Truthwitch

A Witchlands Novel

By: Susan Dennard

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

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 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.

Worth pushing through the first few chapters

Good story, great characters and evidence of character development. I'm not sure if the first few chapters were slow or if I was so distracted by the narrator's accents that I couldn't pay attention. Eventually the story and the characters captured my imagination and the accents stopped being a distraction- sometimes they even helped me to distinguish which character was speaking. I am definitely going to listen to the next book in the series.

Worth it if you stick around

In the end I enjoyed this book, however I thought the beginning moved pretty slowly. I was well into the book before I really was able to immerse myself into the story line. I thought most of the characters are hard to empathize with until you get farther into the story, so if you, as a reader, are willing to stick with it the book is worth it, but it might take you some time to get there. The performance by Cassandra Campbell was excellent. Her use of accents and character voices helped me as a listener differentiate characters without sounding overdone.

Read this one in print.

This is a great story that I read in print before listening to the audiobook. I preferred the former experience, as the character voices in this performance are mediocre and all very similar.

Don’t skip this story entirely, though! It’s going to be a TV show soon, so read it now! :)

Fun escape

Normally which stories are shallow on the variety in terms of the magic system but I really enjoyed the nuances here. great characters, great twists, cool variety among the different players.

The narrator is fabulous, wonderful with accents and brought the characters and story to life. I will buy next in the series!

great story!

Couldnt stop listening. Enjoyed the story. didnt like the fake accent and isolde & sophie ran together during storytelling. too little distinction from character in voices.

Love, love, love!

This is an exciting story that had me instantly hooked! It's complex and Susan Dennard is brilliant with weaving all of the elements of these characters and their relationship to each other together. Genius! The world, politics, and traditions that are within Truthwitch make it a place that I would never want to leave! Beautiful storyline, I highly recommend it.

Adventure in a world so real you'll want to stay

This is the first title in the Witchlands series, pack your bags and prepare to be swept away. A great adventure across new lands and sea, characters brave and foolish, political intrigue unfathomable and a prophecy all revealed with style and flair. Truthwitch is the tale of a new world so real, complex enough to be both refreshing and frustrating to discover! A story of best friends, new friends, loyalty and the trouble such can get you into. Not dystopian, but realistic enough to awaken the reader's hope and inspire a desire to learn self-defense fighting techniques!

Love the world

Loads of new names which is a bit hard to follow with an audiobook, but still the story shone through and the world of witches is somewhere I want to be more

A great book.

Although I read some comments saying that the book was jumbled and didn't offer at least a chapter of back story to explain the world. If you're smarter than these people and don't wish to have the entire plot and background thrown at you in the first two chapters, then you'll like this book because it does a great job at leading you into the world and explaining it's self throughout the book in a way that keeps it entertaining. I'm definitely going to get the new book when it comes out. Also if you don't like fantasy YA novels then I don't recommend reading this, but if you are into it or want to try it out, then this isn't a bad place to start but I'd recommend the 'Throne of Glass' series.

Pleasantly Surprised

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, it is entertaining with a great cast of characters and especially kick ass females.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Truthwitch?

The author does a great job weaving together a story from various points of view. Information from one character may not seem important at the time, but further down the road you realize that it means everything. It was great waiting fora ll the puzzle pieces to fall into place.

Which character – as performed by Cassandra Campbell – was your favorite?

Isolde was my favorite character. She has the most potential for a complex development. She doesn't know who she is exactly or to what extent her powers can go. She has a road of discovery ahead of her in the next book.

Any additional comments?

The Assassin's Creed-esque picture made me hesitant and think that this book would be a caricature of the series. I have never been happier to be wrong. I was very pleased with the book from start to finish. It is well paced, entertaining, and, most importantly, it answers only one portion of the big mystery so that I am curious enough to continue with the series.