Hype or Like Friday – February 24th, 2017

Just another Hype or Like Friday! This meme and Goodreads group were created by myself, Jill @ Rant and Rave Books, and Britt @ Geronimo Reads. To join our group and find out more information about what it’s all about, please go to our Goodreads page HERE.

The February BOTM is Truthwitch (The Witchlands, #1) by Susan Dennard.

RULES:

• Answer the weekly discussion topic.
• Optional: Discuss your chosen hyped book of the week.
• Optional: Talk about your progress on the BOTM.

TOPIC OF THE WEEK: BOTM Review!

I’m so glad that we chose this book for our February BOTM. I’ve actually owned Susan Dennard’s Truthwitch (The Witchlands, #1) since it was first released. Unfortuantely, I had heard so many negative reviews on it that I was completely turned off from wanting to read it. I really, really regret that decision.

In a continent on the edge of war, two witches hold its fate in their hands.

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.

I remember so many different people saying how boring this book was and how there was nothing really happening for the most part. Now, I get that we all have different opinions and observations about the stories that we read… But to those people, WHAT BOOK WERE YOU READING?! The pacing was so on point in this novel. There was action from the very first page and it never stops from there. I found myself so engrossed in the story and plotline that I struggled to make myself put this book down every night. I didn’t want the story to end!

And oh my, those characters… Do you love sass? Stubbornness? Maybe even a little trouble? Then Safi will be you new favorite heroine. She is always running into trouble, causing it really, and is constantly throwing out the wittiest comebacks ever. Seriously, the sass game is strong with this one and I LOVE IT. Where Safi is wild and uninhibited, Iseult is cautious, quiet, and always takes the time to plan her strategy. She reminds me of an old soul really. I just loved how different the two girls are but how strong their friendship is. The entire plot actually revolves around their friendship and I so appreciated Dennard giving us a story with a wonderful female friendship. As for our male leads, Merik is just a delight. He’s as sassy as Safi and their interactions throughout the book would leave my giggling out loud. Seriously, their snarky comments gave me life. As for Aeduan, he’s the dark and brooding one with some not-so-good intentions involving our leading ladies. However, his POV was definitely one of my favorites.

I think my only issues with this book was that it was a tad bit confusing in the beginning. There are so many types of witches but they weren’t described very well, so a lot of the time when they were mentioned, you just had read it and move on. There wasn’t enough information to describe how the witches hierarchy worked, what they all did, or even why some people had magic and others did not. I also felt the overall world-building was a little on the weaker side. I felt not enough attention was given to explain the history of the world or why there was so much animosity amongst the different countries. I think that more will be explain as the series progresses, I just wish we had been given a bit more information in this first book.

Overall, this book was wonderful and exciting. There were a few misses here and there, but nothing that detracted from how enjoyable I found this book. This was definitely a LIKE from me!!!

Have you read Truthwitch? What did you think of it? Leave a link to your Hype or Like Friday post in the comments below!