A fast paced light fantasy read full of adventure, romance and surprises, I throughly enjoyed this light fantasy and i cant wait to read the next in the series,
It might not be for every fantasy fiction die hard but still worthy of being on fantasy fiction to be read lists. ( )

Slow start but fun finish.

Originally posted on Just Geeking by.

Truthwitch has been on my TBR for a very long time, and I’ve just been stuck waiting for it to become available for me to read. I won book two, Windwitch, in a competition several years ago and didn’t realise at the time that I’d entered a competition for book two. Since then I’ve been impatiently waiting for book one and trying to get one of my local libraries to add it to their e-book library. It finally happened and I snapped it up as soon as I got the chance.

Some books have a reputation for being good and then they don’t always live up to the expectations built by other people’s standards. I’m happy to report that Truthwitch is as good as I’d heard. I instantly fell in love with the headstrong Safi and cautious Iseult, and all of the other characters we meet along the way. Every single one is full of life and three dimensional, and the worldbuilding of the Witchlands series is phenomenal. It’s such a treat to read!

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I read this book in a 24 hour period. Friday night through Saturday night, then dreamed about scary witched from the series Throne of Glass, I'm not sure why, perhaps I had been comparing them in my subconscious. Actually if I were going to compare it, it would be to Six of Crows which has a similar magical system/witchery?
Not the point, I had a hard time at first, the opening chapter didn't grab me. Luckily I usually give a book a good 100 pages unless it's just awful. I'm glad I did, I really ended enjoying this one. I appreciate Safiya's evolution. She starts out kind of a brat. Then with the introduction of a major conspiracy and nothing going right, she changes. There is good story telling happening here. ( )

Starts out somewhat confusing as very little of the world's history is explained and you have to pick it up as you go along, even the magic system comes without primers, and most of the characters seem to be exceptions to the rule anyway. It takes a good half the book before things start becoming clear, which is probably too long for many readers.

Are heroines are a pair fo wild-cat hellions, both talented witches, but both un-marked. It's never clear if all the populace is talented to some degree, or if its a select elite. Iseult - no idea how it's pronounced and had to look up for this review, just the I-girl in my mind, and Safiya are bonded together through their magic, but not romantically - again the separation is never quite explained - Everybody has mental threads that express their emotions but only Iseult's abilities can see them, whereas Safiya is a rare being - a truthwitch of the title, who can tell when someone is lying (or at least strongly believes what they are saying which is not necessarily the same thing). Rulers wish to harness her abilities, hence the incognito disguise. But she's not done as well as she thought at keeping it secret, and her family bring her an emperor's attention. She flees this event, straight into the hands of the handsome pirate prince who has his own designs, and leverage for trade. But he and the company of Monks who believe she's the resolution of eon old Prophecy keep underestimating her ThreadSister bond to Isuelt.

Once you get all this behind you the character interactions are good and balanced especially the motivations of everybody involved remain believable , the world seems to mostly be consistent. I's just never clear quite how much magic anybody can achieve in a given situation. I will probably go on to read the rest of the series and see how the politics works out, and whether there's any more clarity in the inventive magic system. ( )