Windwitch, a book I've been looking forward to reading ever since I completed its predecessor. I cannot explain how excited I was to launch myself back into the world of the Witch Lands. How excited I was to see more of my belatedly snarky characters. How excited I was to see exactly what everyone was up to after the dramatic events of the first book.
Windwitch was good, I practically devoured the book-- finishing it the day I got it, despite the gargantuan pile of homework waiting to be completed. But was it great? Unfortunately no. I would have to say it fell a bit flat in the shadow of Truthwitch, which started and ended with a bang.
This book was filled with interesting characters-- both new and old, with compelling motivations. A little bit too filled, if you ask me. There wasn't enough time to develop or introduce all the new characters well enough for me to get attached to them. While I decided that I liked (and disliked) some of the new characters, I can't say that I could rave about any of them. I just don't know them well enough. It's like those loose acquaintances you have in real life. You know you like them, and you want to get to know them better but you don't.
Safiya remains to be the best character of the series (in my eyes). She remains to be the sassy, hilarious character we all fell in love with in the first book. I was a bit disappointed where her story went in the book. That is to say, she didn't really get that far from where she ended in the first book. Her storyline definitely was not the most interesting, but it remained to be a fun read solely for Safi's spirit. It went well with Vaness' very serious attitude, but I can't say I didn't miss having Iseult and Safi together.
One of the biggest things I was looking forward to reading about in this next book was seeing the gang all reunited after the events of the last book. (slight spoiler) they weren't. And I found that to be rather disappointing. I was especially looking forward to seeing a specific windwitch reunited with a specific truthwitch. I guess this is going to go the Game of Thrones route, where they're all together. Then separated, and eventually, after a lot of trials and tribulations and books, they're all finally reunited. (If they're still alive.) I will be waiting impatiently for that reunion.
Merik had a mediocre storyline as well. It wasn't particularly interest grabbing for me. While I did find myself excited and enjoying some of it, most of the time I didn't find myself looking forward to his bits. A new character was introduced in Merik's storyline as well-- Cam. I am not the biggest fan of Cam. I found the character to be annoying at times and just boring in general. But who knows, maybe I'll find myself liking Cam in the next book. Like I said before, there wasn't much time to get attached to the new characters.
Another new character: Vivia, Merik's power hungry sister. At first I was determined to dislike the Princess/Queen because of her conflict with my beloved Windwitch. I wasn't able to accomplish that-- her character is just too compelling. I look forward to seeing more of her in future books.
The best storyline of the book by far, had to be Isuelt and Aeduan's. Am I spoiling you that their storyline intertwines? I would have to say I don't think so, since it's in the description. Maybe the reason I enjoyed their storyline so much was because it was a reunion of sorts, or maybe it was just because the tension between the two characters was interesting or maybe because they were just in more interesting situations. I don't know, I just found that I was most looking forward to their parts in the story. There was a very very random addition in their story near the end though, I have no idea where that came from and still don't exactly see the point of that addition.
Another character we meet in this story is one that is mentioned, briefly, in the last book but had a very big part in setting the entire first book in motion. I found this character to be extremely interesting, and with the little bit of time we had with them, I became rather interested in their character. I'm looking forward to seeing more of them and finding out more about the lore surrounding their people/species.
All in all, Windwitch was a pretty good book. While I was a bit disappointed after reading it, I can only really blame my (extremely) high expectations for that. Expectations can ruin a book, luckily that didn't happen here. Take away my expectations and you have a pretty good book here. 7/10 stars, I really enjoyed reading it and can't wait for the next one.
Synopsis:
Sometimes our enemies are also our only allies…
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 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.
Thanks for reading,
Anj :)
Windwitch was good, I practically devoured the book-- finishing it the day I got it, despite the gargantuan pile of homework waiting to be completed. But was it great? Unfortunately no. I would have to say it fell a bit flat in the shadow of Truthwitch, which started and ended with a bang.
This book was filled with interesting characters-- both new and old, with compelling motivations. A little bit too filled, if you ask me. There wasn't enough time to develop or introduce all the new characters well enough for me to get attached to them. While I decided that I liked (and disliked) some of the new characters, I can't say that I could rave about any of them. I just don't know them well enough. It's like those loose acquaintances you have in real life. You know you like them, and you want to get to know them better but you don't.
Safiya remains to be the best character of the series (in my eyes). She remains to be the sassy, hilarious character we all fell in love with in the first book. I was a bit disappointed where her story went in the book. That is to say, she didn't really get that far from where she ended in the first book. Her storyline definitely was not the most interesting, but it remained to be a fun read solely for Safi's spirit. It went well with Vaness' very serious attitude, but I can't say I didn't miss having Iseult and Safi together.
One of the biggest things I was looking forward to reading about in this next book was seeing the gang all reunited after the events of the last book. (slight spoiler) they weren't. And I found that to be rather disappointing. I was especially looking forward to seeing a specific windwitch reunited with a specific truthwitch. I guess this is going to go the Game of Thrones route, where they're all together. Then separated, and eventually, after a lot of trials and tribulations and books, they're all finally reunited. (If they're still alive.) I will be waiting impatiently for that reunion.
Merik had a mediocre storyline as well. It wasn't particularly interest grabbing for me. While I did find myself excited and enjoying some of it, most of the time I didn't find myself looking forward to his bits. A new character was introduced in Merik's storyline as well-- Cam. I am not the biggest fan of Cam. I found the character to be annoying at times and just boring in general. But who knows, maybe I'll find myself liking Cam in the next book. Like I said before, there wasn't much time to get attached to the new characters.
Another new character: Vivia, Merik's power hungry sister. At first I was determined to dislike the Princess/Queen because of her conflict with my beloved Windwitch. I wasn't able to accomplish that-- her character is just too compelling. I look forward to seeing more of her in future books.
The best storyline of the book by far, had to be Isuelt and Aeduan's. Am I spoiling you that their storyline intertwines? I would have to say I don't think so, since it's in the description. Maybe the reason I enjoyed their storyline so much was because it was a reunion of sorts, or maybe it was just because the tension between the two characters was interesting or maybe because they were just in more interesting situations. I don't know, I just found that I was most looking forward to their parts in the story. There was a very very random addition in their story near the end though, I have no idea where that came from and still don't exactly see the point of that addition.
Another character we meet in this story is one that is mentioned, briefly, in the last book but had a very big part in setting the entire first book in motion. I found this character to be extremely interesting, and with the little bit of time we had with them, I became rather interested in their character. I'm looking forward to seeing more of them and finding out more about the lore surrounding their people/species.
All in all, Windwitch was a pretty good book. While I was a bit disappointed after reading it, I can only really blame my (extremely) high expectations for that. Expectations can ruin a book, luckily that didn't happen here. Take away my expectations and you have a pretty good book here. 7/10 stars, I really enjoyed reading it and can't wait for the next one.
Synopsis:
Sometimes our enemies are also our only allies…
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 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.
Thanks for reading,
Anj :)
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