Review: Truthwitch

Title: Truthwitch
Author: Susan Dennard
Publication Date: January 5th 2016
Genre: Fantasy
Format: Physical
Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis

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. 

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I really enjoyed this book. I don’t see it being talked about that often in the book community which I think should change. Truthwitch is a really good fantasy that I think a lot of people would enjoy if they gave it a chance.

Characters

Our two main characters are Safiya and Iseult. I’m going to talk about Safiya first. I thought she was kind of annoying, especially in the beginning. She’s very prideful but also extremely loyal to those that she cares about. She did grow on me throughout the book. She’s definitely a badass and can take care of herself. I did like the romance between her and Merik but I wish that it had been drawn out a little more.

Iseult was my favorite character. She’s also extremely loyal, especially to Safiya. I thought she was such a complex character that goes through so much over the course of the book. She also has a lot of development that was great to read about. I can’t wait to see how she becomes even more of a badass in the second book.

Plot/Writing

I really enjoyed Dennard’s writing. I thought it was really beautiful while still being clear and easy to read. Her world building was also great. I felt like everything was explained well without it all being dumped on the reader at once. It all unfolded very organically.

There are a lot of POV changes throughout the book which did make it hard to follow the story at times. However, after the initial chapters everything starts to get more and more connected which does make it easy to follow. There is a lot that goes on and my emotions were a mess when it came to my favorite characters.

Overall Thoughts

I really enjoyed the story and the characters. I’m excited to read the second book to find out more about my favorite characters. If you’re looking for a complex fantasy with cool characters and amazing world building then definitely check this book and series out!