Book Review: Witchlands

If you’re looking for a series that has powerful and inspiring characters, ancient gods and goddesses and is set on the back drop of an unstable continent, look no further than Susan Dennard’s Witchlands series. Witchlands is an epic fantasy romance that primarily follows two young adults, Safi and Iseult, two “threadsisters” who are born with different types of witchery.

 

Currently, there are four books in the series: Truthwitch, Windwitch, Bloodwitch, and Witchshadow (respectively) with a fifth and final book expected to arrive in 2024. There is also a spin-off book called Sightwitch which provides an interesting back story into some of the characters and elements addressed in the main series. The series takes place on a continent ruled by three empires coming to the end of a 20 year truce, and where some are born with witch powers correlating to different elements: wind, fire, earth, water, tide, thread (the ability to see people’s emotions), blood (ability to control people), and truth (the ability to tell lies from truth, and also the rarest form of witchery). Although the series primarily revolves around Safi and Iseult (especially in the first book), the series is character rich and we come across characters with all different types of witchery.

 

Labelled as a fantasy romance, I would say the series is very much a slow burn and isn’t as heavy on the romance side. Dennard gives us just enough romantic moments to keep us squealing and invested in the relationships but doesn’t let it consume the book. Which is refreshing to see especially in the fantasy genre where the romantic trope can overpower the story line.

 

The series is very female dominated with women from all different backgrounds and life experiences who show their strengths in different ways. This is a delicate thing which I find some authors over compensate the dynamic between women and power, by making all their female protagonists warriors. Yes, we have that here as well, but we also have Dennard playing on different female strengths such as compassion, wit and cunningness.

 

This was my first time coming across the author after searching for a new fantasy series to read and needless to say, she did not disappoint.

 

Starting off with what I enjoyed from the series, Dennard plays into the idea of platonic soulmates, threadsisters (Safi and Iseult) and threadbrothers (Merick and Kullen). Like anyone who enjoys a good romantasy, I love the idea of soulmates despite how cheesy and cliché it may be. But the idea that you can have a soulmate that isn’t romantic, is on a whole new level to me because I think it’s often understated how important those relationships are. Dennard portrays these bonds beautifully and shows the reality of growing up close with someone whilst battling their individual struggles. It exceeds the common soulmate trope of “I love you and we are meant to be together” and looks at the evolutions that people go through to maintain their relationships as well as their sense of self.  

 

We also see some interesting character development. This is largely what I found impressive about the series and how Dennard was able to carefully take us through the character’s experiences through the multiple POVs.

 

Firstly, I have to speak about Iseult who goes from being quiet, living in people’s shadows (first her mother in her tribe and then Safi) to fully embracing herself. Iseult starts of by being quiet, reasonable and rational and is many ways held back by the ideas instilled in her on who she has to be. Throughout the series, and in her relationship with Aeduan, she begins to embrace who she was meant to be and who she wants to be. It’s not often that we see a character embrace their darker side in order to develop into a better person, so seeing Iseult’s development throughout the series was interesting to say the least.

 

I cannot emphasize how much I love Vivia and everything she comes to be. She goes from being Merick’s sister, and essentially being groomed to be a queen being a true leader, fighting independently from her father. Her development signified (and maybe touched me personally) a key turning point that we, predominately women, experience at some point when they get older. That is breaking away from a mould where we’re conditioned to be the perfect daughter, be kind at your own expense for others and sacrifice yourself. Her journey is a battle where she supresses herself because she’s torn between what she was conditioned to be and who she really is. Her father for sure overshadows her and she’s supressed by the men around her. We see her awaken to the world around her,  and with the help of Vaness, she embarks on a journey to save not only herself but her people.

 

Aeduan’s development was slightly frustrating. We get to see a lot more of Aeduan in Bloodwitch and we see this struggle where his dark experiences have shaped him but when he meets Iseult, she challenges him in very way. The reason why his development is frustrating is because we are hanging on by a thread about how he’s going to change, and Dennard leaves us hanging at the end of Bloodwitch. This frustration isn’t necessarily bad, in fact I think the author intended it to be like that, so I look forward to how Aeduan will evolve and his relationship to those around him in the next book. 

 

The female relationships is something I came to not only love, but observe in my own life, after this series. I think the subtle yet impactful relationships we see between the female characters is very reflective of women’s historical experiences, and it was just a wholesome trope to read.

 

Firstly, we have Vivia and Vaness which to me is the peak of slow burn romances and one that had me pining for these two characters throughout Witchshadow. When the two first meet, it’s under dire circumstances and neither seems too fond of the other, as all friendships start. As the story moves on, we see the two realise the importance of supporting each other in a world where the men in power seek to control their lands through the women. They both realise the false sense of power they’ve been made to feel they have and decide it’s about time something changes. As Vivia herself says, “it’s about time Noden and his Hagfishes bow to a woman’s rule”.

 

Similarly, Vivia’s relationship with her deceased mother Queen Jana was one that I can’t stop thinking about. It’s impressive how Dennard can construct a relationship between a living and dead character, but she manages to show the power of a mother’s love is long lasting. The memory of Jana is all Vivia has and it becomes key to her development to a leader. When she realises her father Serafin has been taking credit for the work her mother did and Jana still having a relationship with Vivia despite being dead.

 

This mother daughter relationship is pivotal in the series. Another example is Iseult and her mother. We don’t see much of Iseult’s mother until Witchshadow and up until that point we’re to believe her mother is distant and cold. Iseult never had a close relationship with her and blames her for a lot of her circumstances. At the end however, it is her mother’s love that saves Iseult, and she begins to see everything her mother did as acts of protection rather than neglect. Essentially, it’s these women and their relationships with each other that keep this fictional world from collapsing and I’m here for it.

 

Stepping back and looking at the wider picture, these relationships and characters symbolise a danger and mistake that comes with underestimating people, especially women. Essentially, it’s these women and their relationships with each other that keep this fictional world from collapsing and I’m here for it.

 

An important part of fantasy writing is world building. The author is bringing us into a world that is at large unfamiliar to us mere readers. In the first book, Truthwitch, Dennard brings us very slowly into the Witchlands which at first felt painfully slow to me, but it was all necessary to make sense of the large issues at hand and what plays into them. Not only is Dennard setting up a magical world with different types of witches, magical beings, and gods, she is setting up the political context and that is tricky. I think Dennard truly strikes a good balance between the political context and the building of a fantasy world. Don’t expect to get the whole picture in the first book. I’ve seen a lot of criticism for Truthwitch on the fact that there is no world building, but I believe you have to bear with the plot to fully understand the world at hand. By comparison, I think to the Cruel Prince trilogy by Holly Black. I appreciate it was a shorter series, but the plot felt rushed because I felt Black didn’t take the time to set up the political context behind her fantasy world. Dennard does this really well, and worth spending the time to immerse yourself in that context.

 

Amidst the current day, the past is greatly at play. And I’m not just talking about the build-up to the 20 year truce that we find ourselves at the end of. Dennard builds an ancient world of gods and Paladins that become very relevant when we step into the second book. Admittedly, I did find this set up slightly more confusing, but I get the gist of it. In my re-read ahead of the publication of the fifth book, this is something I would need to revisit. Nevertheless, understand the parallels Dennard makes between the ancient past and the now. What I think is most impressive and delightful, Dennard reveals fragments of this past as we read along. We find out information in ‘live time’ when the characters do. I think this is partly what aids to my confusion however it’s worth it because we get that “aha” moment when a puzzle piece clicks, and we get the full picture. By choosing how and when we find out this information, Dennard truly creates an immersive reading experience.

 

I don’t have a lot to criticise Dennard for because she has carefully articulated and created a world that we are given all the tools to feel distant to, but we don’t. Whether that’s a connection through a character, a trope or place in the book, we feel familiar with the world.

 

Being fully aware that the finale is yet to be published, there is a lot left unanswered be that how exactly the past fits into the present day, what will happen to certain characters, and what exactly is the thread that connects all the events together. I must acknowledge that Sightwitch provides answers to a fair few of the questions I had. With some questions still to be answered, it’s certainly a lot to fit into one book, so I read it with the hope that the intricacy Dennard has so far used, is not rushed to finish the book. That being said, I’m expecting a chunky final book. 

 

The book goes back and forth from being slow paced to fast paced so you really get the full rollercoaster. I’m not one to be opposed to slow paced parts, I think they’re necessary, and don’t see this as a criticism.

 

Overall, if you love a slow burn (and I mean slow), love seeing powerful female characters, lots of action, palaces, different terrains, the enticing world of witchcraft, and a detailed and carefully built fantasy then this is the book for you. I tried to think of a comparison series or show that I can compare Witchlands to, but truth be told, it’s a combination so many different ideas but it stands on its own two feet. I’d give this series a solid 3 out of 5 with the specific ranks below:

 

Truthwitch 3/ 5

Windwitch 3/5

Bloodwitch 4/5

Witchshadow 4/5

Sightwitch 3/5

 

If you’ve read the series, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it so get in touch via email or drop me a message on Instagram.

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