Review: Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Truthwitch

Susan Dennard

(The Witchlands #1)

Publication Date: January 5, 2016

Hardcover, 416 pages, Tor Teen

Genres: YA, Fantasy

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In a continent on the edge of war, two witches hold its fate in their hands.

Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.

Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.

In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

My Review

Two young women taking on the world together is always a fun story to read. Two young women with witchy powers and a knack for getting into trouble is most definitely a fun adventure.

Iseult and Safiya are Threadsisters, which basically translates to bffs x100. Iseult is a Threadwitch, and Safiya is a Truthwitch, which is apparently a very rare form of witch. Both girls are easily able to kick butt; they also have unique personalities that made following their POVs and the POVs of the other two male characters very easy.

While it was fun to read about the two on their journey running from kings and Bloodwitches, it was also a little confusing in the beginning. The magic system is a little complex at first, and so is the political layout. I wasn’t sure who was who of the minor characters until almost halfway through the book. The names are pretty similar, and they’re often just casually dropped with little explanation. Also, the magic system wasn’t described as well as I hoped. I’m still not entirely sure what a Threadwitch does…

However, despite some of my initial confusion, I very much enjoyed the character interactions. I loved seeing not only Iseult and Safiya interact, but Iseult and Merik, Merik and Safiya, Safiya and Aeduan, and Iseult and Aeduan. They all had such explosive energy together, especially Safiya and Merik. I was constantly smiling when I read their parts. The plot of the book wasn’t the most original YA fantasy storyline I’ve ever read, but this was easily remedied by the characters’ personalities.

All in all, this book is definitely one to read if you’re in any way a lover of young adult fantasy stories. You should pick it up even more if you love complex magic systems with some kick-butt characters thrown in.