Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1) by Susan Dennard
Published: January 5th 2016 by Tor Teen
Review:
Myth: 3/5
An action packed start, Safi and Iseult get themselves into trouble and that theme continues pretty much through the entire book (though after the first incident, the rest isn’t really their fault). I was drawn to the idea of thread sisters, a series with two heroines to enjoy, and their stories kept bringing them together for short bursts and then separating them, so we did get to know them individually.
I actually think that part of what I missed in this book was some kind of development of the bonds between Safi and Iseult. We were told they were thread sisters, told that they were inseparable, but when they were together, I didn’t get a feeling of a rich history of bonding and getting into trouble together. Their actions underscored their importance to each other, but I didn’t really know why.
Magic: 2/5
Safi and Iseult both have unique magic. Safi’s is incredibly rare and her family has kept it hidden so that others wouldn’t seek to control Safi for her abilities. Iseult’s should mark a position of honor within her tribe, but her lack of control over the magic creates no end of problems for her.
The first book introduces both powers with more of a focus on Safi’s. It also introduces returns of magic that I’m sure will be explored in greater detail in later books. As the start of the series we really only get the foundation of the magic systems and an idea of why these two don’t fit in, but it didn’t really give me a ton to go on with the foundational concept of threadsisters. I don’t know if this will be explored more or if it sort of goes back to my original point in the Myth, that it just seems that we’re meant to accept that Safi and Iseult are important to each other without a lot more information.
Overall: 2.5/5
I have a feeling that Safi and Iseult’s story will only get better as the Empire’s uneasy treaties continue to crumble, but I wasn’t pulled into their story enough to continue the series.
