Susan Dennard returns with a follow up to New York Times bestselling novel Truthwitch.After an explosion destroys his ship, the world believes Prince Merik, Windwitch, is dead. Scarred yet alive, Merik is determined to prove his sister’s treachery. Upon reaching the royal capital, crowded with refugees, he haunts the streets, fighting for the weak-which leads to whispers of a disfigured demigod, … of a disfigured demigod, the Fury, who brings justice to the oppressed.
When the Bloodwitch Aeduan discovers a bounty on Iseult, he makes sure to be the first to find her-yet in a surprise twist, Iseult offers him a deal. She will return money stolen from him, if he locates Safi. Now they must work together to cross the Witchlands, while constantly wondering, who will betray whom first?
After a surprise attack and shipwreck, Safi and the Empress of Marstok barely escape with their lives. Alone in a land of pirates, every moment balances on a knife’s edge-especially when the pirates’ next move could unleash war upon the Witchlands.
Sometimes our enemies are also our only allies…
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
more
This is the second book in this series and it was even better than the first!
Don’t be deceived by the title – these witches aren’t your typical urban fantasy, chants, spells, etc. These witches kind of remind me of benders (from Avatar: The Last Airbender), in a way.
Anyway, the storyline is solid: action, fantasy, politics, and hard choices are all in the book. Each character is so interesting with their strengths and all their flaws. Each person I found highly relatable, and there is realistic gender equality (both the women and men are brave, skilled, smart, but highly flawed with their multiple misconceptions of each other and the various mistakes they own up to. There is no mention or feelings of characters being capable because he’s a man or because she’s a women…).
To me there seemed to be a theme going on in this book: “one for the sake of many.” I love those kind of books, and those type of choices young adults have to make. I love character development and growth, which this books has in abundance.
Fast paced, and well told. I highly recommend, but read the first book first! Also, it is a satisfying ending, but there will definitely be more books to come!
4 ½
Another great book in the series. This book was action wise a bit slower but was very character and story driven. But I must admit that even though it was slower on the action site I enjoyed this book a bit more.
The book starts off a couple weeks where we ended with book one, it is called Windwitch and about Merik ,BUT we do get everyone else as well, just like in book one.
We actually meet some new people, and also get a POV of people we heard about but not followed yet.
Most of the group is split up and scattered throughout the world, some meet and team up and other make new allies. Some are surprising and I didn’t even think about. Others, not so much.
The most notable apart were Safi and Iseult. Though I think they handled it better than I thought they would and they were still great, both in their own ways but still thinking of the other.
We learn more about both Safi and Iseult but I say more so about Iseult and her threadwitchery, the history and much more. The same about Safi, but there is only so much we can learn about her magic, its pretty straight forward, though I’m still thinking we learn that there is more to it.
Merik…. Oh boy he was down in the dumps in this book a times, which got him in trouble, but he pulled through and made it . We learn something really shocking and surprising about him towards the end which left me speechless. I liked Cam ….. I thought it was a great addition to the story. Can’t wait to learn more.
We also get Vivia’s POV which I thought was very interesting and want so much more of it, the same goes for Caden…….I hope, we see more of him in the next books but at the same time I hope we are not getting a love triangle situation. Vaness I also liked but never fully trusted and am curious to see where it leads.
Aeduan , he quickly became one of my favorites and I could not get enough if him, I also liked we get a few , very few glimpses of his humor. I also can’t wait to learn more about his father…..
Owl, came late in the book but I loved and can’t wait to see what that is all about .
The ending while still left wide open and a semi cliffhanger also had a somewhat peaceful feeling to it. Kind of the calm before the storm type that we all know is brewing
Overall, it was slower but still better than the first. As mentioned it was story and characters driven and since I love this crew so much I didn’t mind a bit.
I rate this book 4 ½
The book was amazing. The book had action, adventure, pirates and a great dose of strong female characters. I had so much fun reading and after waiting a whole year I was not disappointed. Starting off with the world of the Witchlands got bigger and throughout the book, it took me to other parts of the world. I also enjoyed the action fighting scenes from the last book and Windwitch brought more action. From the mix of magic to the sword fighting it was fun. The interactions of the characters were enjoyable. I like the way that Iseult’s relationship with the Bloodwitch development and changed throughout the story. Lastly, I enjoyed being introduced to the new characters to book especially the female characters. I am hoping for a movie for the series or a show that can be on CW or HBO or something.
Windwitch didn’t go in the direction I was expecting. I was positive I knew who would go to where and when they met up it would be CURTAINS FOR EVERYONE. No. I am not complaining. This book had a different dymanic than Truthwitch and if you’re wanting what you got from the first book you’ll find yourself disliking this one. I’m okay with letting the author lead down their path instead of the one I have preplanned in my head ( WE’VE ALL DONE IT SO DON’T EVEN LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT).
This is Merik’s book. I like Merik. Merik had a lot to learn and this book kicked his ass. This book kicked everyone’s ass. Not necessarily in the physical sense. Safi, Iseult, Vaness, Aeduan (AEDUAN MY BABY CAKES GIMME GIMME). Finding out truths about yourself, what you thought was fact, who’s really your enemy and who’s really not, and that your truth isn’t THE truth can knock you back farther back than a fist straight to the middle of your face.
If you’re looking for romance you won’t get that here. Love, absolutely.
This review MAY contain spoilers.
My brain is whirling right now! I don’t even know what to do with myself. Susan Dennard is brilliant! I don’t know how I am going to wait for book three, Bloodwitch, to come out in January.
The world that Dennard has dreamed up is perfection! Truly, it is. It is utterly vivid, detailed, and breathtaking. I felt myself living in this world right along with the characters. This world is complex and intricately crafted. The magic system in this series is by itself quite astounding. Add in the different empires and peoples, the political intrigue, and the lush environments and you have quite the sensory overload in all the best ways.
The plot definitely gears up in this sequel to Truthwitch. I did feel that the story started off a bit slowly, but once it got going it wouldn’t let up. I was constantly trying to guess the end game and I was constantly being surprised. The foreshadowing is placed really well. This book had me guessing the entire time. It was never predictable, which I loved! The sequence of events in the book and the plot as a whole are bloody brilliant. If I had to sum up the plot in one word it would be WOW.
I really loved the character development in this book. We get to know so many of the characters infinitely better in Windwitch. I also loved the addition of new characters and the way that their personalities added to the story. A theme in the book that came up more than once which I enjoyed is the gray area surrounding what a villain is or isn’t. There were several characters that start out as a villain and end up as an ally and vice versa. It is all relative. I think that what I like best about this is that is made me think and question things like morals and what circumstance can make a person do or become. Many significant character journeys in Windwitch. I am eager to see how much farther they go in Bloodwitch. I am also eager to see more of the bonds between characters and what effect it will have on the story.
Oddly, there wasn’t really any romance in this book. Though there were plenty of bonds formed between characters and one or more may lead to romance down the line. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Overall, this book is fantastic! This book is full of action, intrigue, and emotion. If you love fantasy books with rich world-building, fascinating characters, and a plot that is to die for then you will love Windwitch! Once you enter The Witchlands you won’t want to leave.
A really good series! I couldn’t put it down!