Windwitch by Susan Dennard | Book Review

Windwitch by Susan Dennard

Overview of the book:

Five different stories, told by five different people. All witches and all fighting for one thing. Freedom.

After an explosion that leaves Merik scared, both physically and mentally, he travels back to his kingdom as a walking dead-man. Deciding to live in the shadows, he adopts the name Fury and sets out to get revenge on his sister, the one he believes is hidden behind his attempted murder.

After a similar explosion, Safi is washed ashore in hostile lands, where her and the Empress of Marstok must face opposing forces and one wrong move could mean the death of all the Witchlands.

Meanwhile, Aeduan receives note of a bounty on Iseult’s head. But in a surprising twist, he is offered a deal by Iseut. Find Saft and have his stolen money returned to him.

Opinion on book:

I have so much love for this book. Literally, everything about it was pretty much amazing. From the characters to the themes, to the EVERYTHING!

Let me explain to you a little about the 5 main characters in this book:

Safi – I am the biggest fan of the adorable friend-ship between Safi and Iseult, but overall, I don’t think Safi is one of my favourite characters. Although, I love her fire and sass, I think she sometimes is a little too reckless. Her and Iseult are the perfect ying and yang, and I really hope that they are the mystical duo that everyone talks about (I would write down what it is actually called, but I have no idea how to spell it and I cannot find it in the book).

Merik – He is simply not my favourite character. I don’t overly like him and I think that he is a little bit of a whiner. Yes, he literally died, but I think that he made his whole situation way more dramatic than it needed to be. Dennard was perfect in her writing, describing Merik as only ‘seeing what he wants to see.’ Whenever I got to his POV in the story, I found myself glad that the characters individual segments were so short.

Aeduan – IS MY FAV! Well, my fav male character. I just love Aeduan. He has such a tough guy exterior, but is really a big fluffy marshmallow on the inside! Basically this whole book solidifies the fact that he wants to help people and that him and Iseult would be a PERFECT SHIP!

Iseult – IS MY OTHER FAV! And also the other half of my futuristic ship! Iseult grows so much as a character in this book. She discovers more about her powers and herself. And although I love her and Safi being the most kick-ass friend pair in the world, I feel like it was necessary for her to grow on her own. But when they both are able to communicate with each other during ‘the dreaming,’ I can admit that I tried to communicate with my best friend. Iseult is so amazing and I cannot wait to read more about her in book #3.

Vivia – Literally the kick-ass, sass queen and I wish I could call her the real queen. She deserves so much! At first I thought she was going to be a crazy, power hungry monster, but I think that she is actually the coolest of them all! She cares so much for her kingdom and everyone keeps doubting her, yet she just needs a little support and encouragement and she could be the best queen the kingdom has ever had! #viviaforqueen

Then on top of having all of these amazing characters, the themes that this author weaved into this book was truly incredible and amazing. The standout themes were gender equality, racial issues, transgender and many others.

The gender equality (or more likely inequality) was such a stand out since Dennard wrote the story in such a way that made it entirely clear that this needed to change. Vivia was such a strong and powerful female, while her brother, Merik, was given everything, she had to work her ass off to get it. And this just made it all the more incredible!

Now the racial issues were more prominent in the first book, they were still present in this one. Iseult and Aeduan go through so much hard ship, and I am so happy that they are able to be there for one another. But I am secretly shipping them (teehee).

And one of the most incredible things that Dennard was able to weave into this amazing book series was a trans character. And I find that quite simply incredible!

And just to split up all of my writing, here is an amazing piece of fan art that I found on THIS TUMBLR. Pretty incredible right? 

Overall, this book is hands down one of my top 5 witch books. And although I did find it a little jumpy, having 5 different POV’s and all. I still think that the story came across very well.

Star rating:

Altogether, with this books amazing characters, their development, the themes and amazing plot of this book. I must say that this is one of my favourite witch books I have ever read. Being down right incredible and also talking about so many different social issues makes this book hands down, a standout.

This is why it should be absolutely no surprise that I give this book a rating of 5/5 stars. I loved this story, and am a bit upset that I have to wait so long for book number three to come out. But I can already tell that it will be worth the wait.  

Bloggers note:

I am so sorry that it has been so long since I have last posted. I am swamped with school work and other commitments. But since it is holidays (and I am being peer pressured by a 14 year old to read Empire of Storms), I know that I will be hopefully reading many more books!

How are you all going? Have you read any good books lately?

If you have read this book, I would love to hear your thoughts. Let us discuss this amazing book!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this review!

Until next time, keep reading!

-Shelbi