Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Truthwitch (The Witchlands, #1)

by Susan Dennard

The first in the Witchlands series, Truthwitch by Susan Dennard is a brilliantly imagined coming-of-age story perfect for fans of Robin Hobb, Victoria Aveyard and Trudi Canavan.

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.

Reviewed by wyvernfriend on

3 of 5 stars

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Truth isn't always easy The treaty has held for many years but now it's crumbling and at the centre of this is Safiya and Iseult. Two friends who want some adventure but not as much as is heading their way.
Iseult is a truthwitch and that skill is rare, now she want to try to hide this and have some freedom but a ball and the handsome Merik might make her wonder about possibilities. Then there's kidnapping, chases, a seemingly deathless bloodwitch and a lot of shennigans.
 
It was an interesting read with interesting characters. It's did have some moments where the story stuttered a bit but overall I want to read more in this series.
 
With a little stretch this could be Creepy Crawlies (between the bloodwitch and the Sea Foxes) much of the adventure occurs at sea so it could be Fear the Drowning Deep if I hadn't used that one already, it also falls into Spellbound, but I've also used that as well.  Ah well, I'm going to regard this as a miss for the game.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 22 September, 2018: Finished reading
  • 22 September, 2018: Reviewed