Truthwitch, the first of the Witchlands series by Susan Dennard, follows teen Threadsisters Safiya
fon Hasstrel and Iseult det Midenzi. Safiya, or Safi, is a rare Truthwitch and has been taught that revealing
her power of detecting lies and truth would place her in danger of others wanting to control it and her.
Iseult, part of the harshly judged Nomastis, identifies as a Threadwitch, and although can see the colors of
threads of all of those around her, cannot perform the basic task of making Threadstones. Following a
caper that goes horribly awry and puts Bloodwitch Aeduan on their trail but introduces them to Merik,
Prince of Nubrevna, they must part for their own safety. They embark on arduous paths across the
Witchlands to return to each other, finding themselves embroiled in the additional tasks of saving their
kingdom from war and destruction. The Witchlands is an interesting world full of different magic abilities
and creatures, and was a very engaging read with strong female lead characters. Can’t wait to read book
two in the series.