Truthwitch by Susan Dennard - Book Review

Title: Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1)

Author: Susan Dennard

Release Date: 5th January 2016 (14th January in UK)

Source: Arc won from twitter. Bought finished copies.

Synopsis: On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery”, a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.
Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.
Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.
Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch. (Taken from Goodreads)

Review

It has taken me some time to feel equal to the task of writing a coherent review of this book which I read for the first time around the end of July 2015 (yes JULY). I finished my third, possibly fourth – I have honestly lost count – reading of my beauteous US arc *pets fondly* around the start of December and it’s taken me until now to actually complete this review. Truthwitch is now out in the world (still officially a few days away for the UK although I do have my finished copy already) which is such a joyous thing to me after being so utterly invested in the journey of this book since last spring. Holy void wells we’re finally at the end of the road. O_O

First I’d like y’all to do something for me, to set the scene if you will. Cue up in another window this video and then read this excerpt of Chapter 1 of Truthwitch. Now hit play on that song and read the chapter, come back when you’re done. Ok? Great.

*jazzy interlude musak*

You done? DO YOU WANT TO READ TRUTHWITCH YET?! OF COURSE YOU DO! Because that’s basically how that first chapter left me feeling. We’re thrown head-long into the action from the first line and by the end of this opening chapter you’re already breathless with excitement for what’s to come. It’s so magically visual that with the song playing in the background you can practically see it playing like a movie in your mind.

If you want there is also a sneak peek at Chapter 2 over on the Witchlands site that you can read once you’re finished here, which I *highly* recommend you do- there’s loads of other cool stuff over there as well like character quizzes and the most awesome author interview.

*ahem*

Annnnd back to the review. I don’t want to go into too much detail of all the things I love about the story as it’s not fair to veer into Spoiler Town so soon after release. BUT what I will talk about is one of the BEST aspects of the ENTIRE BOOK. Which is the dynamic duo known as Safiya fon Hasstrel and Iseult det Midenzi. Threadsisters for life, literal soul twins, these girls are the most BAD-ASS of best friends. This book slays thanks to the epicness of Safi & Iz’s relationship. Right from the beginning you can see just how much they mean to each other and the lengths they will go to in order to keep each other safe. Like, murder is not out of the question if your Threadsister is in danger. *cracks knuckles*

Besides our two main gals there is a whole host of fascinating characters including two certain gentlemen whose POV we get to read from as well as the girls’ and let me tell you – you are almost definitely going to have a fav by the end so share nicely with the other folk. There’s plenty of Merik and Aeduan to go around :P. Although I would like to call dibs on Aeduan please. At least on Thursdays. If you want more info that that awful tease then you should check out this video (link) where Sooz herself talks about the boys of Truthwitch.

Another aspect of Truthwitch which is SPECTACULAR is the world-building. Just how fantastically vast the world is, you can see from the map in the front of the book (also on the Witchlands website – click everything it’s glorious), and as you read you’re surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of strange new lands and cities. Diverse cultures and people populate the Witchlands and over the four books in this series (oh yeah there’s gonna be four books people) I hope we continue to explore all the fabulous places on the Truthwitch map.

The other deliciously complex aspect of the world-building in Truthwitch is the vast array of Witcheries that people can possess and how the different elements which fuel magic are used across the Witchlands. The way Susan has woven the magic into the myth and fabric of the world is stunning and I cannot wait to see how everything progresses throughout the series.

It is a difficult thing for me to truly explain why I love Truthwitch so much. A lot of it is tied up in how long I have been following this book’s journey into the world and how much I admire and respect Susan for what an incredible world she has created. Reading this book multiple times has made me appreciate the extreme level of passion and care that has gone into its crafting and just knowing how much Safi & Iseult’s friendship is inspired by Sooz’s friendship with Sarah J. Maas honestly makes me emotional in many odd ways.

If you've ever read a post of mine or follow my twitter then you may know that my best friend on this whole damn planet is Jess of Jess Hearts Books – she’s just posted her review of Truthwitch because of course we’d get them done on the same day – even before either of us read Truthwitch we both related ENORMOUSLY to Sooz & Sarah’s amazing friendship from following them on social media. So when we entered Safi & Iseult's world we instantly fell in love with their relationship and the idea of Threadsisters – friends so close that the very fibres of their being are inextricably entwined – to the extent that now we use that word to describe our own friendship.

Truthwitch has become one of those books so dear to my heart that I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about near enough everyday. I've read it at least three times and it's highly likely that I'll read it another three times at least before Windwitch comes out. 

I know this review is awfully long and more than bit fangirly but believe me Truthwitch is more than worth every bit of praise I could lavish upon it. I strongly suggest you go out and get yourself a copy as soon as possible so you can lose yourself in the Witchlands like I have. I promise you won't be sorry you did.

Rating : Four & a half stars out of Five!

Ray x

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Monster by C.J. Skuse - Book Review

Good Morning folks! (It's probably not morning in the UK but bear with I'm in Florida ok?). Today I am MASSIVELY excited to say that I have a BOOK REVIEW for y'all! This is probably the first review I've done on here since Seraphina in 2012 so yea... it's kinda a big deal for me anyway. I've been sitting on this review since APRIL because the book as you may already know from the post title is only now coming out this week! So at last I can share some of my feels with you.

Title: Monster
Author: C.J. Skuse
Release Date: 24th September 2015
Source: ARC borrowed from JessHeartsBooks who had received it for review from MIRAInk
Synopsis: At sixteen Nash thought that the fight to become Head Girl of prestigious boarding school Bathory would be the biggest battle she’d face. Until her brother’s disappearance leads to Nash being trapped at the school over Christmas with Bathory’s assorted misfits. As a blizzard rages outside, strange things are afoot in the school’s hallways, and legends of the mysterious Beast of Bathory – a big cat rumoured to room the moors outside the school – run wild. Yet when the girls’ Matron goes missing it’s clear that something altogether darker is to blame – and that they’ll have to stick together if they hope to survive. (Taken from Goodreads)

My Review

 Advisory – This review contains a good dollop of swearing. The book itself also contains a fair amount of swearing and violence so if that’s not your thing then consider yourself warned.

I was able to read this months ahead of it's release date thanks to my dear Twinnie Jess but it's kinda been killing me that I couldn't really talk about Monster until now - spoilers dontcha know? Frankly this is one of those books where it’s best for sheer enjoyment of the story if you don’t know much beyond the fact that there are a group of girls who are the last students to leave the Bathory School for Girls before Christmas when a massive snowstorm rolls in and then well... shit gets fucked up from there.

One of the many things I love about CJ’s books is that every single one is completely different from the last. Some authors keep to a similar genre for all of their work but with CJ it’s a delightful lottery every time I get my grubby mitts on a new book. Her debut Pretty Bad Things (my review) was a riotous candy crime-spree through Vegas; Rockaholic was full of hilarious hijinks following an accidental rockstar kidnapping; Dead Romantic was a macabre FrankenRomance whereas Monster is an adrenaline-drenched thriller with a good dose of Baskervillian terror to keep you up at night.

Our main girl Nash has quite a lot on her plate at the start of the book; she’s working her raspberry socks off trying to impress the headmistress enough to win the Head Girl badge, trying to juggle all the pre-Christmas insanity on top of her newest worries for her big brother Seb who’s gone missing in Colombia. Oh yeah and then there’s that troubling incident where she might have seen the legendary Beast of Bathory. Not that she believes in it. ‘Course not because that would be fucking ludicrous.

I read this waaay back at the start of April (For reasons that people who have seen my review of Pretty Bad Things will understand) and I devoured the whole thing in one sitting. I love a good boarding school story and when you mix the isolation brought on by the blizzard, the group of girls from different cliques with their own secrets causing mischief, plus the menace of a wild beast roaming the snow, you have the perfect recipe for knuckle-biting tension and no sleep.

Even in the midst of heightening drama and the increasing terror that something awful will happen to someone you’re very much attached to, CJ still managed to stop me in my tracks with a line that cut to the core of why I read her books around April 7^th and that really encapsulates a lot of the book. That being the idea that the monsters you can’t fight are the worst monsters of all.

Suffice it to say, I was utterly clueless about how this book would end and HOO BOY was I left mind-blown and suitably awed. This is without a doubt C.J.’s best book so far and one that I plan to get my greedy hands on and re-read nearer to Halloween for all the creep-tastic chills and spine-tingling shudders.

You want a hair-raising boarding school thriller to keep you flipping pages well into the night? Go wrangle yourself a copy of Monster. Trust me, you’ll be sorry that you didn’t. 

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Whew! Thank god I've finally got all that off my chest! In all seriousness I can't overstate my appreciation for C.J.'s books in all their blunt, snarky, awesomeness. Even 4 years after my grandad's death I'm still finding comfort and distraction in her words. It might be a little weird to associate a reading experience with such a devastating event but as J.K Rowling wrote "words are our greatest source of magic" and it just so happened that C.J.'s were the words that helped me deal with a very difficult time. I am so grateful for her books for that reason.

A slight side-note that made me even happier about reading Monster - in the arc version (will have to see with the finished book) on the inside of the FRONT cover is a quote from ME! My review of Pretty Bad Things is quoted!! It is as In the Library of LadyViolet but it's me all the same! The same quote was in the back of Dead Romantic as well so now that's two books that I've been quoted in! Considering how I've never been a really "big" blogger it is something I find really exciting.

Anyway before the day runs away from me I shall be off.

What did you think to the review?

Ray x

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Book Review - Seraphina

So here we go! Let me know what you think to the review.

Review 
Title: Seraphina
Author: Rachel Hartman
Genre: YA, High Fantasy, Dragons
Source: ARC provided to me by JessHeartsBooks and to her by the folk at Doubleday
Publication Date: 19th July 2012 (UK), 10th July 2012 (US)

Synopsis: The kingdom of Goredd is populated by humans and by dragons who fold themselves into a human form. Though they live alongside each other, the peace between them is uneasy.

But when a member of the royal family is murdered, and the crime appears to have been committed by a dragon the peace and treaty between both worlds is seriously threatened . . .

Into this comes Seraphina, a gifted musician who joins the royal court as the assistant to the court composer. She is soon drawn into the murder investigation and, as she uncovers hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace in Goredd for good, finds herself caught desperately in the middle of the tension.

For Seraphina hides a secret - the secret behind her musical gift - and if she is found out, her life is in serious danger . . . (taken from the Amazon.co.uk page).

My Thoughts
When Jess told me about this book that she'd received which was a high fantasy debut with dragons in it I was pretty intrigued. When she mentioned that Tamora Pierce (my literary idol and creator of over half the female characters I would kill to be) had blurbed this book and raved over it then I was all "sign me up to read it stat!" So after Jess had to have a parting of ways with the book due to to personal differences I offered to give it a home and review it as an additional thank-you.

I have to admit to reading it twice *ahem three times*. Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a notorious re-reader but the books that get read more than once in the same year are the ones that you know are fantastic and are to be foisted upon anyone who you think will like them. (I'm not going to press-gang reluctants but if you look even slightly interested you *are* going to find yourself reading this book).

With Seraphina you are plunged into the prologue which introduces us to two of the main characters and a whole host of questions that get answered as the book progresses. In just three pages you are drawn to the infant Seraphina and immersed in a rich world that promises to become exponentially more detailed and fascinating with each turn of the page.

 Rachel Hartman has done a fantastic job of creating the world in this book; it's vast and has several layers of complexity. There's a well-developed society with religion, politics (heck religious politics), and such a depth of history as you can believe that this world has been living in a somewhat shaky peace with the dragon population for the last fourty years.

And that's another fantabulous element of this book; the dragons. The concept of dragons which can take human form is brilliant and it's shown off so well in the book with characters like Eskar and Basind who although they may look the same as everyone else think so differently and view the world in such an alien way that it's almost chilling how they consider humans. Also what I found fascinating was the detail put into the Dragon's society and their philosophy of Ard and keeping all emotions out of their lives. It's been a long time since I've read a fantasy book with that level of world development.

My favourite thing about Seraphina was the lady herself. As a character she is flawed in that beautifully human way but she's so relatable and likeable that you can't help but want to cuddle her when she's having a grumpy or sad moment. You feel along with her when she fights to keep her secrets and emotions in check and it makes your heart soar when she finds out that she's not quite as alone in her plight as she thought. She's also funny and snarky and made me chuckle on various occasions throughout the book. Seraphina is kind of girl I would love to be friends with; she's loyal and would literally chuck herself into danger for those she cares about.

The rest of the characters are a fabulously vibrant bunch of folk; with Orma's oddities, Glisselda's bubbliness and Lucian's Kiggs-ness they all come alive in the book and any author that can make me care a whole damn lot of a group of fictional characters is definitely on the way to becoming favourite of mine.

Overall the book is a cracking debut, with some beautiful writing, a fantastic cast of characters, and a compelling story that ends neatly enough that you're not left dangling off a cliff-hanger but with just-enough left undone to have you slavering for a sequel (and I am already getting antsy wanting to know what's going to happen!). So if you want a fantasy read that can give you a bit of everything with dragons to boot then get your hands on a copy of Seraphina this summer.

My Rating: 4.5 out 5 Stars!

Also just as a final note I got to admit that I prefer the US cover of Seraphina, it's very similar to the Temeraire books by Naomi Novik and the line drawings are vair cool. I will probably buy a finished copy of the US edition next month when I'm in Florida.

So there you have it! My first written review in months and months! I hope it's not entirely useless and let me know what you guys think!

Speak to y'all soon
LadyV

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