THE BOOK
Title: Windwitch
Series: The Witchlands (Book Two)
Author: Susan Dennard
Format: Hardcover
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 384
Date Published: January 10, 2017
Publisher: Tor Teen
Description:
Susan Dennard returns with a follow up to the 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, 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 the 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...
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THE REVIEW
Reviewer: Sam
Reviewer: Sam
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Source: ARC provided by Tor Teen
Source: ARC provided by Tor Teen
Holy hell-gates and 'rupting firepots! Where do I begin?
I read forty-five books in 2016, friends. FORTY-FIVE. Of those, Windwitch was HANDS DOWN my favorite. It was also one of the most expertly crafted. (I will die on that hill. Read it, and you will, too.) Here's why.
1) The World-Building
Wowowowowowowow. Guuuuuuuyyys. I know that calling anything "original" these days is rather pointless. I mean, we can all agree that nothing is truly original. And certainly, originality should never be an artist's foremost aim lest he or she never begin. But "original" is the very first word that comes to mind when I think of the world-building in this series. This multi-layered world is masterfully crafted and revealed to the reader. Every new revelation, while being delightfully unexpected, feels effortless and right - never forced, never jarring. The result is a world easily entered and not-so-easily exited. I suspect it'll be several days yet before the sights and sounds and stakes of the Witchlands cease to color my everyday. (I'm pretty sure I thanked God for Aeduan in my mealtime prayer this evening. Surely, He understands.)
2) The Characters
Susan Dennard is a queen of crafting character. I observed this in my reading of her Something Strange and Deadly series and now, too, in my reading of Truthwitch and Windwitch. Her characters are multi-dimensional - each with his or her own history and voice and flaws and motivations, each with his or her own way of seeing himself or herself and the world in which he or she lives. Safi and Iseult and Merik and Aeduan (and so many of the not-so-minor characters that we meet in Windwitch) transcend the page. They are real. They are knowable. Furthermore, I've noticed that I've a new tendency to curse like Safi, to make connections like Iseult, to model Merik's nobility and Aeduan's confidence - not because these characters are perfect or powerful in ways that I am not and wish to be; but because they breathe, they move, they act, they are transformed in ways that are true to who they are. This truthfulness is what I most desire to see and what I most appreciate in characters. Susan's talent is unique in that all of her characters are crafted with it; and, too, her narrative is propelled by it.
3) The Plot
I read Windwitch in two sittings - two because THE STAKES and THE FEELS and MY HEART. (In other words, my being able to re-inhabit this world demanded that I step away and, well, breathe.) This series is action-packed, and there is so much on the line. Heck, you don't even know what all is on the line until that line is irreparably weathered and frayed, and OH LOOK SCISSORS! This narrative takes your heart in its hands and proceeds to squeeze it like a stress ball until it's this ragged and miserable-looking thing that will never ever be the same - no matter how many tubs of chocolatey chocolate ice cream you eat, no matter how many times you watch Bridget Jones's Diary.... Just have a friend on-call, okay? Preferably someone who's read Windwitch. (*points to self* I'm here for you.) And have a calendar nearby so you can count the days till Bloodwitch.
Speaking of Bloodwitch... I NEEEEED IT. I NEED IT NOWWWWW.
In summary, Windwitch is an action-packed, high-stakes, soul-crushing (in the best possible way) sequel. It's the kind of book that demands to be re-read and treasured, the kind of book that you will buy for all of your friends (because there is no way you're loaning out your copy), the kind of book that reminds you of the power of words to immerse, to inspire, to transform. I crazy-loved it!
🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁 (Leaves because THAT COVER)