Blog Tour: Truthwitch + Giveaway

I am so thrilled to be a part of this blog tour for Susan Dennard’s Truthwitch. Susan is just a delightful person and I adore her writing. This tour is a bit unlike any other I’ve been on. Since Truthwitch has the same publisher in the US and the UK it’s a joint tour. A blogger from the UK and one from the US were paired up for each stop. We got to chat about the book and come up with one question for Susan. I was paired with the delightful Isha from Two Sisters Bloggin’ and we’ve exchanged many fangirly messages about this book. There were lots of ALL CAPS and !!!!!!!

About the Book:

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.

My Thoughts:

Where do I even begin with my love for this book? I managed to get my hands on it this past summer and I immediately devoured it! Like, could not put it down, read it in one sitting, gorged myself on it. I typically don’t have that many 5 star reviews in a year but this was certainly one. My immediate reaction in my goodreads review was, “So much love! I want a million books set in this world!!!” After recently re-reading it I still agree 100%.

I wanted to re-read Truthwitch and really spend some time savoring it and picking up on the things I flew past before. I have numerous notecards and flagged so many parts that I loved. This is what my copy looked like after my re-read!

So. Yeah. I liked it. A lot. Looking over my notes and the places I flagged there are three main things that stuck out to me:

• The Characters
• The Relationships
• The Worldbuilding

Now, I know these are the main things in most books but they were just so much more in this book!

First, the characters! Safi, Iseult, Merik, and Aeduan are the main characters we follow. They are freaking awesome. But there’s also Evrane and Habim and Leopold (I really like him!) and everyone!!! Dennard does a masterful job of revealing details about the characters and who they are within the storytelling. This makes the reader feel like they really get to know the characters in a more natural way. I mean, right from the first scene we learn so much about Safi and Iseult and who they are. But it’s all part of the action… it’s not just a laundry list of their personalities.

Speaking of Safi and Iseult, I ship their friendship so hard. Can you do that? Ship a non-romantic relationship? Because I so totally do. Actually, Merik and Kullen’s too. And all the non-romantic relationships that I can’t go into for fear of spoilers. The idea of a threadsister/threadbrother just warms my heart! But don’t get me wrong, there are some fabulous romantic relationships as well! I don’t want to talk too much about the heart-threads because it would get all kinds of spoilery but let’s just say the tension is on point and I may have made notes like, “fanning myself” and “blushing” more than once!

Finally, the worldbuilding. I wasn’t joking when I said I want a million books set in this world. I am fascinated by it. I love the witcheries and the political intrigue and threadsisters and heart-threads and all of the things! I was so caught up in it all. Susan has created an amazing and complex world. I have so many more questions I can’t wait to see answered in upcoming books.

Okay. I could go on and on and on and on. But really, you just need to read this book. Perfect for fans of fantasy and those new to the genre as well. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Fun Stuff:

Isha and I both played MASH when we were younger. We thought it would be fun to come up with a Truthwitch MASH, since we loved so many of the characters and wanted to be in the world. You can click here or on the image to link to a word bank and everything you need to know to play 🙂

And make sure to check out the Witchlands website for more Truthwitch goodness!

Author Question:

We love seeing strong female friendships in books. Safi and Iseult’s friendship is one of the best we’ve seen. We’d love to hear more about it! What makes a strong friendship? What aspects did you want to be sure to include? 

This is the second half of Susan’s answer. To read the first part head on over to Isha’s post on her blog.

I really wanted Safi and Iseult to have that kind of relationship—the kind you never have to question. It just is. Not everything’s perfect, of course, but they both know that even when their lives go “tumbling through the hell-gates” (as Safi would say), they still have each other.

It’s actually just like one of my favorite fictional friendships from TV: Shawn and Gus on Psych. I love-love-love what they share, and I wanted to see that same friendship but with women. We have so many “bromances” on TV and in movies, but not enough “womances!”

Author Bio:

Susan Dennard has come a long way from small-town Georgia. With a

masters degree in marine biology, she got to travel the world—six out of seven continents, to be exact (she’ll get to Asia one of these days!)—before she settled down as a full-time novelist and writing instructor.

She is the author of the Something Strange and Deadly series (from HarperTeen) as well as the forthcoming Witchlands Series (Tor, 2015). When not writing, she can be found hiking with her dogs, exploring tidal pools, or earning bruises at the dojo.

You can learn more about Susan on her website, blog, newsletter, Twitter, or Pinterest.

Giveaway:

Thanks to the amazing people at Tor/Macmillan Isha and I have a giveaway for you! There will be two winners, one UK and one US. Each winner will get s finished copy of Truthwitch. The US winner will get a US copy and the UK winner will get a UK copy. Use the rafflecopter below to enter. Must be 13 or older to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Related Posts

• Related Posts

NYT Bestseller, Truthwitch

Odin’s Ravens

I Believe in a Thing Called Love

Unmade

Silver in the Blood