A review by sarainfantasyland
Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Well, there had to be at least one subpar book for TBR Jar June. Sad it was this one though. The depth and vividness of the world of this Jamaican inspired fantasy is beautiful and the all black cast is a rarity in YA fantasy. But unfortunately, the plot and characters suffered greatly in the face of the excessive descriptions. 

This was truly strange pacing. So much of the action was told and not shown and 70% of the book was character's having conversations <i>about</i> doing things. It made everything so slow and boring to get through. On top of that, the characters are so underdeveloped. There is no difference in the POV voice of the two main girls. The romances are incredibly forced and lackluster. It felt like the author pushed them together because ~plot. The character arc's themselves are also weak. Jazmyne goes straight from a decent person who gets sick at the thought of killing someone into a power hungry girl hating bitch in the space of a chapter. While Iraya does not change at all and everything she does is literally force upon her. Actually much any progress made by either of these girls is not their own doing.  Their goals are not well defined at all as so easily influenced by those around them. Jazmyne never learns to fight and Iyara never learn to use her magic despite this story taking place over the space of months. 

150 pages of this could be so easily cut to make this flow better and a more enjoyable read. It felt like as 2nd draft that a professional editor hadn't had a chance to get a hold of yet. I was just so happ to finish this so I could move on. 

Which again, is all really a shame. We need more excellent fantasies set in non-western styles in the market that readers can fall in love with.