Book Review: Windwitch

THE WITCHLANDS, BOOK #2
AUTHOR: SUSAN DENNARD
RATING: 5 STARS
TRUTHWITCH

There will be light SPOILERS for book one and for the beginning of book two in this review so tread lightly. For those who haven't begun the series yet: it's definitely worth the read and book two is even better than book one, even though book one was pretty great.

Where to start with this one? It was immediately obvious that I was going to thoroughly enjoy it when one of my all time favorite tropes appeared at the end of the prologue, Merik faking his own death. I could write a whole post (and maybe I will) about my love for this trope, but it mostly has to do with the reveal when the character is found to be alive again. Beyond that, I really enjoyed the direction being a dead man took Merik on. While I did like him, and yes, swoon over him a bit, in Truthwitch I wasn't quite convinced about his character beyond him being a prince and love interest for Safi. Being apart from the majority of the cast helped shape him as a character and I liked the other characters that were introduced to play in his arc, such as Cam (seriously, what an amazing character) and Vivia. Speaking of Vivia, I was thoroughly pleased that we got to get chapters with her POV not only to balance Merik but to overall enhance how epic the ladies are in this series.

While Merik's and Vivia's storylines may have been my favorite I was no less interested in Safi's storyline and Iseult/Aeduan's storyline. The former was great for both expanding the world, geographically and politically (I absolutely LOVE the Hell-Bards, and in particular Caden), and prompting Safi to learn from her mistakes and begin to take responsibility for her actions. While she hasn't done too much growing throughout the series (there is a lot of her planning to grow and change though... a writing tactic I rather dislike) I am looking forward to seeing where her character goes. The only disappointment, really, was that we didn't get a Vaness POV (maybe next book?...). Iseult and Aeduan was a plot I didn't really expect to turn out the way it did but I enjoyed their journey together. Of anyone, Iseult has become my favorite in the series. I think she's the most complicated character and the most interesting to read about- for me she's a wild card and I enjoy it. I definitely like Aeduan more than I did in book one, but he's definitely a mystery and I'm looking forward to seeing his character peeled away more.

The three different storylines were so well balanced that I never got tired of one and longed for another. I read each chapter as eagerly as the last, and I don't just think it's because the characters are interesting but because the writing is so well done! Between the three plots there was also a lot of really cool mirroring happening. I don't want to spoil anything because they tend to be rather important plot points, but it was with a deft hand that Dennard was able to beautifully intertwine the characters' journeys in this way.

For me the real mark of a good book comes in two ways: it makes a good reread (and it's a tad early to reread these books) and it follows you around even after you've finished it. I can absolutely say that even while I was at work I couldn't help but think about Windwitch. I kept going back over my favorite scenes in my head and it should be more than obvious that I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.

Now, the real question, how does one play taro?