Blogtour: Sightwitch Review

Hello fellow bookworms 💕  I’m very glad to announce that today is my stop at the Sightwitch Blogtour! Sightwitch has already been out in the world since February 13th therefore I’ve had the chance to read it and come to you with an honest Review an all the reasons why Sightwitch is one of my favorite books of the year! Of course, I highly encourage you to check out the Witchlands books (Truthwitch & Windwitch), buy them and then return to buy Sightwitch, as it’s an expansion and novella of the world. It sets the stage for book 3 and I think it’s best enjoyed after reading Windwitch. So basically buy all the books 😉

Summary

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Before Safi and Iseult battled a Bloodwitch…

Before Merik returned from the dead…

Ryber Fortiza was a Sightwitch Sister at a secluded convent, waiting to be called by her goddess into the depths of the mountain. There she would receive the gift of foretelling. But when that call never comes, Ryber finds herself the only Sister without the Sight.

Years pass and Ryber’s misfit pain becomes a dull ache, until one day, Sisters who already possess the Sight are summoned into the mountain, never to return. Soon enough, Ryber is the only Sister left. Now, it is up to her to save her Sisters, though she does not have the Sight—and though she does not know what might await her inside the mountain.

On her journey underground, she encounters a young captain named Kullen Ikray, who has no memory of who he is or how he got there. Together, the two journey ever deeper in search of answers, their road filled with horrors, and what they find at the end of that road will alter the fate of the Witchlands forever.

Review

💕 I would like to announce that I love Ryber. I really liked her in Truthwitch, but since Sightwitch is her story I got more of a glimpse inside her before the events of the other books. I’m just going to say it: I love Ryber, she really managed to worm her way into my heart pretty quickly because I could relate to her so much. She’s always trying to follow the rules and is never disobeying unlike her best friend and Threadsister Tanzi – Ryber’s entire character Arc is about learning that rules are made up and sometimes not meant to be followed, she realizes that it’s thinking about the box that is important. Generally, Ryber also struggles with being without the Sight and not called to serve her goddess, which understandably leaves her feeling unsure and anxious. I really felt for her the entire time, because she tries so hard to be a good Sightwitch and loves learning everything she can. Ryber is dedicated, focused and smart and I was rooting for her so much! I felt her despair when everyone else was gone and when she had to go into the mountain alone, it made me feel very close to her. I JUST LOVE HER SO MUCH OKAY? ♥ Another thing I loved was her love for her best friend Tanzi, who she wanted to save!

💕 Reading Sightwitch made me really like Kullen. I liked Kullen in the Witchlands books, but this book made me love him so much more. It increased my enjoyment of him a lot, which I count as a great accomplishment of Sightwitch. If I were to reread the other books, I would probably love him much more too, which makes me both excited and nervous of what is to come for him! I loved that in Sightwitch we got to see him more in-depth and discover much more about his background story. Furthermore, I liked seeing Ryber’s and his earliest interactions, they were very interesting to watch and I loved the enemies-to-lovers vibe they gave off!

💕 I loved that we had Dysi as a story within the story! I had almost forgotten that Sightwitch would also contain another story besides Ryber’s, which just excited me more! Eridysi Gochienka is a famous Sightwitch, who lived thousands of years before the events of Truthwitch and now we get an insight in her life as well. I didn’t except to get so invested in her story, but I did and couldn’t wonder what would happen next. I loved that we got to see the struggles of the Paladins and the origin of so many things through her eyes, it directly connected to Ryber’s story! You could see the parallels and clues, which just made Sightwitch more perfect. Everything resonating definitely made the story come alive! I began to love Dysi as well as Ryber and I was really rooting for her. Generally, I was immersed in her story, her sorrow and her happiness. Having her tell her story was amazing!

💕 Many new clues and information about the Witchlands make me want to go into theories. The problem is that I’m not that good at them and that Susan is always one step ahead of me. On the bright side this reinforces how well she manages to connect all her characters and their backgrounds and then hide it from us. I need to do an entire reread of the Witchlands books, because I’m sure that I missed all the little details, clues and easter eggs. I absolutely love that there is so much depth to the books and that they keep surprising me and blowing my mind! I won’t go into spoilers here about what clues and new information emerged in Sightwitch, but we did learn a LOT more about the history of the Witchlands. I’m especially talking about the Paladins and Dysi’s story. Generally I loves seeing the Sightwitches and learning about their rules and the convent! The new setting really grew on me and contained lots of clues. I’m definitely counting The Rook (who is a bird) as a clue and I want to mention him here because he was a lovely animal companion!

💕 Of course the book was perfectly crafted and broke my heart. Like I mentioned before, Susan Dennard is amazing at connecting everything in her universe and that was the same with Sightwitch. Apart from the clues, both stories told had a connection that showed at several times in the book! The plot was a bit slower at first to get us accustomed to the convent and I liked that because Ryber’s despair as everyone else was called into the mountain build up and felt very raw. But quickly the story took off and left me breathless and mindblown like usual. Of course Sightwitch also wrecked my heart because Ryber is going through a lot and it’s tough to watch when you’re connecting to her so much. Especially towards the end I was getting emotional and one scene where her despair reaches its climax really got me tearing up, because whyyyy?

💕 Amazing Illustrations (+ documents)! They really added something to the book and were so much fun! Together text and illustrations made for a compelling story that will sweep you in and not let you go! All the documents, pictures and other additions made me grasp the story even more and helped visualize. They were also very nice to look at and made for a pleasant experience reading the book!

IN CONCLUSION: Sightwitch was an amazing addition to the Witchlands books, which hopefully manages to hold me over until book 3 arrives next year. This novella definitely is a must read for the fans of the Witchlands, because it’s amazing full of hidden clues and easter eggs that you don’t want to miss! I cannot even explain how much I loved seeing the characters journey, the illustrations and revisit this world! Sightwitch is shorter, since it’s a novella, but manages to wrap every up perfectly, which makes the story a joy to read from start to finish.

Favorite Quotes

• “A person can grieve for herself yet still revel in someone else’s good fortune”
• “We value things more when we know they won’t last forever.”
• “But there is always the sharp, hidden side of Lady’s Fate’s knife, where what we want is not what we ultimately get.”
• “I rested my hands on either side of his face – that beautiful, lined face that I had grown to love. “This is what the Goddess wills, and so we must obey”. Then, when he had made no move to turn, I murmured the only No’Amatsi words I knew: “Mhe verujta” Trust me as if my soul were yours.”

Susan’s Bio

I’ve come a long way from small-town Georgia. Working in marine biology, I got to travel the world—six out of seven continents, to be exact (I’ll get to you yet, Asia!)—before I settled down as a full-time novelist and writing instructor.

I’m the author of the Something Strange and Deadly series as well as the New York Times bestselling Witchlands books, Truthwitch and Windwitch, and if I’m not writing, then I’m busy slaying darkspawn or earning bruises at the dojo.

I live in the Midwestern US with my French husband, two spoiled dogs, and two grouchy cats. Learn more about me and my cookie-addiction on the blog, newsletter, twitter, instagram, or pinterest

Have you read the Witchlands books? What kind of witch would you want to be? 💕

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