Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Truthwitch

Author: Susan Dennard

Length:  497 pages

Publication date: January 5, 2016

Content notes: YA, fantasy, some violence

“Where’s your hair?” she shouted. “And what happened to your arm?”

“Cut my hair and got shot with an arrow!” 
“Gods below, Iseult! A few hours away and your whole life tumbles through the hell-gates!”
“I might say the same to you,” Iseult shouted back—though it was getting hard to scream and ride. “Four opponents on your tail and a ruined dress!” 

Brief Synopsis (from the book cover):

Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch. 

My thoughts

The writing:


Denning is a skillful writer and she has no trouble keeping my interest. In this book the point of view changes with each chapter and each chapter ends with a little cliff hanger. Some readers report that the changing POV is annoying. I found it to be an interesting writing device that adds to the fevered tone of the story. If you like lots of adventure, a PG rated little love story, and ACTION you will like this book. 


Characters:

The characters are interesting and strong, but I wanted to know more about them. For example Safi and Iseult are not actual sisters but, “threadsisters,”  who choose each other and care deeply for each other. I found it interesting to read about a “thread family,” but again I wanted to know more. Prince Merik is the typical love interest who is fighting against the evil wanting to take over his “kingdom.” But then, there is one minor character, “Polly,” who really piques my interest and, if I read the next book, I hope to see him again. “Polly,” or Prince Leopold  reminds me of the Scarlett Pimpernel because he seems to covers his intelligence, cleverness, and schemes with buffoonery. He even fools the "Bloodwitch" who seems to figure out everything as he hunts Safi and Iseult.  AND, Safi and Iseult are hunted. More about that in the plot.

The setting:

There is a map at the beginning of the book that I referred to often while reading. It is a little overwhelming to see how much energy these characters have to use in order to travel all over this map by horseback, sailboat, or running. However, there are stamina-filled exciting and engaging adventures in the world that was built for this book. If I did not have the map, I would have known little about this setting because it was not explained very well. 

The plot:

There is a twenty year treaty among the empires that is about to end. It seems that some wish for continued peace while others have used the twenty year peace time to prepare for more war. Safi is valuable to any empire or person because she is a “Truthwitch” who can distinguish truth from lies. She has kept her talent a secret all her life, but this secret is leaking out. This puts her in danger as she runs from almost everyone else in the book. Then there is Iseult, a member of a despised ethnic group, who is also being chased.  Safi and Iseult get into lots of trouble and are hunted and hunted. That is basically the plot. Both want freedom from responsibility, but Safi has responsibilities that she can not escape, and she slowly starts to realize that she has an important role to play in this world. Iseult’s story is left unfinished in this book and there are plenty of questions about her destiny left to explore in the next book.



Let me just say that I liked this book, but I found it a bit lacking in depth.