Author: Susan Dennard
Genre: YA Fantasy
Length: 416 Pages Hardcover
Release: January 2016
My Rating: 3/5 Stars
Review
I went into Truthwitch with a mix of expectations, not necessarily high or low expectations. I was hoping for a fun read and it was, I was expecting an epic female friendship and don't feel that it really delivered.
For the first few chapters of this in my head I just kept saying "this is kind of silly" which seems strange, since it's a fantasy novel (my favorite genre) and not entirely different from many fantasy novels that I have absolutely adored. There was just nothing about the characters upon introduction or the writing in the beginning that grabbed my attention. Merik was the only character that I actually enjoyed upon first introduction. I found his story quite interesting.
The friendship between Safi and Isuelt was not what I expected. It was probably around the halfway point that I finally started to have any appreciation for this pair. There was little background in the beginning about why they were friends, how they met, what bound them together. They were devoted to each other, which I appreciated, but without much building of that relationship. I wanted more of their history and what made them such a great team.
I found the magic system in this quite compelling. The concept of the various types of witches and how each of them had certain strengths and not all of the same type of witch had the same powers was an interesting concept. But some of it was still not very clear.
The political aspect of this was somewhat lacking for me. There wasn't enough background to explain the political tension. The main characters seemed to distance themselves from the problems of their kingdoms (aside from Merik, of course). It had the foundation for an interesting system and conflict, but didn't really deliver.
There was a great deal of character development as the story progressed, which I did really appreciate. None of the characters were still very captivating to me, but I did grow to appreciate them more. The ending was interesting but didn't leave me very eager for the sequel. It's focus is going to be Merik though, so I may give it a chance since I liked him the best.
For the first few chapters of this in my head I just kept saying "this is kind of silly" which seems strange, since it's a fantasy novel (my favorite genre) and not entirely different from many fantasy novels that I have absolutely adored. There was just nothing about the characters upon introduction or the writing in the beginning that grabbed my attention. Merik was the only character that I actually enjoyed upon first introduction. I found his story quite interesting.
The friendship between Safi and Isuelt was not what I expected. It was probably around the halfway point that I finally started to have any appreciation for this pair. There was little background in the beginning about why they were friends, how they met, what bound them together. They were devoted to each other, which I appreciated, but without much building of that relationship. I wanted more of their history and what made them such a great team.
I found the magic system in this quite compelling. The concept of the various types of witches and how each of them had certain strengths and not all of the same type of witch had the same powers was an interesting concept. But some of it was still not very clear.
The political aspect of this was somewhat lacking for me. There wasn't enough background to explain the political tension. The main characters seemed to distance themselves from the problems of their kingdoms (aside from Merik, of course). It had the foundation for an interesting system and conflict, but didn't really deliver.
There was a great deal of character development as the story progressed, which I did really appreciate. None of the characters were still very captivating to me, but I did grow to appreciate them more. The ending was interesting but didn't leave me very eager for the sequel. It's focus is going to be Merik though, so I may give it a chance since I liked him the best.
This is one I'm nervous about. I've heard great things and I've also heard ver bad things. Great review.
ReplyDeleteCarrie @The Butterfly Reader
It was enjoyable, just nothing overly amazing to me. Hope you enjoy it if you do end up reading it! Thanks for commenting. :)
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