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A review by alexiacambaling
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
5.0
One of my biggest complaints regarding YA Fantasy is that I felt plenty of it focuses too much on romance, to the extent that it takes away from the plot. Let’s not even get into the seeming lack of interesting girl friends the female protagonist has. Then, I read Truthwitch.
Susan Dennard’s Truthwitch is the epic YA Fantasy I’ve always wanted to read. Two amazing girl best friends making their way through this unique, interesting world. I fell in love within the first few pages.
To be honest, I picked up this book because it was sold to me as a fantasy featuring two girl best friends. From there, I was sold and it did not disappoint. The two main characters are Iseult and Safiya and I really enjoyed their friendship. They’re basically BFFs, with an added magical bond element which was a result of Iseult saving Safiya’s life. And well, I’m honestly down for two best friends kicking butt.
There’s a lot to like about Truthwitch. It follows several point-of-view characters, which I like, but it can also have multiple POVs in a single chapter. It actually worked nicely and I was able to enjoy reading from the POV of every character.
There are about four POV characters: Safi, Iseult, Merik, and Aeduan. Safi was born a noble, but wasn’t really cut out for that life. We learn early on that her rare and extraordinary type of witchery- which makes her able to tell wheter or not someone is lying- makes her a target for the ruling classes and entangles her in this conspiracy. Iseult comes from a nomadic tribe called the Nomatsi. The Nomatsi were basically distrusted throughout the Witchlands and we see Iseult be discriminated against here. She’s a Threadwitch which means that she can see the “threads” or connections between people. Merik is a prince of the country of Nubrevna, and also a Windwitch. His country was devestated in a great war between the different nations of the Witchlands so his goal is really to feed his people. Lastly, Aeduan is a Carawen monk and a Bloodwitch, so he’s seen as evil by most people. Or they don’t believe he exists at all. He hunts down Safi for the highest bidder.
I loved the worldbuilding presented in Truthwitch. Susan Dennard really painted a lush and interesting world that I would love to see more of in the future. I found the presentation of the world and the magic users to be an original take on something that we’ve seen done countless of times. I really enjoyed Susan Dennard’s take on elemental magic- which, if I’m being biased also happens to be my favorite.
Unlike most epic fantasies I read, Truthwitch is short in comparison. It has less than half the pages of a standard Wheel of Time book and still manages to capture me just as well. The plot moves at a breakneck pace and never truly slows down. Despite that, it didn’t really feel like it was rushed and the ending made me want to grab the next one. There are also plenty of great action sequences featuring the girls and I loved seeing these two amazing best friends fight as a team!
One of the things that I liked best about Truthwitch is the interesting character dynamics. I could never say that this book lacked for those. Character relationships here are not easy to explain, often carrying a lot of backstory and different connotations. It’s not always so easy to distill these complex characters since there's always something going on beneath the surface. There is romance going on, but it’s pretty subtle and doesn’t interfere too much with the plot, which is just the way I like it.
I can heartily recommend Truthwitch to both YA and Adult Fantasy fans. If you like a diverse world full of interesting characters and an interesting world coupled with a fast-paced plot that takes many twists and turns, then Truthwitch is for you.
Susan Dennard’s Truthwitch is the epic YA Fantasy I’ve always wanted to read. Two amazing girl best friends making their way through this unique, interesting world. I fell in love within the first few pages.
To be honest, I picked up this book because it was sold to me as a fantasy featuring two girl best friends. From there, I was sold and it did not disappoint. The two main characters are Iseult and Safiya and I really enjoyed their friendship. They’re basically BFFs, with an added magical bond element which was a result of Iseult saving Safiya’s life. And well, I’m honestly down for two best friends kicking butt.
There’s a lot to like about Truthwitch. It follows several point-of-view characters, which I like, but it can also have multiple POVs in a single chapter. It actually worked nicely and I was able to enjoy reading from the POV of every character.
There are about four POV characters: Safi, Iseult, Merik, and Aeduan. Safi was born a noble, but wasn’t really cut out for that life. We learn early on that her rare and extraordinary type of witchery- which makes her able to tell wheter or not someone is lying- makes her a target for the ruling classes and entangles her in this conspiracy. Iseult comes from a nomadic tribe called the Nomatsi. The Nomatsi were basically distrusted throughout the Witchlands and we see Iseult be discriminated against here. She’s a Threadwitch which means that she can see the “threads” or connections between people. Merik is a prince of the country of Nubrevna, and also a Windwitch. His country was devestated in a great war between the different nations of the Witchlands so his goal is really to feed his people. Lastly, Aeduan is a Carawen monk and a Bloodwitch, so he’s seen as evil by most people. Or they don’t believe he exists at all. He hunts down Safi for the highest bidder.
I loved the worldbuilding presented in Truthwitch. Susan Dennard really painted a lush and interesting world that I would love to see more of in the future. I found the presentation of the world and the magic users to be an original take on something that we’ve seen done countless of times. I really enjoyed Susan Dennard’s take on elemental magic- which, if I’m being biased also happens to be my favorite.
Unlike most epic fantasies I read, Truthwitch is short in comparison. It has less than half the pages of a standard Wheel of Time book and still manages to capture me just as well. The plot moves at a breakneck pace and never truly slows down. Despite that, it didn’t really feel like it was rushed and the ending made me want to grab the next one. There are also plenty of great action sequences featuring the girls and I loved seeing these two amazing best friends fight as a team!
One of the things that I liked best about Truthwitch is the interesting character dynamics. I could never say that this book lacked for those. Character relationships here are not easy to explain, often carrying a lot of backstory and different connotations. It’s not always so easy to distill these complex characters since there's always something going on beneath the surface. There is romance going on, but it’s pretty subtle and doesn’t interfere too much with the plot, which is just the way I like it.
I can heartily recommend Truthwitch to both YA and Adult Fantasy fans. If you like a diverse world full of interesting characters and an interesting world coupled with a fast-paced plot that takes many twists and turns, then Truthwitch is for you.