ARC Review: Witchshadow (The Witchlands #4) by Susan Dennard
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Series: The Witchlands #4
Author: Susan Dennard
Published June 24th 2021 by Tor
Goodreads Synopsis
Susan Dennard's New York Times bestselling, young adult epic fantasy Witchlands series continues with Witchshadow, the story of the Threadwitch Iseult.
War has come to the Witchlands . . . and nothing will be the same again.
Iseult has found her heartsister Safi at last, but their reunion is brief. For Iseult to stay alive, she must flee Cartorra while Safi remains. And though Iseult has plans to save her friend, they will require her to summon magic more dangerous than anything she has ever faced before.
Meanwhile, the Bloodwitch Aeduan is beset by forces he cannot understand. And Vivia—rightful queen of Nubrevna—finds herself without a crown or home.
As villains from legend reawaken across the Witchlands, only the mythical Cahr Awen can stop the gathering war. Iseult could embrace this power and heal the land, but first she must choose on which side of the shadows her destiny will lie.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
After reuniting and restoring one of the Origin Well's, Safi and Iseult have a plan to save Safi's uncle and free all of the hellbards from the Emperor of Cartorra. But, when the plan goes wrong, and Iseult has to flee, using her newfound Voidwitch powers to protect both herself, and her young charge, Owl. But forces are at work to stop her saving those she cares about, and are even controlling those once thought uncontrollable. As Vivia and Vaness fight to reclaim their lost thrones, the proximity and shared anger towards the Dalmotti Doge ignites and they find themselves closer than ever. And for Stix, her newly uncovered past as a Paladin needs exploring further, and the history of the Witchlands is slowly revealing.
Now, one thing I am going to say is that I haven't read Sightwitch, and honestly, I think I needed to in order to understand a lot of what was revealed in Witchshadow, especially Stix's chapters. And, I probably could've done with a recap of the other books in the series, but I think I managed to pick my way through the book without it.
My, this was a beast of a book, full of twists and turns, interleaving events and happenings that completely blindsided the reader. As Iseult's tale, we learnt a lot more about her, including how her powers worked, and who her father was (finally!), and I really enjoyed her chapters. I was gutted she was separated from Safi again, and from Aeduan, but she really grew into her own, and she is such a different person from the one we met all that time ago in Truthwitch. Then we have more information about the paladins, and the truth behind Eridysi's Lament that has been quoted so much in the series. I felt like some of the revelations I had already guessed at, but some shocked me, and I can't wait to see that aspect of the series being explored further. Now that the Cahr Awen are known, they should be all powerful, but some of the events that occur really early on are shocking, and I loved seeing that side of Safi, and also learning more about Leopold and his past betrayal, seeing how it all fits into the bigger picture, and answering some of the many questions we have. I can't wait for the next book, and will definitely be having a re-read (including Sightwitch) beforehand!
Dates Read:
June 10-13, 2021
Rating
5 Stars
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