Truthwitch by Susan Dennard | Book Review
There was so much hype buzzing around about Susan
Dennard’s Truthwitch in the beginning of January that I couldn’t help but pick
this book as my first read of the New Year. Because of the over flowing
hype-pool, my expectations from the book was a lot. Did it stand up to them? We
will soon find out.
Summary: The story of Truthwitch is plotted in a magical continent called Witchlands where people are born with witchery skills. The two main characters Safiya and Iseult are witches too. Both of them are struggling for a free future; Safiya wants to escape from the duties of her noble family and Iseult wants not be insulted for belonging to a hated race. All is almost well until Safiya’s magic, Truthwitchery which is very rare and powerful pulls them into deep trouble and invites a Bloodwitch to hunt them. And so starts the adventurous run of the two threadsisters. While they are running for life, the three empires of Witchlands are preparing for the end of a two decade long truce and a great war to start. The events of the coming war and Safiya ties up and the story becomes more than two witches running away from another.
Summary: The story of Truthwitch is plotted in a magical continent called Witchlands where people are born with witchery skills. The two main characters Safiya and Iseult are witches too. Both of them are struggling for a free future; Safiya wants to escape from the duties of her noble family and Iseult wants not be insulted for belonging to a hated race. All is almost well until Safiya’s magic, Truthwitchery which is very rare and powerful pulls them into deep trouble and invites a Bloodwitch to hunt them. And so starts the adventurous run of the two threadsisters. While they are running for life, the three empires of Witchlands are preparing for the end of a two decade long truce and a great war to start. The events of the coming war and Safiya ties up and the story becomes more than two witches running away from another.
My Review: Before telling you anything more, I want
to answer that question on the top paragraph. Yes, Truthwitch absolutely met my
massive expectations and I loved it so much.
To start with, all the characters in the book are
perfectly crafted and even though none of them had any back-story to tell, I
found myself clinging to them. The sisterhood relationship between Safiya and
Iseult was strongly portrayed and was refreshing to see in a fantasy book. I
loved how they worked together on everything and that they put their love for
each other before anything else. Although Safiya is shown as the hot-headed
badass girl everywhere, I felt that Iseult was the stronger of the two.
The other two important characters Merik and Aeduan
also added a lot to the story. Aeduan is the bad guy, the Bloodwitch but the moments when his actions confuse you on whether
he actually is the villain is the time when you start liking him. I found him
the most interesting character in the whole book and also the most mysterious.
I still cannot tell whether he is really bad. Merik, on the other hand was
pretty predictable. I knew it the moment
he was introduced that he would end up as the love interest of Safiya. Talking
of love, the romance in the book is absolutely praiseworthy. The romance isn’t
peppy and doesn’t end up hijacking the story but only adds that good feeling
into it.
The story is fantastic and although I was confuse
about certain things in the major part of the beginning, my interest blew up as
the story progress. The world in Truthwitch is definitely complex and takes a
little time to get into. But trust me, once you get the idea of what is
happening around you would instantly want to know more. Noteworthy is how all
the characters also had a story of their own. I do not think of Safiya or
Iseult as the main protagonists because the other characters are given equal
weightage too and that makes reading the book so much better.
I heard a few things about how this book is perfect
for feminists. I don’t know that kind of stuff nor will I comment anything on
that but I loved how Susan Dennard showed Safiya as a strong girl. Neither was
she able break free when Merik chained her nor was she the victorious fighter
towards the end and yet I think she is one hell of badass girl. You got to read
the story to know why I think so.
If you love fantasy books then you should definitely
check out Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. Also If you end up picking this book now, be
prepared to wait until 2017 to read the sequel and I mean it when I say this
that waiting for a good book is so damn hard.
___________________________________________________
0 comments