him. He is badly burned and his facial features are utterly disfigured. He has adopted the title of The Fury, which is actually a figure in legend. Merik is somewhat aimless, though he doesn't realize it. When he learns that the ship that Safi was on exploded, he loses it (he thinks she's dead). Merik's narrative is the most heartbreaking, and the most cruel. My heart broke every time he came across someone that should know him, but didn't recognize him. However this series turns out, I hope Merik gets a satisfying ending.
Safi's part of the story is the most boring, in my opinion, though I was interested in it. She and Vaness are captured by Hell-Bards after they survive the ship's explosions. From there, the Hell-Bards take them to Saldonica, the Pirate Lands. Like I said, her part of the story is the most boring, because she and Vaness are just prisoners the entire time.
Iseult's narrative is very interesting, especially towards the end. She is running for her life initially, and then she stumbles upon Aeduan. She doesn't know that Aeduan is charged with finding her and bringing her to Corlant, alive. But she needs him to track Safi, and he agrees. Iseult and Aeduan don't necessarily get along at first, but they work well together and save each other many times.
Finally we get a really good look inside Aeduan's head! Besides Merik, he's probably my favorite. He has quite the past, and an intriguing lineage. I'm curious to see how that will come into play in future novels. Aeduan is an interesting guy.
Vivia is the final protagonist; her narrative is interesting but not the most interesting of the story. I love that we get to know her better, because I hate her a looooot less. In fact, I really understand her and started cheering for her as the book went on. She isn't heartless and cruel, nor is she malicious towards Merik.
I like that Dennard takes each of the different parts of the story to different places. Vivia and Merik are in Nubrevna (unbeknownst to each other - well, Merik knows that Vivia is there), Safi is traipsed all over the place, and ends up in Saldonica, Iseult and Aeduan are tracking Safi and travel everywhere. There is a lot of ground covered, in this book.
On that note, hats off to Dennard for the intricate and fascinating fantasy world that she has created. Things get a lot bigger and crazier in this book. Dennard is taking the story in the direction of chaos, ruin, and war, and she's weaving all of the magic, politics, and legend together extremely well.
On the romance front, this book doesn't seem to have any. Iseult and Aeduan get to know each other more and definitely trust each other more than in the previous novel. Unfortunately, on the Merik/Safi front, there is nothing. There is a tiny inkling of a Vivia romance with someone.
The ending isn't wrapped up (obviously; there are two, maybe three more novels to go), but it ends on a somewhat positive note. There were a lot of bombshells dropped in the last one hundred pages or so, and the stakes are definitely a lot higher than they were in the beginning of the book. But the end is not bad. It's not really a cliffhanger. I'll be looking out for book three, in 2018!
What I Did Not Like:
Unfortunately there were some things that I didn't quite like, in this book. The first one hundred pages or so really dragged, for me. Part of it could have been me dreading certain things I anticipated (and I was right). Part of it could have been that the first hundred pages just weren't that interesting.
I am so frustrated with the romance. There is none, in this book. That works for Iseult and Aeduan because perhaps that relationship will develop over the next two books (if at all)? But it doesn't work for Merik and Safi because Truthwitch established that they have a powerful connection.
It's frustrating because Merik and Safi do no interact a single time during this entire book. What's more, they both believe that the other is dead. They barely even think of each other (granted, they had other things to worry about, like staying alive). I was so sure that they would be endgame, in terms of romance. Now I'm not. I could see the author taking them into two diverging paths, possibly developing other romances for each of them. Which is frustrating. I'm not saying I'm sensing a love triangle for each character, but I AM saying that I could see them never interacting romantically again and possibly developing feelings for other people (people we may meet in future books, people we already have meet, I don't know). I guess I'm just annoyed because they interacted not one time during this book. Not once! It didn't even have to be romantic! Catching a glimpse of each other as one sails in the opposite direction, or something, that would have been nice.
In Truthwitch, Merik/Safi seemed obvious. But in Windwitch, not so much, especially since both Merik and Safi believe that the other is dead. Maybe I shouldn't be so worried about this? Maybe I should trust Merik and Safi's powerful Threads connection that Iseult witnessed in Truthwitch, or Kullen's note about Merik and Safi's witchery reacting to each other meant something powerful (again, in Truthwitch). I don't know, and not knowing frustrates me.
There are also no Safi/Iseult interactions, which was frustrating too because the powerful female friendship was a huge selling point, in Truthwitch. Honestly I hope the rest of the series really makes up for the scarcity of interactions there are, among certain characters.
Would I Recommend It:
Tricky tricky. I did like this book (though not as much as I LOVED Truthwitch). I'd definitely recommend this sequel if you read and liked Truthwitch. HOWEVER. I would seriously consider waiting to possibly binge-read this one and the next one, or the entire rest of the series, if I were you. I read Dennard's debut trilogy and I'm sorry to say that I don't 100% trust her to dish out a "fair" ending. With this being a four-, possibly five-book series, a lot can happen that we don't see right now (like love triangles, or ridiculous protagonist deaths).
Rating:
3.5 stars -> rounded up to 4 stars. But seriously, it's 3.5 stars. I liked Truthwitch a lot more, despite both books getting the same final rating. Truthwitch was a 4.5, Windwitch a 3.5. This one isn't a new favorite, but it was worth the read and I enjoyed it. I am very much looking forward to reading Bloodwitch and am excited to receive my preorder of Windwitch. Huge thanks to Tor for allowing me to read this book early!
EDIT: November 28th, 2016
Happy Sock Sunday!
EDIT: May 3rd, 2016
GUYS I CAN'T!!!! MERIK!!!!!
November 8th, 2015:
WHY TRUTHWITCH WHYYYYYYY!??!?!??!?!?!?
(You see, I just finished Truthwitch. And I loved it. Except that now I have to wait for this bad boy to publish OVER A YEAR FROM NOW. *sobs*
February 15, 2017
Treachery, intrigue, and relentless action in this second installment of Susan Dennard's WITCHLANDS series.
February 6, 2017
3.5
"The holiest always have the farthest to fall."
•Windwitch was, to put it simply, better than Truthwitch in some respects, and worse in others, and many of the things I said about Truthwitch are true for this book as well. I still don't like, for instance, the way Dennard writes her action sequences, which I can't follow to save my life, I find them so confusing and distracting, and sometimes even somewhat too long. I still am waiting for the plot to get serious, because I'd like to see, after two books, where exactly this is all going. And I still deeply appreciate the lack of clichés, and hope this one thing will never change.
A couple of changes, though, I think this series might use.
•Windwitch reads like a second episode from any series of Sherlock (but not The Lying Detective, to which what I'm going to say doesn't apply), which means, it's a filler. The thing is, it's not unusual for me to madly enjoy the middle episodes of Sherlock (The Sign of Three! That episode is everything), even though normally they're not much loved, but the lack of plot advancement in Windwitch profoundly bothered me. Many are the characters involved, and even though the book is 400 pages long, I was prepared for a rather slow-paced novel -I saw that as virtually inevitable. But, no major events at all? As I said, I'm really confused as to where this story is going. There basically were three things this book had/was supposed to deliver: Aeduan and Iseult together again, Iseult and Safiya together again, and Safiya and Merik together again. . One out of three. In 400 pages. Me not pleased. And nothing that can fool the reader into believing something meaningful is after all happening actually happens. So if you ask me Does this book suffer from the Second Book Syndrome, my answer is Severely.
•I honestly can't stand Safi. The one reason why I was able to put up with her in book one was because Iseult was always there to compensate for her being completely insufferable to me, so you see why the arrangement we have here didn't work very well, as far as I'm concerned.
•I think the world building is finally beginning to take shape. And I adored that. There are so many different countries and places and a varied magic system (which, though, should be further explored and better explained; I'd hate to see this potential go to waste), and each of the cities that in this book serve as settings is described in detail and in a deliciously realistic manner.
•But the true reason why I'll continue the Witchlands series are Aeduan and Iseult. They are the raison d'être of these books. I loved their interactions, and, sadistic as I am, I admit I loved them all the more because they left me aching for more. The fact that they are two stunningly compelling characters even on their own is certainly value added.
➽ As a sequel, Windwitch was a bitter disappointment for me: plot-wise, it brought about no development whatsoever, and that's nearly unforgivable -especially if you consider that the readers wait for a whole year dying to know what happens next. Useless to say, I expect Bloodwitch to make up for these errors and then some; I'm not hopeless yet, and I won't be as long as Iz and Aeduan are there to make me happy.
"The holiest always have the farthest to fall."
•Windwitch was, to put it simply, better than Truthwitch in some respects, and worse in others, and many of the things I said about Truthwitch are true for this book as well. I still don't like, for instance, the way Dennard writes her action sequences, which I can't follow to save my life, I find them so confusing and distracting, and sometimes even somewhat too long. I still am waiting for the plot to get serious, because I'd like to see, after two books, where exactly this is all going. And I still deeply appreciate the lack of clichés, and hope this one thing will never change.
A couple of changes, though, I think this series might use.
•Windwitch reads like a second episode from any series of Sherlock (but not The Lying Detective, to which what I'm going to say doesn't apply), which means, it's a filler. The thing is, it's not unusual for me to madly enjoy the middle episodes of Sherlock (The Sign of Three! That episode is everything), even though normally they're not much loved, but the lack of plot advancement in Windwitch profoundly bothered me. Many are the characters involved, and even though the book is 400 pages long, I was prepared for a rather slow-paced novel -I saw that as virtually inevitable. But, no major events at all? As I said, I'm really confused as to where this story is going. There basically were three things this book had/was supposed to deliver: Aeduan and Iseult together again, Iseult and Safiya together again, and Safiya and Merik together again. . One out of three. In 400 pages. Me not pleased. And nothing that can fool the reader into believing something meaningful is after all happening actually happens. So if you ask me Does this book suffer from the Second Book Syndrome, my answer is Severely.
•I honestly can't stand Safi. The one reason why I was able to put up with her in book one was because Iseult was always there to compensate for her being completely insufferable to me, so you see why the arrangement we have here didn't work very well, as far as I'm concerned.
•I think the world building is finally beginning to take shape. And I adored that. There are so many different countries and places and a varied magic system (which, though, should be further explored and better explained; I'd hate to see this potential go to waste), and each of the cities that in this book serve as settings is described in detail and in a deliciously realistic manner.
•But the true reason why I'll continue the Witchlands series are Aeduan and Iseult. They are the raison d'être of these books. I loved their interactions, and, sadistic as I am, I admit I loved them all the more because they left me aching for more. The fact that they are two stunningly compelling characters even on their own is certainly value added.
➽ As a sequel, Windwitch was a bitter disappointment for me: plot-wise, it brought about no development whatsoever, and that's nearly unforgivable -especially if you consider that the readers wait for a whole year dying to know what happens next. Useless to say, I expect Bloodwitch to make up for these errors and then some; I'm not hopeless yet, and I won't be as long as Iz and Aeduan are there to make me happy.
February 9, 2021
2018 F.A.B. Bookclub pick # I.❤️. F.A.B.
So, I’m convinced that the main reason I couldn’t get into this book was due to listening to it, opposed to reading it. Reading the description and friends reviews it sounds amazing and like I should love it. I just couldn’t get into it. I really only cared about one character and had trouble following (or caring) about any of the others. I had hopes book 2 would interest me more than book 1- but alas only caring about one character didn’t bode well. I don’t believe that I’ll be reading any future books in the series. I’ve got too many other books waiting in my endless queue.
So, I’m convinced that the main reason I couldn’t get into this book was due to listening to it, opposed to reading it. Reading the description and friends reviews it sounds amazing and like I should love it. I just couldn’t get into it. I really only cared about one character and had trouble following (or caring) about any of the others. I had hopes book 2 would interest me more than book 1- but alas only caring about one character didn’t bode well. I don’t believe that I’ll be reading any future books in the series. I’ve got too many other books waiting in my endless queue.
Read
February 12, 2017HAHHAHAH why did I read Truthwitch right after BEA?!? This doesn't come out until 2017 HAHAHHA KILL ME NOW. But ALSO Truthwitch was amazing!!!! SOOOOO....basically I will be rereading Truthwitch a shit ton of times before this book even comes out!!!!
January 10, 2019
“Why do you hold a razor in one hand?
So men remember that I am sharp as any edge.
And why do you hold broken glass in the other?
So men remember that I am always watching.”
The Story
This book was both beautiful and terrifying as each of our witch’s lives are torn apart and transformed in the sequel to Truthwitch. Dennard expands on the world that she brought us previously and each character’s story unfolds to show more power and depth than we would have expected from an already vibrant story.
Though this book is called Windwitch, it is no indication that it is solely about Merik. In fact, it is much a story of our collective witches rather than just solely one or two. Previously, Truthwitch really did revolve mostly around Safi and her thread sister Iseult’s base story, whereas Windwitch delves into each story – not favoring any one witch. What I loved about this book was that every with has their own journey that they are on, and where you may have found them to be a villain previously, you find that you are still rooting for them even if their goal is countering your favorite character.
For those who are looking for continued romance, don’t expect this installment t have it. This book is less of romance and more of a battle for survival. This book focused more on each character’s individual strength through their dilemmas. However, we are set up for some interesting relationships for later in the series. And lets just say I ship them all!!! A minor LGBTQA+ rep slid into this book, but has potential to grow so much more in the series.
New mysteries have unfolded and has left Dennard the opportunity to take the story in multiple directions (which she sort of already has). You aren’t exactly left with a cliffhanger, but more or less an opening for an already broad story to grow exponentially.
The World Building
If I ever met Susan Dennard, my first question would be where she gets her inspiration from for the world building in this series. What I find so impressive is how much everything just connects together. Having had read the first two books twice now really just brings about how many minor details are brought back out and utilized. Though, sometimes dense, I still found every little bit intriguing. I love how slowly everything is revealed. Susan is such a tease giving us just a little bit about the Cahr Arwen, the various water wells, and even the Hell-bards so that we have to keep coming back for more.
The Characters
I love the characters in this book. Everyone suffers, but they do so beautifully. I think what is so inspiring about each character is that they are so selfless. Each one of these precious characters have something that they are sacrificing their safety and well being for. The idea of thread sisters and brothers and the connection it has is so special. It’s not just like saying they are basically best friends, their physical being and souls are interwoven with their threads – their threads are actually bound.
The Soundtrack
Thrice – For Miles
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So men remember that I am sharp as any edge.
And why do you hold broken glass in the other?
So men remember that I am always watching.”
The Story
This book was both beautiful and terrifying as each of our witch’s lives are torn apart and transformed in the sequel to Truthwitch. Dennard expands on the world that she brought us previously and each character’s story unfolds to show more power and depth than we would have expected from an already vibrant story.
Though this book is called Windwitch, it is no indication that it is solely about Merik. In fact, it is much a story of our collective witches rather than just solely one or two. Previously, Truthwitch really did revolve mostly around Safi and her thread sister Iseult’s base story, whereas Windwitch delves into each story – not favoring any one witch. What I loved about this book was that every with has their own journey that they are on, and where you may have found them to be a villain previously, you find that you are still rooting for them even if their goal is countering your favorite character.
For those who are looking for continued romance, don’t expect this installment t have it. This book is less of romance and more of a battle for survival. This book focused more on each character’s individual strength through their dilemmas. However, we are set up for some interesting relationships for later in the series. And lets just say I ship them all!!! A minor LGBTQA+ rep slid into this book, but has potential to grow so much more in the series.
New mysteries have unfolded and has left Dennard the opportunity to take the story in multiple directions (which she sort of already has). You aren’t exactly left with a cliffhanger, but more or less an opening for an already broad story to grow exponentially.
The World Building
If I ever met Susan Dennard, my first question would be where she gets her inspiration from for the world building in this series. What I find so impressive is how much everything just connects together. Having had read the first two books twice now really just brings about how many minor details are brought back out and utilized. Though, sometimes dense, I still found every little bit intriguing. I love how slowly everything is revealed. Susan is such a tease giving us just a little bit about the Cahr Arwen, the various water wells, and even the Hell-bards so that we have to keep coming back for more.
The Characters
I love the characters in this book. Everyone suffers, but they do so beautifully. I think what is so inspiring about each character is that they are so selfless. Each one of these precious characters have something that they are sacrificing their safety and well being for. The idea of thread sisters and brothers and the connection it has is so special. It’s not just like saying they are basically best friends, their physical being and souls are interwoven with their threads – their threads are actually bound.
The Soundtrack
Thrice – For Miles
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February 22, 2017
Originally posted on Super Space Chick:
Personal Thoughts: Truthwitch by Susan Dennard was one of my favorite books of 2015 (I was lucky enough to read it early thanks to sprinting to the Tor booth on the first day of BEA) so obviously, I was feeling super hyped about reading Windwitch which is the second book in the Witchlands series. It was one of my most anticipated releases for 2017 (I feel like I might say this a lot but I swear it’s true! I just get really excited about new books, OKAY) and I love the autumnal cover and the prospect of getting Prince Merik’s perspective. The stars seemed to be aligned until I started reading and everything I loved about Truthwitch was just… missing. Talk about a major disappointment. I’m still interested in finding out where the story is going so I will most definitely be picking up Bloodwitch but this was just not the second installment I was looking for.
Plot Summary: The events in Windwitch are a continuation of the story we got in Truthwitch. I’ll be totally honest, it’s really difficult to come up with a coherent plot summary for this book because the story completely changed from the first book. We’ve got Prince Merik who is on a crusade against his sister Princess Vivia. He’s determined to prove that she has bad intentions and he’s traveling around under a false identity as everyone believes he died when his ship exploded. Then we’ve got Safi, traveling around with Empress Vaness after also surviving a shipwreck. Lastly, we’ve got Iseult and Aeduan (the Threadwitch and the Bloodwitch) on a mission to find Safi but getting into antics of their own.
Critique: Where to start? As an overall critique, I have to say that Windwitch was missing just about everything that I loved about Truthwitch. One of the reasons I was so drawn to the series and why I became so invested to begin with is because of the friendship between Safi and Iseult. In Truthwitch, we get to see all of these amazing best friend moments between two powerful ladies and then they’re separated for the entirety of book two. Next, the story is completely sidelined in Windwitch. There was so much set up for this epic tale in Truthwitch and not a single story line was continued or explored enough in book two. This is my main issue. Book two, it really felt like Book one, take two. There was so much groundwork laid in Truthwitch that I was expecting a lot more action this time around. While it wasn’t completely unenjoyable to learn about these new situations, the pacing was much slower than in it’s predecessor and I found myself getting bored. There are also A LOT of narratives to follow. Windwitch increases to five separate POVs so if there was a particular story line you aren’t as interested in, it feels like it takes forever to get back to the one where your heart is (cough *Iseult and Aeduan* cough). There were some important strides made during the course of the story and there was a ton of character growth with the exception of Safi. I also really wish the relationship between Threadbrothers and Threadsisters would’ve been explored further but I’m expecting that’ll be coming in future installments. So overall, I liked Windwitch (despite all of the complaining I just did), but I just was expecting so much more out of it. There’s now a TON of buildup between books one and two and I’m just hoping the payoff in the final two books will live up to my expectations.
Do I Recommend?: If you enjoyed Truthwitch as much I did, I would definitely recommend continuing on with the series but I would warn you that the entire feel of the story changes and to not go into it with high expectations. Hopefully this will have been a necessary addition to what will be an epic fantasy story.
Personal Thoughts: Truthwitch by Susan Dennard was one of my favorite books of 2015 (I was lucky enough to read it early thanks to sprinting to the Tor booth on the first day of BEA) so obviously, I was feeling super hyped about reading Windwitch which is the second book in the Witchlands series. It was one of my most anticipated releases for 2017 (I feel like I might say this a lot but I swear it’s true! I just get really excited about new books, OKAY) and I love the autumnal cover and the prospect of getting Prince Merik’s perspective. The stars seemed to be aligned until I started reading and everything I loved about Truthwitch was just… missing. Talk about a major disappointment. I’m still interested in finding out where the story is going so I will most definitely be picking up Bloodwitch but this was just not the second installment I was looking for.
Plot Summary: The events in Windwitch are a continuation of the story we got in Truthwitch. I’ll be totally honest, it’s really difficult to come up with a coherent plot summary for this book because the story completely changed from the first book. We’ve got Prince Merik who is on a crusade against his sister Princess Vivia. He’s determined to prove that she has bad intentions and he’s traveling around under a false identity as everyone believes he died when his ship exploded. Then we’ve got Safi, traveling around with Empress Vaness after also surviving a shipwreck. Lastly, we’ve got Iseult and Aeduan (the Threadwitch and the Bloodwitch) on a mission to find Safi but getting into antics of their own.
Critique: Where to start? As an overall critique, I have to say that Windwitch was missing just about everything that I loved about Truthwitch. One of the reasons I was so drawn to the series and why I became so invested to begin with is because of the friendship between Safi and Iseult. In Truthwitch, we get to see all of these amazing best friend moments between two powerful ladies and then they’re separated for the entirety of book two. Next, the story is completely sidelined in Windwitch. There was so much set up for this epic tale in Truthwitch and not a single story line was continued or explored enough in book two. This is my main issue. Book two, it really felt like Book one, take two. There was so much groundwork laid in Truthwitch that I was expecting a lot more action this time around. While it wasn’t completely unenjoyable to learn about these new situations, the pacing was much slower than in it’s predecessor and I found myself getting bored. There are also A LOT of narratives to follow. Windwitch increases to five separate POVs so if there was a particular story line you aren’t as interested in, it feels like it takes forever to get back to the one where your heart is (cough *Iseult and Aeduan* cough). There were some important strides made during the course of the story and there was a ton of character growth with the exception of Safi. I also really wish the relationship between Threadbrothers and Threadsisters would’ve been explored further but I’m expecting that’ll be coming in future installments. So overall, I liked Windwitch (despite all of the complaining I just did), but I just was expecting so much more out of it. There’s now a TON of buildup between books one and two and I’m just hoping the payoff in the final two books will live up to my expectations.
Do I Recommend?: If you enjoyed Truthwitch as much I did, I would definitely recommend continuing on with the series but I would warn you that the entire feel of the story changes and to not go into it with high expectations. Hopefully this will have been a necessary addition to what will be an epic fantasy story.
May 8, 2021
Rated 3.5/5 stars ⭐️
February 4, 2017
Second Book Syndrome, I spot you.
I feel so conflicted about Windwitch. It was one of my most anticipated sequels but it just didn't live up to my expectations, albeit not being a bad book per se.
The first book had me hooked for several reasons. Those, however, disappeared in the sequel. A fast-paced plot? Negative. Safi and Iseult kicking ass together? Negative. Safi and Merik banter? Negative. Albeit offering an entertaining storyline and some extras like an LGBTQ+ character, Windwitch was clearly a filler, which definitely caused damage to my interest in this series as a whole. If you assume that the 3 stars are largely due to Aeduan and Iseult, then you are (sadly) correct.
What this book did right
In spite of its shortcomings, Windwitch managed to keep me entertained for the most part. Oh, the book is slow, there's not doubt, but it didn't make me want to throw the book in a corner and use it as a doorstopper. Furthermore, I feel like Dennard was able to explore some more of the realm the story takes place in, for example what the landscape looks like or what creatures hide in their depths.
From the cast, I enjoyed Aeduan's and Iseult's points of view. In contrast to her prickly best friend, Iseult is easy to like and root for; she's loyal, determined, and cunning. But this book also reveals some of her weaknesses and vulnerabilities, underpinning the feeling of inferiority towards Safiya we get from Iseult from the beginning of the series (even though it is made clear that Safi has many faults). For instance, Iseult doesn't always manage to keep a poker face and she has a slight stutter, which makes her not only flawed but also relatable. She also has a stutter. Windwitch added a great deal to her characterization and to her position as an important protagonist, for in the first book, she was portrayed more as a sidekick. Aeduan's chapters were by far the most interesting to me, because Truthwitch hadn't revealed a lot about him, either. Though I think Dennard did a better job with Iseult's introspection, seeing Aeduan think, act, and interact with Iseult was the highlight of this book. It is already clear from the start that he hides a softer core behind his brick wall appearance, but some of the scenes in this book were downright beautiful. Nonetheless, Aeduan remains somewhat of a mystery, which will hopefully be uncovered with the publication of his book – the third instalment which is called Bloodwitch.
The slow burn that is Aeduan and Iseult is simply magnificent. Even though "slow" burn implies that my patience is being sorely tested with this ship, but I'm willing to be a good girl and sit tight while this sizzling romance comes to life. I should applaud to Dennard for giving me so little but making me crave so much. The fact that these two cupcakes exist in my life is, however, also a problem for me, because after this rather mediocre sequel, it's one of the reasons I keep holding on to this series.If these two aren't cannon, I will freak out.
Now, it is known that Susan Dennard and SJM are writer buddies, and though the latter's books probably sell better, the former has heeded the reading community's call for more diversity in fiction. The Witchlands series offers various ethnicities, prominent character flaws, and LGBTQ+ characters. Kudos to you, Susan!
What this book didn't do at all
Plot advancement? Development? Progress? You won't get it from Windwitch. Whereas the cast was united in one epic battle at the end of Truthwitch, they're scattered with the wind in the sequel, which didn't sit well with me. It feels like a lot is happening when only little of it is actually serving the advancement of the overall plot. I like subplots, I do, but they tore the general storyline to shreds. Everyone is out on some personal adventure, and it felt like I was reading several books in one, not several somehow connected storylines. With the exception of Aeduan and Iseult, the characters don't actually meet, which made this book a filler.
Besides Aeduan and Iseult, the protagonist's perspectives either annoyed or bored me to tears. I remember enjoying Merik in Truthwitch and even warming up to Safi after a while, even though the woman has the talent to get on my nerves, but Windwitch made that impossible. Merik drowned in his tragic self-misery, Safi was a pain in the ass. I suppose that, without Iseult there to balance out her ego, things got out of hand pretty fast. And last but least, Vivia's chapters did nothing for me. I suspect Dennard tried to introduce a morally grey character, but I just couldn't bring myself to care.
I don't know if I mentioned this in my review for Truthwitch but I'm not a fan of Dennard's writing. It's too mechanic, too choppy. Her prose doesn't have the ability to carry and transfer emotions. I do think she's doing a great job with Aeduan and Iseult, but this is not due to the writing, but due to readers' imagination, if I may say so.
Windwitch was mediocre at best, and if it hadn't been for the romantic subplot, this book would've gotten less than 3 stars. The sequel couldn't take the series to the next level. Second Book Syndrome crapped all over this instalment, if you ask me. Nonetheless, I might still be picking up the next book in The Witchlands series because IT'S AEDUAN'S BOOK K?
Every Word A Doorway | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin
I feel so conflicted about Windwitch. It was one of my most anticipated sequels but it just didn't live up to my expectations, albeit not being a bad book per se.
The first book had me hooked for several reasons. Those, however, disappeared in the sequel. A fast-paced plot? Negative. Safi and Iseult kicking ass together? Negative. Safi and Merik banter? Negative. Albeit offering an entertaining storyline and some extras like an LGBTQ+ character, Windwitch was clearly a filler, which definitely caused damage to my interest in this series as a whole. If you assume that the 3 stars are largely due to Aeduan and Iseult, then you are (sadly) correct.
What this book did right
In spite of its shortcomings, Windwitch managed to keep me entertained for the most part. Oh, the book is slow, there's not doubt, but it didn't make me want to throw the book in a corner and use it as a doorstopper. Furthermore, I feel like Dennard was able to explore some more of the realm the story takes place in, for example what the landscape looks like or what creatures hide in their depths.
From the cast, I enjoyed Aeduan's and Iseult's points of view. In contrast to her prickly best friend, Iseult is easy to like and root for; she's loyal, determined, and cunning. But this book also reveals some of her weaknesses and vulnerabilities, underpinning the feeling of inferiority towards Safiya we get from Iseult from the beginning of the series (even though it is made clear that Safi has many faults). For instance, Iseult doesn't always manage to keep a poker face and she has a slight stutter, which makes her not only flawed but also relatable. She also has a stutter. Windwitch added a great deal to her characterization and to her position as an important protagonist, for in the first book, she was portrayed more as a sidekick. Aeduan's chapters were by far the most interesting to me, because Truthwitch hadn't revealed a lot about him, either. Though I think Dennard did a better job with Iseult's introspection, seeing Aeduan think, act, and interact with Iseult was the highlight of this book. It is already clear from the start that he hides a softer core behind his brick wall appearance, but some of the scenes in this book were downright beautiful. Nonetheless, Aeduan remains somewhat of a mystery, which will hopefully be uncovered with the publication of his book – the third instalment which is called Bloodwitch.
The slow burn that is Aeduan and Iseult is simply magnificent. Even though "slow" burn implies that my patience is being sorely tested with this ship, but I'm willing to be a good girl and sit tight while this sizzling romance comes to life. I should applaud to Dennard for giving me so little but making me crave so much. The fact that these two cupcakes exist in my life is, however, also a problem for me, because after this rather mediocre sequel, it's one of the reasons I keep holding on to this series.
Now, it is known that Susan Dennard and SJM are writer buddies, and though the latter's books probably sell better, the former has heeded the reading community's call for more diversity in fiction. The Witchlands series offers various ethnicities, prominent character flaws, and LGBTQ+ characters. Kudos to you, Susan!
What this book didn't do at all
Plot advancement? Development? Progress? You won't get it from Windwitch. Whereas the cast was united in one epic battle at the end of Truthwitch, they're scattered with the wind in the sequel, which didn't sit well with me. It feels like a lot is happening when only little of it is actually serving the advancement of the overall plot. I like subplots, I do, but they tore the general storyline to shreds. Everyone is out on some personal adventure, and it felt like I was reading several books in one, not several somehow connected storylines. With the exception of Aeduan and Iseult, the characters don't actually meet, which made this book a filler.
Besides Aeduan and Iseult, the protagonist's perspectives either annoyed or bored me to tears. I remember enjoying Merik in Truthwitch and even warming up to Safi after a while, even though the woman has the talent to get on my nerves, but Windwitch made that impossible. Merik drowned in his tragic self-misery, Safi was a pain in the ass. I suppose that, without Iseult there to balance out her ego, things got out of hand pretty fast. And last but least, Vivia's chapters did nothing for me. I suspect Dennard tried to introduce a morally grey character, but I just couldn't bring myself to care.
I don't know if I mentioned this in my review for Truthwitch but I'm not a fan of Dennard's writing. It's too mechanic, too choppy. Her prose doesn't have the ability to carry and transfer emotions. I do think she's doing a great job with Aeduan and Iseult, but this is not due to the writing, but due to readers' imagination, if I may say so.
Windwitch was mediocre at best, and if it hadn't been for the romantic subplot, this book would've gotten less than 3 stars. The sequel couldn't take the series to the next level. Second Book Syndrome crapped all over this instalment, if you ask me. Nonetheless, I might still be picking up the next book in The Witchlands series because IT'S AEDUAN'S BOOK K?
Every Word A Doorway | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin
February 6, 2017
This book was intense!
The author really, really pushes her characters & shows them no mercy.
You must read Truthwitch before you will understand what is going on in this book.
Windwitch carries the series forward with 3 different stories:
- Merrik, the Windwitch, as he tries to find proof that his sister tried to have him assassinated.
- Safi, the Truthwitch, who is with the Empress of Marstok when their journey is sabotaged.
- Iseult, the Threadwitch, who is trying to get to Safi, while she is also being hunted.
Here's a link to Susan Dennard's pronounciation guide to the characters in Truthwitch -- it will help you when you're reading the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXmOhO2RZw
The author really, really pushes her characters & shows them no mercy.
You must read Truthwitch before you will understand what is going on in this book.
Windwitch carries the series forward with 3 different stories:
- Merrik, the Windwitch, as he tries to find proof that his sister tried to have him assassinated.
- Safi, the Truthwitch, who is with the Empress of Marstok when their journey is sabotaged.
- Iseult, the Threadwitch, who is trying to get to Safi, while she is also being hunted.
Here's a link to Susan Dennard's pronounciation guide to the characters in Truthwitch -- it will help you when you're reading the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXmOhO2RZw
March 15, 2021
DNF @40%
I tried, I really did but this book is not clicking with me. I was afraid of starting this series because my expectations for the first book were met in this book. Book 1 was a pleasant surprise and I enjoyed it but this was boring and I started checking how many pages are left just so that I can start my next read, a bad sign definitely. (Maybe I was slumping? I tried a different book and I was enjoying it so not a slump) I go to GR and check the reviews and I am startled by the number of people who felt the same. I am getting away and away from the YA genre and I find it harder to enjoy it nowadays (Nothing against the genre, it is just a change in my personal taste) and up till the final book comes out, I think I would be even further away from the genre. I think I am putting an indefinite pause on the series, not sure I am gonna continue it at all to be honest!
I tried, I really did but this book is not clicking with me. I was afraid of starting this series because my expectations for the first book were met in this book. Book 1 was a pleasant surprise and I enjoyed it but this was boring and I started checking how many pages are left just so that I can start my next read, a bad sign definitely. (Maybe I was slumping? I tried a different book and I was enjoying it so not a slump) I go to GR and check the reviews and I am startled by the number of people who felt the same. I am getting away and away from the YA genre and I find it harder to enjoy it nowadays (Nothing against the genre, it is just a change in my personal taste) and up till the final book comes out, I think I would be even further away from the genre. I think I am putting an indefinite pause on the series, not sure I am gonna continue it at all to be honest!
November 9, 2019
“The holiest always have the farthest to fall.”
Buddy read with Sherry my October tbr twin.
This is way better than book one. If I had known that this was this good I would have read this ages ago. There was almost no time jump in this, this happened just a few days from where book one ended and the time frame was just two weeks, in my opinion the time frame is so short for all the events that happened, also if the author keeps this up the whole 5-6 books in the series will happen in a three months frame which is too short.
Complete freedom isn’t always good, nor is the lack of it always bad.
The world building here is way better than that of the first book. Just like the previous books this is written in third person multiple POV.
The character development in this book is what I loved most, the plot wasn't bad either but the characters are just the best. The whinny, immature and naive characters in book one have changed due to their new circumstances. The only character that much didn't happen plotwise is Safi and I like that because she is my least favourite character in the book.
Yet only in death, could they understand life. And only in life, will they change the world.
Another great thing in this book is the unlikely and genuine friendship and alliances of the characters, the new characters in this were lovely and like I've said earlier the old ones are awesome.
Merrik is back in Novran trying to find out the person that tried to kill him when his ship blew up, he and Cam are in it together.
Vivia is trying to get the nobles to crown her as queen while trying to get food for her people, her POV was better than I expected.
Safi is still with Vaness the empress, not much happened in her part.
Iseult was awesome, she transformed from the naive girl in book to this strong young lady, I just hope she doesn't lost her way cause she's discovering lots of things about her powers.
Finally Aeduan the blood witch, he isn't the demon or the evil creature people made him out to be, he's just a guy with forbidden powers that is scorned for, its actually sad.
Buddy read with Sherry my October tbr twin.
This is way better than book one. If I had known that this was this good I would have read this ages ago. There was almost no time jump in this, this happened just a few days from where book one ended and the time frame was just two weeks, in my opinion the time frame is so short for all the events that happened, also if the author keeps this up the whole 5-6 books in the series will happen in a three months frame which is too short.
Complete freedom isn’t always good, nor is the lack of it always bad.
The world building here is way better than that of the first book. Just like the previous books this is written in third person multiple POV.
The character development in this book is what I loved most, the plot wasn't bad either but the characters are just the best. The whinny, immature and naive characters in book one have changed due to their new circumstances. The only character that much didn't happen plotwise is Safi and I like that because she is my least favourite character in the book.
Yet only in death, could they understand life. And only in life, will they change the world.
Another great thing in this book is the unlikely and genuine friendship and alliances of the characters, the new characters in this were lovely and like I've said earlier the old ones are awesome.
Merrik is back in Novran trying to find out the person that tried to kill him when his ship blew up, he and Cam are in it together.
Vivia is trying to get the nobles to crown her as queen while trying to get food for her people, her POV was better than I expected.
Safi is still with Vaness the empress, not much happened in her part.
Iseult was awesome, she transformed from the naive girl in book to this strong young lady, I just hope she doesn't lost her way cause she's discovering lots of things about her powers.
Finally Aeduan the blood witch, he isn't the demon or the evil creature people made him out to be, he's just a guy with forbidden powers that is scorned for, its actually sad.
May 3, 2021
“It is always easier to blame gods or legends than it is to face our own mistakes.”
This series just gets better and better.
READ IT ❤️
This series just gets better and better.
READ IT ❤️
March 21, 2021
Full Review on The Candid Cover
The second book in The Witchlands Series, Windwitch, will completely shock and surprise readers in the absolute best of ways. The book has a slightly different tone from the first and takes the reader deeper into the fantastical world that has been introduced in Truthwitch. This story begins to give the series the feel of an epic saga, as it contains various points of view, characters, and subplots. There are numerous diverse characters as well in Windwitch, making this book both interesting and distinctive, since I rarely see diversity in fantasies.
The entire mood of Windwitch is a sort of desperation of all the characters, which is also present in Truthwitch. However, the danger of the entire continent becomes very clear in this second instalment. Although the different characters have their own sets of problems to overcome in their subplots, the impending war between the empires seems to be at the heart of all that is endured. The battles and excitement continue in Windwitch and their descriptions are so vivd that they seem real.
The format of this book is so wonderful, as there are many stories told at the same time. There are multiple perspectives and a dramatic serial style to Windwitch that leaves one subplot to begin the next. It sounds as though this style might be confusing, but it actually makes the reader desperate to keep reading and get back into each of the storylines. The fast-paced style also propels the different stories and keeps everything moving along.
What is most incredible about Windwitch is the inclusion of so much diversity. Fantasy novels are really blank slates for any type of character, and Susan Dennard has created a cast of new characters that some readers will find relatable and inspiring. Without spoiling the story, I will just say that this is one aspect of this book that will really enlighten its readers.
The first two books in The Witchlands Series are epic, exciting, and bursting with an eclectic cast of characters. If you are a fan of high fantasy, battles, and adventure, I highly suggest this incredible series. I cannot wait to discover what happens in the next two books, since the first two have definitely got me hooked!
The second book in The Witchlands Series, Windwitch, will completely shock and surprise readers in the absolute best of ways. The book has a slightly different tone from the first and takes the reader deeper into the fantastical world that has been introduced in Truthwitch. This story begins to give the series the feel of an epic saga, as it contains various points of view, characters, and subplots. There are numerous diverse characters as well in Windwitch, making this book both interesting and distinctive, since I rarely see diversity in fantasies.
The entire mood of Windwitch is a sort of desperation of all the characters, which is also present in Truthwitch. However, the danger of the entire continent becomes very clear in this second instalment. Although the different characters have their own sets of problems to overcome in their subplots, the impending war between the empires seems to be at the heart of all that is endured. The battles and excitement continue in Windwitch and their descriptions are so vivd that they seem real.
The format of this book is so wonderful, as there are many stories told at the same time. There are multiple perspectives and a dramatic serial style to Windwitch that leaves one subplot to begin the next. It sounds as though this style might be confusing, but it actually makes the reader desperate to keep reading and get back into each of the storylines. The fast-paced style also propels the different stories and keeps everything moving along.
What is most incredible about Windwitch is the inclusion of so much diversity. Fantasy novels are really blank slates for any type of character, and Susan Dennard has created a cast of new characters that some readers will find relatable and inspiring. Without spoiling the story, I will just say that this is one aspect of this book that will really enlighten its readers.
The first two books in The Witchlands Series are epic, exciting, and bursting with an eclectic cast of characters. If you are a fan of high fantasy, battles, and adventure, I highly suggest this incredible series. I cannot wait to discover what happens in the next two books, since the first two have definitely got me hooked!
May 30, 2020
second reread attempt.
DNF
I just can't do it anymore. I'm so bored.
I give up, I can't do it
I don't think I'll continue on with the series even though I don't want to :(
DNF
I just can't do it anymore. I'm so bored.
I give up, I can't do it
I don't think I'll continue on with the series even though I don't want to :(
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