troppa carne al fuoco fa solo fumo ( )

Originally posted on Just Geeking by.

Compared to the first book, I just wasn’t as blown away with Windwitch as I was with Truthwitch (pun completely intended). While Truthwitch was given a five-star rating from me the second book only managed to gain a three-star. It wasn’t quite a filler book, but compared to book one and book three (Bloodwitch) there just wasn’t as much action nor as much intensity in Windwitch which I know the author was capable of. It’s still an interesting enough book, it just feels like all the characters are constantly moving from A to Z in this one and doing it oh so very slowly. It’s a book of journeys and while they are necessary ones for the overall story and the characters (a lot of character building, soul searching and the like happens) it just gets a tad repetitive after the third or fourth time it happens.

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While I felt like Windwitch was scattered, I still enjoyed the book. Folks who like a solid beginning/middle/end may struggle with this second installment in Susan Dennard’s Witchland’s universe. Nevertheless, the vibrant world, interesting magic, and complex characters continue to impress and I intend to continue further into the series.

The most structured story is Merik’s. The prince was presumed dead after an explosion, and his POV storyline takes us through his quest for vengeance against his sister, Vivia, whom he presumes his murderer. We also follow Safiya and Iseult, but so much of their story takes place on the road that it takes extraordinary patience and interest to suffer through their POVs. Windwitch is primarily a bridge book, refining its characters and setting up the next big event in the series.

Susan Dennard excels in her world building. As a book with a lot of journeying, it would be easy to fall into information dumps and over-describing the landscape. Instead, she does an excellent job of surrounding us with the world and letting us uncover, bit by bit, the cultures and current politics. Fantasy is particularly vulnerable to over-description but Susan Dennard’s balance is excellent. I love the Witchlands as a fantasy world. While I’m listening, I am constantly thinking about how I can learn from her and improve my own writing.

The best part of this book was Cam. I’m not qualified to say one way or the other if they are a good representation of a transgender character, but I appreciated their existence as a principally important character. Cam’s unspoken background makes me what to learn more about what drives them. As a warning, though, they are deadnamed in the middle of the book, just once.

Should you run out and pick up a copy of Windwitch? Honestly… no. I really liked it, but a lot of my liking it has to do with my interest in the world and the fact I genuinely like Susan Dennard’s characters. Objectively, it’s not a very focused book and plot line is a really important fundamental. Nonetheless, those who enjoyed Truthwitch shouldn’t necessarily let it stop them from continuing the series. I may know that, from a technical perspective, Windwitch is not amazing. But I also really liked it. The heart wants what the heart wants. ( )

o this took me so long to read. As you can see by my rating that I really enjoyed this book, but I just kept putting it down and it would take a while before I picked it up again. Finally, I decided to force myself to sit down and just read it. I really enjoyed this book, it doesn't pick up directly after the last book but it does catch you up very quickly.

The chapters are like the last book in which they are told from different points of view, this was done very well and despite the somewhat large assembly of characters. There was never a time that I ever felt lost or confused about who was speaking. I will say that I did love other POVs more than others, it wasn't because they were boring or anything like that it was mostly just because some characters (to me) are just more interesting than others.

I really enjoyed Iseult and Aeduan, I liked them in the first book as well and this just continued my affection for them. Safi was also interesting, so was Marik and Vivia but I just enjoyed Aeduan and Iseult more. I do wish that Dennard would give me more when it comes to the history of the Witchland worlds. I just feel like I am getting trickles of information and while I don't want an expo dump I wish she would share more.

Other than that it was definitely a great book and I will continue this series ( )

3.5

Lots of fun like the first book, but really feels like a filler/build-up for the finale of the series. ( )