*Joood's Reviews* Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

You may or may not know this already, but Joood - Hooligan of Platypire Reviews is notoriously bad at writing reviews after she finishes reading books. I'm serious, her to be reviewed list is almost as long as my Platypire Read-A-Thon list, and that thing is monstrous. So after much cajoling on Joood's part, I have decided to help her out and once a week I'm going to write one of her reviews for her because I'm a good friend like that, and there is no way this could possibly go wrong. I will be writing the reviews as if I actually am Joood.

This week I have selected Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. 

Genre: YA/Fantasy

Published: January 5, 2016

Pages: 416

Goodreads

Synopsis

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. 

Sofia the Great bought me a signed copy of this book as a birthday present at a book signing that she didn't take me to. I ruined the surprise though, by requesting a copy of it from my library, and then she had to tell me WAY before my birthday about the book. In spite of all that, it's basically the best birthday present she's ever given me, even better than the tickets she bought me to the Justin Bieber concert that one time. 

This book was basically Game of Thrones meets Harry Potter, but with fewer deaths and more specific magic. Unlike in Harry Potter where magical people can learn all sorts of spells to do all sorts of different magic, in Truthwitch, they are born with certain magical abilities and that's basically all they get. If I were a character in this series, I would totally want to be a Sammichwitch, able to produce a delicious sammich of my choosing with just a thought, that's way better than being able to tell when people are lying to me (because I can already do that. Maybe that's because all of my friends are horrible liars though.) I'm holding out hope that Iseult is a Sammichwitch. 

I didn't really understand why Safi needed to keep her power hidden though. I mean sure, kings and queens would love to have a minion that can tell if others are lying to them, but it's not like Safi has to tell the truth about what she knows! If I were her, I'd totally lie about everything all the time. And bribe people, a lot. Sorry Bekah, if you don't want people to know you secretly LOVE oatmeal raisin cookies, you shouldn't have expressed your dislike of them to me. (This may or may not have happened.) 

4.1 Platypires - Joood - Hooligan 

Buy the Book

Amazon

About the Author

Before she settled down as a full-time novelist and writing instructor, Susan Dennard traveled the world as marine biologist. She is the author of the Something Strange and Deadly series as well as the forthcoming Witchlands series, and when not writing, she can be found hiking with her dogs, exploring tidal pools, or earning bruises at the dojo.

Alternate Reviews

If you would like to read some legitimate reviews of Truthwitch, just click any of the links below. 

JesseTheReader (vlog) // The Book Geek // Rabid Reads