Title: Truthwitch

Written by: Susan Dennard

Publisher: Tor Teen

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure

Length: 416 pages

Series or Standalone: Book One in the Witchlands Series

Blurb: 

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.  

Sum it up in ten words: Besties land themselves into trouble and more trouble. Pirates ahoy!

Review:

Hmm, how do I put this? Truthwitch reminds me of Throne of Glass, in the sense that it's super addictive and super fun to read, but doesn't have much depth in its story. That's not a bad thing though. Dennard had me turning the pages one after the other, and I quickly devoured it in three days (well, technically four, but I was busy during one of them).

So, the story.

On a continent where some people are born with a 'witchery'—magic for folks like you and me—Safiya is a Truthwitch. As the blurb says, she's able to discern truth from lies. It's already an ability that attracts danger in itself. What makes it worse is that Safi is born into a noble family, so she's vulnerable to all politicians' well...politicking. Fortunately her uncle had the sense to send her away, though she kind resents him at the same time for that.

The other half of the duo is Iseult, a Threadwitch who can see the threads that bind the people around her. Yet she cannot see her own. Iseult is also a Nomatsi, a race of nomadic people who have been shunned and feared. So she has lived her life in isolation. Until a chance encounter with Safi, and the two wind up being Threadsisters. Best friends.

They live a pretty idyllic life. At least, as idyllic a life as a Truthwitch and a Nomatsi can hope for. That is, before everything goes to hell when they decide to rob the wrong person.

And I have to say, it all went to hell spectacularly.

Yes, Chewie. Make everything explode.

For in the background of Safi and Iseult, a twenty-year ceasefire treaty between three empires is about to end. Note: ceasefire. Which means that once the twenty years is up, the nations will be free to wage war upon one another again.

Unfortunately for small, free countries, this means that they will be squashed between the three empires. One of these small nations is Nubrevna. Its prince, Merik, is eager to establish trade ties with the Dalmotti empire—which so happens to be where Safi and Iseult reside.

In case you haven't put two and two together (it equals to five, by the way) Prince Merik and the girls are forced to ally with each other. Just so that you guys are clear where the pirates come in, Merik is a Windwitch and an Admiral. His ship is pretty sweet too. Definitely a sailing magnet for sea robbers. Enemy ships too. Okay, fine. There might not be that many pirates. But hey hey hey the enemies are as good as pirates!

Just look at it. It's too pretty to not attract trouble! (Oh fine, Merik's ship doesn't have the Jolly Roger flag.)

Call it destiny, fate, or really, really terrible luck, they are being pursued by a Bloodwitch, a mercenary who can sniff out the witchery in one's blood. The one he's actually after is Safi, but the other two are extremely delicious servings on the side anyway.

Aeduan, the Bloodwitch, rounds up the four main POVs. His witchery may be somewhat limited, but make no mistake: he's the most dangerous of the four. He also provides some...interesting perspectives to certain situations.

See all the blood? Yeah, don't mess with him. End of story.

Safi is still the main focus of the book though. While I'm not much for the 'feisty, hot-headed, strong' female lead (true enough, she annoyed me in the beginning), she's actually willing to admit her mistakes. As the plot progresses, Safi learns the cost of her impulsiveness, and strives to rectify her mistakes. By the end of the book, we can see how much she's grown, and it's really satisfying to see her transition from girl to woman.

Merik, on the other hand, I'm not sure how to feel about. I rather liked him in the beginning, with his altruistic sense of duty. However, he doesn't seem to get much character development, feeling more as a love interest thrown in for appeal to young, squealing teenage girls than anything else.

Oh hai Kaladin. I found you on Dennard's Pinterest board. Looks like you make a really great broody Merik. Appearance-wise only, so don't get offended.

Last but certainly not least, Iseult. Iseult, my little precious. 

(I swear that this GIF has nothing to do with my state of mind.)

Out of the four main characters, she was the one I enjoyed the most. A lifetime of being on the receiving end of fantastic racism has shaped her tendency to stay in the shadows, stay quiet, and calculate her chances of surviving. Beneath all the armour though, lies a girl who just wants to be accepted. In fact, I kinda wished that Dennard completely wiped off Merik's POV and filled it with hers instead. Oh well.

While we're on the subject on characters, let's just take a moment to appreciate the beautiful female friendship here. Safi and Iseult are two remarkable girls; together, they're indomitable. It's so rare that we see female friendships in the centre of a plot. And I can assure you guys that not once does anything else take the attention away from this. I applaud Dennard on this aspect (thank you so much for pushing romance to the side!). The bond between them was simply amazing to read. This, people, is a true #friendshipgoals.

How can you not melt at those two cuties?! Ahem, Safi and Iseult, of course. *cough cough*

Now, the world. There's a map; there are empires; there's plenty of politics. In spite of all that—or perhaps because of that—I feel like it's your standard fantasy world. Plus some magic. I'd love it if Dennard incorporated more of the witchery into their world—economy, social and politics-wise. That's what would make it stand out more.

The Wells of magic were interesting though. Not much history of them was elaborated, but I'm sure that Dennard is saving this for another book. I can smell it.

There you have it: a formula for a fantasy treat. In the end, does Truthwitch stand out from the regular crowd?

Yes...and no.

Like I said, it's easy to read. Lots of action, nice scene transitions, hell exploding everywhere. However, in the midst of all the action, it's hard to connect with the characters besides Safi and Iseult. To the point where during the climax, when something happened, I felt pretty sure that I was supposed to feel and rage and throw the book across the room. The something had zero-impact on me though. I was horribly cool when I read it. Of course, I've been called a robot more than once, so it could just be me.

And I know that peace is at stake here. I know that Safi and Iseult's lives will change the world. And that's it. I just know. I wasn't really shown how they shape the world around them. No, correction: I could have been shown how they shape the world around them. Another flipside to the action. The plot just keeps moving forward till there's no room to stop and reflect on what had just happened. Even when Dennard slows down the pace a little, characters are quickly thrown into the next scene. A pity, really, as the supporting characters did have potential to grow.

With that said, Dennard has the ability to craft an enjoyable story. I know I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, Windwitch. And look! There's a cover:

For the record, I like this cover much better than Truthwitch's cover. Safi looks like a monkey on the U.K. version, while her legs seem knobbly in the U.S. version. Not that there's anything wrong with monkey faces and knobbly knees.

In conclusion, Truthwitch is an explosive start to a series. Not exactly brilliant, but definitely explosive. I recommend reading it for Iseult.

(Just kidding. Honestly though, I'd throw my money at Dennard if she ever decides to write a book about Iseult.)

Rating: 6 – If you're into well-drawn female friendships, fast-paced plots and an easy read, this is for you.