Review: Windwitch by Susan Dennard

After an explosion destroys his ship, the world believes Prince Merik, Windwitch, is dead. Scarred yet alive, Merik is determined to prove his sister’s treachery. Upon reaching the royal capital, crowded with refugees, he haunts the streets, fighting for the weak—which leads to whispers of a disfigured demigod, the Fury, who brings justice to the oppressed.

When the Bloodwitch Aeduan discovers a bounty on Iseult, he makes sure to be the first to find her—yet in a surprise twist, Iseult offers him a deal. She will return money stolen from him, if he locates Safi. Now they must work together to cross the Witchlands, while constantly wondering, who will betray whom first?

After a surprise attack and shipwreck, Safi and the Empress of Marstok barely escape with their lives. Alone in a land of pirates, every moment balances on a knife’s edge—especially when the pirates’ next move could unleash war upon the Witchlands. 

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This is one of those rare instances where the sequel is even better than the first book. Windwitch delivered on so many fronts, and completely took me by surprise. I was so not expecting Dennard to take these characters in the direction she did.

Diversity. We live in a diverse world, so in my opinion, that should be reflected in the books we read. Dennard does a brilliant job of this, not only are there POC in this series but there are also LGBTQ+ characters. I liked the fact that it wasn't just put in for show, it felt natural and authentic.

Aeduan/Iseult. When I first read the summary of the book, I'm not going to lie, I was excited to see that Aeduan and Iseult would be travelling together. The reason why is because I was shipping these two hard in the first book, despite the fact that they had hardly any scenes together or barely talked for that matter. The thing is, though, Dennard cleverly crafted the scenes they did have together and so my shippy feels were on in full force. I enjoyed seeing them working together, and slowly beginning to trust each other. It was also interesting getting to know more about the pair.

Vivia. I was previously not a fan of Vivia, but I came to love her in Windwitch. The fact that we her her POV really helps to get to understand her better. She is fierce, determined and there's definitely more to her than meets the eye.  I also liked the exploration into her relationship with her brother, Merik, and am hoping we get more Vivia/Merik moments in the books that follow.

Merik. Talking about Merik, man does he go through a lot. I really felt for him, as well as going through a physical change he comes to learn more about himself and his eyes are opened to some things that he was previously blind to.

Safi. Along with  some unexpected companions Safi and the Empress of Marstok go on a riveting adventure. The plot thickens as they journey through a land filled with pirates, and I may or may not have been shipping Safi and spoiler.

I cannot wait for the next book in the series, Bloodwitch, (more Aeduan!) because I just know it's going to be amazing.

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