Windwitch - Extract

by Susan Dennard

Sometimes our enemies become our only allies The Windwitch Prince Merik is presumed dead, following a lethal explosion. He's left scarred but alive and determined to expose his sister's treachery. Yet on reaching the royal capital, he's shocked to find it crowded with refugees fleeing conflict. Merik haunts the streets, fighting for the weak. This leads to whispers of a disfigured demigod, the Fury, who brings justice to the oppressed. Hunted by the Cleaved, Iseult is struggling to stay free while she searches for her friend Safi. When the Bloodwitch Aeduan corners Iseult first, she offers him a deal: she'll return what was stolen from him, if he locates the Truthwitch. Yet unknown to Iseult, there's a bounty on her head - and Aeduan intends to claim it. After a surprise attack and shipwreck, Safi and the Empress of Marstok barely escape with their lives. They find themselves amongst pirates, where a misstep could mean death. And the bandits' next move could unleash war upon the Witchlands.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

143 pages, ebook

First published November 1, 2016

About the author

Susan Dennard is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of the Witchlands series (now in development for TV from the Jim Henson Company), and the Something Strange and Deadly series, in addition to various other fiction published online.

Before becoming an author, she got to travel the world with her M.Sc. in marine biology. She also runs the popular newsletter for writers, the Misfits and Daydreamers. When not writing or teaching writing, she can be found rolling the dice as a Dungeon Master or mashing buttons on one of her way too many consoles.

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

Reviews

[Simona B · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

The reason why I read this excerpt is to help me decide whether to read the whole book or not, since Truthwitch was a big meh to me. Well, these fourteen chapters did help me determine a few things.
1) I'm not invested in these characters at all, and some of them I can't even stand like Safiya, big exception made for Aeduan/Iseult, whom I ship. Hard.
2) I'm not sure this one big ship is enough to sustain me through the whole book.
3) Dennard's writing is so soporific to me. It's not even bad, and actually, objectively I find it pretty good, and that's what baffles me the most. It's just that we didn't hit it off, I suppose. I tend to call this the Martin effect because reasons.

➽ Conclusion: I still don't know if I'll read the book. Great.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book comes out in just a few days! Whoo hoo!

I know this is out of context, but I have a question: Are excerpts usually this long? Because I've read sneak peeks of soon-to-be-released books and they're usually, like, the first two chapters. Isn't the whole point to whet your appetite? But this excerpt was loooong - a whole fourteen chapters! I feel like I've read a third of the book already, lol.

Anyway, I know this series is light fantasy and super unoriginal, but I just found the first book ridiculously entertaining. The characters aren't the most clever, but they're downright charming. I've read a lot of reviews complaining about Safi and Merik, but I really love them together. Let's just ignore the instalove.

“She was the sort who bent the world to her will. Who kissed the way she lived, with passion, impulse, life. Who smiled in the face of death, a challenge in her eyes.”

This excerpt definitely made me excited to read on. It starts right where Truthwitch left off - Safi is captured by a Hell-Bard, Iseult and Aeduan warily team up after a sly bargain on Iseult's part, and a new character is introduced, Vivia, a princess desperate to be heard.

In short, I'm so ready for Windwitch.

[Lulai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first 14 chapter thank to NetGAlley.
It is always hard to judge a book on so little but I have to say I'm hooked. I really like the characters and reading about them again is so much fun.
They are quite differents, some are darker, other brave and we got the point of view of Vivia for the first time. I'm really curious about her, the only thing we knew was what Merik thought, I'm sure she is going to be one the most ambigous character.

The plot is also quite different, I didn't see that much but I'm really hooked and I want to read more
So yes I'm going to read it in january and i can't wait.

[Rosemarie Short · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was provided in exchange for an honest review. My thanks go to Susan Dennard, Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the opportunity

Just like Truthwitch before it, this extract of Windwitch left me conflicted. Once again there were stories I loved; I will contest until my last that Aeduan and Iseult would cause the book to fare far better, were they the only POV characters. Safi and Merick I found decidedly lacklustre, their stories barely capturing my attention.

There is, as I have said before, a great foundation here. The idea of Witchery and the forms in which it comes is a good basis for a solid fantasy series. However Dennard seems to almost lose control of her characters, carving out mediocre pathways for them instead of forging plot forwarding journeys.

I am interested to read the rest of this, as Iseult and Aeduan on a road trip together is too good of a deal for me to pass up. However has this sample added anything to my experience? Not enough to up the rating or change my lukewarm review.

[julia ☆ [owls reads] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Netgalley was very nice to offer a preview excerpt of the first 14 chapters, and just let me say: woah. I definitely did something right by clicking the 'Read Now' button.

MINOR SPOILERS FOR WINDWITCH!

Like it says in the summary, Windwitch focuses on Merik, whom we met in the previous book Truthwitch. This sneak peek shows a lot of promise: there is a lot of action right off the bat + the introduction of an entirely different setting. I really like where everyone's stories are going and how they're developing.

It was really fun meeting these characters again, even more so since they're all in different places and doing their own things/facing their own obstacles. The story is told in various POVs, and Dennard still does a great job of juggling all of them in a way that makes everything flow nicely.

Windwitch sure looks like is only going to get even better, and I really look forward to reading it in its entirety.

*

Review of Truthwitch.

*

ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Clouds · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Since reading Truthwitch early last year, I have been counting down the days for the release of Windwitch. This excerpt, however, was not easy to get through. I wish there had been more of a refresher included, because I found myself scrambling more than usual to grasp the story. I felt inclined to re-read the first book in order to continue reading the excerpt. There were some moments in the excerpt that set my heart pounding, but the overall the story pacing felt slow and Merik and Vivia's chapters were hard to get through. Aeduan, Iseult, and Safiya are what kept me excited to keep reading. Truthwitch was one of my favorite books last year and I still very much look forward to reading Windwitch in its entirety, as well as the next installment of the series.

[Jenn]

I'm gonna need the rest of this book STAT.

[Vira · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this extract via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Truthwitch left me uncertain about whether I want to continue with the series or not. Being honest, this excerpt didn't help much. I still have problems with connecting to the main characters, which is a huge downer for me. But the setting is different, - and, maybe, my thoughts about the second book will be too.